My city?

I took these two pictures this morning before I came to work. I start my work week on Sundays, and although it's a bit sad at times to have to work when most people will be enjoying the day off, it is mostly quiet and pretty relaxed both on the street in the early morning, as well as at my job. I was earlier than I needed to be to start working, so I decided to drive up to Twin Peaks, a hill with great views near where I work, and an often visited tourist locale as well.
   I have been thinking about my future in San Francisco the last few months, wondering how long I imagined staying here amid the ever increasing flow of young technology professionals that are beginning to make the city feel more crowded and too young for this particular fifty one year old man. Just yesterday, while discussing this issue with my wife, I began to feel a sense of urgency about moving, and almost broke into a sort of panic because of it.
   I calmed down a bit later after sitting and writing in a small, quiet coffee shop in the hip area which had helped to elicit these negative feelings within me, and some of the intensity began to subside. I started to think about how I can spend the greater part of my time in places that I love here, such as the parks, beach, and hills like the one where I took the pictures below. I realized that to live in the middle of nowhere would not afford me the choice to look in trendy shops or sample many new restaurants should I choose to, and choice is important to me. I realized that there are a kind of two parts of the city for me, and I can choose, for the most part, when I want to leave the quieter, western part of the city where I live.
   I can't imagine that there are many even remotely cosmopolitan places in the world that can offer me the kind of natural environments that San Francisco does, that still thrill me at times even after more than nine years, and that can offer me secluded woods just a short drive out of the city.

A panoramic view of the city (facing northeast)

 

View to the west

A city map