Daily life
The City
thuh SIH-tee
San Francisco itself, as distinct from the wider Bay Area. Someone in Oakland saying 'going into the city' means crossing the bay.
The Bay Area
thuh BAY AIR-ee-uh
The nine-county region around San Francisco Bay. San Francisco is only about 800,000 people; the region is nearly eight million, and most tech jobs are south of the city, not in it.
Karl
karl
The fog. Locals named it, and it has social media accounts. Karl rolls in over Twin Peaks most summer afternoons and takes fifteen degrees with it.
SoMa
SOH-mah
South of Market — the flat industrial-turned-tech district. Bay Area neighbourhood names compress like this constantly: NoPa, TenderNob, Dogpatch.
Sunset / Richmond
SUN-set / RICH-mund
The two big residential districts west of the parks. Foggier, cheaper, quieter, and where a lot of people actually live rather than visit.
Layers
LAY-erz
The local dress code as a concept. A 22°C morning can be a 13°C windy afternoon two miles west. Nobody sensible leaves the house without a jacket in August.
Social
Hella
HELL-uh
Very, or a lot. Genuinely native to the Bay Area rather than borrowed — 'hella good', 'hella people'.
Transport
MUNI
MYOO-nee
The city's buses, light rail and cable cars. Distinct from BART, which is the regional heavy rail — you will need both and they have separate fares.
BART
bart
Bay Area Rapid Transit — the regional rail under the bay to Oakland, Berkeley and the airport. Fares are distance-based, so tapping in and out matters.
The Peninsula
thuh pen-IN-syuh-luh
The strip south of the city towards Palo Alto and San Jose, where much of the tech industry actually sits. 'Reverse commute' means going that way in the morning.
Food
Burrito
buh-REE-toh
In the Mission, a specific and serious thing: the Mission-style burrito, foil-wrapped and the size of a forearm. Debating La Taqueria versus El Farolito is a local rite.
Emergency
911 / 311
nine-one-one / three-one-one
911 for emergencies; 311 for city services — street cleaning, encampment reports, potholes, noise.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.