Need San Francisco gaming info

[Snapdragyn]

Doh! How remiss we natives have been not to mention the weather!

Do NOT come here expecting it to be warm! We can always spot the tourists as the ones wandering around in the fog wearing shorts & tanktops.

Do NOT come here expecting it to be cold! We do get heat waves (relative to our normal temps, anyway) when it can be in the 80's or ever 90's during the day; certainly nothing like you'd be used to in Miami (low humidity, thankfully), but still warm enough that you might get to wear shorts & a tanktop for a bit.

Bring a variety of clothing designed to be worn in layers. If it's warm when you leave the hotel in the morning, take a light jacket that you can tie around your waist; if the fog rolls in you'll thank me for the tip. Never expect to go out at night without a jacket; I can usually count the number of nights each year that I'm comfortable without one (though I'm a bit cold-natured, so YMMV). Beware the wind, too; it gets very windy here (especially at this time of year) & that can make an otherwise pleasant day bone-chillingly cold if you're unprepared.

As Mark Twain once said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."

 

[joshwitz]

I'll second SnapDragon's advice. Coming from Miami, you will be shocked at how cold it is here, especially in June. (The summer fog is especially brutal.)

The weather can vary widely in different neighborhoods too. I live in the Inner Sunset and work downtown, and during the summer it can be 15 degrees warmer downtown even though it's only 4 miles away.

It can be 50 degrees by the Pacific, and 90+ over in Berkeley or Palo Alto.

It is really cool to watch the fog roll in, however, especially if you are someplace highup like a hotel bar or Twin Peaks. Looks like a dark force is swallowing up the city...

 

[d20Dwarf]

S.F. is definitely not S.D. when it comes to weather, that's good advice. A few other things I will second:

Berkeley is a pit, avoid at all costs.
SFMOMA is a must-visit.
Golden Gate Park is a must-visit. Unless you're from NY City, you won't find a better park anywhere.
I would avoid Haight as well unless you're really into hippy history, then it's probably a good place to visit.
Unless you're used to ghettos, don't listen to the guys that tell you where is and isn't a ghetto in S.F. Most of the places are ghettos. Joshwitz is a good example, dive bars and tacquerias=ghetto my man! (Disclaimer: I'm a yuppy.)

 

[Belegbeth]

Unless you're used to ghettos, don't listen to the guys that tell you where is and isn't a ghetto in S.F. Most of the places are ghettos. Joshwitz is a good example, dive bars and tacquerias=ghetto my man! (Disclaimer: I'm a yuppy.)

I find it HILARIOUS that anyone, yuppy or not, would describe where I live as a "ghetto". (Expensive rents + hip restaurants = ghettos??) If the western part of the Mission (Valencia St and westwards) is a ghetto, then I cry for all the poor 30-something hipsters, and their large sunny apartments and neighbourhood cafes, who live here.

Seriously, don't take SF advice from anyone who dismisses ALL of Berkeley as a dive to be avoided at all costs (yes, that "pit" of a campus, and those horrible historic cinemas on Shattuck!).

 

[MrFilthyIke]

Seriously, don't take SF advice from anyone who dismisses ALL of Berkeley as a dive to be avoided at all costs (yes, that "pit" of a campus, and those horrible historic cinemas on Shattuck!).

Whoa now, I take a break from reading and I come back to the Blue and Grey of the Bay area! We'll have no civil wars in my thread! It boils down to "I plan on seeing the whole Bay area...at some point." This is a two-day trip to do some shopping and QUICK sight/food seeing.

We all have opinion...when *I* think ghetto, *I* think pools of filth, stray dogs, hookers every 2 feet, junkies strewn about, gun shots and road-side executions in broad daylight.

If its just dumpy and full of poor people, that's NOT a ghetto, just ac depressed neighborhood, nothing to fear. I'm not spooked by much, I've walked through places in Miami people call ghetto, and had no problems.

So, let's be civil, and keep the 411 flowing.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

And I am aware of the weather, but am fine in a long-sleeve tshirt and jeans even in 50 degree weather, some might called it "insulation", I call it padded.

 

[Gareman]

I'll also jump in and recommend Games of Berkeley, which has really turned itself around with its new owner. I go to Gamescape a couple times a week, and it's really gone downhill, while GoB has exceeded all my expectations. It now has a huge collection of miniatures, including obscure brands. It's got most every D20 product I've ever heard of, and they're usually available for viewing since they don't shrink wrap their products (or maybe they remove it). Gamescape can't hold a candle to them, although the Gamescape staff is more knowledgeable than the goobs at GoB.

From Union Square, hop on the Richmond BART train and get off at the Berkeley station. It will take 23 minutes and cost $3.05 per person. You can see the store from the station. You can also think of BART as a Bay Area attraction -- it's a good way to see the area. When I first moved here, I used it to explore, traveling from one length of the line to the either. It's fun.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

products (or maybe they remove it). Gamescape can't hold a candle to them, although the Gamescape staff is more knowledgeable than the goobs at GoB.

Like 50% like Gamescape, and 50% like GoB...you all are going to MAKE me go to both, right?

 

[Gareman]

Downtown Berkeley is somewhat dirty with a large number of panhandlers, but it's safe and hardly a pit. It's got the best collection of bookstores in the country along Telegraph avenue, the best game store in Northern California (Games of Berkeley), and an amazing assortment of good, inexpensive restaurants or expensive, world class restaurants (like Chez Panise).

What you need to know about San Francisco is that it can get really cold, even when it's warm in the rest of the Bay Area. There's a 10 degree difference between SF and the East Bay, and another 10-20 degrees between the East Bay and the suburbs to the east. It's not unusual to find SF chilly at 60 degrees and the burbs a blast furnace at 95.

The area around Haight, south of Divisadero, is safe, although a little dirty and depressed. I make the walk from Market to Divis, to Gamescape, a couple of times a week during my lunch hour and I've never felt threatened. You could walk from Union Square to Gamescape in about 45 minutes.

S.F. is definitely not S.D. when it comes to weather, that's good advice. A few other things I will second:

Berkeley is a pit, avoid at all costs.
SFMOMA is a must-visit.
Golden Gate Park is a must-visit. Unless you're from NY City, you won't find a better park anywhere.
I would avoid Haight as well unless you're really into hippy history, then it's probably a good place to visit.
Unless you're used to ghettos, don't listen to the guys that tell you where is and isn't a ghetto in S.F. Most of the places are ghettos. Joshwitz is a good example, dive bars and tacquerias=ghetto my man! (Disclaimer: I'm a yuppy.)

 

[MrFilthyIke]

Downtown Berkeley is somewhat dirty with a large number of panhandlers, but it's safe and hardly a pit. It's got the best collection of bookstores in the country along Telegraph avenue, the best game store in Northern California (Games of Berkeley), and an amazing assortment of good, inexpensive restaurants or expensive, world class restaurants (like Chez Panise).

Don't worry, I'm sure Berkley is not bad at all, just gotta figure out how
to squeeze it in, if I can. All hinges on the spouse!

What you need to know about San Francisco is that it can get really cold, even when it's warm in the rest of the Bay Area. There's a 10 degree difference between SF and the East Bay, and another 10-20 degrees between the East Bay and the suburbs to the east. It's not unusual to find SF chilly at 60 degrees and the burbs a blast furnace at 95.

Understood, tell HER to bundle up!

The area around Haight, south of Divisadero, is safe, although a little dirty and depressed. I make the walk from Market to Divis, to Gamescape, a couple of times a week during my lunch hour and I've never felt threatened. You could walk from Union Square to Gamescape in about 45 minutes.

Gamer + Walk equals "How do you flag down a bus??"