Living in San Francisco comes with many advantages, but it also brings some disadvantages for people who call this city home. I will be writing about some pros and cons about living in San Francisco, including the voices and perspectives of staff and students at Mission High School. The purpose of this article is to show different perspectives from people that have lived in San Francisco for years and those who have just moved to the city.
I was born in San Francisco and lived here from the age of nine until I moved to Richmond, where I lived for six years. Recently, my family and I made a decision to move back into the city because of certain benefits the city can provide. However, while living here, I noticed my parents often complain about certain things in the city, but them having things that benefit them made me question how I see this city. What are the things that make San Francisco a great place to live and things that need improvements?
I believe this question strongly impacts the Mission community because of the small and large city changes. Students, families, and staff in the Mission District experience these benefits and challenges every day, making their voices especially important when discussing this topic — What is life in San Francisco really like?
This is a question that I think is important to discuss because it could influence the perspectives of people who are considering moving to the area and possibly attending Mission High School.
Students
Lonnie Moore, 11th grade, has lived in SF for 3 years
- Pros: The weather, pretty hills
- Cons: A lot of walking
Aleysha Serna, 12th grade, has lived in SF for 11 years
- Pros: Public diversity, the weather, variety of activities
- Cons: Not having family in the city, expense of living here
Jane Welch, 9th grade, has lived in SF for 15 years
- Pros: The weather; variety of places in the city; the city’s liveliness
- Cons: The chaos of the city
Cain Trujillo Torres, 10th grade, has lived in SF for 15 years
- Pros: Community; very spontaneous
- Cons: Noisy; crowded
Kemoni Priestley Turner, 10th grade, has lived in SF for 14 years
- Pros: Nice parks; variety of food; malls
- Cons: The bad smells; dirty streets; bad areas
Maggie Dominguez, Math Teacher, has lived in SF for 19 years
- Pros: Easy access to entertainment; diversity of the city
- Cons: Expensive housing; segregated
Lena Rodriguez, 10th grade counselor, has lived in SF for over 30 years
- Pros: Variety of museums; beautiful parks; diversity in communities; public transport
- Cons: Lots of traffic; noisy; impatient people
Vo Cheng, Math teacher, has lived in SF for 6 years
- Pros: The personality of the city; open community; variety of different cultures
- Cons: The weather; expense of the city
Hasan Bey, Math teacher, lived in SF for 25 years
- Pros: Beautiful city; variety of places; unique design of the city
- Cons: Divided communities; dangerous areas
Lindsay Penrose, Science teacher, has lived in SF for 19 years
- Pros: Community; history of the city; the weather
- Cons: Expensive housing
While conducting these interviews, they made me realize that everyone has a different interpretation of things. I heard many different opinions of the city during these interactions with people around Mission High School, but more importantly San Francisco’s community. Everyone with their differences and experiences made me change some of my perspective of things as well as realize that someone’s benefits can be someone else’s disadvantages. Ultimately, these conversations showed me there’s no single story that defines San Francisco. Rather, it is shaped by the many voices, perspectives, experiences, and personalities of people who live in it. Understanding this helped me see San Francisco in an open-minded way. A reminder that every opinion and every perspective adds on to a bigger picture, which is this city of San Francisco.
