Valya’s Blog

I love big cities. Of course, my definition of a big city is not necessarily commonplace. I grew up in the third largest city in my country, a tourism location on the Black Sea coast, and for European standards it was a bubbling, lively place. But it was only 300,000 at the time I lived there. Today, I consider Seattle “comfortably big” although many would call it medium-small.

Last week I visited San Francisco for the third time. The first was a few years ago as a tourist/on a family roadtrip. It was fun. We passed through and went to all the scenic places. I thought I wanted to live there some day. The second time was for a business trip followed by a long weekend with my love. The city charmed me again but left me with a sense of being too vast and somehow lonely, despite the lots of people in the huge streets. This time it was for a business trip alone and I noticed it was a smelly and dirtier than I’m used to kind of place. It gave me yet another different vibe… the kind that I would enjoy visiting again, to experience the different flavors, different neighborhoods, but I wouldn’t want to live there, no. I guess I yearned for some of the romantic nights that I wish I could relive better this time (the long weekend during the second visit was wonderful but not long enough and would have stayed in a different hotel, closer to the life and people of the heart of the city).

I did thoroughly enjoy the feel of a big city, looking down at the twinkle of long streets lined with white yard-less homes, from the top-floor hotel bar… Taking pictures of the many more skyscrapers than you would believe are downtown from ground level… Breathing in the crips air (after a warm day) walking back from a yummy meal with friends… Riding the ancient and exciting cable car down the steep heels of night-time San Francisco… All of these memories, while I was living them too, have warmed up a corner of my heart for the truly big city again.

The moral of the experience? I miss big cities. I have enjoyed every place I’ve ever lived… some of them have taken a while to grow on me, in some of them I’ve appreciated a sense of coziness. But there is something about the thrill of living surrounded by the energy, the liveliness of people. And perhaps it is time for me to look back towards Seattle, despite the fact that I have gradually grown to like Portland tremendously.

*Disclaimer: There are many varied reasons why Seattle is tugging on my heartstrings right now, it’s just that the trip to San Francisco reminded me how much I miss living in a big(ger) city.