FRISCO: Nature and City

So most of my family lives in San Francisco and although I am not really found of cities in general I find San Francisco and exception. I lived  in San Francisco, California until the age of 12 and It is arguably one of the most beautiful city in the United States--a great combination of natural setting (hills, Bay, Pacific Ocean) and man-made beauty (lots of attractive parks, Victorian and other architecture, Golden Gate bridge). It's also within a few hours' drive of a great range of beautiful natural sites (redwoods, mountains, beaches that aren't too cold to set foot on). On a cultural lever Frisco is one of the most educated places in the country--they have a lot of incredibly smart and creative people running around (or maybe they seem smart to a 12 year old lol) . San Francisco also a very diverse and generally extremely tolerant place. Not to mention its restaurants and vibrant cultural activities. Not that there aren't downsides--it may be the most expensive place to live in the U.S., and the schools are struggling, so it's not a very family-friendly city. Also, the region's famously progressive leftist tendencies, while hardly monolithic, can get a little extremist and silly, although I'm a leftist myself. But aside for those typical problem every city in the US is a really nice that in fact bring me closer to nature than no other. The nice cold breeze down at the harbor, eating some chowder, next to the bay area wild life really connects my primitive self back to the outer world; I cant believe such a city really makes me feel alive.