Back where it all started

I grew up in the Sunset district of San Francisco. For those that don’t know, the Sunset is in western part of the city that 95% of transplants and tourists never venture of to.

Even though I grew up here, I would say I only venture off to this part of town perhaps once a month nowadays. Despite being only a 20-25 minute Uber ride, I treat going back to my parent’s home like I’m going on a trip.

I had to run an errand and have an optometrist appointment so decided to stay on this side of town. As I write this, I’m at a coffee shop on 8th and Irving.

My neighborhood has greatly changed since my childhood. This part of town was typically known as the working middle class area filled with lots of immigrants. The Sunset was a hodge podge of lots of Asians mixed in quite a few Irish.

The gentrification is real here. A few years ago, a brewery opened up blocks away from my parents home where a row of bodegas and laundromats used to be. Newer and taller housing units are popping up everywhere. Teslas and Porsches now roam the streets.

Despite all this, I love coming here because it’s home. Sitting in a coffee shop in the neighborhood I grew up is therapeutic and really what the doctor ordered after a long few weeks.

I walked by an old cafe called the Rain Tree Cafe where I recall I last ate at with my high school friend and his mom nearly 15 years ago. The sound of the N Judah going down the street is music to my ears. Seeing school kids walking down in their uniforms like I used to brings a lot of nostalgia.

Soon enough, the Sunset won’t be the Sunset as I know it. That’s life and the result of a changing city. Despite this, it will always be home.