Welcome to San Francisco! The Young Alumni Committee (YAC) is active in bringing together young alumni in the Bay area and looks forward to seeing you at a future event. Below is a little more information about our YAC and what San Francisco has to offer Hopkins young alumni.

Why San Francisco rocks!

• Great weather
• Fabulous food
• Rich cultural resources (museums, schools, performing arts scene)
• Rich professional resources (Silicon Valley, biotech, financial)
• A lot of fun ways to blow your disposable income
• Connection to the rest of the country/world
• Easy access to getaways (Wine Country, Monterey peninsula, beaches, national/state parks)
• The ocean
• Smart people
• Progressive and accepting culture

Past (or upcoming) Young Alumni Events

• Past: Happy Hours at The Chieftain (June) and Rickhouse (August), joint happy hour with SAIS at Bloodhound (Oct), Welcome to the City (Nov)
• Upcoming in 2012: partner event with JHU alumni chapter, volunteer assignment through OneBrick, Anchor Steam Brewery Tour, karaoke at Yamasho, Giants game watching at a nearby bar, and more

San Francisco quirks we love

• Bay to Breakers (watching crazy nude folks run from SoMa to Ocean Beach)
• Outside Lands music fest every year in the Golden Gate Park
• Mission cheap eats (no better place to get good food for cheap)
• Awesome hiking trails all over the bay (from South Bay all the way north to Marin)
• Stanford Cardinals rivalry against the Cal Berkeley Golden Bears (The Big Game)
• Watching the sun set over Golden Gate bridge or the Bay bridge (depending on if you live east bay or in SF)
• Giants and their very adorable young pitcher, Tim Lincecum (2010’s world series champs)
• Great biking culture and bike-friendly streets
• Silicon Valley - world class nerditude
• Burritos, burritos, burritos

Must-try Restaurants

There are way too many to list. What's your budget? Here’s a range:

• Must-sell-family-heirlooms-to-eat-here: French Laundry (Yountville)
• Iconic-SF-but-affordable-for-a-night-out: Chez Panisse (Berkeley), Little Star Pizza (3 SF locations)
• I-want-to-live-like-a-local-foodie: Ferry Building marketplace (San Francisco)
• Awesome-but-cheap-thrills: Crawdaddy (San Jose)
• Turn-you-veg: Millennium Restaurant (San Francisco)
• Food-from-trucks: Off the Grid (Bay Area)
• I-am-not-on-Lipitor: House of Prime Rib (San Francisco)
• I-am-not-on-Lipitor #2: Tartine Bakery (San Francisco)
• I-am-not-on-Lipitor #3: Boboquivari's (San Francisco)

Nightlife Hangouts

Same problem as above. Here’s a range:

• Prime people-watching perch: Tornado Room
• Kitschy dive: Gold Dust Lounge, Mr. Bing’s, Latin America Club
• Iconic SF bar: Finnegan's Wake, Top of the Mark
• Cold drink in a dark bar: Comstock Saloon, Rickhouse
• Big Name DJ’s like Tiesto, Paul Van Dyk, etc: 1015 Folsom, Ruby Skye

Popular Neighborhoods for Young Alumni to live in

San Francisco

• The Mission
• Lower Haight
• Pac Heights/Russian Hill
• Nob Hill
• SOMA
• Hayes Valley
• NOPA
• Inner Richmond/Sunset

East Bay

• Oakland
• Berkeley

Peninsula

• South SF/Burlingame
• San Mateo
• Palo Alto
• Mountain View

South Bay

• Sunnyvale
• Santa Clara
• San Jose

Additional Information

You may experience some sticker shock, but the San Francisco Bay Area is rich in offerings and opportunities!