The Burbs

I was told once that, in my birth home in San Francisco, I lived in the suburbs. Yeah, the 'burbs. How can one live in the burbs in a city only 7 x 7 miles in area? For example, if someone lived in North York in Toronto I would say they lived in Toronto, and if they lived on Yonge Street in Toronto I would still say they lived in Toronto, because they have a postal code labelled TORONTO. But if they lived in Markham, I would say they lived in Markham, which is widely accepted as being a suburb of Toronto. You get my point of reference.

So, if someone lived in the Sunset district in San Francisco, they still live in San Francisco because that is their postal city, yet if they lived in Daly City they live in, well, Daly City, which sucks for them and which is, you guessed it, a suburb of San Francisco. A colleague of mine once said to me while we taught in Munich together that she "lived in San Francisco." She in fact lived in Vallejo, which is so far from the city of San Francisco that it is the equivalent of living in Salzburg, Austria, and saying you live in Munich, Germany. If she said that she lives "near San Francisco" then that's OK, but she would then be admitting that she lives in the burbs. Borrowing from the sexiness of San Francisco to upgrade the burbiness of her native Vallejo - that's just wrong.

San Francisco is a small enough city as is. If living in the burbs of San Francisco meant living in places like the Sunset or Richmond districts, then "San Francisco" is just a city about 2X2 miles squared consisting of nothing but tall financial buildings, Chinatown, and one long coastal Embarcadero area plus our fishermans' wharf, the latter which are aimed at tourists and the uber-rich. Surely this small stretch of San Francisco, by any rational standard, does not constitute a major city in any way shape or form. Therefore, let places like North York, Yonge Street, The Sunset, The Richmond, Parkside (etc and et al) be exactly what they are, the NOT SUBURBS...but rather PARTS OF the cities in which they lay. That is the word of the locals, listen and heed it and learn. I did. I really love North York and Yonge Street within the city of Toronto, which together are part of a city, not a 'burb. Just like the Sunset District and San Francisco. I have no problem with 'burbs, but do admit when you live in them, and if you don't live in them then nod your head and smile from the corner of your mouth knowingly, 'cause you are from the city. And then, of course, go about the rest of your life, and have another beer.