I met these girls in a camera store in the TL. They were from Chicago and were traveling around the country thru Montana, Seattle, Portland and now were hanging out here. I asked them, “What would you tell people back home about San Francisco?”

Girl on left – “It’s dirtier…and in a good way. In Chicago things are very clean, but they’re also very segregated, ethnicity wise. You have Chinatown, and Little Italy, and the Ukranian part which is very closed off. Here people and communities bleed over into each other. Everyone seems to be part of the whole.”

Girl on the right – “I love how palpable the energy is. When I was in Portland I didn’t want to leave, but then I got here and I was like, ‘forget Portland’. There’s so much going on here. It’s so full of life and construction and growth. I just graduated from college and I would love to move here.”

“To do photography?”

“Well, it is one of my new hobbies. I want to start a fashion blog and just go around the street taking pictures of people and their style.”

“This is definitely a good city for that. Have you been to Dolores Park in the Mission yet?”

“No! But everyone has been telling us to go there! Can you tell us how to get there?”

“Sure thing. You two are going to enjoy yourselves.”