An awesome list of resources for those who are new to SF, visiting SF, and those who have lived in SF for years but want to see their city with new eyes.
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When you're new to the city, one of the best things you can do is to get plugged into organizations and subcommunities. Here's a growing list of active communities and meetups
- Midnight Runners - a volunteer-led run crew. Wednesdays at 6:30PM (not midnight)
- November Project - a FREE fitness movement. Wednesdays (Dolores Park) and Fridays (rotating locations) at 6:29 AM
- Acahub Hub for A Cappella in the San Francisco Bay Area - events for all levels. Hosts Drop-in A Cappella events for both beginners and those looking to meet other singers
- Noisebridge - Noisebridge is a creative technology community for excellent, do-ocratic, consensus-based collaboration
- The Commons - A community and 3rd space for inner-outer curiosity, co-created play & collective flourishing in SF
- The Board Walks - The Board Walks bring curious people together to walk 5 miles and have energizing conversations – every Saturday at 8 AM. ✨
- San Francisco Pickleball Community - A friendly and diverse community of players who primarily play at the Park and Recreation venues in San Francisco
- Friday Night Skate - Group-led 12 mile loop through the city on rollerblades and rollerskates (all other wheels welcome) every Friday night since 1989. There's also a Tuesday night variant.
- 72 circle - A way for people to meet and community leaders to be empowered. 72’s ultimate goal is to act as a connector. Sign up to get connected
- Manny's - a community focused meeting and learning place in the heart of San Francisco. civic events and gathering space restaurant / political bookshop
- The Center - a community, dedicated to personal, spiritual, and social transformation through tea, movement, healing arts, service, and community building.
- The Game Parlour - to connect people through two things we know well: food and tabletop games. $7 gaming fee to stay and play for as long you want
- Mechanic's Institute - a center for intellectual and cultural advancement, offering a vibrant library, chess, and a calendar of cultural events, programs, and classes
- Black Bird Bookstore - a peaceful, welcoming, and beautiful community space for books and people to commingle. Frequent events
- Garden for the Environment - a 1/2 acre education and demonstration garden in the Inner Sunset. We teach people about the environment - soil, water, plants, creatures, and climate
- San Francisco Zen Center - offers daily meditation, classes, workshops and retreats, Dharma talks and guest speaker events, and a wide array of Dharma teachings. A place to meet, share and connect, to meditate and practice together
- Jewish Community Center - In a changing world, the JCCSF brings people together to explore, connect and flourish
- Rueda Con Ritmo - a community of Cuban Salsa dancers offering classes, events, and performances throughout the Bay Area and beyond
- Church of 8 Wheels roller skate in a church also hosts ecstatic dance events
- Casting Club largest casting club (fly fishing) in the world. Offers free lessons and food the second Saturday of every month
- Awesome Orchestra community orchestra hosts montly concerts, and quite accessible
- Bissap Baobab West African restaurant hosts weekly Spanish meetups / salsa lessons every Friday
- Days Like This free dance party every Friday in Oakland (not technically SF, but great to check out)
- Cycling - San Francisco and the Marin area have amazing cycling. There are also amazing cycling communities in the city that organize rides, and provide a great way to meet people. There are other shops and groups that organize rides, but this is a good jumping off point
- 707 cycling club - meets at the Golden Gate Bridge welcome center every Wednesday and Friday at 7am and roll out at 7:07am. Invited to community slack after joining 3 rides. Group has high fitness levels but very welcoming
- Fat Cake Club very large advanced / kind of competitive cycling group, but you can find a variety of rides / people due to size of group
- Swell Bike Rides very welcoming no drop group rides to various parts of the Bay area
- Ornot Rides local Bay Area bike shop has a really nice gravel ride through the city on Tuesdays
- Butterlap loop weekly leaderless ride around SF
There are a number of organizations that operate more like businesses, but can still be valuable sources for connection. Think of these as a more community driven wework:
- Groundfloor - Groundfloor exists as a cure to social isolation. A place to cowork, work out, and find social events
- House of Web3 - co-working and event space for web3 pioneers and those who contribute knowledge, education, and code to the community at large
Being in a city is as much a list of things to do and places to go to as it is a mindset and way of life. Here are some articles that help you get into a SF State of Mind.
There some great resources compile content about things to do in SF. Here is a compilation of them:
SF has a number of walkable neighborhoods that are great to explore. Here, you will (eventually) find a list of neighborhood guides. But who knows, this section might get deleted/refactored.
A fairly picky list of good food.
Here is a list of great cafes in SF organized by neighborhood.
- Chinatown
- Haight Ashbury/Cole Valley
- Marina/Fort Mason
- Richmond
- Russian Hill
- Sunset
Here is a list of great bars in SF organized by neighborhood.
- Haight Ashbury/Cole Valley
- Alembic: beer and cocktails
- Horsefeather
- Marina/Fort Mason
- Radhaus: a German beer hall with a beautiful location on the bay
- Mission
- Trick Dog: cocktail bar
- North Beach
- Vesuvio: a historic Beat generation bar
- Russian Hill
- Shanghai Kelly's: a divey sports bar
- Soma
- Local Edition: vintage bougie cocktail bar