Poppy girl

I lived there "it's a fate worse then death"

RoadWarriorFromLP

I've traveled quite a bit, and I've never associated Britain with being a particularly wonderful place to buy bread. On the whole, I'd give the nod to the Germans for leading the pack.

But sure, most US supermarket bread sucks, and the good stuff is invariably expensive. You have to choose carefully. Among the mass produced products, I personally like some of the Oroweat products, but my preference is for the nutty, grainy stuff, not for the Hovis-style bread that you are probably referring to.

Since you are in San Francisco, the solution is simple: Trader Joe's. http://www.traderjoes.com/. A list of locations in northern California is here: http://www.traderjoes.com/Attachments/NC.pdf Not everything they have is wonderful, either, but their options are better than what is to be found in the average supermarket, and prices are reasonable. (Good cheeses as well.)

I would also agree that San Francisco public transit is grossly overrated. It's great compared to a lot of places in the US, that have little to no public transport, but systems such as the London tube beat MUNI and BART hands down. It's functional enough, though, particularly if you can rely more on the streetcars than the buses.

Manc

Get on a plane, fly to Detroit.
spend a month in Detroit.

You'll be loving the thought of going back to San Francisco

Steerpike

Or drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, pull over into the 'vista point' right after the bridge, and take in the view on this sunny sunday. If that doesn't cheer you up, you're in the wrong place!

Or drive south of the city, and get onto 'Skyline Boulevard' which runs parallel to 280. Stop off and look back at the city and the bay. Check out 'San Gregorio' and the General Store there.

Or cross the bay bridge, and go up into the Berkeley hills, and look back on the city.

Poppy girl

So many people would give an arm and a leg to live in San Francisco, I find it amazing when folk don't like it...........the only reason I don't want to is when that quake hits I wanna be outta there not stuck on a island

Manc

that's what it costs

Poppy girl

LMAO Your not far wrong there, gas was 3.89c on Friday reg unleaded

RoadWarriorFromLP

I don't think you'd need a month. An hour or two should be enough.

Back to SF, a sunny Sunday in Tiburon should help to take the blues away. (I don't recall the name of it, but there is a waterfront restaurant/bar that offers a lovely view of the city and the bay. Good stuff.)

I also like the beaches west of the GG Bridge for the ocean views and the stroll. You can find free parking east of the Cliff House, at the west end of the park.

chicagojlo

I second Trader Joes. I buy pretty much all my groceries there, they use way less chemicals than the real stores so I feel a lot better giving their food to my 4 year old. I particularly like that I can get my favorite Dutch cheese there!
And you probably need to consider the second car. We just bought ours, when a year ago neither of us could drive or needed to. It's a shock but it's the way it is here.
I love it here and wanted to live here since I was a kid and even I was ready to leave at the 3 week mark. It's very frustrating when everything is 20x harder than you ever imagined it would be. But it gets better very quickly if you let it. The time will come when you realise that it was all worth it. And if it really doesn't get better know that you tried and that it's not for everyone.
(Also been to Dayton OH to run the AF marathon. Maybe that's why I never wanted to go back!)

Poppy girl

You might to have nose at this thread don't like the store myself.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...ht=trader+joes

britvic

It's well pricey I only buy the odd few things once in a blue moon.

chicagojlo

It's the cheapest place to shop around here. 12 eggs for $1.79, Jewel wants $3 for 12 inferior ones. $1.99 for Weetabix, $4 in Jewel. $1.99 for baby bellas, $3 in Jewel. Dominicks (Safeway) is even more expensive. And those comparison prices are sale/offer prices too. I still shop at the other stores for the little things like gravy and celestial seasonings tea though!

Poppy girl

Cheap come to California its way over priced here.

I used to live in Illinois and Jewel can have good offers but overall it'd expensive, have you got a Kroger close by they are fairly priced, theres another big store just can't remeber what its called lol...........Sophia whats that big store in Bloomington next to Wal- Mart?? she will know its annoying me..

ugacrew

Ummm....KJ it is. I'm making my way out, slowly but surely, out of the Midwest. I'm more of a coastal girl that likes life to be a little bit faster and more progressive than the likes of Kansas City. However circumstances beyond my control have put me here and will keep me here for the next several months. It's too laid back for me.

penguinsix

I think bread in the UK tastes like sawdust but to each his own.

Might I suggest some of the articles up in the WIKI at the top of the page? There are quite a few bits on making friends and dealing with the cultural adjustment issues.

Three weeks is a bit soon. Maybe after three years things will start to settle. Only (partially) kidding