I sometimes talk about why I could never, ever live in the City and County of San Francisco. It’s crowded. There’s no parking. Everything is too expensive. But on days like today (and by that I mean a day in the Central Valley when I feel so miserable and congested and sniffly and sneezy that I have no idea if I’m actually sick or if it’s “just allergies”) I see my hometown through the most rose-colored of glasses. And since I was busy buying Kindle books last night and not reading, I thought I’d come up with a list of my top ten favorite things about TheCity.

10. It’s always the same season, and one only needs to have one wardrobe.

9. Green Apple Books. It’s no Powell’s, but it’ll do in a pinch.

8. Good public transit. Don’t complain about Muni and BART until you’ve actually experienced the crappy excuse for a bus system that exists in Sacramento.

8. Mitchell’s Ice Cream, especially Oreo Cookie and Grasshopper Pie.

7. Golden Gate Park, especially the museums.

6. My friends who live there.

5. Restaurants and bars that are open late.

4. The city has defined borders and there isn’t as much sprawl as there is here, as well as distinct neighborhoods with different personalities. In Sacramento, everything is kind of the same.

2. The Golden Gate Bridge.

1. I never had allergies when I lived in San Francisco.

There are probably about a million more reasons why I miss San Francisco, and almost an equal number of reasons why I could never live there again, not the least of which is the lack of seasons; the dirtiness of the buses and street cars; the lines at Mitchell’s; the homeless who live in Golden Gate Park; and the traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. But today, I miss my old home, I miss the glorious ocean breezes and the views of the ocean and everything else.