VP#100 — Goodbye San Francisco

Victor Pontis
May 3, 2021

For now, I'm going to call this weekly update VP#issue-num. I don't know how many I’ve sent so far, so let's just call this 100.

I first moved to San Francisco in January 2013 to intern at a company called Cardspring.

Cardspring forgot to book intern housing so I ended up in a dorm-style apartment in the Castro that violated nearly every occupancy law. The apartment was crappy and the people were weird, but that didn't matter. San Francisco felt alive.

Everyone I met had a new idea, a new company, a new office, a new job. To live in San Francisco meant you were constantly changing and improving. Today, you are software engineer at a big company. Tomorrow, you work at a startup. Next year, you start your own company. 

Since my internship at Cardspring, I've lived in San Francisco for most of the last 7 years. And for the past 5 years I've lived with a group of incredibly kind, talented friends who have become closer than family.

But last night, I said goodbye to San Francisco. Tonight, I'm writing this letter from LA where I'll be for the next two weeks. In two weeks on May 17th, I'll be moving to New York City. 

There are a few reasons why I left San Francisco that I’d be happy to get into if you are interested. But I wasn’t pushed out of San Francisco, I was pulled to New York. By the allure of living with 10 million other people and living in walkable neighborhoods.

I’ve always wanted to live in New York and now it's finally possible. I’m both excited and nervous about the future. It’s a good feeling.

So if you're in LA for the next two weeks or in New York any time after that, let me know. I would love to see you.