Mountain View
Kristen Philipkoski
Fireworks cause fireworks among residents in Pacifica, CA
(Photo by Zuza Gałczyńska on Unsplash) On February 5 at 5:39 p.m. I received an “Urgent Notice!” via text informing me that the Pacifica City Council would soon make a decision about fireworks in my hometown of Pacifica, California, that “will make our city’s illegal fireworks problem even worse!”
House Hunt part 5: Learning to live with uncertainty
(Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash) House Hunt is a weekly series documenting a real family's quest to find a home in their beloved California coastal town, Pacifica, CA. It was another eventful week in the House Hunt with no actual outcome and I'm beginning to understand that constant disappointment is the way you live when you’re shopping for a house. Until, of course, you find your house, assuming you don’t hate it like thesepeople did.
House Hunt part 4: A new build, an Eichler and a surprise in Pacifica
House Hunt is a weekly series documenting a real family's quest to find a home in their beloved California coastal town, Pacifica, CA. We submitted our first offer on a home in the Linda Mar neighborhood of Pacifica. It caught our eye because it was listed at right around our budget. The 1,500 square-foot rancher, very typical for the area, had been expanded a bit in the back to create a sort of "great room," as real estate listings like to call them, which opened into the small but pleasant backyard.
House hunt part 3: searching for 'just right' from Coastal California to Sonoma County and beyond
This is a weekly series documenting a real family's quest to find a home in their beloved California coastal town, Pacifica, CA. (Photo by Kristen Philipkoski) It's hard to believe we are three weeks into our home journey. Our goals, priorities, interests, emotions, and energy levels have fluctuated wildly, which has only added to the bewildering sense of time passage we all seem to be experiencing.
Despite the pandemic, Palmetto Blvd. and the coffee scene are thriving in Pacifica, CA
(Photo via Google Street View) When I moved to Pacifica in 2011, I perfected my home coffee-brewing game because I coudn't seem to find a great cup locally. I was spoiled by having lived in San Francisco for the previous 20 years, surrounded on all sides by pour overs and artisan lattes. Cafe Pacifica was my closest option in Sharp Park, and it was my emergency source when I ran out of beans at home. Their Kona brew was my favorite in a pinch.
This is the town with the most expensive real estate in the Bay Area
(A $10 million listing in Atherton) Data from Compass says that San Francisco is not, surprisingly, the most expensive real estate in the Bay Area. But what really surprised me was that my coastal hometown of Pacifica is not even in the top 24.
Pacifica Beach Yoga stayed open throughout the pandemic, owner posts misinformation and insults on social media
(Screenshot from ABC7 News) While the rest of us were wearing masks to the grocery store, wearing masks while working at the grocery store, not seeing friends and family, and doing exercise classes on Crowdcast, Tommy Antoon was hosting "sold out" maskless hot yoga classes at his Pacifica studio, Pacifica Beach Yoga.
First person in Pacifica: The surprising upsides of launching a small business during a global pandemic
(Photo by Kristen Philipkoski) Nearly 100,000 small businesses have shuttered due to the restrictions put in place as the coronavirus pandemic spread across the globe. Yet here in our small town of Pacifica, CA, some new business owners have opened successful new brick and mortar locations.
What could managed retreat mean for Pacifica, California?
Photo by Brocken Inaglory. Home prices have skyrocketed in Pacifica, California, in recent years. But mother nature doesn't care about real estate. Her assault on the coastline is constant, and human attempts to to hold her back with walls and supports ultimately fail. Sea levels are rising, the coastline is shifting, and humans must adapt to the changes.
House hunt part 2: the Coastal California real estate market is even more absurd than we thought
This is a weekly series documenting a real family's quest to find a home in their beloved California coastal town, Pacifica, CA. (This is my current favorite Pacifica property, we just need an extra million.)
If you didn't snag Sundance tickets, try these events
(Photo by Tibrina Hobson via Sundance Institute) If you didn't manage to buy tickets to the sold-out Sundance drive-in screenings at Fort Mason Center coming up in San Francisco this Thursday, January 28, through Tuesday, February 2, you still have a chance to get in on the action.
Set your alarm for 1pm for San Francisco drive-in Sundance tickets
(The Fort Mason Drive-In) The Sundance Film Festival launches this Thursday January 28, and it will screen films in a virtual format for the first time in its 40-plus-year history, in cities from Atlanta to Wichita.
Follow along on one family's hunt for a home in the absurd Northern California real estate market
This is a weekly series documenting a real family's quest to find a home in their beloved California coastal town, Pacifica, CA. In the spring of 2011, my husband and I lived in a San Francisco Mission District loft in one of the many buildings that had popped up throughout the neighborhood in place of warehouses and factories. It was modern and comfortable, if small. But it was just the two of us, and we had no complaints. We loved the neighborhood—we were walking distance from delicious and cheap pupusas and Secret Breakfast ice cream. What more could a childless 30-something couple need?
San Francisco Sundance Film Festival drive-in screenings are sold out, but here's how you can still score a ticket
When the Sundance Film Festival launches next week on Thursday January 28, it will screen films in a virtual format for the first time in its 40-plus-year history. Virtual attendees can view from their sofas anywhere in the world.
Kristen Philipkoski
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I'm a veteran writer and editor and founder of Mean Magazine and The Mean Podcast for GenX women. I write about everything from fashion to science and everything in between. I’ve written for Racked, Refinery 29, 7x7, SF Chronicle, Wired, Gizmodo and many others.
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