Visitors to San Francisco are often surprised by the population of the city being just under 900k people compared to a city like LA which has a population of almost 4 million. What people don't realise is that in terms of square mileage, SF is a relatively small city compared to most big cities. The size of the city is often referred to as being 7x7 (i.e. 49 square miles) which is less than a 10th of LA's 503 square miles. So instead of just 'San Francisco' what you'll often hear is people referring to the 'San Francisco Bay Area ' which encompasses the surrounding counties. These counties include cities such as San Jose, Oakland and Fremont which helps to make it more comparable to other major cities. The SF Bay Area is about 6,900 square miles and has a population of about 7.1 million people compared to say a city like Sydney which is about 4,700 square miles and has a population of 5.2 million. ...
Despite being known for it's fog ( which by the way was given the name Karl by locals and happens to have its own Twitter account ) it's actually not uncommon to have a sunny day with blue skies in San Francisco. But a sunny day that is also warm ( i.e. over 25 degrees C ) is rare and when it happens it is loved by all, especially us Aussies who are used to blistering hot summers. The only thing about a hot day in San Francisco is that the city is kinda unprepared for it. I don't know a single person in the city who owns an air-conditioner and it's almost impossible to see ( public or private ). I think there is one pool at the UCSF campus in the Sunset and I suspect there may be a few mansions with pools along Billionaire's row. I guess this type of ill-preparedness for the warmth is not too dissimilar with how Australian's prepare for winter. Most houses in Australia (unless new builds) are just not prepared for the cold. Houses generally have pret...