Pacifica, California

It’s a foggy beachtown with stellar surfing, the most beautiful Taco Bell on God’s green earth and pound for pound more open green spaces than any city in the area. What’s not to love? Pretty much everything here is good. The pier is good, the bbq is good, the haircuts are good, the fish and chips are good and the lifestyle is just chill and good. When it’s scorching hot inland it’s always quite a bit cooler here. And that’s true for both the temps and the people. Everyone here is a bit more nonchalantly cooler than the rest of the area - the singles, the couples, even the families and the dogs are groovy in Pacifica.

Many people will argue for the fog as the worst thing about Pacifica but that’s a tiny bit of a myth. Sure it blows in the summer but most of the year it clears up and is sunny-ish. What does kind of suck about Pacifica is it’s pretty isolated from most of the Bay Area. You’re a short hop to San Francisco but most other destinations require you to drive through the mountains and across convoluted roads to get there. Some of that isolation is part of the charm but to many it can lead to feeling a bit alone.

In addition to the aforementioned groovy surfer scene it’s important to remember that Pacifica is a suburb. Lots of families enjoy the coastal lifestyle and raising their kids in an extreme outdoor culture. Obviously taking the kiddos to the beach is a treat but there are also tons of hiking and biking trails as well as parks, golf courses and even an archery range. While there are plenty of traditional smaller parks for play there are also amazing places like Frontierland Park. It has a wonderful playground space, and picnic/BBQ amenities but it also has a massive outdoor open space and it nestles up to the hills of Pacifica offering everyone all the trails and hikes they could possibly want.

There are six miles of beach and one thousand acres that belong to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. So when it comes to living outdoors you and the family won’t tire of things to do in Pacifica. There isn’t a major downtown but Pacifica does have a couple dozen restaurants/bars to keep locals happy when they don’t feel like driving 15 minutes to San Francisco. Like a lot of California coastal towns the commercial districts stretch narrowly along the ocean and so it’s less dense and walkable as a result.

Pacifica also has a nonstop stream of community events happening, like the Pacific Coast Fog Fest, a mixed entertainment fair that happens in September (ironically when the fog clears) and includes local foods and brews, a race, a big parade and countless other fun activities for the kids and the grownups. There is also a big Farmer’s Market, an Art Center, a performing Arts Theater, and plenty of live music at Sam’s Castle and other more intimate spots. For a small town it offers a lot to do. Check out the calendar of events for all the happenings.