Living in a Virtual Bay Area

I'm a pretty adaptive person. Wherever I live or travel, I have always been able to find something fun to do and I try to experience life like one of the locals. Still, to some degree, I am always a bit reminiscent of my former life in Northern California.

The first time I lived in Philadelphia was right after I graduated from Cal as a newly minted MBA in 1986. I had two unsatisfying and unsuccessful interviews for jobs in the Bay Area and figured I would try my fortunes on the East Coast with my then fiancee (and now wife of almost 21 years) who is a Philly native. I remember desperately clamoring for sports scores and feeling so disconnected from everything California. I had a CompuServe account but the technology was slow and the content was pretty thin. Three years later, via Northern Virginia for a year, we were back in good old El Cerrito. Complete with a new baby.

After 10 years, we made the move back to Philadelphia into a much improved situation. Thank goodness for the Internet, satellite radio and cable TV. I can still listen to KFOG, hear Joe Starkey call the Cal games, view the webcams of Sproul Plaza. My computer screen background is a great shot of the Golden Gate my uncle took when my son and I went out to visit last August (see above).

I know I am deluding myself. Nothing beats the fog, Zachary's pizza, a ride on BART, my family and my friends or a Cal home game (any sport) but I have to take what I can get.

It is a bit extreme when even a trip to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's reminds you of home. But that's how we expatriates survive! We all know what it is like when we see that random Cal hat or shirt around town. 95% of the time, when I dare to ask (and I usually do), they have no direct connection to Cal. My son makes fun of me for that.

I'd be interested to hear what others do to bring the flavor of Berkeley or the Bay Area home to Philly. Please comment!