A few years ago, I moved from Denver to San Francisco. Being a Colorado native and having lived in Denver for my entire adult life, this was a pretty big move for me. On both a personal and professional level, it was very exciting and very scary. Personally, I didn’t have any friends out there and had never lived in a big city. Professionally, how do you move a business to SF after 7 years of building it up in Denver? I had no idea what to expect, but jumped in and hoped for the best.
San Francisco
I loved San Francisco. I had so many experiences there that I couldn’t have had while living in Denver. While most of them were personal, some were also professional. For example, when I lived in Denver I was pretty comfortable with the work I had photographing weddings and high school seniors. Suddenly, I was in SF where I didn’t have my wedding referral network and high school senior photos aren’t really a thing. This forced me to branch out and look for new work, which led to me photographing quite a few proposals!
On a personal level, there were so many things San Francisco had to offer that I hadn’t yet experienced in Denver. It has amazing neighborhoods like Chinatown, The Mission, North Beach and The Castro. It has amazing places to visit like Golden Gate Park, The SF Botanical Gardens, The Golden Gate Bridge and The Ferry Building. It has parades that are unforgettable like the Chinese New Year Parade, Carnival Parade and Pride Parade. There is amazing food, mild weather and incredible diversity.
Denver
As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. While the time I spent in SF was truly unforgettable, my wife and I knew that eventually we’d end up back in Denver. Denver is where our friends and family are. It is where my business was started and will ultimately thrive. It is where my network is, where my history is and where my heart is.
It’s so great to be back where the good weather is. In the first month after moving back, I had worn shorts more times than in the entire three years I had lived in SF. It’s so great to be back where the good beer is. In the first two months after moving back, I have found more new favorite beers than I had after three years in SF. It’s so great to be back where my friends are. I can’t tell you how good it felt to be welcomed back with open arms by so many people who, if I’m being honest, I hadn’t done a very good job at keeping in touch with while I was away.
I am so happy to be back in Denver photographing weddings. I can’t wait to start photographing high school seniors again. While living in San Francisco was an amazing experience, Denver will always be home.
