I shared an apartment in Cow Hollow (tucked between Union Street and Lombard Street close to the Marina Green) back in 1973-1974. I loved living in the city, but I wasn’t there that much as I was out doing field engineering work in power plants all over the west. It was clean, easy to get around, safe, and VERY expensive even then. You quickly learned which areas to avoid (the “Western Addition” and the “Tenerloin” being at the top of the list).
I had never known a flaming gay guy before showing up for my first day of work in SF and learning that my boss’ male secretary was one. But Tom was a really nice guy and good at his job, so it didn’t matter. It was sure a shocker, though, to this kid from NYS and Missouri!
Yeah I was warned before I went but it still didn’t fully describe the level of lunatic deviant behavior I witnessed.
And that was just a day trip. Lol!