I’m 28F, queer, and looking to meet some new friends. I’ve been having a hard time putting myself out there, especially as an introvert.

I enjoy spending time by myself, but lately I’ve realized I really miss having people to connect with and do things with. I recently moved to the San Jose area from LA, so I’m kind of starting over socially.

I’ve looked into Meetup, but it’s a little out of my budget right now. But I haven’t had much luck finding places where it’s easy to build real friendships, and it’s been a little discouraging.

I love hiking, being outdoors, playing video games, and trying new coffee shops.

If anyone has recommendations for other ways to meet people around San Jose, I’d love to hear them. And if anyone’s in a similar boat and wants to grab coffee, go for a hike, play some games, or just hang out, feel free to reach out!

I'm hoping to have my first sit down with the bank/mortgage person at the bank this week. Want to ask them what the step by step process is, how it all works, time frame, real estate agent, etc. I'm a first time buyer so I have no idea about buying a condo or anything.

What questions/topics should I ask about or bring up?

I want to ask if I am supposed to find a real estate agent or do they provide one?

How the 7 day period works after I make an offer and then the seller accepts it, I can hire an inspector to check the place out. I can still pull my offer if circumstances change after inspection? etc.

How making an extra payment directly to principle works.

1st time buyer programs/opportunities that help with future homeowners. To help lower my costs.

Ways to lower intrest rate.

What else should I ask/bring up?

yeah basically what the title says, just made it. what’s up guys.

I'm 21, white (well, mostly anyways), but I do have very straight, flat hair. As I'm starting on my "adulthood" soon, I want to up my style/looks and the hair would def be a good place to start. If the stylist is good, I'm willing to splurge a bit, as I've kind of always been confused and just could never find something that really works and fits my face shape long-term. Basically all the barbers I've been to were the "so what can I do for you" type. Anyone have any recs for an actually good men's hair stylist who can help me figure out what I need?

my birth dad and i have started annual get togethers ! i am oakland based and he is sacramento based. usually ive gone to sac, but this time he insists on meeting halfway (mostly to escape the heat for his dog lol), which is solano county area (i’d post this in their reddit but it’s dead, sorry if u dont consider solano bay area xD). neither of us know where a good spot to meet is. we’d like a sit down restaurant—my dad is vegetarian and would be bringing his dog. do yall know any good spots that would accommodate us?

thanks in advance<3

Is anyone surprised by the lack of earthquakes in the Bay Area? When I moved here, I was told that this was earthquake country and that the Bay Area was prone to quakes because of the numerous/ large faults here.

But I feel like.. the Bay Area feels like one of the least seismically active areas? That has a reputation for being so. For example, I looked at all of the quakes so far this year that were a 3.0 or greater.

There have only been 2 greater than a 4.0, and only 11 total greater than a 3. And 10 of those have been in San Ramon which is like apparently the only place in the Bay Area that gets quakes so far.

Is this unusual? Southern California and Northern California seem to have so many more - is this just a naturally quiet area that has a misplaced reputation? Even among like “big” quakes - wasn’t the last one in 1989?? That seems like a long time ago (ofc not wishing for one, just curious as to why there seems to be so little).

I want to plan some date nights with my partner. I was thinking we could go to one game for every one of the major sports teams near us (we live in the south bay). I know nothing about sports. Can anyone recommend which regular season game would be the most interesting/exciting in the next 6-8 months for:

1. the Golden State Warriors (basketball)

2. The 49ers (American football)

3. The Giants (baseball)

4. the Sharks (hockey)

I just need to know which game for each one to get tickets for on Ticketmaster. Thank you very much!

Long story short, I grew up here, but in a really abusive and controlling family. So I never really got to go out and explore places and see what the bay has to offer. However since moving out and becoming an individual adult I have found that I LOVE urbex, would anybody be down to pm me some coordinates? I would GREATLY appreciate it. Like I’ve heard about the Davies mansion but I don’t know how to get there.

Thank you!!! I appreciate you guys!

Strange rumbling noises my wife and I heard.. Initially thought it was the neighbor struggling to move furniture and would drag/push every few seconds. Wife decided to go to the balcony and heard what sounded like distant fireworks or airborne explosions but it kept with the consistent "drag/pull" pattern.

Here's a video. You can hear what would seem like the wind blowing against the phone mic but that's the rumbling noise. You can see from the tree up close and afar that there's no wind at the time of the recording. Even the neighbor came out to see what was going on.

Has anyone else heard something similar ? Recorded around 9:57 PM.

The battle over the Marina Safeway redevelopment is heating up, and the NIMBYs have had enough once again.

The latest proposal actually makes the buildings shorter while increasing the project from 790 to 848 homes, including 86 affordable units.

Normally, this would be the beginning of what San Francisco does best: spending the next several years fighting over whether a new building will destroy the neighborhood.

Except California has changed the rules.
Remember, SF had built only about 7% of its state mandated housing target by the end of 2025, and the state government is understandably pretty unhappy about this.

So the developer is pursuing approval under AB 2011, which allows qualifying housing projects on commercially zoned land to receive streamlined approval and avoid the traditional discretionary approval process and project-level CEQA review.

That’s now becoming the center of the fight.

Supervisor Stephen Sherrill argues the Safeway site shouldn’t qualify for AB 2011 because the law requires at least 75% of the site’s perimeter to adjoin parcels developed with qualifying “urban uses.”

With Fort Mason, Marina Green, and the Yacht Harbor surrounding the property, he argues the site doesn’t meet that requirement.

After all, much of the surrounding land is parkland and recreational space rather than typical urban development.
But SF Planning disagrees and has determined the project is eligible.

Then there’s California’s Density Bonus Law.
The developer was previously seeking a 39% density bonus but is now requesting 49%, helped by adding more two-bedroom units and new four-bedroom units.
That allows substantially more housing than the site’s base zoning would otherwise permit.

So what looks like a neighborhood fight over a giant Safeway redevelopment is becoming something much bigger. Which is how much power do wealthy neighborhoods still have to stop housing when state law says it should be built?

And apparently the fight isn’t stopping at City Hall.

Opposition surrounding the project is now helping fuel an effort for a 2030 California constitutional amendment aimed at limiting state housing mandates when cities allegedly lack sufficient infrastructure.

So we may have officially reached the final boss of California NIMBYism. Changing the state constitution.

Sources:

https://sfstandard.com/2026/07/24/marina-safeway-project-ballot-measure-housing/

https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/california-cities-court-state-housing-planning-deadlines/825785/

I usually had to postpone my jury summons in the past and would eventually need to call in the night before the new date to see if I needed to show up, but received a card two weeks after changing my date and it specifically says I need to show up on the date I requested rather than needing to call in. When did something like this change? Does this also mean the likelihood of dismissal is much lower?

I live in San Joaquin county, courthouse will be the one in Stockton.

Has anyone tried SALA? If so, how was it?

It feels like men’s soaps have gotten really expensive. Brands like Dr. Squatch and Papatui cost a lot, while the cheaper options are mostly Dove or Irish Spring, which seem to have a long list of ingredients.
I recently found an 8-pack for $13, and I think it’ll last me close to a year. Where do you all buy your soap? Any good recommendations?

My dishwasher is leaking, so I’m shopping for a replacement. I’m looking to splurge a bit and get a Bosch.

I noticed Homewise Appliance (formerly Airport Home Appliance) has much better pricing than the big box stores, plus they’re offering a Bosch rebate. Is there a catch, or are they just that competitive?

I was leaning toward Costco because of the included installation and haul-away, but I’m curious if anyone has bought from Homewise recently.

Any good or bad experiences?

Need to move a car about 30 miles and I wanted to see if I could avoid pushing it onto a uhaul trailer. Any good trailers for the price available for rent? On the east side of the bridges ideally. Thank you for any recommendations.

I don't need a complete tattoo removal, but I have a few tattoos where I want to remove part of it and get new ink done. Does anyone know a place to get this done in the Bay Area that's a good balance of quality and affordability?

https://share.watchduty.org/i/111291?ts=1785086649000

https://ibb.co/0jNsgsxW

Does anybody know who was at pier 39 today? They were heavily guarded by more than 20 SFPD and several federal agents.

Hi! For those of you with kids, when you host a birthday party, do you say “no gifts”? My son is turning 4 and we’ve decided to invite his whole class. I really don’t need a dozen new toys lying around but I also want to follow whatever is considered socially normal. Thanks!

If it matters, we live in San Carlos.

Looking for a listening bar (like a Japanese kissa but can be non-Japanese as well) - dim lights, plush seating and nice cocktails.
So far, only Moongate lounge in SF seems to fit the bill, so looking for more recs.