The End of the Dot-Com Hangover?

Going back to San Francisco is always a strange experience for me. It is at once familiar and unfamiliar. So many things stick out in my mind: the beauty of the hills, the diversity of the City's inhabitants, the amazing array of delicious food that is available, the sky-high prices of everything...

Every time I make my annual trip to San Francisco, it's always a whirlwind visiting friends and my favorite old haunts. This trip was especially good, though, as for the first time since I left at the end of the dot-com implosion, people are actually in a good mood and are optimistic about the future. Before this trip, every visit to San Francisco seemed to have a veil of uncertainty and doubt and a longing for "the good old days".

But things are different now. The restaurants are full. Companies are hiring. People feel like they have freedom to do as they please, with a bright future ahead. And I would guess that the Democrats victory in the last election didn't hurt the jubilant mood in this famously liberal city.

I had one lunch with a few ex-colleagues. Six years ago we were all toiling away at an Internet consulting firm at the center of the dot-com boom. And now we have all gone our own ways -- one friend just launched a "Web 2.0" startup, another ex-project manager is sewing handbags and selling them online, while still another is touring the nation as the lead singer of a rock band that is becoming more and more popular. And then of course there is me, living the expat life in Thailand.

So it's been a good few days here. San Francisco is still one of my favorite cities in the world. Now it's time to turn my attention to my family and the holidays, with Houston, St. Louis, and Florida on the itinerary.