The Cheap Bastard's Guide to San Francisco: Secrets of Living the Good Life--for Free!

Description

Reviews

Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-05-10
Summary: "pretty-good survey"

This was a nice, cheap book for a birthday filler or stocking-stuffer for someone who likes visiting San Fran. The places you go for free events didn't seem out-of-date, and the book gives a sense of what might be possible.

Rating: 2 / 5
Date: 2010-04-25
Summary: "Don't pay attention to the subtitle "Secrets of living the good life FOR FREE""

We have been living in San Francisco area for many years. My husband recently bought this book, brought it home and we started browsing. Seems like a great idea but when you really start digging down to the details you realize that #1 you either already knew that the library, free craigslis items, Shakespeare in the Park or some other things is free in SF or #2 the items in the book are not really free (like for example a $10 all you can eat pizza/salad deal in a restaurant or a $20 three class yoga deal as opposed to $16 a class normally). So I would say 80% of the information is not useful to us. There is of course that 20% of the stuff that was a pleasant surprise like for example the health/medical section with free medical clinic info which we would recommend to a brother in law working in a restaurant in SF but then again, those guys are all clued in to the free SF stuff anyway.

Rating: 3 / 5
Date: 2009-11-13
Summary: "Not what I hoped it would be."

This book is probably better for a resident of the San Francisco area than for a tourist. I'd hoped to find tips for restaurants and touring that would be places that locals would patronize, enjoy and not spend a lot of money. There was not enough of that for my purposes. I consulted it several times the first two days of my visit, but decided I hadn't gotten enough out of it to warrant carrying it around with me. It was a disappointment. And maybe I'm not that cheap after all.

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2009-02-16
Summary: "Helpful"

I liked this as it was written in a very practical way with plenty of good suggestions. We were only in SF for a few days so it was not as used as I'd have liked. I'd recommend it more for travellers staying for a longer period of time.

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2008-07-01
Summary: "Best Weekend EVER!! LOL!"

I travel to San Francisco once or twice a year to get away from LA. Saw the book on Amazon and figured it would probably be a humorous read but didn't really expect any practical advice. To my surprise it was actually both. It's a smart funny read but it also REALLY DOES have the low down on free food, fun, and frolicking. My boyfriend and I went up a few weeks ago and planned the whole weekend using the book. Found plenty of art, parks, and music to keep us busy and hit some cheap and/or free happy hours and food joints. Probably the most fun I've had in the City and definitely the least expensive weekend ever! Thanks for the tips. Much appreciated!!