Meet the creator making it cool to love on San Francisco

Stef Anderson talks mantras, burnout, and building community in the city she now calls home.

You know Karl the Fog. You’ve seen the billboard demanding we stop hiring humans. Now meet Stef Anderson, the 29-year-old content creator who loves sharing her life in San Francisco.

Becoming an unofficial Bay Area ambassador wasn’t on her bingo card as an East Coast native who had never even been to California. Then, in 2022, her boyfriend’s employer offered them a chance to relocate, and they said yes. “I’m obsessed with this place,” she thought on their scouting trip. Six days later, they moved.

At the time, Anderson had built a modest following by sharing IBS-friendly meals and recipes. But it was her San Francisco content that put her on the map. In her Best Day Ever™ series, she and her boyfriend devote one Saturday a month to enjoying all their favorite things—often starting with Bob’s Donuts and Equator Coffee with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Her first viral video crowned Causwells home of “the burger that made us move to San Francisco.”

Predictably, the city’s naysayers descended, hurling the usual media-amplified insults about dirty, crime-ridden streets. “I had to block the word ‘poop’ from my comments section,” she remembers. Some took her pithy hook too literally: “Who moves for a burger?” But the backlash only fueled her. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna start posting about why I love the city,’” she says. “I have the opportunity to share my story too.”

Today, Anderson’s lifestyle content reaches more than 100,000 followers across platforms. In April, she founded Meet You There SF, a social club for women to make new friends and enjoy everything the Bay has to offer. So far, her online influence is converting: hundreds—sometimes over a thousand—girls RSVP to the club’s events, which range from hikes and pottery classes to boat cruises and “Hot Girl Trivia” nights.

“I’ve met some of my closest friends this way,” she says.

Anderson lives in San Francisco with her boyfriend. Here’s a look inside the mind of a Bay Area creator.

On starting MYTSF: Before starting the club, I hosted events through my personal Instagram account and they were getting way too big. I’d walk up to a group of five, and three would be my followers and the other two would say, “I have no idea who you are, but I’m here with my friends.” That’s when I realized: a lot of women don’t necessarily want to follow an influencer just to find out about events in the area or meet new people.

On her motto, “launch now, think later”: I sat on the handle for MYTSF for over a month. I kept thinking I should do a professional photoshoot or plan some content or events in advance. But then I thought, “What for?” So I propped up my camera, recorded a video, and posted it. I was sick and had no makeup on, but I didn’t care. I was the same way with my social media consulting company. I had my full-time PR role, but made an Instagram account for it and posted it to my story. I got five inquiries that day and thought, “OK, I guess I’m teaching myself how to do consulting!”

On MYTSF’s demographics: It’s primarily women in their 20s and 30s. Because I’m almost 30 and won’t shut up about it, I think older people feel comfortable coming to events. We’ve welcomed women in their forties. We’ve even had girls bring their grandma. People DM me all the time asking if they can bring, like, their niece, and I always say, ‘Abso-freaking-lutely.’ Why would I say no to that? San Francisco is amazing for people of all ages. You can do it all! You can go on a hike during the day, check out a fun wine bar at night, and still be in bed by 10:30 p.m. That’s my dream.

On making friends as an adult: It’s so hard because we don’t have the places—and that’s what MYTSF is trying to solve. When you go to an event, everyone is there for the same reason. Everyone’s excited to get to know each other. You can feel the energy in the air. I can talk about it as much as I want, but you don’t understand it until you’re actually there and thinking, “Wait, this is legit. It’s not just some girl on TikTok saying it.”

On her typical day: I start work around 6:30 or 7 a.m. A lot of my consulting clients are on the East Coast, so I wake up to a ton of emails. Then I have meetings—some for Meet You There SF, some for brand partnerships on my own accounts. A lot of times, the brand wants to get involved in MYTSF too, so it’s all kind of interchangeable. It’s this weird ecosystem, and I’m constantly bouncing back and forth. Today, for example, I have five hours of meetings about developing content. I’ve had to start batch recording lately because I just don’t have time otherwise. And a lot of evenings, I’ll have an event or a meetup around 6 p.m. Most days are 15 to 18 hours long.

On managing burnout: I don’t try to avoid it, I just hope it doesn’t happen. But it does, and usually at inopportune times. Last year, on my first-ever brand trip to Seattle with Alaska Airlines, it hit me at the end. I couldn’t get out of bed for three days. I always want to do everything myself, but it’s not sustainable. I’ve gotten better at asking for help and letting people in. I even hired a management team to handle brand deals. Sometimes I buy lunch instead of cooking. I’m trying to prioritize working out again. There was a whole year I didn’t because I didn’t have the time. I’m trying to get back to my roots as a person. You’re a plant. You need to water yourself. Also, my period rocks me. I have to take a few days off each month. I have to.

On intentional positivity: I made a promise to myself that unless something is so extreme that I’d need to alert the press or public, I wouldn’t speak negatively about businesses. Whenever I see other people doing it, it doesn’t feel right. Someone put their all into bringing whatever it is to life. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt. If it’s a bad restaurant, I just won’t go back. But that’s my choice.

On how she feels about San Francisco: It reminds me of all my favorite cities. When I see the water and mountains, I think of Seattle. When I pass the Palace of Fine Arts, I think of Rome. Some of the architecture even reminds me of Spain. It’s just the perfect city in my eyes. Every place has its flaws, but I’ve always been confused by the negative noise. I don’t get it. After I started talking publicly about how much I love it, the comments came rolling in. People told me I reminded them of their younger selves when they first moved here, or that I was the reason they moved at all. I thought that was special.