---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I arrived in San Francisco in January…"
description: "\"I arrived in San Francisco in January 1951. After the Second World War, the population was so uprooted. Soldiers came back home for brief periods and t..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/lawrence-ferlinghetti-7689_america_i-arrived-in-san-francisco-in-january-19_2705193.jpg"
---

#  I arrived in San Francisco in January 1951. After the…

![“I arrived in San Francisco in January 1951. After the Second World War, the population was so uprooted. Soldiers came back home for brief periods and took off again. So the population was very fluid, and suddenly it was as if the continent tilted west. The whole population slid west. It took 10…” quote by Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/lawrence-ferlinghetti-7689_america_i-arrived-in-san-francisco-in-january-19_2705193.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/lawrence-ferlinghetti-7689_america_i-arrived-in-san-francisco-in-january-19_2705193.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/lawrence-ferlinghetti-7689_america_i-arrived-in-san-francisco-in-january-19_2705193.jpg)

> “I arrived in San Francisco in January 1951. After the Second World War, the population was so uprooted. Soldiers came back home for brief periods and took off again. So the population was very fluid, and suddenly it was as if the continent tilted west. The whole population slid west. It took 10 years for America to coalesce into a new culture. And the new culture happened in San Francisco, not New York.”

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

After WWII, migration shifted westward, reshaping culture, especially in San Francisco.

**In simple terms:** People moved west, creating new culture in San Francisco.

Key Takeaway

Observe how migration reshapes societies.

Themes

history urban change culture

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

historical observational

When to use this quote

- urban planning
- sociology research
- community building
- policy making
- personal migration stories

Key Concepts

demographic shift postwar dynamics

Questions to Reflect On

- What forces drive large‑scale migration?
- How do new cultures emerge?

A Different Perspective

May oversimplify complex socioeconomic factors.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [New cultures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-cultures/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [San francisco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/san-francisco/) [Second world war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-world-war/) [Soldier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soldier/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War of the worlds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-of-the-worlds/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war/)

## Related quotes

> [“Going by current developments, India is sure to catch up - not in 50, but in another 20 years - with America... of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-deepak-hiwale-aka-dr-dee/going-by-current-developments-india-is-sure-to-catch-up-not-in-50-but/)

Dr Deepak Hiwale, aka 'Dr Dee

> [All the events that have made up the character and fabric of British culture and everything that has happened to make up the fabric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-porter/all-the-events-that-have-made-up-the-character-and-fabric-of-british/)

[Gregory Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-porter/)

> [The whole Ireland was taken over by greed and materialism. It was extraordinary. The price of every house had skyrocketed. If you were a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-jordan/the-whole-ireland-was-taken-over-by-greed-and-materialism-it-was/)

[Neil Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-jordan/)

> [We cannot build the new culture for learning to which we aspire in an environment which is depressed and dampened every day by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-carothers/we-cannot-build-the-new-culture-for-learning-to-which-we-aspire-in-an/)

Robert Carothers

> [Occasionally, in each age and in different lands, a Buddha is born, that is to say, an enlightened person...they re-codify the ways, the practices,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/occasionally-in-each-age-and-in-different-lands-a-buddha-is-born-that/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [A new culture can only grow up in the soil of a purged humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/a-new-culture-can-only-grow-up-in-the-soil-of-a-purged-humanity/)

[Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/)

> [I think one thing that has helped me to be an entrepreneur is being an immigrant and coming to the United States. I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anousheh-ansari/i-think-one-thing-that-has-helped-me-to-be-an-entrepreneur-is-being/)

[Anousheh Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anousheh-ansari/)

> [Maybe there's even anger. But if they make it through that they come to a new agreement, and they start creating a new culture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/maybe-there-s-even-anger-but-if-they-make-it-through-that-they-come/)

[Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/)

> [Will we be able to imagine a new culture of water?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-arthus-bertrand/will-we-be-able-to-imagine-a-new-culture-of-water/)

[Yann Arthus-Bertrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-arthus-bertrand/)

> [There's a song that wants to sing itself through us. We just got to be available. Maybe the song that is to be sung…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/there-s-a-song-that-wants-to-sing-itself-through-us-we-just-got-to-be/)

[Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/)

> [And, the sets that they built are just so beautiful. It's like going to a completely foreign country and experiencing a new culture that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamsin-egerton/and-the-sets-that-they-built-are-just-so-beautiful-it-s-like-going-to/)

[Tamsin Egerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamsin-egerton/)

> [The constant influx of new cultures, new ideas and new ways of looking at old problems is a big part of the reason why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-locke/the-constant-influx-of-new-cultures-new-ideas-and-new-ways-of-looking/)

[Gary Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-locke/)

> [We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/we-travel-initially-to-lose-ourselves-and-we-travel-next-to-find/)

[Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/)

> [As a child, it was really hard because I'd be thrown into a new school and have to make new friends, or I'd sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-dreymon/as-a-child-it-was-really-hard-because-i-d-be-thrown-into-a-new-school/)

[Alexander Dreymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-dreymon/)

> [I love experiencing new cultures and new foods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-van-ness/i-love-experiencing-new-cultures-and-new-foods/)

[Laurel Van Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-van-ness/)

## More by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

> [“I am waiting for the meek to be blessed and inherit the earth... without taxes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/i-am-waiting-for-the-meek-to-be-blessed-and-inherit-the-earth-without/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

> [We have to raise the consciousness; the only way poets can change the world is to raise the consciousness of the general populace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/we-have-to-raise-the-consciousness-the-only-way-poets-can-change-the/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

> [I didn’t know that painters and writers retired. They’re like soldiers – they just fade away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/i-didn-t-know-that-painters-and-writers-retired-they-re-like-soldiers/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

> [I certainly was surprised to be named Poet Laureate of this far-out city on the left side of the world, and I gratefully accept,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/i-certainly-was-surprised-to-be-named-poet-laureate-of-this-far-out/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

> [Paperbacks weren't considered real books in the book trade. Up till then it was just murder mysteries, potboilers, 25-cent pocket books sold in newsstands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/paperbacks-weren-t-considered-real-books-in-the-book-trade-up-till/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

> [Poetry is the shadow cast by our streetlight imaginations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/poetry-is-the-shadow-cast-by-our-streetlight-imaginations/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

> [The real literary editors have mostly been fired. Those that remain are all ottom line editors; everything depends on the money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/the-real-literary-editors-have-mostly-been-fired-those-that-remain/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

> [“Cast up the heart flops over gasping 'Love' a foolish fish which tries to draw its breath from flesh of air And no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/cast-up-the-heart-flops-over-gasping-love-a-foolish-fish-which-tries/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

> [The paintings may communicate even better because people are lazy and they can look at a painting with less effort than they can read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/the-paintings-may-communicate-even-better-because-people-are-lazy-and/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

> [Poetry can change the world, just like any art can change the world, by changing consciousness. Of course this was the great slogan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/poetry-can-change-the-world-just-like-any-art-can-change-the-world-by/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

> [As I get older I perceive Life has its tail in its mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/as-i-get-older-i-perceive-life-has-its-tail-in-its-mouth/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

> [Almost every truly creative being alienated &amp; expatriated in his own country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/almost-every-truly-creative-being-alienated-expatriated-in-his-own/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

> [The future of publishing lies with the small and medium-sized presses, because the big publishers in New York are all part of huge conglomerates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/the-future-of-publishing-lies-with-the-small-and-medium-sized-presses/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

> [The art has to make it on its own, without explanations, and it’s the same for poetry. If the poem or the painting has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/the-art-has-to-make-it-on-its-own-without-explanations-and-it-s-the/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

> [There is an ecstatic mechanism in birds that makes them fly upwards in spite of worms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/there-is-an-ecstatic-mechanism-in-birds-that-makes-them-fly-upwards/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

[Explore all 88 Lawrence Ferlinghetti quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

## More America quotes

> [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/)

[Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/)

> [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/)

[Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/)

> [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/)

[Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/)

> [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/)

[Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/)

> [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/)

[Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/)

> [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/)

[Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/)

> [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/)

[Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/)

> [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/)

[Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/)

> [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/)

[Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/)

[Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I arrived in San Francisco in January 1951. After the Second World War, the population was so uprooted. Soldiers came back home for brief periods and took off again. So the population was very fluid, and suddenly it was as if the continent tilted west. The whole population slid west. It took 10 years for America to coalesce into a new culture. And the new culture happened in San Francisco, not New York.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Lawrence Ferlinghetti"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/i-arrived-in-san-francisco-in-january-1951-after-the-second-world-war/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "America"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/i-arrived-in-san-francisco-in-january-1951-after-the-second-world-war/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/lawrence-ferlinghetti-7689_america_i-arrived-in-san-francisco-in-january-19_2705193.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/lawrence-ferlinghetti-7689_america_i-arrived-in-san-francisco-in-january-19_2705193.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/lawrence-ferlinghetti-7689_america_i-arrived-in-san-francisco-in-january-19_2705193.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I arrived in San Francisco in January 1951. After the Second World War, the population was so uprooted…” — Lawrence Ferlinghetti",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Lawrence Ferlinghetti",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I arrived in San Francisco in...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/i-arrived-in-san-francisco-in-january-1951-after-the-second-world-war/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/i-arrived-in-san-francisco-in-january-1951-after-the-second-world-war/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
