Born Global: San Francisco
San Francisco is an energy magnet; its undeniable entrepreneurial spirit and cultural patronage draws people from all corners of the world. While it may be best known for its thriving technology sector and monopoly on global engineering talent, it’s also host to a dynamic urban offering, complete with relaxed charm and natural beauty.
The current estimate of Australians living in the Bay Area is somewhere between 20,000 to 30,000, and after speaking with five supremely talented global Australians who call this eclectic city home, it’s easy to see the appeal.
If you’ve been ruminating as to whether San Francisco might be a good fit for you, the insights from these accomplished expats might be just the ticket to solidifying your thoughts. With Qantas recently reintroducing direct flights from San Francisco to Australia, this incredible city has never been more accessible.
Meet our members in San Francisco
For Daniel Faber, a curious space explorer, the sky’s definitely not the limit. He’s fueling his passion for space exploration with an ambition to build the first-ever gas station for satellite refueling as co-founder and CEO of Orbit Fab.
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Jane Sloane is an Australian living and working in San Francisco. One of the many ordinary Aussies doing extraordinary things in her adopted home city. She’s working to advance women’s rights and gender equality in Asia and the Pacific, encouraging and empowering girls and women to realize their rights and potential. Jane is Director, Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality at The Asia Foundation.
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Darren Chait – co-founder of Hugo– connected meeting note software for teams to share and action insights – has come across the same experience. But unlike many of us who would scratch our heads about the communication confusion, he and his team are on the way to cracking the code by developing a platform to centralize team meeting notes and integrate with calendars and all the other apps used by teams to share and action those insights in real time.
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Curtis Stone is an Australian celebrity chef based out of California but his culinary career is not geographically defined. His global adventure started out in London where he worked for British chef and restauranteur Marco Pierre White for eight years before settling in Southern California and becoming an international culinary icon.
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Isha Chaturvedi is a data scientist based out of San Francisco. Although she’s always working “behind the scene”, her work is highly visible in our daily lives – from our simple internet searches to medical diagnosis.
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In a quintessential San Francisco setting, the seventh Advance Born Global Salon for 2018, supported by OFX, was held at the Jazz Workshop featuring an in conversation with Chris Boshuizen and Nina Blackwell.
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As a principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet, Damian Smith was a top talent in a world-leading company. Now he’s brought his experience back home to Australia and is drawing on his Indigenous roots to inspire a new generation of dancers – and revitalise Australia’s oldest ballet school.
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Meet the 2018 Propel Cohort in Los Angeles and San Francisco! Propel provides Australian entrepreneurs with the resources, expertise and international connectedness they need to build large, globally significant and sustainable companies.
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Ewan Proctor’s professional life has been devoted to promoting Australian wine around the world. Recently having relocated to San Francisco from Shanghai, Ewan continues to expand the extraordinary reach that Penfolds wine has into the lives of people all over the world.
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IDEO is one of the most well-known design companies in the world with a reputation for attracting unparalleled talent. Sydney-native Nadia Surtees landed herself in San Francisco following a Parsons education in New York, with the specific intention of securing a Design Researcher position at IDEO HQ.
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Recognising an opportunity for Aussie success story Campaign Monitor to have a presence in the tech capital of the world, Ros took the suggestion to her bosses at the time who were not only receptive to the idea but encouraged her to take the plunge.
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It’s the pipe dream of many engineers and technologists around the world; working at a Silicon Valley tech giant, where an innovative, entrepreneurial ethos is embedded in a company’s DNA.
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Facilitating trade, investment and international education opportunities for Australia through her current role as Trade & Investment Commissioner in San Francisco, Frances is laser-focused on building Australia’s economic relationship with the United States and Canada.
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University of Sydney PhD student Seamus Thomson, has been handpicked by NASA to look for alien life, on Mars and Saturn’s oceanic moon Enceladus. The 24-year-old is using his biomedical engineering skills, to help identify alien life and ensure other planets are not contaminated by material from Earth.
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Born Global Spotlights
Know before you go
Check out Smartraveller advice for the United States – subscribe to updates and register your travel plans here.
Make the move
Thinking of making the move to San Francisco? Check out our information on obtaining a working visa here.
Things to do
Feeling hungry? San Francisco is filled with amazing restaurants. Check out this list of Conde Naste restaurant recommendations to help find your next meal!
Feeling thirsty? Sit down, relax and enjoy a glass of wine at the urban winery, Press Club.
Top experiences and sites? Go to see the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, take a ferry to explore Alcatraz Prison and visit the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Unique to this city? Ride a cable car. It’s fun and uniquely San Francisco.
Did you know?
- San Francisco is built on 43 hills and is known for its steep and curving streets
- The United Nations Charter was signed in the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in the Civic Center District on June 26, 1945
- The colour of the Golden Gate Bridge is called International Orange
- The iconic cable cars are the country’s only rolling National Historic Landmark