Not As Groovy: Top 17 Hippie Cities List Mentions Marin as Spot the Rich Hippies Moved To

By Jessica Mullins and Charles Burress 

Were the authors of Estately's list of the Top 17 cities for hippies too stoned to do their work correctly?

Or perhaps the Bay Area is changing more than some want to admit?

In a recent ranking of "best U.S. cities for hippies,” Berkeley fell to number eight, San Francisco was listed as number 15 and Oakland was ranked as number 12.

The assessment said the hippies that came of age in San Francisco and Berkeley “got priced out and ended up in Oakland (the ones who got rich moved to Marin).”

Also, it referred to San Francisco, “the city where most of this hippie stuff started,” as mostly “running on hippie fumes at this point.”

And Berkeley? "The tie-dyed glory of the past is slowly burning out just like so many Berkeley hippies did before."

I’m sure most of our Patch readers are familiar with Marin’s rock-and-roll past and hippie heyday. I mean, Grateful Dead founder Phil Lesh and Bob Weir live here and we all know the late Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia used to call Marin home. 

I understand Marin’s tiny towns, and the hippiest among them — Fairfax and Bolinas — are too minuscule for a list of hippie cities. But, still. Shouldn’t Marin have gotten a better shout out?

Taking first place on the list is Eugene, Ore., followed by Olympia, Wash., in second, and Asheville, N.C., third.

Also topping Berkeley are Boulder, Colo. (4th), Portland, Ore. (5th), Burlington, Vt. (6th) and Ithaca, N.Y. (7th).

The ranking was compiled by Estately.com, a Seattle-based online real estate company with a penchant for compiling curious "best" lists, including "11 Best States for Bigfoot to Live" and "13 Best U.S. Cities for Mermaids to Live."

The ranking for hippie-friendly cities was derived from "a formula based on marijuana availability and legality, number of stores selling hemp, local counter-culture icons, tie-dye availability, hippie festivals, progressive government, intensity of Occupy protests, and a Facebook poll," according to Estately.com.

The Santa Cruz Patch was shocked the city didn’t even make the list.

What’s your reaction? Tell us in the comments.