Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
But those States may not be booming like Florida. They simply can't keep up with the growth, and there would be riots in the streets if they even tried to impose a State Income tax.
But those States may not be booming like Florida. They simply can't keep up with the growth, and there would be riots in the streets if they even tried to impose a State Income tax.
Also those states have income tax and property tax/highway use tax on vehicles which FL does not. So tolls are their way to pay for upkeep and development of roads.
On the other hand, the "showcase neighborhood", Union Square and Market Street area, is somewhat disappointing, dirty and filled with beggars and addicts. The sketchiness of the areas to the west of Union Square is kind of scary at night, and I have lived in big cities all my adult life. You step out of the Hilton at night, and it is pretty unnerving for your typical tourist. It's doubly surprising given all the gentrification and wealth-creation in the city.
Speaking of that Hilton, this recently happened right in front of it:
There's a rough area within downtown SF comprised of the Tenderloin district and 6th street (poor/working class areas with a lot of drug addicts, drug dealers, hustlers, homeless people, etc), and then just to the west of downtown you also have the projects in the Fillmore district. It used to be worse (and more areas next to downtown SF were rough in the past, like Hayes Valley and the Lower Haight, even Chinatown) but things can still get pretty bad, especially in the Tenderloin. It has a good side to it too, unlike many other high-crime areas: interesting historic architecture, lots of good food and cool dive bars, it has tons of families and immigrants...but the bad side is no joke. It has the highest robbery rate in SF, and no shortage of crazy people crapping in the street, or addicts smoking crack/meth in the street and breaking into your car, or people shooting/stabbing each other over drugs or money or because they bumped into each other or whatever.
Surprising: Palm Springs, CA. Funky, eclectic, great architecture, lots of galleries along its downtown strip. However, the rest of that low desert / Coachella Valley area is dull as ****.
Disappointing: Salem, MA. Lots of great history but a lot of the town seems to be converted to full-blown tourist-trap mode. I had a great time but so much of the attractions seemed so hokey.
Surprising: Palm Springs, CA. Funky, eclectic, great architecture, lots of galleries along its downtown strip. However, the rest of that low desert / Coachella Valley area is dull as ****.
Disappointing: Salem, MA. Lots of great history but a lot of the town seems to be converted to full-blown tourist-trap mode. I had a great time but so much of the attractions seemed so hokey.
The thing I like about Salem, MA is if you lived there it would be like year round Halloween. That would be kind of cool.
West Coast cities are plagued with vagrant drug addicts, unfortunately. Not all homeless deserve the bad reputation that they receive, but certainly many are just out-of-their-mind on drugs and, in return, they spew garbage everywhere.
LA, SF, Portland, Seattle, Santa Monica, San Diego... they're all crawling with homeless. It's just a fact about WC cities. SF, in particular, has astronomical homeless population numbers.
It seems like SF has a homeless pop. of 6,400 at the moment. I believe last I read on the subject, Seattle's homeless population was at 2,300.
Homeless do not bother me, what shocked me about SF was the kids that were homeless a lot of them as young as 12-15 and the street walkers that looked so young incredibly sad, its sad how bad the heroin problem has gotten in California and on top of that the streets were filthy downtown and in the tenderloin district, but the worst I ever seen was Skid Row that is a place I wish I could get out of my mind but I can't. Makes me feel blessed for the things you do have not the things you don't.
Surprising:
Los Angeles. I can see why some people do not like it. Traffic is bad,Smog,crime,Miley Cyrus, but overall its a great city, with lots of awesome neighborhoods. It's just one beast of a city, and I love it. San Antonio. Even though its full of fanny pack tourist, It's a wonderful city full of charm. I would never live there, but I wouldn't mind visiting.
Disappointing:
Wichita. Friend wanted me to visit her there, I said "why not" so I headed down there. Being from Kansas City, to be honest, you do not hear much about Wichita, and there is a reason. Wichita is a pretty boring town. It feels lackluster and sad. Downtown looks like it's stuck in the 70s, except the new arena. My friend took me to a place called Old town, which is a entertainment district with bars and restaurants, which was ok. With a city population closing in on 400k, there is not much to see, or do.
^ Had to be in Wichita for a week years back due to some work stuff. I was bored after 2 days! Seemed like a dead-end crossroads, which is impossible yet possible (when you're Wichita). Lots of southern-style fast food in a bucket with gravy. Ugly landscape. Bored populace. Urban suburbia. I try to find something to like in every place I go, but was unable to in this case. Maybe the first and only actual-city where this was the case.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
