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I was born in SF, grew up in Berkeley while my Mom got her pH D at Cal. My parents divorced and we moved up to WA where my Mom got a Prof job, Over the years I returned usually twice a year to visit my dad and step bro. then I moved back myself in 1999 to try out my biochem degree Things were just so crowded and expensive. And the worst thing was that I often felt unsafe. For instance, I would work a few extra hours on the weekend at my company at Oyster Point in SSF-
So I thought to myself-this will be great-I will get some experiment started ( biotech) and then do some fishing. But there always seemed to be some creepy person/persons hanging around the trails.
There is a creep/danger factor in many parts of the Bay that cannot be ignored-one of the main reasons I split. Also bad crime-my locked truck was stolen in broad daylight from the company parking lot-
There are great people, tons of things to do, good number of jobs-but I just had to get out
I am starting cringe when I see people post " considering job in Bay Area salary $60,000 to $80,000"
It is incredibly expensive to live in desirable areas. In Palo Alto 1200 square feet home is $2 million. Rockridge and crocker highlands are going $1.5 to $1.8 million. Noe valley 2500 square feet $2.4 million+.these homes aren't mansions and you can have a net worth of $3-6 million and live in these areas and you are living a upper middle class lifestyle. In general people are not driving ferraris and Bentleys and asking were is the grey poupon
Whenever I visit other cities, it wakes me up to how high the crime rate is in San Francisco and some of the surrounding areas. Also reminds me that most cities arn't full of litter on the sidewalks. Homeless aren't around every corner etc. And like the previous post mentioned you can pay millions for very little... When you think about the total picture, it's simply not worth it. The cost of living is increasing meanwhile the city's infastructure is slowly wasting away.
Whenever I visit other cities, it wakes me up to how high the crime rate is in San Francisco and some of the surrounding areas. Also reminds me that most cities arn't full of litter on the sidewalks. Homeless aren't around every corner etc. And like the previous post mentioned you can pay millions for very little... When you think about the total picture, it's simply not worth it. The cost of living is increasing meanwhile the city's infastructure is slowly wasting away.
Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
3,530 posts, read 5,132,725 times
Reputation: 3145
I don't have an issue with people who don't like SF or think it's not worth it. There are urbanites and there are those who prefer the suburbs or even the country. To each his own. But, particularly with regard to public transportation, SF often gets wrongly characterized on CD--it seems primarily by people who don't even use public transportation here.
As someone who enjoys city life and the convenient public transportation that enables it, I personally would not find the life of a commuter, living in the suburbs, to be "worth it" in the Bay Area. Commuters here pay so much to live in distant, bland suburbs, maintain personal vehicles and fight horrendous traffic every day, with only partial benefits of the City. I'd miss having the City right outside my door whenever I want it.
I chose a place that lets me commute by bicycle or cable car. If I do ride Muni, it's outside of rush hour, so it's convenient and not crowded. I have over 10 lines that run near my apartment. Wherever I am in the City, I can usually walk no more than 2-3 blocks to find a bus home. Commuting is just something urbanites do for a few minutes a day. It doesn't define our lives.
I often forgo taking transportation to walk home. My route can take me through North Beach with Jazz clubs, cafes and strip bars, or up over Nob Hill where the blue bloods live and foreign dignitaries stay in fine hotels, or around the waterfront or where the tourists are vacationing, or even down Market and around the Tenderloin, where there are some pretty fantastic places to eat and drink and yes, there are many of those homeless people some find so threatening. On foot, you get to know your city. You learn your way around. You discover things commuters never see. That said, I don't make it a habit of hanging out in neighborhoods full of homeless people and crackheads and am not sure why so many others on this forum do.
From my apartment, I can walk to one of the finest shopping districts in the country, or to a vibrant theater district. I can easily walk or ride my bicycle to a seaside park or even a national park, with waves crashing on cliff sides, in the shadow of one of the most recognizable monuments in the world. I can walk down a hill into ethnic enclaves, where live music spills out of basement clubs, chatter from cafes fills the streets, and the echoes of prospectors, pirates, Beats, Hippies, militants, financiers, and immigrants still hang in the air. I can also walk a few blocks into SF's snooty boutique district, with its fancy shops, expensive restaurants and mansions up on the hill, or head slightly south into a seedier section, with dive bars and drag queens. Beyond that are grand old theaters, performing arts venues and concert halls. There's also a Jazz complex and a rapidly growing neighborhood that used to be a haven drug users and crime and is now one of the most desirable parts of the City, with nice shops, restaurants, beer gardens, pocket parks and beautiful Victorians.
On evenings when I score my company's Giants tickets, I walk down to the park. When I get our A's tickets, I walk two blocks to BART and ride to that park. I also ride BART to meet my wife in Berkeley after work for dinner. There's a super frequent Muni line that runs to the Mission almost from my front door. Another goes around the Embarcadero. Another, half a block away, goes right to the BART station to connect with SFO and OAK. Another one goes through the Marina, North Beach, the Financial District, Soma and to the CalTrain station, with a convenient stop less than two blocks from my apartment.
Speaking of CalTrain, the new terminal for it is being built about four blocks from my office. It may have high-speed rail in it too, one day, if you believe that will happen. and many bus and rail lines will also run through it. It just spanned First Street with structural steel, so it's coming along nicely. There's a new north-south subway tunnel that will soon link Chinatown (and if we voters have our way, North Beach) with the T line down to Dogpatch, too.
Muni is approximately 15% complete in replacing its bus fleet and has new designs chosen for its subway trains. BART is also well underway in redesigning and building its replacement trains. They should start coming online in a little over two years. All those electric buses, trains, trolleys and cable cars keep our air cleaner than cities that rely on cars, too.
Does any of this sound like city life or even a transportation system that sucks?
Dal paradise -Compared to other expensive western cities like London ,Paris and New York Public transportation in San Francisco sucks.
People living in Sunset ,Richmond district Lake Street are urbanites and their public transportation options are limited.
While walking is convenient for you it is not for people with infants and small children
Dal paradise -Compared to other expensive western cities like London ,Paris and New York Public transportation in San Francisco sucks.
People living in Sunset ,Richmond district Lake Street are urbanites and their public transportation options are limited.
While walking is convenient for you it is not for people with infants and small children
San Francisco is not Kid Friendly at all. In fact I think most people wish they could push all the families out and make it strictly a place for adults between the ages of 25 and 60. Rich Adults that is preferably White or Asian.
San Francisco is not Kid Friendly at all. In fact I think most people wish they could push all the families out and make it strictly a place for adults between the ages of 25 and 60. Rich Adults that is preferably White or Asian.
Completely agree with you on this. We spent 4 years in the city as DINKs and thoroughly enjoyed our time there. We didn't have to rely on cars very much, went out to nice dinners all the time, had tons of nightlife, etc. We also couldn't imagine why others would choose to live in the suburbs and deal with terrible commutes every day.
But, then we had kids. I just don't think SF is very kid friendly at all. When you have kids, you learn that you need to do a lot of runs to Target, Costco, Babies R Us, Safeway, etc. These aren't very convenient when you live in the city and want to do these runs quickly. You also want more space for the kids to run around in a yard and be in a safe area. Then there are the schools. In general, the school quality in SF isn't great.
Unless you're a multi-millionnaire, who can send your kids to the best private schools and can afford full time nanny support, living in SF becomes more of a hassle than its worth. You're just not going to be able to have the time to go out to the nice restaurants and enjoy the amenities of SF on a regular basis.
I don't love my commute, but all things considered, it was my best option to stay in the Bay Area. Folks that can't understand this type of lifestyle generally do not have kids.
Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
3,530 posts, read 5,132,725 times
Reputation: 3145
Quote:
Originally Posted by ssmaster
Dal paradise -Compared to other expensive western cities like London ,Paris and New York Public transportation in San Francisco sucks.
People living in Sunset ,Richmond district Lake Street are urbanites and their public transportation options are limited.
While walking is convenient for you it is not for people with infants and small children
I understand your point and don't dispute it, other than to note that the districts you mention are much lower density than the rest of SF and are less urban by design. Of course people walk in those neighborhoods. They may not commute to the Financial District on foot, but the commercial streets are always busy with foot traffic.
Those districts are served by multiple bus and light rail lines for commuters, but again--as SF's original "street-car suburbs" they function as designed--for commuters. They have larger homes with more garages out there for cars. That's why I chose Russian Hill over the Inner Sunset. It better aligned with my wants and needs. In fact, it aligned perfectly, other than the fact that it is expensive.
In SF, you make a choice--to commute or not--based on your needs for space, your budget, your desired neighborhood vibe, and/or your desire to live in an urban, car-free environment or not. It's not that different from other places, except that in SF it is very compact and you do have the viable option to live car-free, if you want to and can afford it.
That is the result of a high performing, if admittedly still flawed for some, transportation system.
Completely agree with you on this. We spent 4 years in the city as DINKs and thoroughly enjoyed our time there. We didn't have to rely on cars very much, went out to nice dinners all the time, had tons of nightlife, etc. We also couldn't imagine why others would choose to live in the suburbs and deal with terrible commutes every day.
But, then we had kids. I just don't think SF is very kid friendly at all. When you have kids, you learn that you need to do a lot of runs to Target, Costco, Babies R Us, Safeway, etc. These aren't very convenient when you live in the city and want to do these runs quickly. You also want more space for the kids to run around in a yard and be in a safe area. Then there are the schools. In general, the school quality in SF isn't great.
Unless you're a multi-millionnaire, who can send your kids to the best private schools and can afford full time nanny support, living in SF becomes more of a hassle than its worth. You're just not going to be able to have the time to go out to the nice restaurants and enjoy the amenities of SF on a regular basis.
I don't love my commute, but all things considered, it was my best option to stay in the Bay Area. Folks that can't understand this type of lifestyle generally do not have kids.
You just described us.
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