Give me 10 negatives about San Francisco (to live in, car, areas)
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All the newer apartments are in SOMA/Mission bay and Potrero Hill. In my opinion all of them are outrageously overpriced. This is even more weird because these neighborhoods are not as lively and fun as many other parts of the city. Parts of Potrero is outright dangerous and look very run-down/industrial. I have no clue why people so much rent to live here...maybe the easy commute or the relatively sunnier weather...But I guess the biggest reason is these are the only places that some modern amenities. In other parts of the city you cant get those even if you pay for it.
Many yuppies in SF (esp those in finance industry) started their careers in Manhattan, so SF is about 30-40% cheaper in rentals of upscale newer condos; has cheap, spacious pkg garages everywhere at offices/condos and valet pkg in front of relevant restaurants (unlike Manhattan); commutes to offices in MenloPk or SV on 280 are some of fastest in world (compare painful drive from Manhattan to Greenwich)....and SF Peninsula has amazing weather and topography
And any city in world is composed of a few 1000 yuppies and wealthy families....and millions of slum-dwellers and homeless...middle-income families fled to then-newer suburbs like Cupertino or Plano or Naperville or Irvine, etc 25+ yrs ago
But agree, for most middle-income people, daily QOL in suburban Dallas and Houston is superb and arguably better than that of their counterparts in SF region who tend to live in an older, slummier house far from major SV offices...and have same crappy public schools and potholes, despite onerous state income taxes
Ironically, recently heard that many lawyers in Dallas are seeing various wealthy people from SiliconValley, NYC and BevHills closely evaluating tax laws to figure out how to become residents of Dallas and move their offices, to avoid the communist taxes of CA/NY/CT.....life in PrestonHollow is quite civilized, even vs Woodside or PacHts or Greenwich....esp w/no state income tax and a pro-capitalist, anti-communist ethos
Are the apartments and other buildings really that outdated with regards to appliances, amenities, etc? Didn't know it was that bad.
> Yes they are and I don't think it is because of cost. I mean a dishwasher or garbage disposal is pretty cheap in home depot. I think people over here are living in a different era and have some bizarre aversion towards modernity. I was looking at apartment complex where an one bedroom costs $1800/month. When I asked if it had a built-in microwave in the kitchen the manager looked at me like she did not understand what I meant! I don't think you can get washer-dryer connection even in modern parts of the city where a 1-bedroom place is upwards of $2000. Remote controlled gates/garage-doors are pretty rare. Now these are simple things! You can't even get centralized heating here in vast majority of apartments even though it can get cold here throughout the year. So you will have one wall-mounted space-heater that heats one part of the apartment and the bathrooms, kitchens, closets etc will be freezing cold and you can't do anything about it! I basically carry a portable space-heater around. To top it all, the bare minimum appliances you get like a freeze and stove might look like they are picked up from junkyard, unless you chose a recently built complex! The apartment owners here are not familiar with the concept of upgrading. Apartments are like an extortion racket here and the only thing they care about is getting your money. I bet most the apartments here will get demolished in other cities for building-code violations and health hazards.
Maybe its different in the homes of all the rich home-owners live but $2000 a month apartment can be hazardous for your health.
This is typically what happens in an area where there are stiff rent control regulations.
Many yuppies in SF (esp those in finance industry) started their careers in Manhattan, so SF is about 30-40% cheaper in rentals of upscale newer condos; has cheap, spacious pkg garages everywhere at offices/condos and valet pkg in front of relevant restaurants (unlike Manhattan); commutes to offices in MenloPk or SV on 280 are some of fastest in world (compare painful drive from Manhattan to Greenwich)....and SF Peninsula has amazing weather and topography
And any city in world is composed of a few 1000 yuppies and wealthy families....and millions of slum-dwellers and homeless...middle-income families fled to then-newer suburbs like Cupertino or Plano or Naperville or Irvine, etc 25+ yrs ago
But agree, for most middle-income people, daily QOL in suburban Dallas and Houston is superb and arguably better than that of their counterparts in SF region who tend to live in an older, slummier house far from major SV offices...and have same crappy public schools and potholes, despite onerous state income taxes
Ironically, recently heard that many lawyers in Dallas are seeing various wealthy people from SiliconValley, NYC and BevHills closely evaluating tax laws to figure out how to become residents of Dallas and move their offices, to avoid the communist taxes of CA/NY/CT.....life in PrestonHollow is quite civilized, even vs Woodside or PacHts or Greenwich....esp w/no state income tax and a pro-capitalist, anti-communist ethos
Could you please provide us with factual data to back your absurd claims? Of course you wont. Most started in Manhattan? Is that so?
Listen to mesiodens....Having a car is a hassle in the City.
I think that it depends on your location and situation. Muni doesn't provide the most punctual service and its schedule can be spotty, especially at night. Also, if you work outside of the City (like I do), getting to and from work can be quite painful if you don't live close to a Caltrain or BART station. The only negative that I see is parking, but if you get assigned parking, that pain goes away.
The rents are too high.
Too much fog
Alot of places smell like urine when your walking around
Too many homeless
Too much panhandling
Too much government sticking its nose into peoples business
Not enough good looking women
Too many gays
Too many junkies
Not enough on street parking
1) Lack of light rail in northern and NW districts.
2) Extremely poor road connectivity in the N - S direction - no freeway connecting the Peninsula freeways to the GG Bridge.
3) Certain aspects of the overall City governmental structure promote infighting and accord too much power to vocal and extremist fringe groups.
4) Current zoning discourages commercial development at Ocean Beach (e.g. on the upper 40s Avenues).
5) The City and County arrangement (e.g. the past split of SF county into SF City and County and San Mateo County). This hatched numerous, intractable ills and created a schism between City and suburbs (compare and contrast with NYC, DC, LA, fill in the blank).
6) After WW2, when the big growth boom hit at the metro level, other than a small, elite and out of touch group of the very wealthy, most SF natives were not well rooted. When floods of transplants arrived from back East, it was a tsunami that the locals could not resist. Most of the less than wealthy natives fled for the burbs or other metros. Into the vacuum surged some very strange people with very unsettling and at times destructive political, ideological and philosophical notions. What I find is that many of them were misfits back where they came from. If someone is considered a misfit in a cosmopolitan place like NYC, or even most smaller but essentially liberal places back East, I'm sorry, but that is one weird person. The SF which existed socially prior to WW2 was utterly destroyed. Mind you, that SF was still a very liberal, colorful and lively place. But it was 1000% healthier and far more in balance than what's there now. Many natives will understand this one, most newcomers will never get it.
7) Many here seem to be in denial regarding how physically isolated this metro is. Compare with the Eastern Seaboard or even the Gulf Coast and Fall Line.
8) The chance to build the Southern Crossing at a reasonable price was squandered. Now, we'll never see it built. Heck, we can barely keep the Bay Bridge functioning!
9) Tenants have way too many rights (and I write this as someone who only rented in the City and did not buy until leaving for the suburbs).
10) Very poor PR regarding many of the historical items. Beyond obvious things like North Beach, Coit Tower and Cable Cars, vast examples of significant history are poorly documented, signed, PRed so even many residents are unaware of them. Compare and contrast with the East Coast, Europe, etc.
Hey that San Mateo San Francisco County thing in my opinion realley messed up San Francisco. San Francisco could have been bigger, richer, more beautiful and powerful in national and global politics and economics if it had a county hense room to expand. San Francisco would have definetley have annexed a few cities by now and would have not remained at its current and small size of 49 square miles.
Could you please provide us with factual data to back your absurd claims? Of course you wont. Most started in Manhattan? Is that so?
Hey, I started in Manhattan and moved to SF, and so did a lot of other people. I was paying $2,000 a month for a studio apartment in Manhattan but was able to upgrade to a much larger one-bedroom apartment for only $1,600 month when I first moved to SF 13 years ago. I even bought a car in SF, which I couldn't afford to own, park, and operate in NYC.
And, yes, many people pay over $10,000 a month in rent to live in nice apartments in the nicer areas of Manhattan.
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