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.
Wow... I guess it's all in one's perspective, because you (the last poster) are describing a city I've never seen - and I have lived here on & off for 25 years. Some of what you said is true, but only in certain neighborhoods and in small quantities... but for cryin' out loud, I live in the BAYVIEW district, and haven't noticed any stench or piles of "stuff." Where exactly were you hanging out??
P.S. How do you know there are illegals here? We do have a good-sized Latino population, but they generally don't wear their citizenship status on a t-shirt.
This is my first post on this forum. Greetings, all!
I moved to SF just after graduation, more years ago than I care to remember. I met my wife here. There are limited number of places where your neighbor might be an attractive, smart, blonde, classical musician who just happens to be unattached.
We started our family here. Both our sons attended a public bilingual elementary school (Japanese). This is an opportunity that is available in few places. Our boys both attended Lowell High School, by many measures one of the premier public high schools in the U.S. Unfortunately, the S.F. Unified School District seems determined to destroy its unique meritocracy, so it may no longer hold the attraction that it did for us.
Older son got a real jump on higher education with Lowell's Advanced Placement courses. After Lowell, he finished both his bachelor's and masters in four years, and is now well along in a top Ph.D. program. His high school experience included a stint as a supernumerary actor (that's a fancy way of saying an "extra") with the San Francisco Opera's production of Wagner's "Ring Cycle".
Younger son has parlayed his education into a dream job in the video gaming industry. His high school experience included a trip to NY, where the orchestra played in Carnegie Hall.
If you work at it (and with a little luck), you can still squeeze a really good education for your kids out of the public school system. If you are not careful, though... watch out! There are some awful schools here.
I started a business here some twenty years ago. I have had the good fortune to work with a number of brilliant high-achievers. I was able to exceed all career goals that I initially set for myself. There are perhaps only three or four other places in the country where I could have done as well.
I am thankful every day for the opportunities that my family and I had here.
Do we want to retire here? Maybe not. We will have to think about that when the time comes. SF has more than its share of problems, and the time may come when we don't wish to deal with them anymore. However, this is a great city for a young, or perhaps not so young, professional.
Wow... I guess it's all in one's perspective, because you (the last poster) are describing a city I've never seen - and I have lived here on & off for 25 years. Some of what you said is true, but only in certain neighborhoods and in small quantities... but for cryin' out loud, I live in the BAYVIEW district, and haven't noticed any stench or piles of "stuff." Where exactly were you hanging out??
P.S. How do you know there are illegals here? We do have a good-sized Latino population, but they generally don't wear their citizenship status on a t-shirt.
I guess I just go to different places and have my eyes open. Take the financial district, most of market st, vanness ave, anywhere around glide church,parts of the area around the warf,hunters point, need I go on? Then you have any twosome newsom and a city council that has made SF a sanctuary city and the "sisters of perpetual indulgence" that have the audacity to interrupt church services dressed like freaks to create a show, which btw was just fine and dandy with newsom. I guess I could be like many in new york, keep my head down and step over or around whatever body is lying on the sidewalk, never make eye contact with anyone so as not to antagonize them and run from place to place but imo that's not the way to go through life.
Yes there are good places in SF and as long as a person never leaves those enclaves or when you do, drive with your windows up and music on oblivious to what's really around you then I guess all would seem peachy. I guess the problem is I liked to/had to walk around the city. My bad....
I just checked this thread for the first time today, and I'm surprised at the amount of emotion people have around this issue! My family has lived in the Bay Area since the late 1800's, and we often joke that it is a hard place to move away from. I know not everyone's experience is the same here, but I can't think of anywhere else I can live where I can go for a walk outside almost every day of the year, can ski in the winter and go to the beach in the summer, eat in a wide variety of ethnic restaurants and shop in ethnic grocery stores within a ten minute drive, let my kids walk to school, be anything from a green party member to a libertarian without anyone batting an eye, eat only local organic produce if I so choose, be a member of any religion or no religion at all, never have to shovel snow or have air conditioning, be within an hour's drive of at least eight major universities, garden year-round, etc. etc. etc.--except California, or maybe Seattle.
I was discussing "quality of life" with a friend of mine who is considering moving to the Sacramento area in order to have a larger house with a smaller house payment. My question was, what is quality of life, anyway? Is it having a big house with a small mortgage, or is it living in someplace that is so beautiful, temperate, and interesting that you don't have to spend much time in your house anyway? I guess I know how I answer the question, but I know that many other people would answer the opposite.
WOW! I dug this post up earlier today and it really sounded good to me. I have been fighting the urge to move to California for years now. S.F. sounds like it has it's ups and downs just as any city. I swear talking myself out of things seems to be one of my biggest weakness'. I live in Richmond VA and have wanted to move soooo badly. I am worried about moving so far and increasing my bills double. But, I can be a lot more happy there and my quality of life should be much better.
We can eat delicous food any time we want
I can smoke herb without the constant paranoia that is here in East Coast
I can see a good band EVERY weekend if I choose to do so
We can go to the best skiing (arguably of course) in the US in a short trip
I can have a fresh start away from all the idiots I have aquired along the way
My wife can earn nearly twice what she is making here
I can triple my income
We can downgrade to 1 or even 0 cars
45 min plane ride to warm SoCal or 90 min to Vegas or Oregon
Way better diversity as opposed to just black/white here
Professional sports all year round
No humidity
No snow
Wow... I guess it's all in one's perspective, because you (the last poster) are describing a city I've never seen - and I have lived here on & off for 25 years. Some of what you said is true, but only in certain neighborhoods and in small quantities... but for cryin' out loud, I live in the BAYVIEW district, and haven't noticed any stench or piles of "stuff." Where exactly were you hanging out??
P.S. How do you know there are illegals here? We do have a good-sized Latino population, but they generally don't wear their citizenship status on a t-shirt.
Actually gizmo I see the deterioration very clearly now that I have moved away from San Francisco. I grew up in SF and lived there for many years no problems. When I travel back to visit friends on the weekends, the stench and literal crap on some city blocks is overwhelming to me. I've thought to myself...'was this here before and/or was I just oblivious to it?" I think it does have a hell of a lot to do with one's perspective, but frankly SF is not what it used to be. It is getting to be a bit funky in many aspects...if you like to walk around on foot it's very obvious. Especially Market street, Van Ness, Haight street...bleh...very awful the deterioration that has taken place. Or else I'm getting old! lol. One or the other.
Agree with you on the illegals subject. And what does this have to do with SF's deterioration anyway? Whatever. I once saw a respectably dressed gentleman tossing garbage out of his Jag at a stop light. I've seen people of all persuasions spitting on the street or throwing their cigs and other garbage everywhere when there's a garbage can merely a few feet away. Being an unconscious litterbug also contributes to the pollution problem...can't expect city government to clean it all up. If people didn't throw their crap everywhere, there wouldn't be as much crap to clean up in my opinion.
I guess I just go to different places and have my eyes open. Take the financial district, most of market st, vanness ave, anywhere around glide church,parts of the area around the warf,hunters point, need I go on? Then you have any twosome newsom and a city council that has made SF a sanctuary city and the "sisters of perpetual indulgence" that have the audacity to interrupt church services dressed like freaks to create a show, which btw was just fine and dandy with newsom. I guess I could be like many in new york, keep my head down and step over or around whatever body is lying on the sidewalk, never make eye contact with anyone so as not to antagonize them and run from place to place but imo that's not the way to go through life.
Yes there are good places in SF and as long as a person never leaves those enclaves or when you do, drive with your windows up and music on oblivious to what's really around you then I guess all would seem peachy. I guess the problem is I liked to/had to walk around the city. My bad....
I walk PLENTY around the city, and still don't see what you're seeing. Is it sparkling clean? No - but what big city is?
Actually gizmo I see the deterioration very clearly now that I have moved away from San Francisco. I grew up in SF and lived there for many years no problems. When I travel back to visit friends on the weekends, the stench and literal crap on some city blocks is overwhelming to me. I've thought to myself...'was this here before and/or was I just oblivious to it?" I think it does have a hell of a lot to do with one's perspective, but frankly SF is not what it used to be. It is getting to be a bit funky in many aspects...if you like to walk around on foot it's very obvious. Especially Market street, Van Ness, Haight street...bleh...very awful the deterioration that has taken place. Or else I'm getting old! lol. One or the other.
I dunno... I hang out in those areas a lot (on foot & by car), and it just doesn't bother me that much. Maybe I have a higher tolerance for "deterioration" since I'm originally from back east, but I think most of SF is still pretty nice. Oh well - I still love it, dirty or not!
Quote:
Agree with you on the illegals subject. And what does this have to do with SF's deterioration anyway? Whatever. I once saw a respectably dressed gentleman tossing garbage out of his Jag at a stop light. I've seen people of all persuasions spitting on the street or throwing their cigs and other garbage everywhere when there's a garbage can merely a few feet away. Being an unconscious litterbug also contributes to the pollution problem...can't expect city government to clean it all up. If people didn't throw their crap everywhere, there wouldn't be as much crap to clean up in my opinion.
I totally agree about the littering, but I do have one gripe about that... I'm a smoker (no lectures, lol ), and they have NO public ashtrays in San Francisco. Since it's a major fire hazard to throw them in a garbage can, we have no choice but to litter!! I'd be more than happy to dispose of my smoke, if they actually had an ashtray here and there... even my car doesn't have one, so I have to either use an old soda can or throw it out the window.
...For those of you who live in areas that are climate challenged, you know the feeling you get on a day when it is sunny and 70 after a long winter...or sunny and 70 after a short,but too hot, summer? You can barely keep the smile off your face and you can't wait to get outside and do all those things you've put off because it was too hot, or too wet, or too cold. Wouldn't you much rather do that all year around? Can you really put a price tag on that feeling? ....
This really hits home after a long New England Winter!
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.
), and they have NO public ashtrays in San Francisco. Since it's a major fire hazard to throw them in a garbage can, we have no choice but to litter!! I'd be more than happy to dispose of my smoke, if they actually had an ashtray here and there... even my car doesn't have one, so I have to either use an old soda can or throw it out the window. 
