SCARED! Need conservative neighborhood for 3 daughters! (San Francisco, Sacramento: job, adult, community)

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by jul.meister

My girls are wonderful people and will pick great friends. I love all kids. But Christians are not second class citizens and I will not sit back and take punches. We've been through a lot this past year and I was looking for advice on where the closest place to San Francisco is that would be great for raising my girls and spending the next 3 years of our lives.

Oh please... I'm Jewish, so don't tell me about being a second-class citizen! And with our large gay population here, they could also give you a few lectures about discrimination. Not that I think you should tolerate that behavior, but Christians are still the dominant force in this country. And when you say your kids will pick "great friends," would that include great people who have different beliefs/values? What if they brought home a friend who was really a wonderful person, but happened to be a gay Atheist? I went to a private (non-religious) high school in Hillsborough, and met kids of all different beliefs & backgrounds. Anyway, I think a few posters have given good town suggestions, but even those might be too "liberal" for you - maybe the far east Bay, like Walnut Creek, or up north in Marin cty. would be better?

[jul.meister]

So, what kind of liberalism are we talking about? And when you say over religious and intollerant, how tollerant would one have to be to fit in? What would they have to tollerate? What might they be exposed to? I only have a few days to reject the promotion so I need to get down to the point. So, what are the people like in San Francisco?

[gizmo980]

P.S. I'm not saying all of the above to harrass or scare you, but these are going to be the realities if you live here... so if you do end up moving to the Bay Area, be prepared for a bit of culture-shock. But like I said earlier, we mostly don't care what/who you are, but people will expect the same in return.

[gizmo980]

Oops, we cross-posted, so my above answer kinda addresses your question... you'll have to come here to see what San Franciscans are like, since we can't exactly generalize 6 million people (in the greater BA) in a short paragraph! But you will meet people from ALL walks of life here - white, black, asian, atheist, buddhist, gay, and so forth. Each town is slightly different, and obviously you'll see more diversity in the actual city, but the whole area is very diverse (which I personally LOVE). You don't have to "accept" anything, but walk around with a holier-than-thou, judgmental attitude, and you won't be making too many friends... the one thing most San Franciscans are NOT tolerant of is bigotry and intolerance.

[ndfmnlf]

To the OP:

It sounds like you're going to be miserable in San Francisco. If I were you, I would not move. Why would you compromise the safety of your daughters by exposing them to perverts (real and imagined)? I suggest you reject the promotion. $200K is not enough money to compensate for your peace of mind.

BTW, I don't believe San Fran is all that dangerous. It's a great city. But it all depends on your comfort level.

[gizmo980]

A little example, if you're still confused about what I mean by tolerance... if you see a gay couple walking hand-in-hand through a store, staring or whispering about them is not cool. You don't have to march in pride parades or endorse them, but openly disapproving and mis-treating them wouldn't be tolerated for a minute. Same goes for any example, whether you disapprove of their religious beliefs, politics, etc. - mind your own business, be friendly, and nobody will think twice about returning the favor.

[DMenscha]

Originally Posted by jul.meister

So, what kind of liberalism are we talking about? And when you say over religious and intollerant, how tollerant would one have to be to fit in? What would they have to tollerate? What might they be exposed to? I only have a few days to reject the promotion so I need to get down to the point. So, what are the people like in San Francisco?

There's hundreds of thousands of them and they're all individuals. To be honest, you'll find like minded people and hang out with them I'm sure.

I guess what always scares me about many Christians, is the way your religious beliefs creep into every conversation. I understand proselytizing is part of some of Christian churches beliefs and that's fine. I absolutely positively avoid doing any business with those people who post the fish symbol in any of their business literature.

Not to put too fine a point on it but, how hard is it to just live your spiritual belief instead of broadcasting it or wearing it on your sleeve. We still live in a secular society in a country founded by mostly Christian white men, who after a few years of living under the Articles of Confederation, decided to draw up a constitution giving us all the right to practice our own beliefs.

Live your life the way you see fit, but throwing around invectives isn't going to make you any friends here or wherever you end up living. Jesus didn't turn his back on anyone for who they were, the world would be a much better place if everyone lived a bit more like that.

Peace, love and understanding.

[jul.meister]

Why is it bigotted to ask people where a conservative neighborhood might be?

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by jul.meister

Why is it bigotted to ask people where a conservative neighborhood might be?

It's not... plenty of people have asked the same question here, and got perfectly nice & helpful responses. So did you, in fact, until the conversation got more detailed - it wasn't the original question that bothered anyone, but rather the comments that followed.

[jul.meister]

So, here you see gay couples but there is no public displays of affection. But it seems like people don't want conservatives there because they feel judged reguardless. I guess my original statement seemed directed at a group of people but my negative comment is directed at this abusive teacher.