What is SF really like? (San Francisco, Berkeley: real estate, rent, violent crime)

[cnt]

I've never been to San Francisco, but I do know about the rumors. A lot of people say it's very very liberal, very expensive, and very diverse. I've gotten my cues on what SF is like from movies, TV shows, and just things I've heard, but I wonder if this is true. Is SF really that liberal, or is its diversity just taken for liberalism? Is it that expensive, or are the best parts just really expensive? I'd like to know.

[Jonotastic]

Best thing to do would be to look at pictures and look at yelp.com at restaurants, bars etc. It will answer what does San Francisco look like and what diversity means. You can basically find ANY cusine you could ever think of in San Francisco. Morrocan, Ethiopian, Burmese, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Maylasian, German, French etc. A local will find that restaurants are cheap, you can get a great meal at some real authentic restaurants for under $10 easily. Real estate and rent are the most expensive things in San Francisco. Most places don't come with car parking, so that's another $300 per month just to park your car in a designated space maybe 5 blocks away from your apt. Items and labor are also more expensive, but it's not going to be a huge difference. It's mostly real estate and rent. Some districts are more expensive than others...Marina, Nob Hill, Union Square, Financial District, Pacific Heights, North Beach etc and some are less expensive...Sunset and Richmond. San Francisco is a liberal city, but it has conservatives as well. I've met many when I lived there. You have to be open minded. I've seen thousands of people marching to free Tibet, seen a transgender rally for equal pay and then you have your city events, such as Love Fest and Earth Day, which you can google. I consider myself to be a moderate. I voted for Bush and I voted for Obama. I didn't feel out of place, I really enjoyed myself. I still miss the city, but moved to get away from the cold. I see myself sometime moving back though, once I have enough money to buy a $1 million home. Oh how I miss the restaurants...I can't enjoy going out for any Asian type of restaurant anymore because they all suck compared to the ones in San Francisco. Only a handful of cities can compete.

[JuanitoPasteles44]

two things to know about San Francisco, the diveristy is less than you think (its mostly white and asian) and the liberalism is a predominant characteristic of the younger white community, who makes all the noise. The immigrants, and blacks tend to much more conservative especially the Chinese and blacks. This is not to say that conservatism is highly prevalent in San Francisco only that more San Franciscans are less political than you might imagine, and its mostly younger college kids, yuppies and gays that make all the political noise.

With that said regarding wealth SF for some reason or another is in high demand, and is very popular amongst the young and wealthy. Some neighborhoods are cheaper than others but most neighborhoods would be considered by the rest of the country's standards highly expensive, the only reason middle class people still live here is probably because they bought thier home a long time ago. Today what most of the country considers affordable we consider the ghetto (not an exaggeration)

This doesnt mean that most San franciscans are rich, rather the number of rich is steadily increasing as well a the number of middle class shrinking, the poor are just trapped and getting poorer. Which might be part of the cause for a major jump in violent crime in the last few years, the city has seen an increasing number of robberies and often unprovoked, senseless killings.

[bayarea-girl]

I agree with everything Juanito... said. But you should visit it and check it out everyone has their own experience. It is nothing like the movies. It is VERY EXPENSIVE! I don't think it is as diverse as people think it is. The great thing about the Bay Area is if you are an inter-racial couple no one cares. It is disappointing for me to see so many people of color struggling in the Bay. What really bothered my heart about the Bay is the homeless. There are too many homeless people and am not sure the problem is being solved.

But for the most part San Francisco is the place to be if you are single or just young. You can eat just about any food you want. There is always something interesting or interesting people you will meet. The water is too cold to swim in but the beaches are beautiful. It is a dog's paradise (if you have a dog).

[JuanitoPasteles44]

being a tourist doesnt give you a real perspective on what its really like to live here,
our economy is largley based in tourism, you'll find that this city panders to tourists, sometimes even more so than to its own residents (i feel). No one here rides a cable car or goes to pier 39, **** i was raised here and didnt ride a cable car till last year.

In my opinion there are two San Franciscos the one for show and the place where the regular people live.

[jzt83]

Take out car payments, and it compensates for the high rents.

[Jonotastic]

Originally Posted by JuanitoPasteles44

being a tourist doesnt give you a real perspective on what its really like to live here,
our economy is largley based in tourism, you'll find that this city panders to tourists, sometimes even more so than to its own residents (i feel). No one here rides a cable car or goes to pier 39, **** i was raised here and didnt ride a cable car till last year.

In my opinion there are two San Franciscos the one for show and the place where the regular people live.

I think that is based on the person. I lived here and enjoyed almost everything the city has to offer. Pier 39 etc, it just isn't interesting to me unless your showing out of towners. I actually think, people who live in San Francisco have a better experience than visitors. I've met many tourists who complain that all the restaurants are so expensive and just okay, yet I know many hole in the wall places that are cheap and good.

[JuanitoPasteles44]

yes this what im saying, that the tourist experience doesnt even touch on what its like to live here, given all the tourist traps.

[kettlepot]

San Francisco is very liberal. However, it is not quite as liberal as the city of Berkeley across the bay. On election night John McCain received 13.8% of the vote, 32% less than his national total.

Nancy Pelosi's congressional district (CA-8) which covers about 3/4 of San Francisco has a Cook PVI of +36 D. Out of 435, that makes it tied for 8th as the most Democratic congressional district in the country. While sometimes a pro-Democratic partisan tilt may not mean a liberal sensibility on all issues, (see the Black and Hispanic support for Proposition 8) in the case of San Francisco I believe the Democratic voting propensity of the city accurately reflects its far left orientation.

[bayarea-girl]

kettlepot, great points. I would agree Berkeley without a doubt is far more liberal than San Francisco.