"Sure, this is a city so ugly that sometimes you may be tempted to put a bag over its head" (Houston: houses, landscaping)

[jek74]

Originally Posted by dalparadise

It's simple. The author of this article is taking a contrarian position in order to get picked up and re-tweeted. It's an old tactic and apparently, it works.

I actually read this thread on my iPhone, while wearing short sleeves at 9:30 pm on an open-air cable car, winding its way up a spotless Russian Hill, with sidewalk cafes buzzing in the warm, clear March San Francisco night. For the last couple of blocks walking home, I ducked into a sports bar full of half Warriors and half Giants fans, all happy and cheering their heads off. Two bars and two restaurants in the those blocks along my way had either $1.00 or $2.00 tacos for Taco Tuesday. One even had $2.00 margaritas, too. All were full, enjoying the inexpensive neighborhood (non-tourist) options. The homeless congregate where the tourists go. Visitors are more likely to give up a dollar. Again, you missed out by not venturing beyond the tourist areas.

Out my office window this afternoon, it was so clear, I could make out near perfect details on Mt. Tam and Mt. Diablo which are miles and miles away. The Bay was deep, dark blue. The clean, palm tree-lined Embarcadero was jammed with people loading up on a huge cruise ship and Giants fans making their way to the ballpark on foot. The farmers market was on and food tents in front of the Ferry Building were cooking coal-fired pizzas, ramen, tacos, burgers, udon and more. A lot of people chose to eat by the waterfront and soak up the sun. Street cars buzzed up and down it and Market. It was very lively.

You mentioned in another thread that you visited in Winter and seemed surprised it would be cold. It's strange, as a self-professed "numbers guy," that your expectations would be so askew. It's also unfortunate that you seemed to spend all your time in Union Square on a rainy week in Winter.You really should get out and see more of the City to properly evaluate it. We do have the occasional string of cold days when it will rain during the Winter. It still rarely gets as cold as Houston's coldest days during the Winter and never gets as wet. In Spring and Summer, it doesn't rain AT ALL. And fog is only an issue for certain parts of SF and then, mostly at night, when I really believe it adds to the City's charm. I love falling asleep next to my open window in Summer to the low drone of fog horns on the Golden Gate Bridge.

SF is one of the sunniest cities in the country. It really is a shame it happened to rain during your week in Union Square.

Nothing against Houston, but Austin is probably a more interesting place to visit. I'd still prefer to live in Houston, as its city amenities far overshadow Austin's.

Dal, you may not believe me, but when I was in SF I walked, yes walked, the entire city of SF. As God as my Witness. I spent little time in Union SQ. I walked up Russian Hill. I walked down Union St almost the entire stretch. Went bar hopping in Cow Hollow. Walked up to the Haight. Spent some time on inner sunset looking at apts (was going to move out there). I spent a lot of time in Pacific Heights and nob hill. Also did the Marina district and Russian Beach.

You continue to take things so personally. No where did I say anything bad about SF, in fact, I quite enjoyed it. I loved how compact the city was. I loved the hills. I loved the views. I simply said, if one goes there based on what they see in the movies or TV and goes in with too high of expectation, they will be disappointed. And for me, as much as I liked it, I was let down some. I didn't say I hated it.

Houston on the other hand, I came in with zero to low expectations. And it actually has surprised me to the upside. And Dal, about the numbers thing. You know damn well that SF's avg temp most of the year is in the 50's and 60's which most people love!!! I don't. I like really warm weather. When it gets into the 50's now in Houston I get depressed. I love the 80's and 90's. When I was in SF over the summer we had temps in the high 40's at night!!!! Seriously, for me, that part was disappointing. So don't give me 3 data points when SF was 80 degrees out because you know that is exception, not the rule.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by Topaz

Uhm, the headline of the article is, "10 Terribly Overrated Destinations. (And Where To Travel Instead)." Note the last part, "WHERE TO TRAVEL INSTEAD."

lol, its just a friendly suggestion.

[dalparadise]

Originally Posted by jek74

Dal, you may not believe me, but when I was in SF I walked, yes walked, the entire city of SF. As God as my Witness. I spent little time in Union SQ. I walked up Russian Hill. I walked down Union St almost the entire stretch. Went bar hopping in Cow Hollow. Walked up to the Haight. Spent some time on inner sunset looking at apts (was going to move out there). I spent a lot of time in Pacific Heights and nob hill. Also did the Marina district and Russian Beach.

You continue to take things so personally. No where did I say anything bad about SF, in fact, I quite enjoyed it. I loved how compact the city was. I loved the hills. I loved the views. I simply said, if one goes there based on what they see in the movies or TV and goes in with too high of expectation, they will be disappointed. And for me, as much as I liked it, I was let down some. I didn't say I hated it.

Houston on the other hand, I came in with zero to low expectations. And it actually has surprised me to the upside. And Dal, about the numbers thing. You know damn well that SF's avg temp most of the year is in the 50's and 60's which most people love!!! I don't. I like really warm weather. When it gets into the 50's now in Houston I get depressed. I love the 80's and 90's. When I was in SF over the summer we had temps in the high 40's at night!!!! Seriously, for me, that part was disappointing. So don't give me 3 data points when SF was 80 degrees out because you know that is exception, not the rule.

Oh, I'm not taking it personally and I'm sure not going to claim 80s. You are exactly right. It hits the 80s here maybe 3-5 days per year and rarely even gets up to the 90s. You claim it's damp and rainy, though, which is patently false 8-9 months of the year and mostly untrue for the rest. Rains come in Winter and rarely last more than 2-3 days in a row, every two weeks or so until April...then they are gone.

You should also understand that Summer is not our warm time. Fall is. Summer indeed ranges from the mid 60s during the day to low 50s at night (occasionally dipping to the upper 40s, agreed). The lack of daytime humidity makes that temperature much more agreeable and the clear skies make the sun feel warm and nice. T-shirt and shorts while the sun is up. Sweatshirt for the evening. Pants to go out at night.

In the Fall, the highs are regularly in the 70s with lows in the upper 50s. Simply perfect. And again, no rain at all from mid April to the end of October. None whatsoever. Rarely are there even clouds east of Divisadero St. during the day. It's foggy in the east. The Giants play in an open stadium and never rain out. The Astros play in a retractable roof stadium and never open it after April.

No offense taken. It just seemed you were characterizing the weather here based on limited exposure to it. I agree that SF is better after about 8 months of acclimation. I find 78 and sunny really, really warm now. I never thought I'd say that. I would have killed for that much of the year in Houston.

[Charlestondata]

Originally Posted by jek74

Dal, you may not believe me, but when I was in SF I walked, yes walked, the entire city of SF. As God as my Witness. I spent little time in Union SQ. I walked up Russian Hill. I walked down Union St almost the entire stretch. Went bar hopping in Cow Hollow. Walked up to the Haight. Spent some time on inner sunset looking at apts (was going to move out there). I spent a lot of time in Pacific Heights and nob hill. Also did the Marina district and Russian Beach.

You continue to take things so personally. No where did I say anything bad about SF, in fact, I quite enjoyed it. I loved how compact the city was. I loved the hills. I loved the views. I simply said, if one goes there based on what they see in the movies or TV and goes in with too high of expectation, they will be disappointed. And for me, as much as I liked it, I was let down some. I didn't say I hated it.

Houston on the other hand, I came in with zero to low expectations. And it actually has surprised me to the upside. And Dal, about the numbers thing. You know damn well that SF's avg temp most of the year is in the 50's and 60's which most people love!!! I don't. I like really warm weather. When it gets into the 50's now in Houston I get depressed. I love the 80's and 90's. When I was in SF over the summer we had temps in the high 40's at night!!!! Seriously, for me, that part was disappointing. So don't give me 3 data points when SF was 80 degrees out because you know that is exception, not the rule.

I felt the same way about SF when I was there all day on a Saturday in 2007. Most of the buildings seemed to be the same color with bland architecture; the trees looked stunted; the area around the wharf stank; and the city looked worn in general. Near the Golden Gate bridge there was a chain link fence in disrepair as we drove into SF from Sacramento; the restrooms at both ends of the bridge needed upgrading desperately; and my sandwich at the Hard Rock Cafe was dry and tough. I was all excited about shooting a photograph of Telegraph Hill from the bottom, but was disappointed to find that there was this thick power line that was unavoidable in my viewfinder. All that said, I found the the layout of the city, the hills, the water, and the thought that "wow I'm in San Francisco" to be worth the trip. I've never been to Houston, but I'm an aesthetics-obsessed lover of cities, so I've wanted to come check it out to see the effects of loose zoning laws.

[HtownLove]

Columbia we got lots and lots of powerlines here for you to photograph

[dalparadise]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

Columbia we got lots and lots of powerlines here for you to photograph

And a Hard Rock Cafe.

[Charlestondata]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

Columbia we got lots and lots of powerlines here for you to photograph

I don't mind power lines. I'm a photographer and actually enjoy making cityscape photographs with the lines and poles as part of the composition. But an unavoidable big thick black power line in the way of famed Telegraph Hill in a city that's supposed to be so beautiful? I had a problem with that. One day, though, I'm coming for a visit to Houston to shoot it, power lines and all, and I'm going to capture the aesthetically beautiful scenes as well as the eyesores and clutter. I love the ideal of the freedom to develop in an unconstrained way, but I'll have to admit that the results of well done development under guidelines that demand refinement are the preferable way to go in a city IMO.

[HtownLove]

If you do come please visit North BLVD in Montrose. It is my favorite street area in Houston. So gorgeous in Spring.

Doesn't look like much here because the leaves are starting to fall in these clips but:

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&l...9.08,,0,-23.44

[jek74]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

If you do come please visit North BLVD in Montrose. It is my favorite street area in Houston. So gorgeous in Spring.

Doesn't look like much here because the leaves are starting to fall in these clips but:

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&l...9.08,,0,-23.44

Damn, that is beautiful.

[Charlestondata]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

If you do come please visit North BLVD in Montrose. It is my favorite street area in Houston. So gorgeous in Spring.

Doesn't look like much here because the leaves are starting to fall in these clips but:

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&l...9.08,,0,-23.44

I like it. It reminds me of a street called Amherst Avenue in Columbia.