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Sure - our roads suck in many areas (I assume you are in the Bay Area). But so can many roads in other parts of the country. Roads in NY and Mass are pretty awful in many areas. Illinois roads are pretty bad. As are many other state's. Especially true for older metro areas.
Our infrastructure sucks - but so does most of the infrastructure everywhere in the US. We don't get nearly-failing grades in these areas continually for no reason: https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/
Roads in northern climates like NY and Boston are worn-down due to yearly snow and ice. Our weather is generally warm and dry and our roads are worn down due to overuse and lack of maintenance. Even though we have the money (supposly) to maintain it.
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Originally Posted by HockeyMac18
It's really sad when one travels out of the country. SF's rail systems, while inadequate in many ways, shame most American cities. That's a depressing statement on its own since the majority of major cities in the world shame SF's systems. And this is more of a reflection of the gross inadequacies in infrastructure in the US vs. anything wrong with CA specifically. We don't value, as a nation, good infrastructure, and it really shows.
Yeah SF has better transportation then Houston, but that is nothing to be proud of. Compared to Europe or New York, SF's public transportation is woefully bad. BART doesn't cover most of the city and Muni is slow.
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Originally Posted by HockeyMac18
Most American cities have literally no options. You should try living in those cities - you have to literally drive everywhere. That sucks a lot.
Outside of SF you have to drive everywhere here as well. Except fuel here is more expensive, the roads are in bad condition and the traffic is the worst in the country.
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Originally Posted by HockeyMac18
Yeah, it's less-than-pleasant. But works fairly well, still. It is one of the most widely-used metros in the country (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...s_by_ridership), and puts to shame the systems in most cities in this country (with the exception of a small few).
Caltrain is a much preferred system for me, though (I use it daily). I think the Bay Area made mistakes in investing in BART technology so heavily, but that's another topic entirely...(although, I'm happy to tell you my thoughts on that some time).
See that is exactly the problem with this state and its residents. We settle for mediocrity in everything we do here. We have a massive economy and lots of good jobs, millions of highly educated people and we live in the epicenter of global technology. Our public transportation system should be the envy of the world not 50 decades behead Europe, China and Japan.
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Originally Posted by HockeyMac18
This is literal hyperbole. I live in SF - total lie. I question how often you go to the City, and to what parts you go (I imagine you must only stick around Market St., Downtown, or other tourist-heavy areas?).
The majority of the city is not trash-riddled, especially in the neighborhoods.
stick to only a few areas and assume what you say is true. Yes, it is a problem in certain areas of the City - but please lighten up on the hyperbolic statements.
I work in the field of architecture and construction management here in the Bay Area and do at least 30% of my business in the city of San Francisco alone. Which means I am driving into the city to visit job sites on a nearly weekly basis. Plus I grew up in the Bay Area. So I know the area well.
That said, the city of SF looks like a landfill compared to other cities. I was just in SOMA this past week for a party and was taken back at the amount of garbage on the street. SOMA is expensive and new, why is there so much litter there? The city parks are also trashed, think I am being hyperbolic. Go to Dolores park and take a look around. Go to any park in SF and take note of how much garbage is lying around and lets not even get into the amount of human waste you will encounter. I was in Chicago several months ago and the parks there are not only well maintained and beautiful but also spotlessly clean. Grant Park is smack in the middle of the city and it is unbelievably clean. Even Central Park in NY is much much better kept then any park in either SJ or SF. We have got so use to how badly trashed everything looks that we don't even notice it anymore. Which is really sad.
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Originally Posted by HockeyMac18
Second part is a real problem - agree. But it's not as widespread as you make it sound. And homeless numbers in SF aren't really that far off from most other major cities in the US. Homeless people are certainly more front-and-center in SF, though (I attribute that mostly to the Tenderloin's proximity to downtown/tourist-heavy areas - the TL is where most Homeless shelters are).
The property in the Tenderloin is mostly owned by non-profits who refuse to sell the land to developers. Even though its located in the center of town and the city has a massive housing shortage. Instead we get to have first hand experience what it would be like to be in the Walking Dead. All this is happening within eyesight of city hall which makes it even sadder. I had to do ADA inspections in the Tenderloin several years ago and it was so filthy I had to soak my equipment in bleach once the project was over.
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Originally Posted by HockeyMac18
You seem a bit jaded on the state. Which I can relate to because housing costs here are simply stupid. I do advise you to move elsewhere. I think you'd be 1) happier. And 2) you'd likely see that things really aren't that much better elsewhere. We all make tradeoffs in life - living in CA is full of them. But so is living in other locations.
California started to slide down the hill when people stopped trying to make this place better and instead made excuses for every failure. Nobody gets held accountable here and we have no standards. Expect it to continue to get worse and worse.
Some of the comments here are a little over the top.... CA is not some crumbling third world country. No need to over-dramatize it.
That being said, I think CA is losing its mind over the illegal immigration issue. I'm sympathetic, open to compromise, etc. but they're going way overboard with all the money they're spending on this. Our taxes are sky high as it is, AND we're in debt! SMDH With all the wealthy companies and people here, you'd think we'd be able to fund single payer, free education, and a free damn car for every single person in the state. But the money goes toward knee-jerk political stands (well, and pensions).
On this, you and I can totally agree. I live in the horrible state right now. I used to live here as a kid and it was nothing like it is now. They've destroyed this state, which is very sad, because it used to be a pretty good state to live in.
Roads in northern climates like NY and Boston are worn-down due to yearly snow and ice. Our weather is generally warm and dry and our roads are worn down due to overuse and lack of maintenance. Even though we have the money (supposly) to maintain it.
Yeah SF has better transportation then Houston, but that is nothing to be proud of. Compared to Europe or New York, SF's public transportation is woefully bad. BART doesn't cover most of the city and Muni is slow.
Outside of SF you have to drive everywhere here as well. Except fuel here is more expensive, the roads are in bad condition and the traffic is the worst in the country.
See that is exactly the problem with this state and its residents. We settle for mediocrity in everything we do here. We have a massive economy and lots of good jobs, millions of highly educated people and we live in the epicenter of global technology. Our public transportation system should be the envy of the world not 50 decades behead Europe, China and Japan.
I work in the field of architecture and construction management here in the Bay Area and do at least 30% of my business in the city of San Francisco alone. Which means I am driving into the city to visit job sites on a nearly weekly basis. Plus I grew up in the Bay Area. So I know the area well.
That said, the city of SF looks like a landfill compared to other cities. I was just in SOMA this past week for a party and was taken back at the amount of garbage on the street. SOMA is expensive and new, why is there so much litter there? The city parks are also trashed, think I am being hyperbolic. Go to Dolores park and take a look around. Go to any park in SF and take note of how much garbage is lying around and lets not even get into the amount of human waste you will encounter. I was in Chicago several months ago and the parks there are not only well maintained and beautiful but also spotlessly clean. Grant Park is smack in the middle of the city and it is unbelievably clean. Even Central Park in NY is much much better kept then any park in either SJ or SF. We have got so use to how badly trashed everything looks that we don't even notice it anymore. Which is really sad.
The property in the Tenderloin is mostly owned by non-profits who refuse to sell the land to developers. Even though its located in the center of town and the city has a massive housing shortage. Instead we get to have first hand experience what it would be like to be in the Walking Dead. All this is happening within eyesight of city hall which makes it even sadder. I had to do ADA inspections in the Tenderloin several years ago and it was so filthy I had to soak my equipment in bleach once the project was over.
California started to slide down the hill when people stopped trying to make this place better and instead made excuses for every failure. Nobody gets held accountable here and we have no standards. Expect it to continue to get worse and worse.
This post is far more reasonable than your other ones. Although, I still take contention with your statements on SF looking like a landfill, or garbage being as widespread as you say...but I'll leave that as it is. You have your views, I know I won't change them.
The problem with your statement on infrastructure is that now you're moving the goal posts. SF is embarrassing compared to the world or the rest of the US? The US, as a whole, is pretty embarrassing from an infrastructure perspective. You will get no argument from me there. And we in CA can (and should) do better.
I'll never claim that this state is perfect. We have very legitimate and real problems. My main contention was the hyberbolic statements like calling the entire state a "dump". Come on.
These people are hell bent on allowing in as many third world illegal immigrants as possible. When California becomes the hell hole it's importing and bankrupts itself with reckless fiscal irresponsibility these people will be fleeing to more stable states. Something needs to be done about this state. The elites want their slave labor and the Dems want their votes. Why aren't their working class CITIZENS speaking up?
While I'm not a fan of blanket immunity to illegal aliens, I find it laughable that the far right is trying now to hide their bigotry towards "brown people" and anyone who's different under "saving the union." Nobody is falling for that.
Also, California, for all its flaws, contributes more to this nation's GDP than nearly every red state put together... Texas might be the only exception but - irony! - they also take advantage of tons of illegal labor, even if the locals hate "brown people."
Funny, the person filing the lawsuit says that Trump is violating the constitution!
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Becerra's latest lawsuit charged that the Trump administration "violated the U.S. Constitution, failed to comply with federal and state environmental laws, and relied on a federal statute that does not authorize the proposed projects."
The righties here are so paranoid they don't even think somebody has the right to file a lawsuit. Sad!
Los Angeles and CA has among the highest electricity rates in the country.
Los Angeles = 13.03¢/kWh
San Diego = 16.35¢/kWh
Wichita = 10.68¢/kWh
The electricity rates in Los Angeles are about 10 percent higher than the national average. Other parts of CA are even more.
Dear GOD do NOT get me started on the electricity rates here. It's absurd! Included in my stupid bill is a chunk that I have to pay for fricken windmills that I don't even know where they are, but I get to pay for the damn things.
I lived in Miami. I had my a/c on 24/7 at 65 degrees and my electric bill was never this high. I come to CA, I have the a/c on 78 and my bill shot through the roof. This state sucks so hard.
And what Kaphawoman said some pages back, (about a page before your post), was that it's akin to a 3rd world nation. Only a small percent live lavish lifestyles while the rest of the population lives check to check, yet they are the ones who feel it the most when the "do gooder" idiots continue to propose tax after tax after tax.
CA claims to care about lower income people or poor people (which, honestly, if you're making less than 100k in most areas, and 75k in the rest of those areas, you're poor in CA), yet they continue to release their bowels all over them. Raise the gas tax? It hits the poor, first. That gas tax will also be felt by trucking companies who will charge the retailers more, and the retailers will charge the shoppers more because a business will always pass on that charge - again, it hits the poor people the hardest. Meanwhile, the smug, arrogant hypocrites sit in their overpriced condos and homes and have the audacity to act superior to everyone else.
In most of CA, the weather isn't all that great. It's decent on the coast, and that's where you find the astronomical prices for homes/rentals/condos, so again, they brag about "the weather" while pushing everyone out who can't afford to live in those areas. And they want to talk about bigotry towards "brown people"? Everything they vote on makes life harder for their precious "brown people".
There's nothing special about CA anymore. It used to be a good place to live, I will admit it. I lived there as a kid, you could get by as a working family, you could get by rather decently. Not now. My dad was military, my mom was a substitute teacher when we were kids. We lived comfortably in CA. There is no way in hell we could live that same lifestyle on a military income and a substitute teacher income in the state now. Not even close. And when I say "comfortable", I mean how most people in this country view middle class living.
The schools used to be better, the way the water was handled was way better than today, and frankly, the people were a lot nicer back then.
Right now I live in a middle class neighborhood, and I still see people climbing in and out of dumpsters in the area looking for recyclables to take in for money. That's not a rare thing like it used to be, that's a daily thing. And it's different people every day.
But hey, they got their "weather".
I've lived in WA state, TX, NC, FL, ME, and CA. The "weather" isn't something I would use as a bragging point when the rest of the entire state is trashed.
Last edited by Three Wolves In Snow; 09-21-2017 at 06:01 PM..
While I'm not a fan of blanket immunity to illegal aliens, I find it laughable that the far right is trying now to hide their bigotry towards "brown people" and anyone who's different under "saving the union." Nobody is falling for that.
Also, California, for all its flaws, contributes more to this nation's GDP than nearly every red state put together... Texas might be the only exception but - irony! - they also take advantage of tons of illegal labor, even if the locals hate "brown people."
^race card alert! Race card alert!
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Originally Posted by James Bond 007
Since when is filing a lawsuit unconstitutional?
Funny, the person filing the lawsuit says that Trump is violating the constitution!
The righties here are so paranoid they don't even think somebody has the right to file a lawsuit. Sad!
I am talking about the lawsuit that the OP posted a link to, in post #1. Remember?
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