I hate living in San Francisco (San Diego, Pittsburg: apartments, condos, crime rate)

[scubaG]

I really hate living here and feel trapped. The concept of leaving seems so easy but it's not.

Made the biggest mistake in my life moving here from Southern California 10 years ago. Went to Stanford and never really loved SF but thought I would just learn to love it and settle. But I can't imagine being here for any longer than short term anymore. It seems hard to uproot and move to another city. But the more and more I travel, the more disdain I have for San Francisco.

I'm getting really tired of the people here. It seems like everyone here is a type A who tries so hard to pretend that they're "laid back". Not to mention people here have such an inferiority complex and take this small town so seriously and have a belief that it is Paris or New York. So ridiculous.

The party scene here is so lame, because most people are geeks. I understand but come on, if we want to parade around and pretend we're a world-class city at least have some cool places to let back on the weekends. It's so filthy (somewhere this small should be manageable), the cold summers are miserable, the crime rate is ridiculous - my car has been broken into 2x this year alone. Homeless people seem to run the streets, I see druggies about, and people look so miserable.

I would love to live in a real city like London or New York (or even even the total opposite - an unpretentious small town like Austin) but but unfortunately, i'm in tech and it's harder to find equivalent positions elsewhere.

What exactly do people see in this place? I have a nice place but most people here pay so much to live like peasants in dumpy roach infested apartments here, for very little return (boring, high crime rate, the crazies). I will never understand.

End Rant.

[CirclingLogan]

Lol. Only people from SoCal think the weather is bad here. Spend one winter in NYC or London.

[bmw335xi]

If you are a photographer or photographer type, it's paradise. You have to appreciate urban living and nature. People who love SF love both things. It's rare to have both, usually you have to decide one or the other, but in SF you have both. If parties and beach are you main priorities than SF will suck.

[garyjohnyang]

Move to Paris or London or New York or wherever, then, since you can already afford it here. There'll be ten people in line just waiting to take your place.
As for your points:
1. Not every San Franciscan is snobby and/arrogant. We just enjoy being isolated out here in our own little world but also love to explore other places.
2. I don't get how you're insinuating that San Franciscans enjoy pretending to be "laid back"- I've met some of the hardest working people I've ever known here. Maybe you mean by going out into nature? I've always loved exploring all the mountains and rivers and beaches here. It makes me feel spoiled, but it's not something I'd take for granted.
3. San Francisco is not Paris or New York. It is San Francisco, and we want to be just that.
4. What type of nightlife are you interested in? Bars are more appealing to me than clubs, but I guess I understand considering you came from SoCal. Most people here are geeks? No, not at all... there are plenty of party animals in this city. Just think bros in the Marina district.
5. San Francisco is actually a really safe city; maybe in your experience it isn't, but then that could just be picking the wrong place to park your car.
6. Summers in San Francisco are not cold. At worst, they're a little chilly. But even then you have microclimates in places like the Mission that can sometimes be 20 degrees warmer than, say, the Outer Sunset.
7. Only a small part of San Francisco I'd say is dirty (e.g the Tenderloin, parts of Chinatown). The rest is manageable, but even then the only BAD dirty you would find here is in the form of human feces downtown. I avoid those areas of town anyways.
8. agree. Homelessness and drug addicts are definitely an unavoidable problem here. However, people in the CIty I haven't found to be miserable at all. San Francisco was named the happiest city in America one year, I remember. I guess it's the diversity/liberal attitude everywhere you go.
9. If you think that San Francisco is boring in any way, shape, or form, you just aren't trying. It's the third most eventful city in the United States; make something out of that.
10. Same thing applies to areas of Manhattan and New York. You're overgeneralizing about an entire city. There are plenty of great mansions in Pacific Heights, modern condos in SOMA, etc.

[metalforever]

As someone who visited from Pittsburgh, PA for a few months, here is what I think:


1. It's really, really dirty, even though its smaller than my small town (which everyone thinks is really dirty).
2. Why so many homeless people? :S There are a lot of cheaper safe areas in the bay that are affordable on social security (I knew multiple people making it on social security income). This really got to me when I was going to my tech job every day and coming home, so much that it made me kind of depressed.
3. The weather is really nice. You don't know how good you have it.
4. San Francisco is not boring. If you think it is boring, you are probably really boring.
5. It is 10x easier to make friends in San Francisco. You are very very friendly. I made more friends there in 6 months than I have made in Pittsburgh in 5+ years.
6. Whoever mentioned nature: Yeah you have it but its way overpopulated. Someone also seems to have cut down the vast majority of the trees in San Francisco... I was not impressed. Nature, frankly, is much better in my town.
7. Safe? It probably is. You have to be loaded there to afford housing, so....
8. San Francisco smells like pee (sorry...)
9. Earthquakes make me very, very nervous about the prospect of moving there permanently.'
10. Aww man, what I would do to have your wonderful public transit again. BART is the best thing ever (I own a vehicle).

[AnthonyJ34]

I'm from So. Cal (Cerritos), and I would love to live in San Francisco. One of the selling points for me is the weather; I love the cooler summers in SF. In So. Cal, summer never seems to end; 85 degrees on Christmas Day is just plain wrong! And the air is so much clearer in SF!

[fred9]

Sounds like you are limiting your self to San Francisco. That city is only 7x7 miles.
The Bay Area Region is packed full of diversity, you just have to seek it out.
When I worked in SF the tall and too close together buildings made me feel a bit claustrophobic. One of the many reasons NOT to live in SF.

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.8021...22.2051156,11z

In that mapped area there is a truck load of nature

[lrmsd]

I live in San Diego currently and absolutely loved my two years in San Francisco....BUT, there's a time and place [for everything there's a season-lol] and I would not love it now. Rather than argue your points, I'd say to you that you are done with the place. Time to move on. And that could be true after living anywhere for 10 years, especially when you move there for college [ie, the general bay area for you]....Places can be good for certain phases of life and then it's time for something new. Yea, what's gotten old about the city/area will get REALLY old when it's time to move on. And sometimes that hardcore frustration/unhappiness is what prods someone to finally make the move.

You may need to take a lower paying tech job-since you are living where the cream of the crop opportunities reside in *some* areas of the tech industry. [Since you said it's hard to leave b/c of your tech job.] There are jobs in other places. You can probably find something in Austin and check that out for awhile.

Best to focus on what you want to do in the future, rather than proving how bad SFO is. [Though I totally get the venting thing-but for some people it will not be bad at all. Others will be on the same page as you. None of that matters b/c SFO will keep doing its SFO thing regardless.]

No need to second guess yourself just b/c SFO is a 'world class city' (by name). Also, no need to have the most disparaging scenario possible in order to move. I find people asking about moving on CD often emphasize the negatives almost as though a crisis or dire need is necessary in order to justify a move. 'Omg, there are gangs everywhere blah blah blah'. LOL. Just go where you want to go.

Many of your observations about San Francisco are correct. Whether or not those are negative factors for people living there, will vary by person and situation. It's interpretation of factual data that is subjective.

Good luck and enjoy-sounds like you are in a great position-skills, degree from top school, professional experience in SFO....that's not a terrible place to be. (:

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by fred9

Sounds like you are limiting your self to San Francisco. That city is only 7x7 miles.
The Bay Area Region is packed full of diversity, you just have to seek it out.
When I worked in SF the tall and too close together buildings made me feel a bit claustrophobic. One of the many reasons NOT to live in SF.

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.8021...22.2051156,11z

In that mapped area there is a truck load of nature

True. The open space of Marin county is heaven, I'm convinced. Even Muir Woods on a crowded day is gorgeous. Still, people can get sick of an area, its people, its culture, weather, geography, etc. Sounds like OP is ready to move on from college/post college years and enter a new phase of adulthood-heading towards 30's=different time and place?

[Gurbie]

Originally Posted by scubaG

I really hate living here and feel trapped. The concept of leaving seems so easy but it's not.

Made the biggest mistake in my life moving here from Southern California 10 years ago. Went to Stanford and never really loved SF but thought I would just learn to love it and settle. But I can't imagine being here for any longer than short term anymore. It seems hard to uproot and move to another city. But the more and more I travel, the more disdain I have for San Francisco.

I'm getting really tired of the people here. It seems like everyone here is a type A who tries so hard to pretend that they're "laid back". Not to mention people here have such an inferiority complex and take this small town so seriously and have a belief that it is Paris or New York. So ridiculous.

The party scene here is so lame, because most people are geeks. I understand but come on, if we want to parade around and pretend we're a world-class city at least have some cool places to let back on the weekends. It's so filthy (somewhere this small should be manageable), the cold summers are miserable, the crime rate is ridiculous - my car has been broken into 2x this year alone. Homeless people seem to run the streets, I see druggies about, and people look so miserable.

I would love to live in a real city like London or New York (or even even the total opposite - an unpretentious small town like Austin) but but unfortunately, i'm in tech and it's harder to find equivalent positions elsewhere.

What exactly do people see in this place? I have a nice place but most people here pay so much to live like peasants in dumpy roach infested apartments here, for very little return (boring, high crime rate, the crazies). I will never understand.

End Rant.

You joined the board to lay this cliche-riddled turd?