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Old 05-30-2010, 09:10 AM
 
92 posts, read 367,426 times
Reputation: 33

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How often does the area get a bad earthquake?
Would I be safe in Portola Valley from earthquakes?

A few other issues:
Is there much crime in the Bay Area?
Does everyone take drugs?
Are there a lot of gays in the Bay Area?

Ok, I've listed some problems with San Francisco/Bay Area
but what are the good things?
Do you like San Francisco's weather
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Old 05-30-2010, 10:16 AM
 
902 posts, read 2,780,521 times
Reputation: 375
Quote:
Originally Posted by USASportsBlogs View Post
How often does the area get a bad earthquake?
Would I be safe in Portola Valley from earthquakes?

A few other issues:
Is there much crime in the Bay Area?
Does everyone take drugs?
Are there a lot of gays in the Bay Area?

Ok, I've listed some problems with San Francisco/Bay Area
but what are the good things?
Do you like San Francisco's weather
I lived in California most of my life, and as there are small tremblors all the time, I have never felt an earthquake before and many people don't. So you shouldn't be worried about an earthquake. A big one will happen sometime, but they don't happen often at all. Portola Valley isn't safe from a big one just, but practically nowhere in CA is.

There is crime in the Bay Area, but it is far from widespread. Oakland and Richmond are the two highest crime rated cities in California and both in the top 10 for highest crime rated cities in the country. Richmond had the 2nd highest per capita homicide rate in the country this past year. But there are nice areas in both Richmond and Oakland...more so Oakland. Other cities with crime problems include: Vallejo, Fairfield, Hayward, East Palo Alto, San Pablo, San Rafael, etc. SF also has some bad neighborhoods that are just as violent as any in Oakland. With that said, most of the Bay Area is very safe.

Recreational drug use in the Bay Area is probably higher than in any other part of the country, marijuana use in particular.

There are no more gays in the Bay Area than any other part of the country. It has a reputation as being more accepting, so there are likely more open gays in the Bay than other places which have a bunch of closet gays. With that said, I don't think this is a bad thing.

I love SF weather and the Bay Area in general. If I ever want really warm weather then all I have to do is hop in my car for 20-30 minutes in any direction really.
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Old 05-30-2010, 10:19 AM
 
5,747 posts, read 12,028,174 times
Reputation: 4511
Quote:
Originally Posted by USASportsBlogs View Post
How often does the area get a bad earthquake? Most earthquakes are nonevents, but when a bad one hits, look out!
Would I be safe in Portola Valley from earthquakes? No. There isn't anywhere in the Bay Area that would keep you safe from a bad earthquake. The vast majority of California is vulnerable to earthquakes.

A few other issues:
Is there much crime in the Bay Area? The Bay Area is comprised of three big cities (Oakland, San Francisco, & San Jose), a handful of medium-sized cities, and another thirty or forty small towns and suburbs that fill the spaces in between. Crime varies dramatically from place to place.
Does everyone take drugs? No, of course not, but they're definitely available.
Are there a lot of gays in the Bay Area? There are a lot of gays everywhere, but you might be more aware of them in the Bay Area because it's generally a LGBT-friendly environment.
Ok, I've listed some problems with San Francisco/Bay Area, but what are the good things? Too many to list!
Do you like San Francisco's weather? Yes.
I think the first thing you need to consider, before all of the other issues you've listed, is whether or not you can really afford to live there. If so, well, I think there's lots to love. If not, you're going to be miserable.

Last edited by formercalifornian; 05-30-2010 at 10:34 AM..
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Old 05-30-2010, 10:22 AM
 
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
6,957 posts, read 22,257,796 times
Reputation: 6469
Quote:
Originally Posted by USASportsBlogs View Post
Would I be safe in Portola Valley from earthquakes?
The San Andreas Fault runs through PV at one point.

Quote:
A few other issues:
Is there much crime in the Bay Area?
Does everyone take drugs?
Are there a lot of gays in the Bay Area?

Ok, I've listed some problems with San Francisco/Bay Area
but what are the good things?
Do you like San Francisco's weather
Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes.
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Old 05-30-2010, 10:35 AM
 
1,476 posts, read 2,020,755 times
Reputation: 704
Yes, there is a "threat" of earthquakes in all of California and no, it is really not a "treat" to be in one! (sorry, couldn't resist - ) I lived in California for 15 years and only experienced a couple I could feel. Be sure and live in a place that's new construction or retrofitted. Prevalence of crime, gays, nice weather is kind of relative - depends where you're coming from.
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Old 05-30-2010, 10:40 AM
 
92 posts, read 367,426 times
Reputation: 33
my bad
i meant to say threat
Is LA a lot safer than San Fran when it comes to natural disasters?
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Old 05-30-2010, 10:44 AM
 
1,476 posts, read 2,020,755 times
Reputation: 704
Quote:
Originally Posted by USASportsBlogs View Post
my bad
i meant to say threat
Is LA a lot safer than San Fran when it comes to natural disasters?
Sorry, I was just teasing you. No. LA is not really any safer and in general you'll be okay either place. If you're coming from the midwest, you've had to deal with tornados. If you're coming from the east coast, you've had to deal with hurricanes. There's always something! Good Luck.
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Old 05-30-2010, 01:44 PM
 
2,957 posts, read 6,456,895 times
Reputation: 1419
Quote:
Originally Posted by USASportsBlogs View Post
How often does the area get a bad earthquake?
Would I be safe in Portola Valley from earthquakes?

A few other issues:
Is there much crime in the Bay Area?
Does everyone take drugs?
Are there a lot of gays in the Bay Area?

Ok, I've listed some problems with San Francisco/Bay Area
but what are the good things?
Do you like San Francisco's weather
You consider earthquakes to be a treat? Very odd.

How long have you lived on Earth? Ever look at those inky folded-up things called "newspapers?" They often clue people in when there's been a bad natural disaster. Maybe if you try moving into society and renounce your cave dwelling you can get caught up on how regular "bad earthquakes" occur in San Francisco.

Oh but don't worry about Portola Valley. Its the one town that's completely immune to quakes. They just roll right along around its borders and wreak havoc on its neighbors like Woodside and Los Altos Hills. Stay away from those two b/c its residents have about 8 of their homes flattened per week.

A few other responses to your post:
-The crime in the Bay Area is mostly concentrated in Portola Valley and our other affluent areas, so you should probably STAY AWAY. But if you do come out this way, try North Richmond. Its got a really nice family vibe and they're generally welcoming to strangers.

-Yep, everyone takes drugs here, priests and surgeons alike. Soccer moms are among the heaviest users, which actually drives our street value of cocaine through the roof. Even though its been legalized. One problem is our police keep pulling over people at random and strip searching them b/c many of the cops are heavy LSD users. One of the strangest sights here are our SPCA's and veterinarians; they commonly use "angel dust," or PCP, and they can be really aggressive if you want to get your pet taken care of. So beware.

-Yes, there's almost nothing but gay people here. Its awful. I don't even know how our population keeps increasing considering we have a 75%+ gay population; I guess the straights, or "breeders" as we're called, are just very fertile and active. Of course our population is also 60% homeless while at the same time 90% yuppie, 85% white and 70% Chinese, so go figure. Our percentages are weird out here. It must be all the liberal hippie beatniks that take our census.

-And just an added bonus, to give some insight provided by transplants who don't actually live here (go figure), everyone in SF is depressed and looks like a zombie. Except for the gay homeless hippie Chinese and White druggie yuppies who count for 450% or so of our population. But aside from them we look like the walking dead. Oh and SF is built like a 3rd world country too.

Okay I've replied to you regarding some of our "problems" - particularly the yucky gays...EEEWWWWWWW. They are SUCH a problem. When you come here and run into them you should tell them that God doesn't love them for doing what they do. Maybe that'll turn things around and fix the "problem."

So, the good things about SF? Rice-a-roni. Its amazing, and its the only thing we're known for far and wide. Oh and there's a couple cool hills.

But our weather here is terrible. People from Texas get hypothermia when they experience our cold, cold, cold weather (in the summer no less!), and it never gets above 25 degrees year round. The last time SF saw sunlight was in the late 1960's around the "Summer of Love." But that's when it became mandatory for SF's residents to become drug users, so no one remembers anyway.

Last edited by jman650; 05-30-2010 at 01:59 PM..
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Old 05-30-2010, 02:10 PM
 
Location: The Bay
6,914 posts, read 14,701,303 times
Reputation: 3119
^lol...


and yea I caught that too... since when are gays a problem? You think it's contagious or something? rofl..


As for the rest of it, the bay area has its fair share of crime but no more than any other part of the country. This is somewhat of a weird question imo... do you live in a region where there's zero crime? I've yet to hear of one.

But since you're probably looking for a list of places with the highest crime, here's one for you:


East Oakland
North Oakland
West Oakland
East Palo Alto & East Menlo (Belle Haven)
North Richmond
Hilltop Richmond
Marin City
Bayview Hunter's Point SF
Western Addition SF
Portrero Hill SF
Tenderloin SF
Sunnydale SF
West Berkeley
South Berkeley
North Vallejo
Beverly Hills Vallejo
North Antioch
East Pittsburg
North Fair Oaks/East RWC
North Central San Mateo
East San Jose
Parts of West and North San Jose
East San Bruno
South Hayward
Cherryland (Hayward)
Ashland (San Leandro)
Emeryville
parts of Fairfield
parts of Daly City & South SF
Canal Area San Rafael
Parts of Sunnyvale
Rengstorff Park Mountain View

^all of which have redeeming qualities... it's not all black and white. I'm assuming you're just concerned with crime though.
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Old 05-30-2010, 02:43 PM
 
Location: Pasadena
7,411 posts, read 10,347,582 times
Reputation: 1802
Unfortunately, LA is no safer from earthquakes than the Bay Area. Both regions have a network of active fault lines that can and have produced violent earthquakes but the last major quake in the Bay Area was over 20 yrs ago. Aside from a very strong earthquake in the early 1800's the worst earthquake in California was in 1906 and did do a lot of damage. But building codes are very strict in California and the kind of earthquake that devastated Haiti this year would never cause such destruction in California.
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