I am now in my mid 40's and I can remember when San Francisco was an interesting and nice place to live but it wasn't really a known world class city. There were crime issues, and the city was made up of ex-military, hippies, white gay men and non-traditionalists. Personally that was my favorite period in San Francisco that I personally was able to experience. Over the last 20 years it has become basically impossible to live in without extreme wealth, and there are a lot of people not from San Francisco that moved in claiming that they held the virtues of being counter-culture, but really they were just rich yuppies that loved capitalism but tried to feel better by claiming they supported liberal causes financially. Rather than address the fact that the city turned into a money-generating, soulless town, they decided to ignore the issues of homelessness, addiction and the "neighborhood" feeling of the city was gone. San Francisco has taken a hit since COVID, but it is still an extremely desirable and expensive place to live. I would live there, but I cannot afford it. The houses that my wife said she would be agreeable to moving into would run me 4-5 million dollars. I cannot afford that. FWIW the same thing is starting to happen in Austin as well....... it has happened in NYC in the past as well.... and Chicago.
American's are the only people on the planet that go out of the way to find the absolute worst parts of their country and culture and show it to the rest of the world. Every other country has shame about their countries failings, to the extent that they will actually hide the problems... deny they exist and openly lie about the state of their country and culture.......... But not Americans, they will go out of their way to not show the best parts, or even the majority of the country and culture - they will look for the absolute seediest and most disgusting and shameful part and BLAST it to the rest of the world. Why? It is an incredibly level of entitlement in the USA - It is no wonder that some of my friends believe that on a daily basis that the USA has women and black people in shackles, that every foray outside the iron gate results in gun fire and that 80% of the country is made up of zombies. There is a difference between be aware of your countries problems, and trying to solve them - and spouting how the USA is a fascist shithole or is a socialist nightmare on par with Venezuela. The truth is that neither is true. The USA has skeletons in it's closet - the whole world knows about it, and there are injustices in the USA and those should be taken seriously. For example, there is racism in the USA and it needs to be discussed and fixed - but anyone that thinks that the USA is racist compared to the rest of the world (that includes Europe) is in for a rude awakening. The same is true for the homeless and drug addicted.
I was just there. The building with the bowling alley across the ballpark has only one tenant, the bowling alley. The rest of the space is vacant retail lots. there’s zero middle class, the businesses in the wealthy areas are still doing ok
I enjoyed the food and the vibrant tech space. Then again, when I lived there 7-8 yrs ago, I could choose which corporate apartment to live in with a modest enough expense account to enjoy different restaurants... It definitely has a unique vibe like Chicago or NY that compells you to "make it" there. I called it tech everest that's really an iceberg, and that feeling has likely worsened.
My uncle and his wife were bus drivers in San Francisco. When he passed in 2011, he and my aunt owned a condo in San Francisco they bought in 60's and it was worth over $500K. My great uncle bought a house near downtown San Francisco in the 30's. He moved there during the New Deal. His family still owns it, it's worth over a million. Reparations is a complicated issue. Blacks were certainly discriminated against but blacks have owned property. I have never bought a house so I'm in no position to preach. That being said when people talk red lining we all speak in a slave mentality. Red lining is not allowing blacks in white neighborhoods. Why do we believe black property in black areas can't appreciate? We assume black neighborhoods can't improve. That's the first problem. All that being said we really should appreciate the gains in racial harmony. I look at areas like Pearland where there is plenty of diversity. We are progressing
There really hasn't been a strong middle class for a long time....... and that is part of why it is soulless. The same is starting to happen in Austin. San Francisco is not terribly bigger, and couple that with housing policies that made it nearly impossible for affordable housing to exist - with a constant influx of the wealthy buying second homes or moving in and you are left with wealthy and drug addicted and homeless who come because of the weather and the resources for the homeless in that area. There was a study done about a decade ago that concluded that the city is only 1/4th the size it would be with more housing available. The same things that make it so popular - also are what make it a place without a middle class.
Oh I know there’s homeless people in Austin It’s not even on the same level as the San Francisco To me, it’s the surrounding areas that are more desirable like Napa valley or Monterrey But you need Brad and Angelina money for that. San Diego is still tops in my book, it’s got problems but it has residents like bill Walton who actually care about community
Peter Thiel likened California (and the Pacific West) to a petro state with tech dominating the economy and pulling everything else towards its gravity, a “tech curse”. It definitely shifts government priorities towards more capital heavy industries while suffocating locals and small businesses. I can't disagree as the state government can tax the crap out of those companies profits to sustain their large budgets while not having to listen to daily concerns that are becoming more apparent to everyone living there.
I went to this mall and didn’t know this happened Wondering why there were armed guards everywhere Bullet proof vest cops protecting me buying some socks and t shirts definitely not Austin @AroundTheWorld @rocketsjudoka
All the stuff near the waterfront is nice but it’s trash when you go to the mission all the other trendy hoods. The mission was suppose to have great Mexican food , it doesn’t . Not compared to LA or Houston. New York City is much nicer for walking and public transport IMO
San Francisco has a higher crime rate than Austin right now.... but give it some time, the crime rate in Austin is creeping up quickly. For example, Houston and Dallas have higher crime rates than San Francisco.
I don’t remember kids beating the crap out of kids and mall security ever in Austin I picked up some nice clothes though on my last trip
There has always been crime in San Francisco though.... it has never been the safest place... we will see what happens long term, but there are crime issues in a lot of places around the globe, and in the USA. For example there has been a lot of attention given about crime in Chicago and how that will cause the wealthy to flee, and that isn't really the case.... every single homicide in Chicago this year has been black or hispanic except 5...... 3 white people, an Indian man and an Asian man.
There has always been crime in San Francisco though.... it has never been the safest place... we will see what happens long term, but there are crime issues in a lot of places around the globe, and in the USA. For example there has been a lot of attention given about crime in Chicago and how that will cause the wealthy to flee, and that isn't really the case.... every single homicide in Chicago this year has been black or hispanic except 5...... 3 white people, an Indian man and an Asian man. I said several years ago that the worst thing politically that the left in the USA could do is rail on the Clinton Crime Act, and push for the release of people from prison for anything above very simple drug possession crimes. It isn't entirely a coincidence that violent crime and murder in the USA went way down afterwards. We can have debates about what is and isn't ethical, but it won't matter if the crime rate goes up.... even those on the left won't tolerate that.
This might sound crazy, but I think we should have public services of sufficient quality available to all in this country (police, schools, infrastructure, etc.) such that anyone at least has a chance to make of this life what they can in keeping with their talents and abilities. I think this approach makes much more sense, although it would cost a lot more, than approaches on the back end like AA and reparations to address prior wrongs and inequities. The more race becomes a focal point for every issue in this country, the more resentment will be engendered, and not wrongfully so in at least some circumstances. It's almost like the resentment is the true underlying goal of all of this.
