I try to avoid San Francisco like the plague. Sadly, I am forced to enter occasionally.

For all the wealth that's is supposed to be in the area, the roads are really shitty, there is trash everywhere, and there is no fucking parking.

Why anyone would want to live or visit anywhere within 500 miles of this shithole is beyond me.

Yes, I realize the irony of my post.

I grew up about two hours south of SF. There were some really cool things about San Francisco back then, but even in the 80s they were tempered by the fact that much of the city was a complete shithole.

Yes, it was a center of counter-culture in the 60s, but the brain-damaged hippies didn't actually take over the government until the late 70s into the early 80s. Diane Feinstein (and her ilk) were the beginning of the end. Now, it's a brilliant case study for how utopian Socialist city-states ultimately fail, mostly when the parasites bleed dry the actual producers.

They have a penchant for periodically laying off cops and other public safety personnel in the same budget year they're pouring millions into "Art For The Homeless" or "Gender-equal street toilets" or some such thing. No, seriously, those are real. When they need more money, it's cool to up the sales tax another percent (currently 8.75%). Property tax is 1.18& of assessed value plus "special assessments" and other fees. Given that the median assessed value of single-familyhomes in SF is $1.5MILLION (yes, you read that correctly) the city SHOULD be paving the streets in gold, as well as providing complimentary hookers and blow to everyone... and yet, it continues to sink into more and more debt.

The cool things couldn't afford to stay, and the absolute extreme-left whackos that now set all local.gov policy are in a contest to see who can go More Extreme Mao before their comrades.

I love the weather, though.

I lived there for about 6 years when I was working in the financial district. I was excited to move there, but happy to leave. Conditions like you described.

I fled in '93. I lived in the East Bay. I'm still too angry.....

I go for the food, weather, and surrounding areas.

Like any large city, San Francisco is a great place to visit. There are many great restaurants, bars, entertainment venues and things to see but I'd never want to live there. Glad I live less than 2 hours from there.

Smells like fish and piss to me. I would be just fine with never visiting there again, but GF's parents live outside of it.

For all the money in that city you'd think they could afford to clean and maintain the roadways.

I passed through SF several years ago while riding the PCH on the Gold Wing. Stopped for food at a Burger King owned by Asians that had armed security inside and locked rest rooms. (Security had the key)

Homeless druggies outside were eyeing my GW so I had to remove anything that could be ripped off. (GPS, Sat radio, etc).

Quick burger and coffee, got on the bike and left, heading South never to return.

Damn, not what I expected when I read the title of this thread....Thought it was the announcement of a new forum initiative to incorporate 'SIGforum City'!

For the past several years, San Francisco's government has made a conscious decision to make driving within the City as difficult as possible. From those shitty parklets that eliminate parking spaces in favor of outdoor seating to the way sidewalks are designed to encroach upon driving lanes--especially at intersections, where the corners jut out into the street inexplicably from the straight part of the sidewalk--to the City's efforts to eliminate driving lanes or left turns along major thoroughfares.

I used to enjoy driving around in the dead of night to enjoy the scenery without the drudgery of daytime traffic, but it became such a hassle that I stopped even those nocturnal drives. Whenever I left the house, it was to leave town or drive directly to work.

We went to SF back in April. It will be the last time there. The mentally ill homeless were enough for me. Most of the public trash cans had pad locks on them. The ones that didnt were being rummaged though buy the homeless and the trash thrown on the sidewalk.

Last time I was in SF it smelled like NO.

I grew up there. Moved to buy a house in the east bay.

I hate going to SF for all the things you said, especially parking.

You can't even pay me to set foot in Kali, let alone the dump that is SF. I despise the state that's run by commies. I feel sorry for my friends who want to leave but are stuck there.

Work brings me there twice a month. It's amazing how many homeless I walk past in my 5 minute walk from hotel to office. Glad I don't live there. I love the weather though.

The other day I saw this guy flopping like a dying fish on the ground walking to my hotel. The next morning he was hanging off a railing acting disturbed. Saw him again later that day after dinner. He was walking like he had mental problems until he turned the corner. Then he walked normal once he was out of view from the street. Just another con artist.

quote:

Originally posted by DennisM:
There were some really cool things about San Francisco back then

Seems most people love california (40 years ago).

Even 20 years ago.

Seems like no positive effort has been made for 15 years

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
I grew up there. Moved to buy a house in the east bay.

I hate going to SF for all the things you said, especially parking.

I wanted some jajangmien and decided to go to San Tung on Irving. I drove around for 20 minutes looking for parking within a 6 block radius. Finally gave up - wasn't hungry anymore. Wanted to hit something.

Endlessly fascinating town even as it goes downhill.

Coit Tower

I'd like to start a pool on what's eventually going to render the City and County utterly dysfunctional. It was actually a real, live, working city once. Now it's becoming just one big-ass "planned development" apartment complex for rich people who are complete airheads when it comes to running a city.

To this day I don't understand why Uncle Sam gave up the Presidio. If nothing else it was a neat place to sit and watch the fartsniffers in Marina area get torn a new one by bad weather and the occasional earthquake.