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I've just returned, and the touristy things are nice to see (Alcatraz, The GG Bridge, Sausilito, Fishermans Wharf -be it a bit Barry Islandish, The Trams, The Hills, Lombard.)
But I thought the city itself was filthy, every morning the pavements we used to walk to the Bart were washed down with disinfectant, but still stunk of urine. They have a huge homeless population which is sad to see, I've been to a few US cities and this was the worst and horrendously expensive. The first and last time i'll visit.
Is this a sign of the times and a lot of US cities now like this, or has San Fran always been a bit of a dump ?
I've never been to the west coast, but I think San Francisco has developed a reputation for homelessness, owing in no small part no doubt to the fact that property there is so obscenely expensive and space is quite limited.
In a related topic, have a look at Skid Row in LA on google street view. It's incredible, just a few blocks south of the centre.
What streets did you find bad in SF? Am always interested to look these places up.
I went to Skid Row on a uni field trip, the level of poverty is off the scale of anything I've seen in western europe and the US, was a big eye opener into how a lot of people are just not given the help they need and simply left behind and forgotten about. Very depressing place indeed.Originally Posted by JamesWales
We were in Lombard St, central San Fran, but the homeless problem is all over central and any green space down to Fishermans Wharf. I did LA in 1989 and the homeless problem was quite bad back then.
There's a tent city in LA that is "home" to something like 20,000+ homeless people. People are like zombies they're so ****ed from drugs. There's some horrific footage from the area.
Lorrie’s Diner was the place to go for breakfast, Chinatown was ok. That was over 20 years ago though, but even then homelessness was very high.
There was an earthquake when I was there. The vibrations were so bad the TV fell off the cupboard in the bedroom. The number of vagrants in California is horrendous but the situation gets worse as you travel south.
Quite how somewhere like Skid Row can be allowed to exist for so long, especially in a city with so much wealth is incredibly shocking.
Yes & would love to go back. I’ve done a handful of US cities and you can find the good & bad in each.
My favourite NA city is Vancouver which also has a big homeless & drug problem but it’s managed to a few blocks.
That's my next visit across the pond, we twinned San Fran with Alberta in Canada, which was absolutely stunning.
I want to say it was recent but just realised it was 2016 now lol.
We did Vegas, Hawaii and then San Fran and our least fav was San Fran, felt very busy, not welcome and bit of a London vibe for me. Although Alcatraz trip was about as good/interesting as it gets, we loved that and had some great pictures on the bridge etc. we were there for a few days and that was enough.
they moved alot of the homeless on from area's in LA for the Super Bowl, the area between Hawthorne airport and SoFi stadium was just a massive homeless ghetto, they gave them 7 days notice and anything left after that was scooped up with JCB's, some were advised to move down the coast and even put on trains ( heading to San Diego or SF )
LA has a massive Fentanyl problem right now ( well the whole of the US seems to ), loads of interesting documentaries on YouTube, a 3mil dose of Fentanyl can kill, thats a few grains
I walked over part of the Golden Gate Bridge just after 9/11 when the bridge was thought to be a terrorist target. The bridge was manned by the Marine Guard with their machine guns and boxes of ammo. Far from being told to get off the bridge, the officer in charge was a friendly guy who asked me where I had come from. I told him Cardiff and it turned out he had served in St Athan.
Went to SF a couple of times in the mid 90s. There was a visible homeless community but not too bad. Mostly concentrated in the Tenderloin area. It spilled into Union Square at nights but was never threatening at all. I follow the baseball and NFL teams from there so read lots about the city and various social issues. Poverty and homelessness has clearly exploded since the early 2000s. In a city with the most expensive rents in the US the gap between haves and have-nots is sickening
I haven't been there for over 10 years. The first time I went was over 20 years ago, the number of people begging in the street made a lasting impression. I should imagine it's much worse now. It's very small and it's very expensive. A tiny apartment in SF is well over £3,000 a month.
I went late 90's for a few weeks.
I was into photography at the time and spent a bit of time wandering about The Mission District as well as The Tenderloin.
Both were shabby, but didn't strike me as particularly rough compared to many places that I had been.
There was actually a Welsh Biker bar in The Mission called Dylans.
It was a nice City to visit.
It seems to be common knowledge now the problems that SF has with drugs, crime and homelessness as well as the knock on effects such as human faeces common on the sidewalks downtown.
The decriminalization of shoplifting up to $950 is also apparently a thing.
It doesn't strike me as dangerous as say Chicago is right now....just squalid.
I've always liked San Fran. It has a heart, unlike LA.
What I would say is I think the west coast is a bit of a magnet for unfortunate homeless people because of the climate and the more tolerant attitude of the authorities compared with elsewhere in the US.
For folks in the UK who don't know, the US benefits system is very tough on indigents. So maybe have a bit of empathy when you see homeless people in the US, they aren't all grifters (like Trump).
I would agree with this. I liked San Francisco , hotels are very expensive though.I've always liked San Fran. It has a heart, unlike LA.
What I would say is I think the west coast is a bit of a magnet for unfortunate homeless people because of the climate and the more tolerant attitude of the authorities compared with elsewhere in the US.
For folks in the UK who don't know, the US benefits system is very tough on indigents. So maybe have a bit of empathy when you see homeless people in the US, they aren't all grifters (like Trump
We hired bikes and cycled along the front up over the Golden Bridge down to Sausalito ,got the boat back to San Francisco going round Alcatraz . Great way to see things.
I have family in LA , I wouldn't give you tuppence for it .
I remember walking up Hollywood Boulevard just as dusk was approaching as the shops started closing
a different breed of people appeared on the street , you could almost feel the atmosphere change .
Bit like a zombie movie.
Getting back to the car pronto seemed like a good idea....
Been there a few times, really like it as a City, but always felt I have never needed to spend more than a couple days there. I have usually used it as a base before travelling on to the national parks ect.
I’ve been to SF ,3 times and enjoyed it each time. We did the usual Alcatraz etc but did remember the last time, it being a bit if a mess down by Fisherman’s Wharf. One of the fast food places was absolutely hanging so we didn’t but food there. We were there for 4th of July and it was cold in the evening and we couldn’t see the fireworks because the cloud cover was so low.
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