That's an incredible picture. Always wanted to go and do the West Coast over there. Cheers for posting that.
Great picture that. I was over in San Fran a good 10 years ago for a couple of weeks and loved every minute there. Looking forward to going back one day and doing a fair bit of wine country too.
Right back at you (although not my photos sadly). Crazy right now and definitely raining ash just 16 miles North West of you in Walnut Creek. That last one is the ash on a car this morning
Used to live there. Most beautiful and scary place I've lived at the same time. Right near the tenderloin, lot of violence and crackheads at all hours but those views haha.
Unrelated to photos, but how do you find SFO as a city? Do you enjoy it? It's been on my travel bucket list for a while now and I'd like to be able to go one day
I've lived in the Bay Area for 25 years, the last 15 in San Francisco. It is going down hill rapidly, due to how it is being mismanaged. PS. As per my LinkedIn profile, I'm looking to move back to Sydney, should anyone want a 61 year old, semi-retired, IT professional (which I doubt).
Nope. I lived in Ardsley until I was about 9ish. Then moved to Mexborough for 2-3 years, before moving to Goldthorpe, until I left for college in Leicester when I was 18.
That's a very eerie photo, SFO! I've been to San Fransisco once. It was definitely different from any (European) city I've been to. Incredible amounts of homelessness. We were in a hostel downtown on O'Farrel St, right next to a massive Hilton. It wasn't too bad there, although it got a bit shouty during the middle of the night on occasion. One night we wanted pizza, so we went one bock over to Ellis St and it was like stepping into a whole different world. Homeless people all over, with a significant portion of them also having various visible disabilities, drug deals and consumption taking place openly. People who really lived on the edge of existence with clearly not having any chance of turning it around. I don't think I've ever felt as unsafe before, mostly because it was just that much more visible and concentrated than you would see over here, though nothing actually happened. It didn't feel much better on the way back holding a pizza while walking past all those people with less than nothing. We didn't care to venture in that particular direction again. Otherwise San Fransisco was just a big city. Plenty to do, but also noisy and busy. Being more of an outdoors activity person when on holiday, I enjoyed touring the various national parks more than I did the big city.
Interested to hear your views on how the City has been mismanaged. From a couple of visits there recently it was clear to me that the cost of housing has pushed many into poverty. This seems to be a function on market forces gone crazy. Also, I understand that the temperate climate means people on the streets migrate to the west coast. I have also heard that some public authorities actually pay for their unwanted homeless to go to SF. This appalling practice has been quite common in Spain too, with homeless people being flown to the Canary Islands(and back).
California/San Francisco also has a crazy tax system. Forcing big businesses to start thinking about moving out of the state. The recent issue with Uber/Lift was just awful. Homelessness out of control and a weak governor (to some - obviously not all - as he gets voted in). All is not well from the locals I speak to that have lived there for decades, but then locals probably say that about most places around the world. I've been going regularly for nearly four years and I get a sense that what used to be such a wonderful place to visit for a tourist (in terms of the Bay Area) is now pretty bleak.
OK. Just asking because a neighbour of mine, about the same vintage as you, went off to San Francisco early 80’s.
Interesting insights. My trips there are for business rather than pleasure. I would go as a tourist but (ESP with kids) I would be very carefully planning where I was staying, which areas to visit, which to avoid etc. It’s not a place to simply explore and absorb any more. That probably applies to a lot of the states now though.
Are you sure about these photos? I lived in San Francisco in the late 60’s, and I’m sure every day was like that!