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One-third of SF Bay Area residents hope to leave soon, poll finds

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Re: One-third of SF Bay Area residents hope to leave soon, poll finds

#281
post #5

I'm sure the fact that there's an increasing trend of empty Chinese investment properties isn't helping. I grew up in Cupertino, and when I visit my parents there, I'm rather shocked at how downhill the neighborhood has gone in parts. It's crazy that these old 70's tract homes go for 1.5 million. Even more insane is that they're bought and then left empty to go downhill. Literally broken windows and paint falling off…

> SF where transit is decent

Transit is abysmal in San Francisco. Muni is an utter disaster.

The fact that it exists doesn't make it "decent." Cities with decent public transportation include Berlin, Munich, Zurich, Moscow, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei, Portland. Even New York is much better. SF is a far cry from any of those.

Re: One-third of SF Bay Area residents hope to leave soon, poll finds

#282
post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I seriously question the validity of that study. Racism has many forms and targets. You can't capture an objective measure of racism by looking purely at trends for the "n-word". You're capturing the researchers' bias as much as the subjects' racism. A foreign exchange student from Germany once remarked to me how she found it so odd that white and black students largely segregated themselves in the cafeteria (this wa…

> plenty of Germans are racist against other populations, especially Muslims I don't mean to pick on you in particular, but your comment is an example of a pattern I've noticed over the last few years that results in confusion more than clarity -- using the term 'racism' outside of the context of 'race'. In most cases, I think 'prejudiced' or 'bigoted' is probably a more accurate label when you are talking about irra…

To be clear, I'm aware that "Muslim" is not a race. I believe it's still valid to refer to racism against Muslims in this scenario. I don't believe that the German prejudice was motivated primarily by religious differences. I don't believe that an ethnically-German Muslim would face the same prejudice as, say, an ethnically-Moroccan or Syrian immigrant. I think this comes down to racism more than anything. Xenophobia might be another accurate label. It's not just religious disagreement, though.

I think most of the anti-Muslim rhetoric in the US these days fits into the same bucket. I don't believe most of it is really religious. You've got Donald Trump claiming he loves Israel and Jews and then claiming that Muslims are ruining/attacking America. That's not a case where the issue is religious disagreement or Jews would be as much a target as Muslims.

Again, you could certainly call this xenophobia. I think racism is still pretty accurate, though.

Re: One-third of SF Bay Area residents hope to leave soon, poll finds

#283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meh, I was raised in the Bay and Denver is no different anymore. Trying to get a table on Larimer Square or 16th is no different than SoMa now, 2+hour wait times if you can get that. The stores are just as crowded to me, but that may be my preference for shopping with the after church crowd (btw, Sunday drivers are so bad). On the left turns, I did live in LA for a bit, so yes, the drivers here are not as aggressive…

Huh? Active Denver resident for the past 6 years and i have never waited more than 30 minutes at a restaurant here. I work on the mentioned intersection and dine daily for lunch, with no wait regardless of my choice. I struggle to even fathom how a 2 hour wait is possible here. Are you walking into places on Valentine's Day without reservations?

Right, same - can walk into any restaurant on 16th on a weeknight and grab a table in minutes.

Maybe Capital Grille, but even then, places are rarely full.

Re: One-third of SF Bay Area residents hope to leave soon, poll finds

#284
post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't follow any of this. I'm not sure how moving some place, getting an apartment, getting a job, paying taxes, etc. (aka "living") constitutes "mooching and freeloading". I think you need to take Rhetoric 101 again.

Let me explain what you don't understand and can't follow. The massive influx of people into Austin has degraded what Austin was because it has exceeded any capacity to fully absorb them without a degradation. When you arrive at something that others built and paid for and yet still have full access to as if you had paid for it, that's when you are mooching and freeloading specifically. That's the whole definition of…

Did you build Austin? What constitutes a "local"? No one anywhere in America (or anywhere on Earth that I'm aware of) is required to pay a "foreigner tax" for moving into another city within the same country, which they are already a citizen of. Everything is supply and demand, everything is a push and pull. If Austin is bursting at the seams, it will take a few years for investment and policies to relax it. If Austin starts to empty out, slowly the city will shrink. The ebbs and flows of change are always happening, nothing is constant, everything is in motion. Austin is better served by attracting people than it is by pushing people away.

Re: One-third of SF Bay Area residents hope to leave soon, poll finds

#285

I already left! In Boston currently, but looking to go back to SoCal soon! (Really wonder why there isn't a bigger startup scene in LA/SD than in the Bay Area, it's such a sweet location..)

There's been a good size biotech startup scene in SD for some time.

Yes you are correct! Very interesting phenomenon how similar industries will cluster in/around the same location.

Re: One-third of SF Bay Area residents hope to leave soon, poll finds

#286
post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't follow any of this. I'm not sure how moving some place, getting an apartment, getting a job, paying taxes, etc. (aka "living") constitutes "mooching and freeloading". I think you need to take Rhetoric 101 again.

Let me explain what you don't understand and can't follow. The massive influx of people into Austin has degraded what Austin was because it has exceeded any capacity to fully absorb them without a degradation. When you arrive at something that others built and paid for and yet still have full access to as if you had paid for it, that's when you are mooching and freeloading specifically. That's the whole definition of…

I was born in Austin, and I've lived here for about eight years. This city and it's people have taught me so much, and I really don't know who I'd be if I never came here. I want to share this place with as many people who want it. If you like what you've heard, come join us. We have a bit of a housing shortage that's driving up the cost of housing, but that's okay. We'll just build more homes.

Re: One-third of SF Bay Area residents hope to leave soon, poll finds

#287
post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't follow any of this. I'm not sure how moving some place, getting an apartment, getting a job, paying taxes, etc. (aka "living") constitutes "mooching and freeloading". I think you need to take Rhetoric 101 again.

Let me explain what you don't understand and can't follow. The massive influx of people into Austin has degraded what Austin was because it has exceeded any capacity to fully absorb them without a degradation. When you arrive at something that others built and paid for and yet still have full access to as if you had paid for it, that's when you are mooching and freeloading specifically. That's the whole definition of…

I was born in Austin, and I've lived here for about eight years. This city and it's people have taught me so much, and I really don't know who I'd be if I never came here. I want to share this place with as many people who want it. If you like what you've heard, come join us. We have a bit of a housing shortage that's driving up the cost of housing, but that's okay. We'll just build more homes.

Re: One-third of SF Bay Area residents hope to leave soon, poll finds

#288
post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the extreme, these things can hold a lot of people without too much land: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyscraper But you don't really need those in most places. Simply building 'in' more and up 2/3/4 stories would add a ton of housing in much of the bay area.

They also do best in areas where there is a large amount of bedrock close to the surface. NYC is geologically blessed in this regard. The Bay Area has far less geologically stable ground to build on, and a lot of what there is makes up our gorgeous parks and nature preserves.

There is ample room to build in San Francisco - not much construction even needs to be skyscrapers. More 4/5/6 story construction would help a lot. The problem is entirely political.

Re: One-third of SF Bay Area residents hope to leave soon, poll finds

#289

Is the Bay Area no longer a good place to start a career? I'm close to finishing up my PhD, and my original plan was to apply to work at the tech companies that I find most interesting. For the most part, these are located in the Bay Area — although some are in New York, Austin, Boston, Seattle, Raleigh, and Atlanta. I figured I would stay there 2-4 years tops though, since my family and girlfriend live in the southe…

Nothing wrong with that. The costs only start to bother you as you get older and have been there a while and want to plan your next 10 years. Especially nice if you know you want to settle in the SE eventually (although your prferecnes may change...).

Yeah, when you're young you can get by with a room in a shared house. When you have a wife and kids... the calculation changes a lot.

Re: One-third of SF Bay Area residents hope to leave soon, poll finds

#290

After living in the SF Bay Area for 5 years, (1 in a crappy apt in Belmont, 4 in a modest home in Hayward), I have very mixed views of the place. I love the progressive politics, diversity, high concentration of smart and interesting people. I hate the traffic, over-crowded trains and the vast wealth inequality--especially since I feel that a large portion of the wealth has been retained due to tax loop holes and tha…

Do you also feel that you should decide how wealth should be retained? If people work for something (income) what makes you feel you are entitled to decide what to do with their work's result? I love socialists, they care more about other people's money than their own lives. They fight for equal poverty for all, too, but they never mind their own business.

Actually the term "loophole" refers not to a dispute over how wealth should be redistributed, but to a discrepancy between the expected amount and the measured amount.
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