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California’s quality of life is the worst in the country?

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Re: California’s quality of life is the worst in the country?

#81

Post by newnewpdro »

closeparen wrote: post #65
calinet6 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be clear, it's absolutely not terrible or backward by any stretch. Please visit and see for yourself. Expensive, sure. But there's a reason (another word for price in a decent market is 'value'). And not every city in California is San Francisco in terms of cost of living.

Our most central and highly-trafficked sidewalks and public transit stations are de facto public restrooms and homeless shelters. The plaza around our government and cultural center is densely populated with open drug use and varying degrees of mental health crisis. Begging and tent encampments abound. The cyclist-advocacy and homeless-advocacy groups are at each other's throats over whether the takeover of bike lane…

Having seen how places like Chicago treat the homeless in the interests of keeping the things you're pointing out hidden from sight - I appreciate SF's more tolerant, somewhat live-and-let-live methods, in lieu of better, more compassionate solutions.

Hopefully having all this on display in SF will eventually provide enough impetus for the better solutions to emerge. Until then, I hope they don't decide to start being agressive and violent towards what is a largely mentally ill and incredibly vulnerable homeless population.

My admittedly limited understanding is that much of this problem is the result of mental institutions being closed across the state in the face of federal funding vanishing in the 80s. [1]

I've also heard numerous anecdotes about mentally ill patients and the homeless being forcefully bussed to San Francisco from not just other parts of California but other states, precisely because of the city's tolerance. If there's a shred of truth to this, it's a trivial to see why it's such a persistent problem.

[1] http://sfist.com/2016/06/27/san_francisco_homeless_history_1...

Re: California’s quality of life is the worst in the country?

#82

Post by Puntar »

sehugg wrote: post #25

Here are the criteria: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/quality-of-... Among the measures used to evaluate states' natural environments are drinking water quality, air quality and total toxic chemical pollution per square. The ranking also considers how much each state puts its citizens at risk for long-term, chronic health effects from pollution. Social environment, on the other hand, investigates ho…

It doesn't seem too unreasonable that states with lower populations would rank so favorably given the criteria described.

Less people could mean less air pollution and fewer contaminants in municipal water supplies from runoff. This would theoretically decrease the occurrence of pollution related illness. I would imagine that fracking in ND, though a huge business, only occurs in a few key areas of the state, thus limiting it's negative affects on quality of life.

Smaller communities are also known for their close social circles. When there are only a handful of people in a town, it is not uncommon to interact with the same individuals regularly. If you look at the rankings, Alaska ranks number one in the "Social Environment" category. Only in a large city can one feel alone despite being surrounded by people everywhere they go.

I do agree with your point though. The criteria is very narrow and doesn't discuss many of the aspects of what "quality of life" is in the minds of most people. What about entertainment? Employment? Poverty levels? Prices? These things are important to people and I think fall under the umbrella of "quality of life" in general.

Re: California’s quality of life is the worst in the country?

#83

Post by AckSyn »

freejulian wrote: post #71
spicymaki wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let’s be real. Aren’t you just trading one groupthink (liberal west coast) for another groupthink (conservative south east) that meets your desires? Do you really think a thoughtful and educated discussion would have really helped?

Wow you’re trapped in a bubble. The valley is the most close minded place I’ve ever lived. Live in NYC for a bit, it’s the polar opposite.

I've lived in both places and NYC is far more tolerant.

Re: California’s quality of life is the worst in the country?

#84

Post by mercutio2 »

ars wrote: post #57
sehugg wrote: post #25

Here are the criteria: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/quality-of-... Among the measures used to evaluate states' natural environments are drinking water quality, air quality and total toxic chemical pollution per square. The ranking also considers how much each state puts its citizens at risk for long-term, chronic health effects from pollution. Social environment, on the other hand, investigates ho…

That says more about you than about the study. Have you ever lived in a place like that? With real community? Neighbors that care about you? Who know who you are? Who notice if you are having an issue? Who go out of their way to help you if you need it? Could you, right now, walk over to a neighbor and say "I need to go to xxx for reason xxx, could you watch my kids for 2 days?", and expect them to either say yes, or…

I have lived in extremely rural areas, and driven to destinations deep in North Dakota to buy pickup trucks.

I do not associate any part of North Dakota with midwestern neighborliness. Perhaps you do?

Re: California’s quality of life is the worst in the country?

#86

Post by nodesocket »

kelp wrote: post #64
beebmam wrote: post #42

I'm 33. Literally no one my age or younger I know owns a home unless they live in a smaller city somewhere in mid-america. I'm a senior engineer at a large tech company. I cannot afford a home where I live unless I want to live in a shitty condo, which I do not. I cannot work remotely, so moving is not an option unless I want to find another job, which I'm considering. Once baby boomers start retiring and moving to a…

I suggest lobbying your state and local representatives to allow fast and easy approval of building more high-density housing and to upzone your neighborhood. The reason California is so expensive is because the generations who already own homes have long asked to maintain the status quo with low height limits (most of San Francisco is 40 feet!) and density limits. This creates an artificial shortage. And those homeo…

I could be wrong, but I don't think the OP is asking for more high-density (and low income) housing.

Re: California’s quality of life is the worst in the country?

#87

Post by mattnewton »

tehlike wrote: post #73
mattnewton wrote: post #18

Came back from walking along the beautiful Santa Cruz coast this afternoon and read this. All I can think is this is a genius way to slow down the immigration rate until legislation and housing developments can catch up :)

I bet there are plenty of coastal areas with similar effect. East coast was nice, for me, for example. If you like all seasons, they might be more interesting than cali.

I grew up on the East Coast actually. I vastly prefer the weather, the culture and the economic opportunity of the Bay Area. I know its got huge problems, and how people like me exacerbate them, and I can’t afford a house here, but there is no where I’d rather be right now.

Re: California’s quality of life is the worst in the country?

#88

Post by enraged_camel »

nodesocket wrote: post #36
enraged_camel wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Counterpoint: Tennessee is very religious and also backwards as hell[1], and if you aren’t white you will have a difficult time fitting in. [1]Just one recent example: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/tennessee-lawmakers-pass-...

Backwards is relative. Being religious, anti-globalization, or conservative doesn't make you a horrible person. The bay area is probably the most intolerant place I've ever been. I've personally seen people unfriend friends because of politics without even being able to have a thoughtful and educated discussion about the issues. The bay area is group thinking "madness of crowds" at its worse. I encourage watching Pet…

I reject your notion that all ideas deserve equal treatment.

If I come to you and say “a woman’s place is the kitchen” and you unfriend me, it would be super dumb for me to claim that you are being intolerant for not taking me seriously by entertaining my opinion. On the contrary, it is me who is being intolerant, and I cannot fault you for not tolerating my intolerance.

Re: California’s quality of life is the worst in the country?

#89

Post by newnewpdro »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #40

I left California last September. Moving someplace cheaper allowed me to get back into housing. That was all I expected to get out of it. Other than getting off the street, I didn't expect significant improvement in quality of life. I moved to a small town that did not have all the stuff I wanted. I expected to kind of put up with it in order to be able to afford housing. But after getting here, our mantra has become…

When the plastic bags reach the ocean, they resemble jelly fish, so they look like food. Whales have been found dead with dozens of plastic bags clogging their digestive system. [1]

So coastal areas in particular are a priority to reduce the use of plastic bags. I'm disappointed California hasn't forced grocers to use biodegradable bags in the produce departments as well.

[1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-whale-idUSKBN15I2E...

Re: California’s quality of life is the worst in the country?

#90

Post by baddox »

nodesocket wrote: post #36
enraged_camel wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Counterpoint: Tennessee is very religious and also backwards as hell[1], and if you aren’t white you will have a difficult time fitting in. [1]Just one recent example: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/tennessee-lawmakers-pass-...

Backwards is relative. Being religious, anti-globalization, or conservative doesn't make you a horrible person. The bay area is probably the most intolerant place I've ever been. I've personally seen people unfriend friends because of politics without even being able to have a thoughtful and educated discussion about the issues. The bay area is group thinking "madness of crowds" at its worse. I encourage watching Pet…

Is it really so strange to factor political beliefs into your decisions about who to spend time and invest in relationships with? A lot of friendships are based on compatibility in things like hobbies, musical taste, or sense of humor. I don’t see anything wrong with that, and some political issues are (I would argue) more fundamental and important than what sports teams I follow or what types of movies I enjoy.
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