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Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy

sfchronicle.com

111–120 of 388 posts

Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy

#111
post #78

I live in SF and spend a fair amount of time thinking about its poor 5-year economic outlook. It's not great, but I am curious how it compares to other metros? If I were to move from SF, wanted to live in a metro area, and was uncomfortable living in a very red state - where should I consider? Where is thriving? I have a good amount of friends in Portland, but Portland is adjacent SF in terms of poor economic recover…

Personal politics, IMO, is not a good reason to avoid living in certain areas. I'm a liberal-leaning moderate but many of my favorite people (friends and family) are conservative, and many of my hobbies tend to be populated mainly by the conservative demographic. You'll always find people here and there who won't give you the time of day if you're not on Team Blue or Team Red, but my take on it is, if I can't make fr…

> Personal politics, IMO, is not a good reason to avoid living in certain areas.

Of course it is. Imagine your daughter getting pregnant and being unable to abort the pregnancy even if her survival would be at stake, or your son ending up gay or trans? Both of these not-unlikely events can have real, deadly impact depending if you are living in a red vs purple or blue state!

> but my take on it is, if I can't make friends with people who hold beliefs different from my own, then maybe I'm the asshole.

These people may simply beat you or your children up for not conforming to their narrow worldview. Hate crimes have exploded since 2016, and on top of that comes the everyday gun violence.

Beliefs are one thing - I'm a socialist and still enjoy debating with libertarians. But some things - like the right to self-determination about your body, reproduction and sexuality or the freedom to believe in anything else (or nothing) but Jesus - these are existential questions, and I cannot (and do not) reasonably engage in discussion with someone who 'd like to see me or my friends and family dead.

Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy

#112
post #78

I live in SF and spend a fair amount of time thinking about its poor 5-year economic outlook. It's not great, but I am curious how it compares to other metros? If I were to move from SF, wanted to live in a metro area, and was uncomfortable living in a very red state - where should I consider? Where is thriving? I have a good amount of friends in Portland, but Portland is adjacent SF in terms of poor economic recover…

Personal politics, IMO, is not a good reason to avoid living in certain areas. I'm a liberal-leaning moderate but many of my favorite people (friends and family) are conservative, and many of my hobbies tend to be populated mainly by the conservative demographic. You'll always find people here and there who won't give you the time of day if you're not on Team Blue or Team Red, but my take on it is, if I can't make fr…

If you're a person who anticipates ever needing reproductive health care, it's not a matter of Team Blue versus Team Red. It's not limited to elective abortion either.

See e.g. https://katv.com/news/nation-world/idaho-hospital-to-end-bab...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/04/21/abortion-ba...

Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy

#113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe not, but if office rents are really going to be way down, it's possible to give developers private offices again.

I can only speak for myself but I would never work non-remote again, even if I had my own private office.

I’ve been fully remote since before the pandemic, and I have a dedicated home office, but a private office space would help me at least consider spending some of my time in the office. Being away from the responsibilities of home can help with focus. Wouldn’t consider a mandatory or full-time return to office, though.

Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy

#114

I live in SF and spend a fair amount of time thinking about its poor 5-year economic outlook. It's not great, but I am curious how it compares to other metros? If I were to move from SF, wanted to live in a metro area, and was uncomfortable living in a very red state - where should I consider? Where is thriving? I have a good amount of friends in Portland, but Portland is adjacent SF in terms of poor economic recover…

Living in big cities within "red" states is not like living in the state itself outside the city, other than you are all affected by the same state laws (unless the latter is the main concern). Atlanta GA, Austin TX, etc. are all "blue in a sea of red" as they say. Lived in the former myself for many years. Yes you're affected by state laws, but most of the folks in large cities are going to be less like the stereoty…

Athens, GA is good if you want something that feels a little more small town but still has (free!) bus stops everywhere, the occasional rainbow flag, and enough food and entertainment options that you'll never be bored.

Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy

#115
post #78

I live in SF and spend a fair amount of time thinking about its poor 5-year economic outlook. It's not great, but I am curious how it compares to other metros? If I were to move from SF, wanted to live in a metro area, and was uncomfortable living in a very red state - where should I consider? Where is thriving? I have a good amount of friends in Portland, but Portland is adjacent SF in terms of poor economic recover…

Personal politics, IMO, is not a good reason to avoid living in certain areas. I'm a liberal-leaning moderate but many of my favorite people (friends and family) are conservative, and many of my hobbies tend to be populated mainly by the conservative demographic. You'll always find people here and there who won't give you the time of day if you're not on Team Blue or Team Red, but my take on it is, if I can't make fr…

>Personal politics, IMO, is not a good reason to avoid living in certain areas. I'm a liberal-leaning moderate but many of my favorite people (friends and family) are conservative, and many of my hobbies tend to be populated mainly by the conservative demographic.

This is a comment that originates in privilege. The concern for many people is not simply that they would have to be friends with conservative people. The concern is that the government and the local community will be hostile to them. This is true for a variety of targeted groups including LGBT+ people, ethnic minorities, or even just women. For example, it is objectively riskier to be pregnant in places like Kansas City because local abortion laws rule out certain medical procedures that could save the mother's life[1]. That isn't something a woman in a blue state needs to worry about.

[1] - https://www.kansascity.com/news/business/health-care/article...

Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy

#116
post #78

I live in SF and spend a fair amount of time thinking about its poor 5-year economic outlook. It's not great, but I am curious how it compares to other metros? If I were to move from SF, wanted to live in a metro area, and was uncomfortable living in a very red state - where should I consider? Where is thriving? I have a good amount of friends in Portland, but Portland is adjacent SF in terms of poor economic recover…

Personal politics, IMO, is not a good reason to avoid living in certain areas. I'm a liberal-leaning moderate but many of my favorite people (friends and family) are conservative, and many of my hobbies tend to be populated mainly by the conservative demographic. You'll always find people here and there who won't give you the time of day if you're not on Team Blue or Team Red, but my take on it is, if I can't make fr…

The thing is that personal politics don't end up being a personal thing because they result in real policies that guide real material outcomes.

At this point saying one is uninterested in living in a red state could be about party politics, but it also could just as much about not being inclined to subject onesself to starkly higher risks of being shot and killed (the outcome of someone's personal politics).

eg. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/23/surprising...

> In reality, the region the Big Apple comprises most of is far and away the safest part of the U.S. mainland when it comes to gun violence, while the regions Florida and Texas belong to have per capita firearm death rates (homicides and suicides) three to four times higher than New York’s. On a regional basis it’s the southern swath of the country — in cities and rural areas alike — where the rate of deadly gun violence is most acute, regions where Republicans have dominated state governments for decades.

Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy

#117

I live in SF and spend a fair amount of time thinking about its poor 5-year economic outlook. It's not great, but I am curious how it compares to other metros? If I were to move from SF, wanted to live in a metro area, and was uncomfortable living in a very red state - where should I consider? Where is thriving? I have a good amount of friends in Portland, but Portland is adjacent SF in terms of poor economic recover…

I don’t think you received great answers besides New York. I myself am trying to move from SF to New York. The reality is that in the US New York is the only city that seems livable if you are not a car. Chicago is the only one I can think of that’s dense and has life as a pedestrian, but the winter there is intense. It’s too bad because real estate is cheap there.

Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy

#118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh I can make friends. What I can't do is get an abortion or in good faith tell my lgbt child that I support them. I deeply believe that unwanted children make society worse so expect abortion banning states to become less desirable in 15-20 years.

What's wrong with your kids being LGBT? Why wouldn't you support that?

[deleted]

Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy

#119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh I can make friends. What I can't do is get an abortion or in good faith tell my lgbt child that I support them. I deeply believe that unwanted children make society worse so expect abortion banning states to become less desirable in 15-20 years.

What's wrong with your kids being LGBT? Why wouldn't you support that?

> What's wrong with your kids being LGBT? Why wouldn't you support that?

There is nothing wrong with your kids being LGBT. I believe you are misunderstanding HDThoreaun. They are talking about why they wouldn't want to live in a red state. Read their comment again with that context in mind.

It says if they were living in a red state they couldn't tell their LGTB child that they support the child. Presumably because HDThoreaun feels if they would really support said LGBT child they would move out of the red state.

It sounds like you read their hypothetical as if HDThoreaun has some problem with their kid being LGBT. I don't believe that was the intended message, quite the contrary in fact.

Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy

#120
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're suggesting paying $1600/mo for your own place is a really good area of NYC is more the norm than paying $5k? That's simply untrue. Average 1 beds on Zumper for all of Manhattan is $4k. In more central areas downtown it's absolutely going to be more right now. https://www.zumper.com/rent-research/manhattan-ny And if you rent something that requires a brokers fee then that's another ~2 months of rent you're payi…

I said I live in a "cool" area, not midtown Manhattan. I don't live in Manhattan at all, although I did for over 20 years. Looking at 1BR rentals in Bushwick and Ridgewood (not my areas, but similarly considered "cool"), the average is between $1800 and $2500. Studios average $1400 and $2100.

You're still exaggerating. Streeteasy says median for Bushwick is $3200. Zumper has it at $2850 for a 1 bedroom https://www.zumper.com/rent-research/new-york-ny/bushwick

Yes, it's possible to rent for cheaper in the outer boroughs hence why I specifically said central and convenient. If something is $1800 it's because it's a dump or a tiny studio. It's not a normal amount rent someone is paying at all for their own place right now.

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