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What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

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Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#291

Post by usaar333 »

swong8 wrote: post #257
sakopov wrote: post #98

In my opinion the high cost of living kills everything else on that list. I'd much rather have a comfortable living, travel the world and be optimistic that i will have no problems buying a nice house for me and my spouse/family if i need to/should i want to. I don't really see this possible based on what i hear from a couple of friends living and working there. Both consumed by their tech jobs, some cool things to d…

I still don't get why folks don't consider living in places just outside of SF that are much more affordable. Places such as South San Francisco, Daly City, Brisbane, Oakland, etc. The proximity to the city is very close (5-10 mins).

It depends what your definition of SF is. If you are talking relative to the incredibly expensive north-eastern part of San Francisco, I agree. But Daly City, etc. aren't that much cheaper than the Sunset/Richmond/Excelsior, especially when you consider that a car will become much more necessary.

That said, SF is more of a place to live if you don't have children (and if you have children, you better be rich). Those with kids tend to live in the suburbs.

Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#292

Post by cmccabe »

Aloisius wrote: post #15
kaolinite wrote: post #2

Palo Alto and Mountain View are farther away than you think Hm, when I visited it felt like a pretty quick journey - no more than 30 minutes via Caltrain. Perhaps it was just excitement though!

I commuted to Mountain View from San Francisco on Caltrain. It is doable, but it gets old pretty quick. Also those sports fans that the OP say don't exist much? They all take Caltrain to go to the ballpark at peak commute hours during the season. Also, they allow alcohol on Caltrain. Imagine a packed train full of orange and black with lots of alcohol. With the coming electrification of Caltrain in preparation for hi…

Alcohol isn't allowed on Caltrain on days when there is a sporting event.

Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#293

Post by JabavuAdams »

georgeorwell wrote: post #221
JabavuAdams wrote: post #44

I'm living in Toronto, Canada, and the SF crack-head thing is always a shock. If I'm in SF, it's for conferences and it's always strange that literally one block away from our expensive hotel, there are zombies shambling about -- and this is totally normal! For those who know Toronto: it's like you're in Yorkdale, you walk one block and you're in the worst part of Parkdale. The other odd thing is that I seem to pay a…

Calling people crack-heads and shambling zombies is pejorative. You don't casually use words like fag, dyke, tranny, bitch, ho, nigger, Indian (for native / aboriginal), and kyke, right? If you want a name, say "drug-addicted homeless person". We're talking about the most badly abused people in our society and you and the author are simply abusing them more with these words. Surprise, they aren't there to say anythin…

> If you want a name, say "drug-addicted homeless person".

Fair enough.

> If I called you a zombie for just blindly going along with the crackhead term that the author used, you would be offended, right?

Nope, I really wouldn't. But, that's probably because I'm a privileged Half-Blackfrican-Canadian with a 150 IQ.

If you said I didn't act black enough, or said I was a bad programmer, then I'd be insulted.

> Are the thank-god-for-the-lowest-caste-so-that-I-can-not-belong-to-it opiates treating you well?

You're assuming far too much. I apologize for hitting what is obviously a hot-button issue for you. Re-read my comment as a criticism of US social policy.

Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#294

Post by __--__ »

nugget wrote: post #240
georgeorwell wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Calling people crack-heads and shambling zombies is pejorative. You don't casually use words like fag, dyke, tranny, bitch, ho, nigger, Indian (for native / aboriginal), and kyke, right? If you want a name, say "drug-addicted homeless person". We're talking about the most badly abused people in our society and you and the author are simply abusing them more with these words. Surprise, they aren't there to say anythin…

As someone who lives around and deals with these people every day, let's call a spade a spade and not cover it up. Have you seen a zombie movie lately? These people basically ARE zombies - they hobble around, mutter to themselves, smell like shit, randomly attack people, and will infect you with disease if you touch them. Whether they scream at/spit on/push around my sister or female employees because they are on cra…

The powers that be leave them alone because if they don't, they are met with complete civil unrest in SF. Any attempt to even address the homeless issue is met with outrage and organized protest. This goes along with the outcry against gentrification and the lament of the city losing its "character."

Make no mistake, some of the people here actually want to live in a post-apocalyptic zombie film. :)

Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#295

Post by w1ntermute »

aliston wrote: post #160
jasonshen wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You CAN do tech anywhere, just as you CAN be a banker outside of NYC or an actor outside of LA. Doesn't mean it's the most efficient or effective way. I have lots of respect for people who choose to live in other parts of the world but to suggest that there's not much difference between living in SF or Austin for someone interested in starting or working for a successful technology firm is inaccurate. I don't count f…

^This. I've lived in both SF and Austin. Austin is a bad ass city. In terms of quality of life, as a young and single male, it is a complete and total no brainer that Austin is better than SF. Better nightlife, more attractive women, cheaper cost of living, less bums, more sunlight, better weather (if you prefer hot to cold), better urban/outdoor balance... BUT, in terms of the startup scene, SF is in another league.…

Are the women really more attractive in Austin? One of the things mentioned in the article is that in SF, people are in shape. How are things in Austin?

Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#296

Post by georgeorwell »

g8oz wrote: post #281
georgeorwell wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the record, I don't think the situation is a good one by any means. I just don't think the people who are least empowered to do anything about it should be referred to pejoratively, and a big part of that is because it isn't going to help the situation. For that matter I don't think anyone should be referred to pejoratively on the basis of class membership, rich or poor. It just seems to me that replacing the pej…

Funny, your userid is georgeorwell and you're advocating DoubleSpeak

I'm sorry, where is the deception?

"Doublespeak is language that deliberately disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words. Doublespeak may take the form of euphemisms (e.g., "downsizing" for layoffs, "servicing the target" for bombing [1]), making the truth less unpleasant, without denying its nature. It may also be deployed as intentional ambiguity, or reversal of meaning (for example, naming a state of war "peace"). In such cases, doublespeak disguises the nature of the truth, producing a communication bypass.[2][3]

However, euphemism is not the same as doublespeak. It will not be considered as doublespeak if it is used appropriately and without the intention to deceive. For example, using "passed away" to suggest somebody is dead is an appropriate use of euphemism."

Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#297

Post by stephencanon »

brigade wrote: post #285
stephencanon wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup. South of Palo Alto it gets too hot in the summer. Farther north it gets foggy and cold too often. Palo Alto and Menlo Park have it just right.

There's like, one week a year where it's in the 80's. Are you from Britain?

I worked in Cupertino for 5 years; just two towns south of Palo Alto it is frequently 90+ in the summer (and as you go through San Jose it gets even hotter). At home in Menlo Park and Palo Alto it was consistently ~10 degrees colder.

Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#298

Post by zem »

the "distance from mountain view" was spot on. when i moved here to work for google, i was debating between living in the city and commuting, or living in mountain view and going up to the city to do stuff. thankfully, i'd spent nine months living in mountain view a few years ago, and knew that, realistically "going up to the city" would never happen (i don't drive); if i wanted to be in san francisco after work i pretty much had to live there.

so far, while the commute is a bit painful (45 minutes going to work, 70-90 coming back), i have no regrets about deciding to live in sf.

Re: What I wish I knew before moving to San Francisco

#299

Post by JabavuAdams »

nugget wrote: post #240
georgeorwell wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Calling people crack-heads and shambling zombies is pejorative. You don't casually use words like fag, dyke, tranny, bitch, ho, nigger, Indian (for native / aboriginal), and kyke, right? If you want a name, say "drug-addicted homeless person". We're talking about the most badly abused people in our society and you and the author are simply abusing them more with these words. Surprise, they aren't there to say anythin…

As someone who lives around and deals with these people every day, let's call a spade a spade and not cover it up. Have you seen a zombie movie lately? These people basically ARE zombies - they hobble around, mutter to themselves, smell like shit, randomly attack people, and will infect you with disease if you touch them. Whether they scream at/spit on/push around my sister or female employees because they are on cra…

That's not a good solution because you're doing something to someone who is effectively powerless, and they have no recourse.

It's a recipe for large-scale, institutionalized abuse. All I have to do is label you crazy etc., and then I can do whatever I want with you, while no one has to see it.

Any case where we argue that we should compel someone to do something for social order needs to be handled with the utmost in transparency and restraint. I.e. not putting them in camps.

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