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'We all suffer': why San Francisco techies hate the city they transformed

theguardian.com

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Re: 'We all suffer': why San Francisco techies hate the city they transformed

#41

Post by brokenkebab »

atoav wrote: post #21
brokenkebab wrote: post #13

It's hilarious to read all these militaristic wordings about techies waging "battles", and "conquering" the city, as if it's about barbarian hordes which came down on peaceful SF, pillaged, raped, and burnt everything to the ground. Sure, why scritinize California's, or the city's political theater, why questioning law enforcement inefficiency. Can it be somehow related to drugs, prostitution, and theft? No, it's all…

Technology has a transformative effect on society and the way we live. This is why old cities look like they look (built before cars and trains were a thing) and this is why most US cites look like they look (built during the prime of the car age). Similar things are certainly true for other technology, even for the (tolerated) side products of said technology. Is any single person at fault here? Probably not. They m…

I appreciate your effort in trying to explain your opinion, but it's unclear how it is related to my comment above. To clarify: it's sarcastic reaction to the story's bias, and shallowness.

Re: 'We all suffer': why San Francisco techies hate the city they transformed

#42

Post by dagw »

majewsky wrote: post #24
mschuster91 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> why not just send your kids to the schools your taxes are paying for? Because thanks to massive underfunding US public education is ... not exactly what one can expect from a first world country. In some areas children actually only have four days of school because of underfunding ( http://www.ladbible.com/news/news-school-switches-to-four-da... ).

> US public education is ... not exactly what one can expect from a first world country. As a European, I slowly wonder if there's any public service in the US that meets the "first-world country" standard. Not education. Certainly not healthcare. Infrastructure is also crumbling from what I hear.

As another European, I wouldn't throw too many stones. It's not like every part of Europe has first rate schools and healthcare, or flawless infrastructure.

Re: 'We all suffer': why San Francisco techies hate the city they transformed

#43

Post by kieckerjan »

European here. My girlfriend and I are excited to do a tour of the West Coast later this year. As a tech I feel it would be silly to skip San Francisco and Silicon Valley, but I must say the stories I have been hearing have dampened my initial enthusiasm considerably. I now wonder if it is worth our while. If "avocado toast and class warfare" are the main attractions nowadays, we can probably spend our time more wisely.

Re: 'We all suffer': why San Francisco techies hate the city they transformed

#44

Post by crawfordcomeaux »

traderjane wrote: post #2

Why is it that despite high housing prices everywhere in the tech region, homelessness appears acutely concentrated in SF?

I'm wondering what the city's waste looks like. I bet there's a lot of nice stuff and food being thrown away.

What's it like to dumpster dive in the city with the most billionaires per capita?

Re: 'We all suffer': why San Francisco techies hate the city they transformed

#46

Post by gingabriska »

Filligree wrote: post #35
gingabriska wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US is the best if you are rich, you can get almost everything here not same in Europe.

This is also true for many third-world countries, and for that matter most of Europe. It isn't evidence of much, really.

But you are slapped with more taxes and duties there then suddenly your money can't buy enough.

Also, to have much power with money you need desperate people who will do anything for money.

You can get guns and you aren't charge 40% tax on your income even tax on capital is quite cheap in states.

Having money in Europe doesn't mean difference between life and death as it does in US as they've state funded healthcare.

Here you can go down the road and ask them to act in a porn and in return you pay them enough money to fix their whatever health issue they've for which they've no money.

I am not advocating that this is better, I am just pointing it out why some people might like US.

Re: 'We all suffer': why San Francisco techies hate the city they transformed

#47

Post by huffmsa »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #28
huffmsa wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or versus another city, it's the weather. Never hot enough to turn you into jerky, never cold enough to turn you into a popsicle. Since piles of people dead from exposure isn't a risk, the city doesn't have the same motivation to build shelters like a New York does, so they kick it to the side. The citizenry gets concerned with poop on the street, but once it's bodies, they really expect the government to do somethin…

> The citizenry gets concerned with poop on the street This does not appear to be true for San Francisco.

Concerned, but not enough to really do anything about it.

Re: 'We all suffer': why San Francisco techies hate the city they transformed

#48

Post by chvid »

q3k wrote: post #18
chvid wrote: post #7

I find it amazing that "locals" can get away with blaming "tech workers" for rising rents and homelessness. The rents and the house prices only rise because the wealth that the workers generate is blocked from being used to build new houses.

Really? Only because of that? No other reason?

Yes. It is actually pretty simple. A place like SF has the choice between converting the wealth its citizens generate into more housing or higher house prices. It is a political choice.

Re: 'We all suffer': why San Francisco techies hate the city they transformed

#49

Post by thinkingemote »

kieckerjan wrote: post #43

European here. My girlfriend and I are excited to do a tour of the West Coast later this year. As a tech I feel it would be silly to skip San Francisco and Silicon Valley, but I must say the stories I have been hearing have dampened my initial enthusiasm considerably. I now wonder if it is worth our while. If "avocado toast and class warfare" are the main attractions nowadays, we can probably spend our time more wise…

There's not much to see in SV apart from the computer history museum, unless you like seeing parking lots and industrial buildings.

Re: 'We all suffer': why San Francisco techies hate the city they transformed

#50

Post by kaybe »

CalRobert wrote: post #33
majewsky wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> US public education is ... not exactly what one can expect from a first world country. As a European, I slowly wonder if there's any public service in the US that meets the "first-world country" standard. Not education. Certainly not healthcare. Infrastructure is also crumbling from what I hear.

I'm not sure there is, really. Having moved to Europe I do miss the libraries in the US, but that was in pretty wealthy areas (Santa Monica, San Diego, etc.) But the private services can be top notch if you've got the cash.

That's true in third-world countries too though. Service is good about anywhere if you've got the cash.
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