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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

#61

Post by bubblewrap »

"It should be noted that Zoe, who asked not to be identified by her real name because she was not authorized by her employer to speak to the press, is not the stereotypical tech bro who moves to San Francisco for a job and immediately starts complaining about the city’s dire homelessness crisis. She arrived in 2007 to study at San Francisco State University and had a career in musical theater before attending a coding bootcamp and landing a job as a developer advocate at a major tech company."

Um, how is she not exactly that? Except that she is a girl, so I guess not a bro. What would you say to girls? "Tech chick"? Or just "Tech sis"?

"It’s just not sustainable for a couple to live here"

Then don't? I write this as somebody who also moved away from his hometown and now can't afford to go back.

"she says she is terrified to walk at night."

And how exactly did Tech workers cause that?

Is there even data showing the homeless and drug addicts are former residents of SF, who were then displaced by rising housing costs because of tech workers?

I don't know why SF with all its money can't get a grip on the problem. But it also seems likely to me that many homeless were simply attracted by the rich people, who can donate more than people elsewhere?

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

#62

Post by jfnixon »

sundvor wrote: post #53
mcv wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That the school system sucks is not an unavoidable fact of life, it's a problem that needs to be fixed. I admit, another problem on the big pile of problems that need to be fixed, apparently.

It doesn't suck in countries such as Australia and Norway.

Whatever could the difference be??

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

#63

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]

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

#64

Post by vasilipupkin »

lmnt wrote: post #60
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…

I did a similar trip last year. San Francisco can be a charming city at times, I especially recommend doing a bike tour across the golden gate bridge via the golden gate park. Alcatraz was interesting to visit too. Just beware that it is a pretty run down and dirty city. The streets downtown are full of homeless people who seem to be not all there. I've never felt as unsafe in any city as when walking in downtown SF…

I’ve seen quite a bit of homelessness in Paris, Stockholm etc. it’s mostly gypsies, not local Swedes, but nevertheless.

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

#65

Post by ableal »

thinkingemote wrote: post #49
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.

The Stanford campus is worth a visit.

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

#66

Post by bubblewrap »

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.

Afaik the best health care in the world is only available in the US? Meaning the type of treatments you can get. Whether you can afford them is another question.

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

#67

Post by bubblewrap »

skocznymroczny wrote: post #31
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... ).

Is that so bad? Schooling is a waste of time anyway, this way kids have more free time and they can enjoy their childhood and learn some new skills on their own.

Just give those kids an iPad. It's not as if tech people of SF haven't already provided a solution to the problem.

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

#68

Post by jfnixon »

mschuster91 wrote: post #12
cribbles wrote: post #9

>A million-plus for a home with $300,000 down? Then when we have kids, $30,000 a year for private school? This quote totally confounded me. Why is it a given that their kids have to go to private school? If you're optimizing your budget for home-ownership, why not just send your kids to the schools your taxes are paying for?

> 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... ).

Underfunding? The US spends more than the OECD average on a per pupil basis. Why do you think the education system is underfunded rather than extremely inefficient?

"The United States spent $12,800 per FTE student at the elementary/secondary level, which was 35 percent higher than the average3 of $9,500 for OECD member countries reporting data."

https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cmd.asp

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

#69

Post by atoav »

brokenkebab wrote: post #41
atoav wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It seems I didn't get your sarcastic tone then, sorry for the inconvenience.

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

#70

Post by ubertaco »

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…

As someone who has been to San Francisco enough to hate it there (which doesn't take that long, really), I still think a couple of things are worth seeing:

* Land's End (just outside the city) is beautiful, and worth a visit

* The Palace of Fine Arts Theater (not a theater, rather a sort of "monument" made to look like old-world ruins) is very pleasant, and in a pretty area.

* I've heard the Presidio in general is really nice, but I haven't gotten a chance to go there.

After that, I recommend hopping in a car, and driving away from San Francisco along the Pacific Coast Highway. You've seen the best parts, and hopefully avoided the various near-stabbings or human-excrement-piled sidewalks that are emblematic of the city's current state. It's basically a corporate monument to income inequality, on its way to being transformed into some version of an 80s-future dystopia.

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