# Goddamn I hate San Francisco **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 6, 2005, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023 "2005-04-06T12:09:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/21 "2005-04-06T16:08:30Z")
> [@Uvula Donor](#): > > Offer 'em a couple bucks and a tissue. I can’t imagine a tissue would be necessary for someone who makes a habit of pooing on the street. > [@Uvula Donor](#): > > Hang out in a BART station. My brother gets to see that quite a bit. I’m not trying to imply anything about your brother, but if I spent my time hanging out in a BART station, I figure I’d probably be the one _doing_ the shitting. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/22 "2005-04-06T16:32:32Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > They come because San Francisco used to give them cash payments, and surrounding jurisdictions did not. Subsidize an unpleasant behavior in this way, and it’s unsurprising that you’ll see more of it. > > This unworkable system was changed by city proposition in 2002, and most of those cash payments (up to $410 a month) will now be offset with social services instead. > > It will be seen whether this fixes the problem. Unfortunately, that proposition was overturned as unconstitutional. :rolleyes: Nevermind that it would have provided places to sleep (with shower facilities) as well as medical services and food services. That’s not what’s important, here. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/23 "2005-04-06T16:43:41Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > I’m not trying to imply anything about your brother, but if I spent my time hanging out in a BART station, I figure I’d probably be the one _doing_ the shitting. They do have bathrooms at most, if not all, of the stations. Some people just don’t want to bother. And my brother gets to escort them out or to jail, whatever the case may be. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/24 "2005-04-06T16:47:09Z")
Ummm, and isn’t SF the city that came up with the wonderful idea of supplying the homeless with shopping carts? :rolleyes: I suppose trying to address the issue as to why they’re homeless and trying to help them dig out ouf that hole never really crossed their minds. As a former social worker, I wanted to gouge out my eyes with a garden rake after hearing that one. ---
**Author:** ![mlerose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@mlerose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlerose)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/25 "2005-04-06T16:52:37Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > They do have bathrooms at most, if not all, of the stations. Some people just don’t want to bother. And my brother gets to escort them out or to jail, whatever the case may be. None of the BART bathrooms have been open since September 11, as far as I know. I don’t live there anymore, but I visit a few times a year, and I’ve never seen an open bathroom since September 11. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/26 "2005-04-06T17:02:37Z")
I was going to dipute the OP’s points, but unless every other city in the world were completely devoid of the trouble she describes, it certainly sounds like trolling more than anything else. As an added benefit, by not disputing the OP, they won’t return, it’ll be one less close-minded douchebag I’ll never have to deal with encounter. ---
**Author:** ![Demo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demo/32/8472_2.png) [@Demo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demo)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/27 "2005-04-06T17:45:05Z")
It sure is a hell of a lot better than that shithole NYC. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/28 "2005-04-06T18:04:51Z")
All these things may be true, but the mayor sure is a fox. Mmmmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/29 "2005-04-06T18:07:37Z")
Never before have I appreciated Boise more than I do now. Ever seen the Boise housing projects? It’s four houses. Nice ones, too. Although **mlerose** has me wondering why the hell they’d shut down the BART bathrooms after 9/11. Did they recieve intel that terrorists were going to flush cherry bombs down all the toilets at once? ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/30 "2005-04-06T18:16:46Z")
> [@Tracy Lord](#): > > All these things may be true, but the mayor sure is a fox. Mmmmmm. Ain’t he just? I drool every time I see him. Money, looks and power. He just got divorced, incidentally. ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/31 "2005-04-06T18:22:58Z")
> [@The Chao Goes Mu](#): > > Ummm, and isn’t SF the city that came up with the wonderful idea of supplying the homeless with shopping carts? :rolleyes: I suppose trying to address the issue as to why they’re homeless and trying to help them dig out ouf that hole never really crossed their minds. As a former social worker, I wanted to gouge out my eyes with a garden rake after hearing that one. I’d like to know where you got that information. I’ve seen more cops making a homeless person empty the cart and take it back. There is no place in San Francisco that gives away shopping carts to anyone. Talk about urban legand. ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/32 "2005-04-06T18:28:40Z")
Oddly enough, the dirtyness is all within the area the tourists visit most: The area around Union Square, into the Tenderloin and between SOMA and North Beach. The Castro can be a bit dirty as well. The city actually only stinks around the areas the bums panhandle. They panhandle there because well… that’s where your average tourist is going to end up. A few friends of mine live out in Noe Valley, which is clean, doesn’t smell like piss, doesn’t have crack-heads hanging out, and no one shits on the sidewalks there. All cities have their negative sides, but i wonder, has the OP actually really spent time around the City? Doesn’t really sound like it. I suppose if you’re unable to actually ignore any of that, you’d have a bad time. Most people who like the city don’t really hang out around the tourist/shopping districts at all, because they know that you get hassled by bums and you see things like shitting on sidewalks. Of course, i’ve been to San Francisco enough times to ignore most of that. > [@](#): > > The night-life areas are disjointed and poorly planned and the clubs don’t have any buzz or atmosphere. The harbour views and bridge are fairly pretty, but nothing to compare to say, Sydney, Auckland, Cape Town or Vancouver. The weather is crap (hello overcast!) and the beach is dirty. Golden Gate Park is an shitty, slummy excuse for a city park. Jervoise: Really? Ruby Sky gets excellent reviews. Universe, when it was still going was a HUGE draw, and always had a buzz and atmosphere. The End Up is the spot where most of the club kids end up and is always an excellent time. Sugar at the Stud is excellent for good, deep house music. At least for the gay crowd the two places for clubbing/bar hopping is the Castro and SOMA. In fact, a friend from Philadelphia who used to promote clubs there actually said many are excellent in San Francisco that he’s been to. Then again, i take a city for what it is, and can have an excellent time anywhere. What beach did you go to? Ocean beach? What time of year did you visit? Summer is always foggy and overcast. Spring and fall are the sunniest times of year such as right now. I can’t comment on Golden Gate park, because i’ve never really been in it, but did you at all visit the conservatory of flowers? ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/33 "2005-04-06T18:30:40Z")
> [@mlerose](#): > > None of the BART bathrooms have been open since September 11, as far as I know. > > I don’t live there anymore, but I visit a few times a year, and I’ve never seen an open bathroom since September 11. I ride BART everyday. The bathrooms are open eveyday. ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/34 "2005-04-06T18:50:55Z")
> [@Doobieous](#): > > Jervoise: > > Really? Ruby Sky gets excellent reviews. Universe, when it was still going was a HUGE draw, and always had a buzz and atmosphere. The End Up is the spot where most of the club kids end up and is always an excellent time. Sugar at the Stud is excellent for good, deep house music. At least for the gay crowd the two places for clubbing/bar hopping is the Castro and SOMA. And as is evidenced by this response above, i wasn’t paying any attention at all. My bad. :smack: But, I still wonder, WHAT clubs specifically did you visit? My guess from what you wrote is you were at either the Cafe or Badlands (Both of which I can’t stand, i’d rather drink witht he bears at the Lonestar). Of course, I could totally be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/35 "2005-04-06T19:10:10Z")
Well, I love SF, though I don’t love everything about it. I suspect I might not love it so much if I had to live there there (I live in Oakland), but I love driving through the city at night (not on the weekends) and there is a ton to do there that I enjoy: tons of movies first and foremost, plus plays, concerts, museums, and restaurants. I don’t typically shop there, so I manage to avoid a lot of the usual crowds and tourists. Plus, it’s gorgeous. I’m there at least once a week (usually to catch a film) and can never imagine tiring of the place. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/36 "2005-04-06T19:27:15Z")
> [@Troy McClure SF](#): > > I was going to dipute the OP’s points, but unless every other city in the world were completely devoid of the trouble she describes, it certainly sounds like trolling more than anything else. Seconded. On an unrelated topic, I visited NYC once and it smelled like piss and I saw bums and drugs!! And people who acted superior to me - me, a tourist! I can only conclude that my limited involvement with a few people during my short visit was representative of the entire city and its peoples and I therefore fucking hate it. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/37 "2005-04-06T19:30:16Z")
> [@kevja](#): > > I’d like to know where you got that information. I’ve seen more cops making a homeless person empty the cart and take it back. > > There is no place in San Francisco that gives away shopping carts to anyone. > > Talk about urban legand. Unfortunately I have no cite. I recall hearing it on a local news station a couple of years ago and after the “story” broke locally the topic hit the local talk shows. I’ve never heard anything else to substantiate the claim. If it is, indeed, false I cannot tell you how relieved I am. I know people in this country are capable of some pretty ridiculous things but that one almost seems too over the top to be true. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/38 "2005-04-06T19:33:56Z")
Another Cincinnatian checking in. I visited San Francisco a few years back and thoroughly enjoyed it. Didn’t notice more bums than the average city, but did think their signs were more creative: “I need money for beer.” “Breast Implant money.” Of course, I didn’t contribute to their worthy causes, but I gave them a bonus point for being honest. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/39 "2005-04-06T19:37:53Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > On an unrelated topic, I visited NYC once and it smelled like piss and I saw bums and drugs!! And people who acted superior to me - me, a tourist! If you are a tourist we are superior to you. fucking tourists 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023/40 "2005-04-06T19:38:51Z")
The OP is absolutely correct. San Francisco is the Worst Place On Earth, full of horrible, stinky, crack-addicted liberals. I recommend the OP stay as far away as possible, for his own sake. Farther, even. Maybe even in another country entirely, just to be on the safe side. I suppose it’s too late to convince him that the same holds true for the SDMB? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goddamn-i-hate-san-francisco/298023.md?page=3)