OT-ish: Seattle vs SF

[krooj]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Errr.. tell this old fart what levels of 'sketch' means...

I'll give you an anecdote - we typically do a weekend walk across town, usually along California St, snag some coffee, then head back - ends up being around 20km of walking. A few weekends ago we were passing by Grace Cathedral in Nob Hill when a Merc with a trashed front end buzzed by, blew through a light on a left. I laughed it off and said that car is definitely involved in some crime... Next thing we know, it circles back onto California, a guy hops out of the back and starts "bipping" (smash & grab) cars. We're both pretty inured to that kinda thing, so we just keep heading downtown.

After having some coffee and picking up my wedding band, we head back in roughly the same direction - about two hours after seeing that car. We're at the SW corner of Mason & California, waiting to cross the street when who pulls up, but our friends in the clapped out Merc. I happened to be wearing my Sub that day, but I otherwise dress extremely plain - think crappy Patagonia shorts and a t-shirt. They must've seen something worthwhile, because as soon as we got to the other side of the street, that car pulled a u-turn and someone hopped out of the back and started following us.

At this point, I figured I was gonna get held up or mugged and was pretty resigned to the fact. My fiancé kept her wits about her and pulled us into Huntington Park where we were amongst lots of families and the goon didn't follow. We chilled in the park, tried to reach SFPD (not a chance), then zig-zagged NW out of the area.

Bear in mind that this all happened on a Saturday, in broad daylight, in Nob Hill.

That's just one example, outside of our usual porch pirate issues.

[tctyres]

Originally Posted by prototoast

I'm guessing he means high levels of human feces on the sidewalks. And other stuff like that.

I had to deal with human feces a couple of times in NYC, but it's nothing like LA where people take a crap anywhere, anytime. Whatever novelty that had lost its shine a long time ago.

I used to live in Vancouver, BC. The weather is a little different there from Seattle. I felt like it rained at 10am everyday from late September to April. Wet socks is a thing you get used to, but I don't miss it.

PNW is going to be much more affordable than SF/Bay Area. I was in East Bay for a couple of years, and the Bay Area is just less for the money.

[2000m2]

I’ve seen human feces on the streets of London and Rome, but have yet to encounter it in SF. I must be going to the wrong (right?) neighborhoods. Someone did decide one night to use our driveway in the alley in Seattle as a toilet. We lived near Greenlake and I ran around the lake frequently with our dog. Great spot, but being between highway 99 and I-5 resulted in a lot of traffic. Wife was able to take mass transit to work and I generally worked from home. At one point there was a homeless encampment that was being moved around the city and a small crime wave would follow it. That may have been when we encountered the excrement. I remember walking down some streets in NYC and everything smelled like urine. Another time I saw a guy just turn towards a building and start urinating on it in London.
Seem like general big city problems to me.

[72gmc]

Originally Posted by 2000m2

Seem like general big city problems to me.

Some want to ascribe it to ideology but I say it's as basic as a large concentration of people and infrastructure. More people, more p-words.

re big city smells: downtown Chicago in July. That's my high water mark, so to speak.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by bikesrfun

The entire west coast is a growing dumpster fire.

If you're considering Seattle: https://www.instagram.com/seattle.looks.like.shxt/

Lol, you should see my IG stream for another view of the west coast dumpster fire.

Big cities are big cities. There are incredible incentives living in the Bay Area. My son goes to public school has a PhD teaching him science and the guy who invent to one click buy button at ebay teaching him coding. This is in the 6th grade! The caliber of people in SF is truly incredible.

[AngryScientist]

With regard to the car bit...

I like big cities and always have. There is good that comes with the bad in most of them. Admittedly I have a touch of wanderlust, but I can not imagine living in the northwest and not regularly traveling to to the amazing surrounding areas. This is a cycling forum, so I imagine all of us like to ride in amazing places and see amazing things. If I had to live anywhere other than where I am now, I would likely choose the Bay area, partly because I like it there, but importantly because it is a great home base to branch out and have access to the spectacular diversity of the American west.

I understand the OP needs to live in the city for his wife's work, but a reminder that in the SF (or seattle, or portland) area, there are many opportunities to leave the city lights behind and recharge the batteries.

[pasadena]

Where in LA do you live?

Originally Posted by tctyres

I had to deal with human feces a couple of times in NYC, but it's nothing like LA where people take a crap anywhere, anytime. Whatever novelty that had lost its shine a long time ago.

[Kirk007]

Angry is right- if you don't mind driving there's some very cool riding in the area. Last Friday was Hurrican Ridge in Olympia NP and yesterday the road to Sunrise in Mt
. Rainer NP






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[2000m2]

Beautiful!

[cgolvin]

Originally Posted by pasadena

Where in LA do you live?

He lives on the west side, I'd call it Brentwood adjacent.

[KarlC]

Originally Posted by krooj

The S/O and I have been in SF for about a year and we're finding that the drawbacks outweigh the benefits and have started thinking about Seattle. Some things that have been killing us about SF are:

* Laughable levels of sketch
* Insane CoL for what you get
* Tourist hellscape
* My allergies
* S/O is a runner and hills are killing her ankles
* Outer Richmond somehow has ZERO decent grocery stores ?!?

We're gonna take a look at Seattle in a month or so and I was curious how the road riding up there compares with SF and the Bay Area.

These are some of the reasons we moved out of San Diego, while I don't think its anywhere near as bad as San Francisco or Seattle, its headed that direction. As with most big cities there are some really nice areas outside of the city, and I do miss my rides along the coast.

.

[tctyres]

Originally Posted by cgolvin

He lives on the west side, I'd call it Brentwood adjacent.

Yep. Near the West LA/SM border.

[pasadena]

There's human feces on the streets in Brentwood?

Ok I know skidrow or dtla ... i don't ride on the westside with any regularity but i've never seen it any issues besides Venice and the usual tourist trap area around the beach there.

Originally Posted by cgolvin

He lives on the west side, I'd call it Brentwood adjacent.

[tctyres]

Originally Posted by pasadena

There's human feces on the streets in Brentwood?

Ok I know skidrow or dtla ... i don't ride on the westside with any regularity but i've never seen it any issues besides Venice and the usual tourist trap area around the beach there.

Yep. Wilshire and the VA encampment affect these behaviors.

[cgolvin]

Originally Posted by pasadena

There's human feces on the streets in Brentwood?

Ok I know skidrow or dtla ... i don't ride on the westside with any regularity but i've never seen it any issues besides Venice and the usual tourist trap area around the beach there.

I have personally witnessed someone taking a crap on Pico Blvd. between Barrington and Gateway … twice!