The end of San Francisco: how the beloved city turned into an expensive dangerous trash heap - ForumDaily
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The end of San Francisco: how the beloved city turned into an expensive dangerous garbage can

Many San Francisco Bay Area residents are leaving the Bay and relocating. The reason for this is the surge in homelessness and crime, as well as the devastating consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Writes about it CBS Local.

Photo: Shutterstock

Many locals are seriously considering moving, according to a new poll. The poll was published by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce based on feedback from over 500 residents.

It turned out that more than 40% of respondents plan to move out of the city in the next few years.

“There is nothing worse than seeing such a beautiful place in such a mess, I was sad when they loaded my things, but I have never felt such relief,” said Lindsey Stevens

After spending over 12 years in San Francisco, Stevens recently sold her home and moved to the Palm Springs area.

“I honestly think we've seen a dramatic decline in quality of life over the last three years,” she said. “Homelessness has become a major issue, people don’t feel safe walking their dog, and break-ins seem to be on the rise.”

80% of residents say that crime has increased in recent years, 70% believe that the quality of life has deteriorated, and 88% say that the number of homeless people has increased. 76% also believe that increasing the number of police officers in areas with high crime rates should be a priority.

“I think safety is a huge issue, even two years ago when I first moved to the city, I never considered certain areas to be unsafe,” said Minku Lee of San Francisco.

The 24-year-old resident himself became a victim. He was racially and physically assaulted by a homeless man.

“He said an expletive, he pushed me, I was very scared by the incident,” Lee said.

On the subject: Pharmacies close in large numbers in San Francisco due to constant thefts

The overwhelming majority of those surveyed (82%) said they would like to see more social workers on the streets to help people with mental illness and substance use problems.

Almost 75% supported an increase in the temporary homeless shelter. Earlier this month, the mayor of London Breed announced a $ 1 billion investment to help address homelessness over the next 2 years. This will include funding for housing and mental health services.

Why do residents love and hate San Francisco

Michelle Robertson told the publication SFGate why, in her opinion, San Francisco is slowly "dying", but still attracts people.

“For some time I have wondered why San Franciscans are so interested in stories about people leaving the Bay. San Francisco is becoming increasingly inhospitable for the average person. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $2. A family of four is considered "low-income" if they earn less than $695. This place is difficult to sustain in the long term," she writes.

People realize that they cannot buy a house and put down roots. In addition, the spike in crime, homeless people and feces on the streets is not very attractive for new residents. Despite all this, people still love this city.

A new collection of essays explores the idea of ​​"love it or leave it" in San Francisco. The End of the Golden Gate: Writers on Loving and Leaving San Francisco, published by Chronicle Books, includes essays by Margaret Cho, Daniel Handler, and Michelle Tee, among many others. The essays are funny, heartbreaking, insightful—and sometimes inspiring—and many attempt to answer the question: Why do people stay in San Francisco?

For many, this is a matter of memory, history and nostalgia.

In "The End of the Golden Gates" there is a moment composed by the light hand and penetrating gaze of comedian Kamau Bell: “I once performed at the Vesuvio Cafe, where Allen Ginsberg was reading a new poem. Margaret Cho came in to try out some new material. Kirk Hammett and Jerry Garcia performed folk songs on acoustic guitars. Armistead Mopin sat and wrote a book that ended up being Fairy Tales of the City. And Willie Mays and Rick Barry were there the whole time. "

In his essay, Bell admits that it is precisely that the city will never be the same, that something can be missed, and that it works to ensure that people stay.

“That’s the problem with writers writing about San Francisco. Many of the essays deal with this self-mythologization of the city and those who live here. But how to write about a disappeared place? How to separate memory from reality? - says Robertson.

“When I think back to the San Francisco of my childhood—I was born at the dawn of the dot-com boom—my memories of the city are as vague as fog. They are snippets of images: buying clothes for school at the big, shiny Westfield Mall, buying a pretzel from a vendor on Market Street, buying coffee with my best friend's aunt, Michelle writes. “High rents and the housing crisis don’t exist in my memory.”

“Looking back, we remember only good things and something of our own. My San Francisco will never be your San Francisco, and that’s what’s so dizzying and wonderful and maddening about this place,” says Robertson.

In the book, every writer agrees on one thing: San Francisco has changed, and in many ways for the worse. Many writers yearn for the old city as they remember it.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.

“The San Francisco I knew and loved had been reclaimed, sleek, chromed, polished, colonized, homogenized, and marginalized as a cultural force of innovation,” writes Peter Coyote. “The transformation was carried out smoothly and without problems thanks to money and a passion for power.”

“San Francisco,” he writes. — Too expensive and too rich in monoculture. Technological wealth and privilege have turned it into a cozy enclave for the heartless.”

But what’s next for the city? Technology has transformed it, and people are leaving.

“I found the answer in Gary Kamiya’s outstanding essay, “San Francisco is My Home.” Kamiya acknowledges the city's shortcomings: "exorbitantly expensive housing, an influx of tech workers, traffic, crime, dirty streets and an ever-worsening homeless crisis." But he will also explain why, despite all this, he wants to live here,” Michelle emphasizes.

“At any moment as you move through the labyrinthine terrain of this city, behind a shop window or a neon sign, a strange hill or something unfamiliar will suddenly rise in the distance, as mysterious, alluring and otherworldly as one of the landscapes in the background of a Renaissance painting. - he writes. “San Francisco offers you the whole universe at every turn.”

“I recently moved back to San Francisco from Los Angeles, and one of the things I missed most—as stupid as it may be—was the hills. Now just 90 steps from my door, I can walk up the sidewalk to watch the city glow at sunset. There is still magic here, writes Michelle. “Sometimes I worry that the discourse around people leaving San Francisco hurts the city more than it helps.”

“If people want to leave, let them go. I'm much more interested in those who stay,” Robertson notes. — I love San Francisco. There's no other place I'd rather be."

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