Is San Francisco THAT bad??

My advice (if this is an option, and I realize it just seems like common sense) would be to talk with people you know and trust who have lived out there. Just like you see stories about many other cities with strong views on either side, you’ll see that with SF. People have different tastes, preferences, budgets, etc. I would also recommend doing some research on the things that are more straightforward (I.e. housing costs and what you get for your money), as with point 1, people have different expectations. 

With that said, I’ll give my view as a “random stranger online” (have spent a lot of time there, family lived there for a bit, and have a close friend who lives there). I think the comments on this board around the homelessness and how terrible the city is are overblown. If you live or have lived in nyc, SF will feel like a smaller city, that’s all. Things I’ve noticed:

1) housing prices are high for desirable areas: don’t plan on saving on rent if moving from nyc or similar. Again, depends on where you want to be

2) culture is different: a lot more centered around tech, less of the high strung finance crowd

3) great access to outdoor activities: tons of hiking, skiing, beaches, etc all close by, additionally you have napa a close drive 

Overall I like it there, but again it depends on the type of person you are. I would struggle a bit with parts of the overall culture (huge generalization on my part here). My friend who lives out there enjoys it but also lives a bit outside the city and wanted a quieter place. 

Prob not the answer you’re looking for - but I travel a decent amount and find SF extremely overrated. People are always raving about the weather there... like what? It’s cold and gloomy most of the year. 

ill take LA or San Diego all day every day. Better weather, beaches, less tech-y, hotter girls, cooler people in general 

SF is good for visiting. It's a different story living there. Visitors only see a small part of the city when they visit.

• Homeless: Yes, it's a big and ever present issue. SF provides a lot of resources to the homeless. They are predominately clustered in certain areas (tenderloin, south of market, downtown) with access to services so if you live close to those areas, you will be around them. Tenderloin is close to Union Square where tons of tourists gather so people come away with the impression that SF has homeless everywhere; it's only part true. In other parts of the city, you might not come across even one. The majority are nonviolent and won't interact with you
• Prices: It's expensive. Home prices are through the roof so you won't be able to buy unless you're rolling in the dough. Rent prices are down a lot compared to 2019. SF rental market is expensive and similar to NYC. Cost of living is similar to NYC
• Dating: Not good. You have thousands of well paid single men competing with you. If you want quality, you're going to have something exceptional (e.g. looks, money, talent) to do well. Different story if you like men.
• Job opportunities: Lots of good finance firms out there. SF has money managers like ValueAct, Orbis, Dodge & Cox, Farallon, etc. to name a few. Where there are rich people there are finance opportunities
• Other: SF is a citadel for rich people. Lots of people hustling under the guise of their startup changing da world and disrupting old industries. People worship money and wealth out there. If you are wealthy you can enjoy yourself and do tons of stuff. By wealthy I mean at least $300k+ for one person. Go buy a porsche and drive up to Napa Valley wine country with someone special and have a good time.

I moved out to SF before COVID and really enjoyed my stay. It's absolutely a unique culture and it's not NYC, but if you understand that going in that you will enjoy it for what it is. I lived in the Marina and never had issues with homeless people or the bar/dating scene. there are plenty of places you can live where this is the case (just don't live in the Tenderloin and you should be fine). 

All of that being said, I chose to leave due to the reaction the city continues to have to COVID-19. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I personally have no desire to live in a place that's still as shut down as SF, and almost everyone in my office feels the same way as we have all left and not returned. 

Great city. Good food. I love the access to beaches, mountains, wine country, etc. My only issue was the culture was way toooooo liberal. I'm not a political person, far from it, so I don't like it when people beliefs encompass your daily life. Also I went in June and it was crazy windy. So weather is a big minus point it seems.

The data is from 2018, but SF was 8th in the nation in homelessn people per 100,000 residents, LESS than LA, NYC, Seattle. Hard to believe given the endless shit SF gets for its homeless. I’ve only read spent time in SF, NYC, and Portland as well. Didn’t feel like there was more or less homeless people in each city.

NYC data is also hard to look at since most of us usually mean just Manhattan and not the sorrounding boroughs.

San Francisco is pretty bad but the peninsula right below it is very nice... If you are planning starting family long-term, there are some excellent neighborhoods and schools if you go 20 minutes south. What can't be overstated about SF is how small it is compared to most major cities. Like there are 700,000 people or something, and proportionally much less people in finance than NYC. 

There are decent finance-bro neighborhoods but the nightlife is poor pretty much everywhere. And homelessness is rampant.... but honestly not that bad in the financial district. You just have to know where to not go at night. The weather is shit. Peninsula weather is some of the best in the world but san Francisco is covered in fog 100% of the time from April- October, and asides from that its like 45 and freezing. 

That being said, if you are looking at going in tech finance, there is no better place to start 

It's fucking awesome if you love the fresh smell of piss and shit on your morning coffee runs. Bonus points if you count being accosted by social just warriors the homeless as some of your vices.

Yes it’s a shithole nowadays. It used to be amazing, clean, thriving. Ask anyone who’s seen the progression of the city. Democratic leaders have destroyed San Francisco and that’s not a hyperbole. I know so many people who used to live there, came back to visit, and said there never coming back.

Yes it’s a shithole nowadays. It used to be amazing, clean, thriving. Ask anyone who’s seen the progression of the city. Democratic leaders have destroyed San Francisco and that’s not a hyperbole. I know so many people who used to live there, came back to visit, and said they’re never coming back.

They have a multi-million dollar publicly funded poop cleanup department. It's a literal shithole.

I think for the most part SF can be fine, not great. If you're willing to try it out for 2 years, I think you're experience will be fine. You can steer clear of most of the bad aspects of SF over the course of 2 years, but after that it might be harder to not get distracted by it. So if you're looking at it as a potential place to settle more permanently in the future, I don't recommend it. I've lived in the SF Bay Area for almost 20 years and am already leaving for pretty much the same reasons people constantly mention. I'll admit one of the big ones for me is the arrogance of tech culture and how much it actually ruined a lot of the bay area and didn't fix standing issues despite how expensive housing is and how big the salaries are.

Most of it isn’t great but there’s a few spots that are really fun (e.g. the Marina) that have a lot of young people and it’s clean with good bars. Venture out of those few areas and it’s dirty and not great. Just my experience

Most of it isn’t great but there’s a few spots that are really fun (e.g. the Marina) that have a lot of young people and it’s clean with good bars. Venture out of those few areas and it’s dirty and not great. Just my experience

Most of it isn’t great but there’s a few spots that are really fun (e.g. the Marina) that have a lot of young people and it’s clean with good bars. Venture out of those few areas and it’s dirty and not great. Just my experience

omg if your from the north east and are looking to move to SF than your in for a rude awakening

SF is disgusting, like total shithole.... ridcolous amounts of homeless people that have been cast away by the local government ~ which is why you see them do mad stuff like go to the bathroom in public and take drugs in public 

what happens when you have a extremely radical progressive government run your city..... oh wait that's whats currently going on in our federal government lol 

all in all, there are so many other cities to live in - Chicago is amazing, dallas is so dope, new york city is the all time best etc...

boston and D.C. are also dope 

This place mints millionaires faster than the dumbass kids in this thread can count to ten. Whether it's ent software sales to engineering itself the equity is still flowing in the valley.

Now if you're talking quality of life relative to cost. SF itself obviously isn't the best. But if you're here to make some fucking money and then move out, this is where it's at. Cannot count the number of berkeley / stanford friends I have that are going to clear 500K pre-tax 4 years out of college in equity + base.

It’s a horribly run shithole and insanely expensive. But the food is good and it’s close(ish) to a lot of outdoorsy stuff if that’s what you’re into. 

Buy cheap shoes

Do the homeless in SF wear double-masks?

As someone who lives in SF, it's pretty nice if you have money and live in certain neighborhoods like the Marina or Hayes Valley. Food here is decent (particularly mexican and sushi) but generally tier 2 vs NYC. I've never had issues with homeless people and they're not that prevalent unless you go to certain neighborhoods like Tenderloin (it's like saying NYC is a shithole because of Harlem). Nightlife isn't that great but at least pre-COVID, it was really easy / cheap to fly to LA or Vegas for a weekend trip. Also having easy access to napa for wine tasting / tahoe for winter skiing / summer boating is a great perk. Dating scene is significantly worse than NYC or LA as a guy, but not that difficult if you can hold a conversation. Agree with other posts that city is too liberal and horribly run, but I think it's B- city but A+ access to cool things nearby.

My cousin lived in SF for 6 years near Larry Ellison's place. He said that a few times a year the homeless would just walk up and shit in front of his home. That solidified my decision to never live in SF. If a multi billionaire can't get rid of the homeless shitting on his doorstep everybody else doesn't stand a chance. 

Pee and poop EVERRRRRRYWHERE you go

Just don’t be an elderly Asian person in SF these days.  You’ll get beat up and mugged.

Lots of companies relocating from SF to TX/AZ/FL. Also, many big tech names are considering/moving to permanent WFH; techies fleeing the place left and right bc no point paying exorbitant rent to live in a toilet. Many people talk about NYC dying but it won't because of infrastructure and the critical mass of people to interact in finance. The new towers going up around Grand Central support this. Finance is a people-oriented job; tech is not. It's honestly sad what SF has become; I went back as a kid and it was actually not too bad. But went again 3 years ago to catch up with a friend an boy, that place has changed for the worse.

People even on WSO talk about NYC dying, but if there is any city in NA that is truly in freefall, it is SF.

ahaha listen this is gonna sound nasty but im sure all the guys are wondering about this 

the girls are gross in SF and are ridoculsy stuck up and mean...like their not firendly at all and their not attractive

its the total opposite from NYC in terms of levels of attractivness 

again i know their are some people out their that are going to get offended but you should be prepared if your gonna go there 

It is one of the wealthiest cities in North America and still feels dirty and run down, with some areas looking like actual slums. It’s a very bizarre dynamic. When a city has as much wealth as SF and still has massive QOL issues it’s due to the choices of the residents. That has always been a major red to me. 

Watch this

there is no better city than san francisco. every time i land at sfo i start to cry of happiness and do the same every time i wake up in the morning. just live in the right place and know the areas to avoid and you're gucci 

Another thing to think about is if you want to move back to NYC how the recruiting process will be. I feel like if you’re not in NYC then you can be a tougher candidate to get through given everyone else is already in the east coast.

Depends, if you have a enough money to shield yourself from the homeless situation, then it's probably pretty solid, but every time I've gone out to visit friends, the trash, feces, used needles, and homeless people are pretty overwhelming.  If that doesn't bother you, the food and weather are good, the only other gripe I've heard is how expensive it is.

I think youll find it hard to avoid the crack pandemic whilst there

It's like Mordor except that the orcs turn your kids into sissies and then try to have sex with them. So, worse

to new readers of this thread, take it with a tablespoon of salt.

SF is a great city plagued by shitty government. Was there for the first time this past weekend - went in with low expectations and left with a desire to move there at some point, hopefully once things get a bit more rational. Tenderloin/mid-market was definitely pretty grim to drive through, homeless were everywhere. With that being said, I didn't see a single human shit in the streets and only came across one needle on the ground.

The vistas from the city are stunning and the food is great. Not to mention if you are in tech consulting/finance it's hard to think of a better place to be career-wise. Probably only saw like 2 hot girls the whole time I was there, though. The 49er thing is probably a truth.