5 ms·

I've lived in New York City for about 25 years in three different boroughs, and as as a member of the "arty bohemian gentrifier" class I was in transitional low

by zzzeek 8y ago

I've lived in New York City for about 25 years in three different boroughs, and as as a member of the "arty bohemian gentrifier" class I was in transitional low-income areas and things like occasional street crime, gunshots and stuff like that were not unusual. But only once did I actually see two street people start a knife fight on a subway train and it was during one of my probably less than five short visits to SF. It's equally rare that I'd agree with a National Review writer but SF was really ugly and quite unsafe feeling. Manhattan in the late 80s was probably a little more comparable to that. But I can't imagine why anyone would want to live in SF nowadays, if you're in tech you should aspire to work remotely and live anywhere you want.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
tmh79 8y ago
maybe 1/2 of my friends from college live in SF. I have a huge social network here. Objectively the city is not awesome, but I can't imagine moving somewhere else and starting from scratch. Lots of tech workers are in this situation IMO.
- malvosenior 8y ago
  Isn't it normal to graduate college and move to another city for a job? I've never heard of anyone wanting to stick around the same city as their college friends before. Granted the Bay Area is a tech hub so that's a reason to stay if you're in the industry but living in a new city on your own is definitely an experience most people should have.
  - tmh79 8y ago
    Only 25% of US adults have a bachelors degree. Of the 25% of those with bachelors degrees, the large majority come from regional public schools, think "Cal State Sacramento", or "Northern Illinois University". Graduates of these types of schools often grew up within 2 - 3 hours of their university, and after school the majority end up in the largest city within a 2 - 3 hour drive of their university. If you didn't get a degree, you're much more likely to live close to where you grew up. If you went to a top school (top 25 - 50 in USNWR), then your social circle was much more "mobile" than average.
    - malvosenior 8y ago
      That makes sense. I don't have a degree but my social and professional circles are from top schools and the like. I was missing the view that a lot of people go to university in the same town they grew up in (although I question if that's the case for SF/the valley).
  - InterimNew 8y ago
    It's very possible that the parent commenter did just that. I know it's true in my case, as a CMU grad a plurality of my college friends moved to SF right after college. It was a new city for most of us, and nearly a decade later the majority of my local social network are still friends from school. At this point I would be somewhat saddened to move away from a network I've been building for ~15 years.
bassman9000 8y ago
Manhattan in the late 80s was probably a little more comparable to that What changed?
- airstrike 8y ago
  Giuliani
  - zzzeek 8y ago
    this is complete bullshit and every new yorker knows it. Why hasn't crime returned to pre-1990 levels in the last 18 years? Not enough time ?
- zzzeek 8y ago
  in the mid 90's the younger adult generation was replaced by kids who didn't grow up exposed to leaded gasoline: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93crime_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93crime_hypothesis

by zzzeek 8y ago

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

tmh79 8y ago

maybe 1/2 of my friends from college live in SF. I have a huge social network here. Objectively the city is not awesome, but I can't imagine moving somewhere else and starting from scratch. Lots of tech workers are in this situation IMO.

malvosenior 8y ago
Isn't it normal to graduate college and move to another city for a job? I've never heard of anyone wanting to stick around the same city as their college friends before. Granted the Bay Area is a tech hub so that's a reason to stay if you're in the industry but living in a new city on your own is definitely an experience most people should have.
- tmh79 8y ago
  Only 25% of US adults have a bachelors degree. Of the 25% of those with bachelors degrees, the large majority come from regional public schools, think "Cal State Sacramento", or "Northern Illinois University". Graduates of these types of schools often grew up within 2 - 3 hours of their university, and after school the majority end up in the largest city within a 2 - 3 hour drive of their university. If you didn't get a degree, you're much more likely to live close to where you grew up. If you went to a top school (top 25 - 50 in USNWR), then your social circle was much more "mobile" than average.
  - malvosenior 8y ago
    That makes sense. I don't have a degree but my social and professional circles are from top schools and the like. I was missing the view that a lot of people go to university in the same town they grew up in (although I question if that's the case for SF/the valley).
- InterimNew 8y ago
  It's very possible that the parent commenter did just that. I know it's true in my case, as a CMU grad a plurality of my college friends moved to SF right after college. It was a new city for most of us, and nearly a decade later the majority of my local social network are still friends from school. At this point I would be somewhat saddened to move away from a network I've been building for ~15 years.

bassman9000 8y ago

Manhattan in the late 80s was probably a little more comparable to that What changed?

airstrike 8y ago
Giuliani
- zzzeek 8y ago
  this is complete bullshit and every new yorker knows it. Why hasn't crime returned to pre-1990 levels in the last 18 years? Not enough time ?
zzzeek 8y ago
in the mid 90's the younger adult generation was replaced by kids who didn't grow up exposed to leaded gasoline: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93crime_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead%E2%80%93crime_hypothesis