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"From a sociological perspective, you won’t find a more interesting city to study." "San Francisco has the prettiest natural surroundings of any city in America

"From a sociological perspective, you won’t find a more interesting city to study." "San Francisco has the prettiest natural surroundings of any city in America." Statements like this make it clear that the author hasn't really seen must of the world or even America.

tehsauce 7y ago
Immediately these bits made me think of the "San Francisco smug" South Park episode
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OnlineGladiator 7y ago
> "San Francisco has the prettiest natural surroundings of any city in America." I'm open to disagreements, but I'd say SF has the prettiest surroundings of any US city. The only place I've lived I think was prettier was Rio de Janeiro. I can think of other places that are also very beautiful though, such as Salt Lake City or Jackson Hole. I like to say the worst thing about San Francisco is San Francisco - everything around San Francisco is gorgeous! Muir Woods, Half Moon Bay, Sausalito - those are within a ~30 minute drive from where I live. The coastal drive north once you get to Stinson Beach might be my favorite road to drive on because of the views. As for the city itself, I would absolutely give the edge to Chicago for their architectural designs. What places do you find the prettiest?
- baddox 7y ago
  Salt Lake City is what immediately came to my mind as well, if we're limiting it to "major" US cities. There are, of course, small towns that are basically known for having ludicrously beautiful surroundings, like Telluride. And I assume we're just not counting Hawaii since that obviously wouldn't be fair?
- AnimalMuppet 7y ago
  You think San Francisco is in Jackson Hole's class? I disagree, strongly. I would also consider places like Breckenridge to be above San Francisco. But I would accept "not a major city" as ruling out Jackson Hole and Breckenridge, because in fact they are not major cities. I might accept San Francisco as being above Salt Lake, but not by much. I might consider Seattle to be as good as San Francisco.
- sdnlafkjh34rw 7y ago
  The problem I have is the hyperbole and broad sweeping generalizations of the article which really reduce America and the world down to tech, SF, and New York when there is a much more to the world out there. Almost every line about the uniqueness of SF is really just a comparison to NYC. Is America really just SF and NYC? It is so myopic that it's hard to take it seriously. San Francisco is a city with beautiful natural surroundings but so is Denver, Boulder, Seattle, Jackson, Honolulu, Kahului, San Diego, Los Angeles, Anchorage, Salt Lake City, Sedona, Carmel, etc. Even if by city they mean a large city or metropolis, I would still argue that Los Angeles, San Diego, and Seattle would be in the same tier of beauty.
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jessaustin 7y ago
Well, he has been to NYC...
baddox 7y ago
> "San Francisco has the prettiest natural surroundings of any city in America." I don't think it's an unreasonable candidate for someone's favorite, but it's pretty surprising for the author to not recognize that this is both subjective and highly controversial. If I had to predict what people in America would describe as "the American city with the prettiest natural surroundings," I think cities with large mountains would score very highly.
- reaperducer 7y ago
  Or beaches. The author clearly hasn't been to Hawaii.
  - danenania 7y ago
    Baker Beach in SF is quite picturesque.
ereyes01 7y ago
I don't live in CA, and have been to many places both in and out of the US. I 100% agree with the statement that San Francisco is in a uniquely beautiful natural setting. Yes I saw the encampments, the people shooting up in the street, and some of the negative stuff you hear about, but I also saw the bridges on the bay, Twin Peaks, Lincoln Park, Golden Gate Park, Hawk Hill, and I could go on. On the other hand, I kind of understand the sentiment of not appreciating a place if you grew up there. I'm originally from Miami, FL, and it took moving away + a few years to be able to appreciate the beauty of that place for what it is.
gopher2 7y ago
With or without the opening statement being true, which is a matter of opinion, it's a pretty interesting city sociologically.
borkt 7y ago
Yeah, I grew up in the north bay and find many places at least as beautiful if not moreso. Kauai, anchorage, death valley, cascade range, Ozarks, high desert, Smoky Mountains. I guess I appreciate nature in all its forms unlike the blogger?
- deleted 7y ago
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- kelnos 7y ago
  The OP was presumably talking about areas around major cities, which in your list I'd guess only Anchorage qualifies? But yeah, this is a hugely subjective metric, and I think we should allow the author his biases there, even if we disagree.
munchbunny 7y ago
From a sociological perspective, you won’t find a more interesting city to study. I can see this argument. There are certainly enough interesting sociological issues in San Francisco regardless of whether you think it deserves the "most" qualifier. San Francisco has the prettiest natural surroundings of any city in America. I think this one is very hard to argue. It's highly subjective, so I don't doubt that the author believes it, but if someone were asking me where to move and told me that they prioritize beautiful surroundings, San Francisco wouldn't make my list of recommendations.

tehsauce 7y ago

Immediately these bits made me think of the "San Francisco smug" South Park episode

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OnlineGladiator 7y ago

> "San Francisco has the prettiest natural surroundings of any city in America." I'm open to disagreements, but I'd say SF has the prettiest surroundings of any US city. The only place I've lived I think was prettier was Rio de Janeiro. I can think of other places that are also very beautiful though, such as Salt Lake City or Jackson Hole. I like to say the worst thing about San Francisco is San Francisco - everything around San Francisco is gorgeous! Muir Woods, Half Moon Bay, Sausalito - those are within a ~30 minute drive from where I live. The coastal drive north once you get to Stinson Beach might be my favorite road to drive on because of the views. As for the city itself, I would absolutely give the edge to Chicago for their architectural designs. What places do you find the prettiest?

baddox 7y ago
Salt Lake City is what immediately came to my mind as well, if we're limiting it to "major" US cities. There are, of course, small towns that are basically known for having ludicrously beautiful surroundings, like Telluride. And I assume we're just not counting Hawaii since that obviously wouldn't be fair?
AnimalMuppet 7y ago
You think San Francisco is in Jackson Hole's class? I disagree, strongly. I would also consider places like Breckenridge to be above San Francisco. But I would accept "not a major city" as ruling out Jackson Hole and Breckenridge, because in fact they are not major cities. I might accept San Francisco as being above Salt Lake, but not by much. I might consider Seattle to be as good as San Francisco.
sdnlafkjh34rw 7y ago
The problem I have is the hyperbole and broad sweeping generalizations of the article which really reduce America and the world down to tech, SF, and New York when there is a much more to the world out there. Almost every line about the uniqueness of SF is really just a comparison to NYC. Is America really just SF and NYC? It is so myopic that it's hard to take it seriously. San Francisco is a city with beautiful natural surroundings but so is Denver, Boulder, Seattle, Jackson, Honolulu, Kahului, San Diego, Los Angeles, Anchorage, Salt Lake City, Sedona, Carmel, etc. Even if by city they mean a large city or metropolis, I would still argue that Los Angeles, San Diego, and Seattle would be in the same tier of beauty.

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jessaustin 7y ago

Well, he has been to NYC...

baddox 7y ago

> "San Francisco has the prettiest natural surroundings of any city in America." I don't think it's an unreasonable candidate for someone's favorite, but it's pretty surprising for the author to not recognize that this is both subjective and highly controversial. If I had to predict what people in America would describe as "the American city with the prettiest natural surroundings," I think cities with large mountains would score very highly.

reaperducer 7y ago
Or beaches. The author clearly hasn't been to Hawaii.
- danenania 7y ago
  Baker Beach in SF is quite picturesque.

ereyes01 7y ago

I don't live in CA, and have been to many places both in and out of the US. I 100% agree with the statement that San Francisco is in a uniquely beautiful natural setting. Yes I saw the encampments, the people shooting up in the street, and some of the negative stuff you hear about, but I also saw the bridges on the bay, Twin Peaks, Lincoln Park, Golden Gate Park, Hawk Hill, and I could go on. On the other hand, I kind of understand the sentiment of not appreciating a place if you grew up there. I'm originally from Miami, FL, and it took moving away + a few years to be able to appreciate the beauty of that place for what it is.

gopher2 7y ago

With or without the opening statement being true, which is a matter of opinion, it's a pretty interesting city sociologically.

borkt 7y ago

Yeah, I grew up in the north bay and find many places at least as beautiful if not moreso. Kauai, anchorage, death valley, cascade range, Ozarks, high desert, Smoky Mountains. I guess I appreciate nature in all its forms unlike the blogger?

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kelnos 7y ago
The OP was presumably talking about areas around major cities, which in your list I'd guess only Anchorage qualifies? But yeah, this is a hugely subjective metric, and I think we should allow the author his biases there, even if we disagree.

munchbunny 7y ago

From a sociological perspective, you won’t find a more interesting city to study. I can see this argument. There are certainly enough interesting sociological issues in San Francisco regardless of whether you think it deserves the "most" qualifier. San Francisco has the prettiest natural surroundings of any city in America. I think this one is very hard to argue. It's highly subjective, so I don't doubt that the author believes it, but if someone were asking me where to move and told me that they prioritize beautiful surroundings, San Francisco wouldn't make my list of recommendations.