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Bay Area born and raised, left 3.5 years ago. Grew up in the East Bay in the mid/late 80s and was fortunate to get to run around from Pleasanton to Oakland/Ber

Bay Area born and raised, left 3.5 years ago. Grew up in the East Bay in the mid/late 80s and was fortunate to get to run around from Pleasanton to Oakland/Berkeley and the city (SF). Traffic wasn't that bad. Went to UC Santa Cruz for college (BA/BS -> ABD w/ MS in Comp Eng) and still was lucky to get up and enjoy things through the 90s. 2000s rolled around, traffic increased, going to the city (SF) wasn't as fun. The influx of people changed the nature of long time favorites (many no longer around. That influx and the increase in population has seen long time restaurants close (rezoning - especially in places like Mountain View. The HN take is "more density", "do away with rules", but there is a lack of respect for the history, the restaurants and markets pushed out because FB needed yet another low density campus off of El Camino and Rengstorff. From the late 90s through the 2000s, the Bay Area changed. The influx of people from other areas, the demands of tech, etc have ruined it - at least for me. A side interest is preserving history, and Santa Clara County is pretty gungho about making sure most of that is buried due to the mighty dollar. Where I am now, it's a place. It's not home for the future, but in the mountains, mostly quiet, and I have fiber. I'm privileged in that regard. And my job allows for such.

laurencerowe 6y ago
That influx of people into the Bay Area has been fairly steady at ~1 million per decade since 1940.
hn_throwaway_99 6y ago
When it comes to the economy and housing, I've heard it phrased as "Growth, affordability, preservation: pick two". So, in contrast to your post, I believe what has really destroyed the character of many cities is not that they've grown or had lots of outsiders move in (that's been going on forever when it comes to cities), but that restrictive zoning has made housing so expensive that a diverse range of incomes can no longer afford to live there. If anything, making it extremely difficult to tear down a dilapidated laundromat to build more housing because that laundromat has been deemed "historic" is what is changing the character of cities for the worst.
advertiser 6y ago
Now this is just an opinion and no doubt others will disagree but I think a very similar thing is happening or has already happened in Seattle. The dynamics have been driven by "tech", namely you-know-who, named after rainforest in South America nd their newly-minted cloud computing competitors. Influx of people from other areas, both within US and international. "More density" and "do away with rules". Another comment in this thread actually proposes the high rents are being driven by zoning. I find that hard to swallow. People in both commercial and residential real estate tell us about demand that is by and large coming from one general source: "tech". This is what has driven the rates higher. I do not want to sound like another person looking to take jabs at the tech industry however I think some of the folks coming into these places for these jobs lack a certain appreciation for what makes these places special. To put it bluntly their standards are lower. The market has reponded and is giving them want they want; the number of city residences being built for rainforest workers is staggering. Yet I think we are losing something in the process and I am not sure the people moving in really have an appreciation for what is being lost. We cannot expect them to as they are new to the area.
- ng12 6y ago
  Yeah, same thing happened in New York. All these people moved in without any respect for what NYC is really about -- Dutch farming.
  - advertiser 6y ago
    I have Dutch ancestry, my ancestors were some of the first generations to settle in NY and I grew up there. Truth is that those generations of immigrants that came before the "tech workers" do have respect for what NYC is really about. They made NYC what it is. Just another opinion.
    - ng12 6y ago
      A part of what it is, yes. But that's the beauty of it: cities are constantly changing and building upon what came before. It's what makes them cities and not forgotten backwaters.

laurencerowe 6y ago

That influx of people into the Bay Area has been fairly steady at ~1 million per decade since 1940.

hn_throwaway_99 6y ago

When it comes to the economy and housing, I've heard it phrased as "Growth, affordability, preservation: pick two". So, in contrast to your post, I believe what has really destroyed the character of many cities is not that they've grown or had lots of outsiders move in (that's been going on forever when it comes to cities), but that restrictive zoning has made housing so expensive that a diverse range of incomes can no longer afford to live there. If anything, making it extremely difficult to tear down a dilapidated laundromat to build more housing because that laundromat has been deemed "historic" is what is changing the character of cities for the worst.

advertiser 6y ago

Now this is just an opinion and no doubt others will disagree but I think a very similar thing is happening or has already happened in Seattle. The dynamics have been driven by "tech", namely you-know-who, named after rainforest in South America nd their newly-minted cloud computing competitors. Influx of people from other areas, both within US and international. "More density" and "do away with rules". Another comment in this thread actually proposes the high rents are being driven by zoning. I find that hard to swallow. People in both commercial and residential real estate tell us about demand that is by and large coming from one general source: "tech". This is what has driven the rates higher. I do not want to sound like another person looking to take jabs at the tech industry however I think some of the folks coming into these places for these jobs lack a certain appreciation for what makes these places special. To put it bluntly their standards are lower. The market has reponded and is giving them want they want; the number of city residences being built for rainforest workers is staggering. Yet I think we are losing something in the process and I am not sure the people moving in really have an appreciation for what is being lost. We cannot expect them to as they are new to the area.

ng12 6y ago
Yeah, same thing happened in New York. All these people moved in without any respect for what NYC is really about -- Dutch farming.
- advertiser 6y ago
  I have Dutch ancestry, my ancestors were some of the first generations to settle in NY and I grew up there. Truth is that those generations of immigrants that came before the "tech workers" do have respect for what NYC is really about. They made NYC what it is. Just another opinion.
  - ng12 6y ago
    A part of what it is, yes. But that's the beauty of it: cities are constantly changing and building upon what came before. It's what makes them cities and not forgotten backwaters.