5 ms·

Currently live in Chicago, visited San Fran a few months ago. It's eerily and completely dead. Like no-cars-no-people-no-life-at-all-dead. Compared to Chicag

Currently live in Chicago, visited San Fran a few months ago. It's eerily and completely dead. Like no-cars-no-people-no-life-at-all-dead. Compared to Chicago where there are thousands of people going about their day (walking, biking, driving). SF is much more low rise though. Could just be all the commuters that no longer commute that contributed to the feeling of... apocalypse.

papito 6y ago
Not to state the obvious, but "a few months ago" was the height of lockdowns.
- xoxoy 6y ago
  I live in SF and can confirm that downtown is very dead.
  - arcticbull 6y ago
    I live a few blocks from Union Square -- can confirm.
  - papito 6y ago
    But what about the residential areas? NYC is very spotty, for example. Residential areas are hopping because that's where people live and work now, and midtown is shuttered. Usual salad and coffee places near the offices have no reason to be open right now.
  - mistersquid 6y ago
    Downtown is dead, yes, but Polk Gulch and Valencia Street (for example) are very much alive.
    - xoxoy 6y ago
      the city is so small that any exodus of existing residents isn’t going to be that noticeable because there are still people moving here everyday. but yes the residential areas feel pretty much the same as far as crowdedness goes.
- selectodude 6y ago
  July/August? That was the low-point of lockdowns. At least here in Chicago. It almost looked like a real city for a moment there.
  - qppo 6y ago
    The SF Bay Area was taking the pandemic seriously in the summer.
paxys 6y ago
Things are very different today than they were from March to ~July. The weather has been amazing the last few months. A lot of neighborhoods have closed off main streets to vehicle traffic. Outdoor dining has been on in full swing. Parks, beaches and outdoor areas have been generally full (a bit too much for comfort, in fact). IMO the city has been amazing to live in the last few months. Of course now with the rains and rising cases nationwide it's probably time to hibernate again.
- megameter 6y ago
  I agree, except for the heatwave-smoke thing. I welcome the rain despite the pandemic risks.
rpearl 6y ago
we're in the middle of a global pandemic
gcheong 6y ago
I see plenty of people in GG park and on the beach during nice days. Traffic in the burbs is still rather constant as usual.
varenc 6y ago
This makes some sense. Covid cases are booming in Chicago. SF is seeing some rise too, but it's doing quite well compared to the rest of the country. Chicago is seeing 48k new cases per 1M in the last 60 days, while SF is seeing about ~6k. (though also being a smaller city makes it easier to implement policies)
- LeifCarrotson 6y ago
  Thanks for the per capita numbers. As someone currently undergoing Chicago-like weather, I wonder how much climate has anything to do with it. The Windy City is near freezing people near me that were begrudgingly complying with the guidelines took advantage of our Indian summer, choosing to eat on patios and social distance in backyards, have given up entirely and are choosing to dine in and gather in houses.
  - blendo 6y ago
    > I wonder how much climate has anything to do with it. I'm going to opine that climate in SF helps a lot. I've lived in SF 25 years. All summer the uniform is long sleeve shirt w/under shirt. Light jacket for evenings/outings. Light to moderate wind. Only a week or so of hot/90F temperatures. It's turning toward winter now, so we're adding a sweater and water-resistant jacket. Moderate winds. I've never needed a down coat. In other words, we can pretty easily socialize outside and/or keep windows open, so any Covid virus tends to quickly disperse.
sologoub 6y ago
Probably commuter work areas. Usual outdoor leisure spots were pretty packed all year, e.g. golden gate park.
- stickyricky 6y ago
  Yeah that's fair. The beaches were packed when I was there (August). I meant downtown exclusively which could have been better communicated. I'm just not used to seeing a downtown look like that. Chicago was kind of the opposite. The beaches were closed but the streets were open. Probably enough to explain why my experience was so jarring.
  - sologoub 6y ago
    The SF downtown/financial district/SOMA kind of always died out on weekends, so now it probably looks like a perpetual Sunday morning - not a soul in sight.
renewiltord 6y ago
No way, homes. Downtown is hosed, but like the Marina is still popping. Even on the cold days there's a wait to sit under the heat lamps and stuff. Hard af to get an Aziza reso let alone something at Atelier Crenn. Like the only thing we're allowed to do is go sit in the cold next to a flame and drink so folks is doing that.
- daniellarusso 6y ago
  How cold is cold right now for you folks?
  - idoh 6y ago
    50-55 degrees at the moment in the Outer Sunset, on the coldest edge of SF.
  - renewiltord 6y ago
    Haha whoops forgot you're used to worse weather there. 13 C / 55 F.
proc0 6y ago
Too much shit on the street, for starters, not to mention it's definitely more dangerous to walk, especially at night. Lived there for 15+ years. I had to move, the rent was not justifiable, and it was clear the problems were getting worse. shrugs
- jxramos 6y ago
  I thought the SF Tourist industry was taking a stab at turning things around like about 2 years ago. Were they not able to put a dent in things?
  - proc0 6y ago
    I guess not. For a while the tourist areas were relatively clean, but it seems it was just displacing the problems to the other areas. I'm not sure tbh, but once the lockdown started, there were days downtown looked straight out of the Walking Dead.
- thelean12 6y ago
  Where did you live? People always talk about shit on the streets, but I only really see it as an issue in like downtown(SOMA,Tenderloin,etc) and tourist areas. I've lived in the residential areas (usually within a block of a major street with shops and restaurants) for 6+ years and it has never been an issue. And the areas I've lived in definitely have massively more "SF culture" than downtown.
  - proc0 6y ago
    SOMA, and I'd say Mission, parts of Castro also had similar issues. Of course there are still unaffected areas, but it's hard to dismiss so many affected ones.
thelean12 6y ago
Why in the world did you travel from Chicago to SF a few months ago? I hope you work in something essential.
bsenftner 6y ago
I lived in SF briefly, 1 year, back in '94 during the 3D graphics boom that I was a part - and then it was too crowded and too expensive to live, forget about owning a home without startup equity wealth. I moved back to Los Angeles, and from then till now I rarely visited for the simple reason that once there in SF there is no place to park your car (all filled, gotta leave the city) and lunch at a non-franchise was $50 10 years ago. Only old money, youth that knows no better, tech hope gambles, and those trapped in debt remain. The city is unhospitable.
- ghaff 6y ago
  I actually like visiting SF--but then I'm mostly on an expense account. Rarely have a car when I'm there unless it's to pick one up to go out of town somewhere. I had a couple opportunities to move to the Bay Area in the mid-90s. Even then it felt like a quality of life downgrade because of CoL. And I didn't even live in an especially cheap area--west of Boston.
- cvhashim 6y ago
  Where in LA do you live? LA can be just as bad as SF.
  - bsenftner 6y ago
    I've lived all over LA: San Monica, W. Hollywood, Westwood, Downtown, & various valley locations. With the exception of San Monica, one can park without consideration on the block of their destination, and non-franchise eateries of many ethnicities outside the fashionable expensive vortex are still common. As far as "crime bad", LA's reputation is a product of Hollywood and nothing like its dangerous reputation - people here are generally nice to strangers because everyone is a stranger. And who knows, if a stranger are dangerous, be nice as a default and you won't find out. Most other cities trying to "live up to LA" over do it and are much more unfriendly towards strangers.
kelnos 6y ago
> It's eerily and completely dead. Like no-cars-no-people-no-life-at-all-dead. I view this as a good thing, considering we're doing much better with our COVID caseload than many other places are. I suspect Chicago isn't doing quite as well as we are in that regard if you've see a lot of people out and about all the time (looks like your caseload per capita is ~8x ours per a sibling comment?). To be completely fair, though, things have changed a lot since a few months ago. I go for an evening jog two or three nights a week and see a good number of people out walking, running, driving, and biking, and outdoor dining in many places (North Beach, Hayes Valley, even my little corner of the Dogpatch) has made the city feel more vibrant in some ways than in pre-pandemic times. It's raining out now, but I plan to walk up to Potrero this evening for dinner where there's a semi-covered outdoor space. Obviously I would not wish this pandemic -- or the associated increase in financial/housing insecurity for a lot of people -- on anyone, but in several ways I like how SF has changed because of it. There's not been a lot to be proud of with how SF has handled homelessness and the housing crisis over the past several years, but pandemic response has been pretty great, all things considered.

papito 6y ago

Not to state the obvious, but "a few months ago" was the height of lockdowns.

xoxoy 6y ago
I live in SF and can confirm that downtown is very dead.
- arcticbull 6y ago
  I live a few blocks from Union Square -- can confirm.
- papito 6y ago
  But what about the residential areas? NYC is very spotty, for example. Residential areas are hopping because that's where people live and work now, and midtown is shuttered. Usual salad and coffee places near the offices have no reason to be open right now.
- mistersquid 6y ago
  Downtown is dead, yes, but Polk Gulch and Valencia Street (for example) are very much alive.
  - xoxoy 6y ago
    the city is so small that any exodus of existing residents isn’t going to be that noticeable because there are still people moving here everyday. but yes the residential areas feel pretty much the same as far as crowdedness goes.
selectodude 6y ago
July/August? That was the low-point of lockdowns. At least here in Chicago. It almost looked like a real city for a moment there.
- qppo 6y ago
  The SF Bay Area was taking the pandemic seriously in the summer.

paxys 6y ago

Things are very different today than they were from March to ~July. The weather has been amazing the last few months. A lot of neighborhoods have closed off main streets to vehicle traffic. Outdoor dining has been on in full swing. Parks, beaches and outdoor areas have been generally full (a bit too much for comfort, in fact). IMO the city has been amazing to live in the last few months. Of course now with the rains and rising cases nationwide it's probably time to hibernate again.

megameter 6y ago
I agree, except for the heatwave-smoke thing. I welcome the rain despite the pandemic risks.

rpearl 6y ago

we're in the middle of a global pandemic

gcheong 6y ago

I see plenty of people in GG park and on the beach during nice days. Traffic in the burbs is still rather constant as usual.

varenc 6y ago

This makes some sense. Covid cases are booming in Chicago. SF is seeing some rise too, but it's doing quite well compared to the rest of the country. Chicago is seeing 48k new cases per 1M in the last 60 days, while SF is seeing about ~6k. (though also being a smaller city makes it easier to implement policies)

LeifCarrotson 6y ago
Thanks for the per capita numbers. As someone currently undergoing Chicago-like weather, I wonder how much climate has anything to do with it. The Windy City is near freezing people near me that were begrudgingly complying with the guidelines took advantage of our Indian summer, choosing to eat on patios and social distance in backyards, have given up entirely and are choosing to dine in and gather in houses.
- blendo 6y ago
  > I wonder how much climate has anything to do with it. I'm going to opine that climate in SF helps a lot. I've lived in SF 25 years. All summer the uniform is long sleeve shirt w/under shirt. Light jacket for evenings/outings. Light to moderate wind. Only a week or so of hot/90F temperatures. It's turning toward winter now, so we're adding a sweater and water-resistant jacket. Moderate winds. I've never needed a down coat. In other words, we can pretty easily socialize outside and/or keep windows open, so any Covid virus tends to quickly disperse.

sologoub 6y ago

Probably commuter work areas. Usual outdoor leisure spots were pretty packed all year, e.g. golden gate park.

stickyricky 6y ago
Yeah that's fair. The beaches were packed when I was there (August). I meant downtown exclusively which could have been better communicated. I'm just not used to seeing a downtown look like that. Chicago was kind of the opposite. The beaches were closed but the streets were open. Probably enough to explain why my experience was so jarring.
- sologoub 6y ago
  The SF downtown/financial district/SOMA kind of always died out on weekends, so now it probably looks like a perpetual Sunday morning - not a soul in sight.

renewiltord 6y ago

No way, homes. Downtown is hosed, but like the Marina is still popping. Even on the cold days there's a wait to sit under the heat lamps and stuff. Hard af to get an Aziza reso let alone something at Atelier Crenn. Like the only thing we're allowed to do is go sit in the cold next to a flame and drink so folks is doing that.

daniellarusso 6y ago
How cold is cold right now for you folks?
- idoh 6y ago
  50-55 degrees at the moment in the Outer Sunset, on the coldest edge of SF.
- renewiltord 6y ago
  Haha whoops forgot you're used to worse weather there. 13 C / 55 F.

proc0 6y ago

Too much shit on the street, for starters, not to mention it's definitely more dangerous to walk, especially at night. Lived there for 15+ years. I had to move, the rent was not justifiable, and it was clear the problems were getting worse. shrugs

jxramos 6y ago
I thought the SF Tourist industry was taking a stab at turning things around like about 2 years ago. Were they not able to put a dent in things?
- proc0 6y ago
  I guess not. For a while the tourist areas were relatively clean, but it seems it was just displacing the problems to the other areas. I'm not sure tbh, but once the lockdown started, there were days downtown looked straight out of the Walking Dead.
thelean12 6y ago
Where did you live? People always talk about shit on the streets, but I only really see it as an issue in like downtown(SOMA,Tenderloin,etc) and tourist areas. I've lived in the residential areas (usually within a block of a major street with shops and restaurants) for 6+ years and it has never been an issue. And the areas I've lived in definitely have massively more "SF culture" than downtown.
- proc0 6y ago
  SOMA, and I'd say Mission, parts of Castro also had similar issues. Of course there are still unaffected areas, but it's hard to dismiss so many affected ones.

thelean12 6y ago

Why in the world did you travel from Chicago to SF a few months ago? I hope you work in something essential.

bsenftner 6y ago

I lived in SF briefly, 1 year, back in '94 during the 3D graphics boom that I was a part - and then it was too crowded and too expensive to live, forget about owning a home without startup equity wealth. I moved back to Los Angeles, and from then till now I rarely visited for the simple reason that once there in SF there is no place to park your car (all filled, gotta leave the city) and lunch at a non-franchise was $50 10 years ago. Only old money, youth that knows no better, tech hope gambles, and those trapped in debt remain. The city is unhospitable.

ghaff 6y ago
I actually like visiting SF--but then I'm mostly on an expense account. Rarely have a car when I'm there unless it's to pick one up to go out of town somewhere. I had a couple opportunities to move to the Bay Area in the mid-90s. Even then it felt like a quality of life downgrade because of CoL. And I didn't even live in an especially cheap area--west of Boston.
cvhashim 6y ago
Where in LA do you live? LA can be just as bad as SF.
- bsenftner 6y ago
  I've lived all over LA: San Monica, W. Hollywood, Westwood, Downtown, & various valley locations. With the exception of San Monica, one can park without consideration on the block of their destination, and non-franchise eateries of many ethnicities outside the fashionable expensive vortex are still common. As far as "crime bad", LA's reputation is a product of Hollywood and nothing like its dangerous reputation - people here are generally nice to strangers because everyone is a stranger. And who knows, if a stranger are dangerous, be nice as a default and you won't find out. Most other cities trying to "live up to LA" over do it and are much more unfriendly towards strangers.

kelnos 6y ago

> It's eerily and completely dead. Like no-cars-no-people-no-life-at-all-dead. I view this as a good thing, considering we're doing much better with our COVID caseload than many other places are. I suspect Chicago isn't doing quite as well as we are in that regard if you've see a lot of people out and about all the time (looks like your caseload per capita is ~8x ours per a sibling comment?). To be completely fair, though, things have changed a lot since a few months ago. I go for an evening jog two or three nights a week and see a good number of people out walking, running, driving, and biking, and outdoor dining in many places (North Beach, Hayes Valley, even my little corner of the Dogpatch) has made the city feel more vibrant in some ways than in pre-pandemic times. It's raining out now, but I plan to walk up to Potrero this evening for dinner where there's a semi-covered outdoor space. Obviously I would not wish this pandemic -- or the associated increase in financial/housing insecurity for a lot of people -- on anyone, but in several ways I like how SF has changed because of it. There's not been a lot to be proud of with how SF has handled homelessness and the housing crisis over the past several years, but pandemic response has been pretty great, all things considered.