3 ms·

The context is given by the article we are discussing. Sure you can find entertainment and enjoy nice things, but it won't really feel like a community.

• jacobolus 6y ago
  In the pre-pandemic era I could walk all around the neighborhood with my then-2-year-old kid and make friendly smalltalk with all of the elderly dog walkers, retail/restaurant staffers, small business owners, city employees, other families from working class to super wealthy, high school students, retired musicians living in SROs, socially awkward genius engineer dudes, retired real estate moguls driving vintage cars around, cops and firefighters, skater kids, middle aged Mexicans playing cards, artists painting the scenery on portable easels, homeless veterans, people unironically dressed like wizards or cowboys, etc. etc., as well as chat with miscellaneous tourists from around the world and visitors from around the Bay Area. I found almost everyone to be pretty friendly and welcoming. But it's true that walking with a child (or a dog) generally makes people more open to conversation, so YMMV. I don't feel like I have a large tight-knit friend group, but the neighborhood feels plenty like a "community" to me, even though a substantial proportion of the people around are likely to only stay for a few yars. Maybe you have a different idea of what a community is. Obviously the pandemic has radically changed everything; few people spend lots of time chatting with neighbors in close proximity anymore. There are also a lot of small businesses which have turned over or are likely to in the next year or two, based substantially on the lack of Federal financial support during this pandemic. We'll see how the neighborhood looks once things have settled down in a few years.