5 ms·

The median person in SFO lives a way worse life than a median person in Ohio

duncan-donuts 3y ago
Is there actual data that compares the quality of life for this? I’m curious to see how my city stacks up.
Zetice 3y ago
Eh, you'd be surprised how much being able to walk to things, and generally being in a major international city improves your quality of life if that's the kind of thing you prefer...
- scarface_74 3y ago
  I’ve been to San Francisco and I’ve been to Ohio. I would much rather be a median income earner in any part of Ohio than a median income earner on the west coast. How many people making the median income in San Francisco are living in a walkable area?
- gotaran 3y ago
  I lived in SF for 9 years. Good memories. And during peak tech boom you could easily shield yourself from the worst of the city. Ubers were cheap, office perks kept you from venturing out, and foot traffic was high enough to make the open air drug use less visible. But since 2020, it became absolute misery. I moved to NYC, and I’m much happier here. So your point about being in a walkable city still stands.
littlestymaar 3y ago
Maybe, but the average person there isn't “barely living” either.
QIYGT 3y ago
Only if you define "good life" as having a big house with a big yard.
- zoltar 3y ago
  Last time I ate in SF, I walked past a guy smoking crack on the sidewalk. But, yeah... big house with a big yard is nice.
  - turtleyacht 3y ago
    What.. what does crack smoke smell like? Cigarettes I know. Marijuana is a bit funky, but it's easy because--by process of elimination--it's not a cancer stick. But now I have to squirrel away a third possibility.
    - andyjohnson0 3y ago
      A quick search suggests it smells like burning plastic or rubber
  - Fezzik 3y ago
    Can’t reply to the comment below inquiring about odor, but people smoking crack are easy to spot as you don’t roll crack in a cigarette, you smoke it out of a heated glass pipe. It looks entirely different. So it’s easy to notice when done in the open. As far as odor… I think it smells a lot like meth that, when smoked, smells like an odd laundry detergent that you have never smelled before. Sort of like a decaying air freshener. That’s the best I can do.
    - throw1677718108 3y ago
      > people smoking crack are easy to spot as you don’t roll crack in a cigarette, you smoke it out of a heated glass pipe. It looks entirely different. This isn't entirely accurate, as crack isn't the only drug people use "crack pipes" for. I couldn't tell you what, if anything, crack smells like because I'm not aware of having every been in the vicinity of it being consumed, but I have been around people using what look like crack pipes and I've used them myself too. In my case: a few times I tried vaping weed with them (though for weed an electric dry herb vape is better, and if wanting to use glass pipe and a flame there are designed-for-weed vapes which are better than generic crack-type pipes), and DMT is another illegal drug that needs (when in pure form, rather than changa) to be vaped rather than smoked - so a crack pipe can be useful for that too. I wouldn't be surprised if there are other drugs that sort of pipe can be used for, too. Personally I wouldn't use that sort of "crack" pipe in public, partly because many people think like you that it must be crack that's being used, and partly because even people who dont have that incorrect belief could still rightly (or at least, almost always rightly) deduce that something illegal is being consumed.

Is there actual data that compares the quality of life for this? I’m curious to see how my city stacks up.

Eh, you'd be surprised how much being able to walk to things, and generally being in a major international city improves your quality of life if that's the kind of thing you prefer...

scarface_74 3y ago
I’ve been to San Francisco and I’ve been to Ohio. I would much rather be a median income earner in any part of Ohio than a median income earner on the west coast. How many people making the median income in San Francisco are living in a walkable area?
gotaran 3y ago
I lived in SF for 9 years. Good memories. And during peak tech boom you could easily shield yourself from the worst of the city. Ubers were cheap, office perks kept you from venturing out, and foot traffic was high enough to make the open air drug use less visible. But since 2020, it became absolute misery. I moved to NYC, and I’m much happier here. So your point about being in a walkable city still stands.

littlestymaar 3y ago

Maybe, but the average person there isn't “barely living” either.

QIYGT 3y ago

Only if you define "good life" as having a big house with a big yard.

zoltar 3y ago
Last time I ate in SF, I walked past a guy smoking crack on the sidewalk. But, yeah... big house with a big yard is nice.
- turtleyacht 3y ago
  What.. what does crack smoke smell like? Cigarettes I know. Marijuana is a bit funky, but it's easy because--by process of elimination--it's not a cancer stick. But now I have to squirrel away a third possibility.
  - andyjohnson0 3y ago
    A quick search suggests it smells like burning plastic or rubber
- Fezzik 3y ago
  Can’t reply to the comment below inquiring about odor, but people smoking crack are easy to spot as you don’t roll crack in a cigarette, you smoke it out of a heated glass pipe. It looks entirely different. So it’s easy to notice when done in the open. As far as odor… I think it smells a lot like meth that, when smoked, smells like an odd laundry detergent that you have never smelled before. Sort of like a decaying air freshener. That’s the best I can do.
  - throw1677718108 3y ago
    > people smoking crack are easy to spot as you don’t roll crack in a cigarette, you smoke it out of a heated glass pipe. It looks entirely different. This isn't entirely accurate, as crack isn't the only drug people use "crack pipes" for. I couldn't tell you what, if anything, crack smells like because I'm not aware of having every been in the vicinity of it being consumed, but I have been around people using what look like crack pipes and I've used them myself too. In my case: a few times I tried vaping weed with them (though for weed an electric dry herb vape is better, and if wanting to use glass pipe and a flame there are designed-for-weed vapes which are better than generic crack-type pipes), and DMT is another illegal drug that needs (when in pure form, rather than changa) to be vaped rather than smoked - so a crack pipe can be useful for that too. I wouldn't be surprised if there are other drugs that sort of pipe can be used for, too. Personally I wouldn't use that sort of "crack" pipe in public, partly because many people think like you that it must be crack that's being used, and partly because even people who dont have that incorrect belief could still rightly (or at least, almost always rightly) deduce that something illegal is being consumed.