I don’t want to nit pick either, but mentally ill people who are manic can become violent, and if they are on drugs, the odds are higher, so while I don’t like the stigma of mentally ill people being violent, lets not pretend there isn’t a threat at all.
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No one said it isn’t a threat at all, but the percentage of folks who will fit that criteria is very small.
Let’s move on from the general discussion of mental illness, homelessness, crime in Rio, etc
Ok… so the follow up to the original post (for which the title is somewhat misleading) is that the murder of Bob Lee was not some random attack, but a purposeful attack after a disagreement about the suspect’s sister Argument Over Suspect’s Sister Led to Killing of Bob Lee, Court Documents Say – NBC Bay Area It was not about homelessness or drug addicts or mental illness. So …. what’s left to talk about? My s’s lived in SF proper for a combined 10 years (and a few additional years in the surrounding area) and still do. Its their choice and their life. We as parents will always worry about our kids. Its our job.
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Mental illness and homelessness are very much tied into the perception of crime levels in SF.
I’ve been in Singapore and Japan for the last few weeks, and following the SF online media from here, the current discussion in the SF Bay Area looks like it’s morphed into a discussion of why SF has the reputation it has when it comes to crime, and whether it’s deserved or not. This thread pretty much reflects the same type of discussion.
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Good point. Its the perception. No one is saying crime rates haven’t risen since the pandemic, but as the Forbes article reported: “ When compared to 21 other major cities, San Francisco’s property crimes, like robbery and theft, are 41% higher than average, but violent crimes, like murder and aggravated assault, are 21% below average, according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s” analysis of FBI crime data.
Murder is usually commited by people who know their victims, often in circumstances of domestic violence, gangs, drugs, or excessive alcohol use. I am not worried about being murdered walking down the streets of SF, or any city . I am however, worried about being verbally assaulted, spit upon, followed, and possibly physically mugged. My perception of the likelihood of those actions is both reality based and accurate.
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So. Don’t. Go.
I have been to SF many, many times over the past 10 or so years, multiple times a year. Stayed in an airbnb for a month one time (during covid). Most other visits were a week or so. Never, ever have I been assaulted, spit upon, verbally assaulted, followed, mugged, etc. To each his own.
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Alas, have to visit the kids, or I would refrain. I think I mentioned earlier we just have different tolerance levels for, shall we say, urban decay?
Continue to focus on the negative with derogatory terms if you wish. To each his own. We loved going to walk/run on the beach, to Golden Gate park and the museums and concerts there, the botanical gardens (though in truth I prefer the botanical gardens in our city), to the zoo (yes, there are lots of motor homes parked permanently along a road near there) across the bridge to Sausalito and the kids discovery museum, the sensory museum (or whatever it was called), the jewish museum, lots of walks in the neighborhoods, Castro st. art murals, the parks, the bakeries, the coffee shops, the pop up sidewalk restaurants during covid, the plays, the restaurants, the playgrounds, some areas more than others in the process of gentrifying.
The pirate store was a hoot, and the open air everything on Valencia was fun. Loved the farmers markets and the bookstores, twin peaks and sutro tower, and the people watching. Did we feel badly for the homeless folks, did we walk around a few tents and people asleep on the sidewalk? Yes. But its a city, with its good and bad aspects. Did I worry a time or two when DS parked his car in an open air lot? Yes. Was his car touched? No. We visited our kids and will continue to. The only crime I know about is when one of the kids lived in RockRidge (east Bay) and were unloading their car. They accidentally left their ski boots by the car as they unloaded stuff and the boots were apparently made for walking (credit to Nancy Sinatra for that line)… That was in around 2012 or so. Haven’t heard of any other crime they personally experienced.
When older s bought his first house they removed the gate by the front door. I would have preferred they left it, but not my choice. Some others in SF have them and I understand why, especially on main streets. But DS has a remote garage opener gizmo and deliveries were left in the garage. It worked for them. Oh, and we walked A LOT. When we were there for a month we stayed about a mile from one s and 1.75 mi from the other. Walked back and forth almost daily. Loved going to the fresh bakeries and such on the walks. Yum.
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It doesn’t help when you say don’t go. Our kids are there because of the tech ecosystem available in SF like nowhere else. So it’s not don’t go it’s how to make this beautiful city safe
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I agree. Of course all want it to be cleaner and safer. But for comfort, Stay in a hotel and uber everywhere. It is what you make of it. I don’t disagree- it would be great to clean up the city. I remember when I lived in NY and 42nd st was horrible. Glad its improved and would love, LOVE to see things improve in SF. But the weather is warmer in SF more of the time so there is a bigger homeless problem there. My kids are there for the same reason as yours. But I don’t badmouth the city the way some others do. Trying to look on the bright side.
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[quote=“jym626, post:134, topic:3634712, full:true”] Loved going to the fresh bakeries and such on the walks. Yum.
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OMG the French pastries at ONE65 in Union Square are amazing - one of the best bakeries I’ve been to. If you’ve never been be sure to give it a try.
My favorite thing to do when going to SF for work (several times a year, although less post-covid) is to stay at the Marriott Marquis on Mission and walk over to ONE65 for treats. I usually grab a boxful to bring home for W.
I also walk out to many restaurants for dinner, although I generally try to stay within a 15 minute radius of the hotel just out of sheer laziness.
There’s definitely a lot more homeless than when I lived in the Bay Area 30 years ago, but as I mentioned upthread the area I frequent for work (Union Square and the Financial District) have been perfectly safe for both me and W and I always actively look for excuses to visit for work (so I can go to one65!).
We’re planning on doing a michelin tour of SF, probably next year. Basically visit for week and try to hit a different michelin-starred restaurant every night (hopefully including Atelier Crenn).
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Crenn - highly recommended. Been there twice with our S. He visits more often.
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That will take political will which isn’t present, or is focused on other issues, at this point.
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@seal16 We all agree about the need to address the homeless issue, however they can, in SF. The conversation about the positive aspects of the city are in response to all the negative/critical commentary. To me, SF is a much more walkable city than the one I live in and there is much more gun violence where I live than in SF. Hence by comparison I feel safer walking in SF than my own metro area. And sorry, but the bakeries are worth a mention! They are divine. Wish we had them here. And fwiw, not sure who said they felt “perfectly safe”. There is always a need to keep one’s eyes open when they are in any urban area.
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Back in 1991, I lived near the intersection of Macalester and Lyon before that area was gentrified. It was the only place I could afford on my $26.5k salary teaching in SF Unified. I never felt safe while I lived there and always felt like a fish out of water in the city as a whole.
I recently was in the city with DC22. We ate in Chinatown, and because of parking, we had to walk quite a ways to get to the restaurant. We felt 100% safe as visitors and during the day, and it was a delight to wind through the streets and alleys to get to lunch. We drove to all the major sights and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary—we have plenty of homeless in our small city, so maybe I’m sadly desensitized. My only regret is that we didn’t go to Mario’s Bohemian Cafe in North Beach. I used to love to go there and enjoy the view across Washington Square!
(Apologies! Didn’t mean to reply to you specifically @jym626!)
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You hit my wall. I grew up outside of sf and went to the tenderloin when it was still edgy. I worked in SF for 7years. I recently went back for my kid to audition to the SF ballet and was SHOCKED at the bodied we passed. Perhaps you are immune to to the reality of what’s going on because in no way shape or form is the current situation normal. I love and will continue to go to SF as literally 90% of my family is there, but why people can’t acknowledge the reality of what’s going on. You shouldn’t actually step over bodies in all states of over dose and think it’s normal.
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Where did she say it was normal?
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