Perhaps one day all our dreams will come true and it will just disappear.

“Fuck off tourist. You know nothing about what this city is really about, you probably did not bother to journey west of Union Square and Pier 39.”

Well, sadly, this is the area where my issues of San Francisco began. This is my first time in the city, having travelled over for the American Geophysical Union conference, housed in the very comforting and neutral environment of the downtown Moscone Center. A group of colleagues decided to rent an appartment in the Hayes Valley part of town, having been told about it being a nice area, not too far a walk etc…

What they failed to mention was the utter depravity one would be faced with whilst making the transition between Tourist Trap A (Haight/Ashbury area) and Tourist Trap B (Downtown). Never have I encountered so many homeless, junkies, whores and lunatics in such a confined space before – granted, the cities I’ve experienced are a lot smaller than most in the US, so I take note in the scale differences, but a walk down Market Street, from Van Ness to Fifth was an eye opening experience. So far, I’ve seen more homeless than I could possibly count, encountered many crazy people (shouting at trees; shouting to the sky; starting fights with trees, cars and random passers by; roaring on about the validity of their religious persuasion (and boy, do I mean roaring!)), smelled more Weed than any casual smoker could inhale in 2 lifetimes and additionally had my nasal passages assaulted by the frequent deposits of piss and shite (I’m not always convinced these are from dogs either).

Since being here, the weather has been one of the few saving graces – it’s been calm, sunny and warm without being hot with good frequency – also not a sign of fog creeping under the bridge yet either, which is nice. I also can’t quite berate the people yet, as other than the confines of the Convention Center, the odd restaurant and those I pass in the street, I’ve had very little interaction with many of the SF natives.

To some extent, I enjoyed the limited time I’ve spent in the somewhat touristy areas, but at the same time, couldn’t help but feel how false and commercialised it all felt. Haight Street tries to mascarade as it’s former gay/hippy mecca, but is the definition of pretense. I took a walk yesterday afternoon from the Moscone, down to AT&T, along the shore to the Golden Gate, before returning back into the city via China Town. I’d agree that part of my dislike of San Francisco is tourist oriented – too much catering going on, though if so many flock to this city, it stands to reason that folks will turn it into a commercial venture and milk every cent they can.

I thought China Town was pretty nice, but again, quite false – perhaps once-upon-a-time it was a good, genuine Asian community within San Francisco, but there were far too many tacky souveneir shops for the authenticity to be maintained. However, the smell walking through was superb and I was glad I popped in to one of the eateries to grab some lunch!

Overall, I’m definitely not a fan of the city, but some of the remarks on here seem a little over the top – I wouldn’t rush back to it, granted, but I’d say the same about most cities I’ve spent any time in the USA – they all have their areas which are good/bad, “real”/tourist oriented. The same is true of any of the big cities in the UK/Europe, and I’m sure the world over.

Looking forward to getting out in a car this weekend and heading up the Pacific Coast to Port Angeles and back down again, in what should be a great roadtrip with colleagues/friends. Until then, I count 2 more (hopefully not so sleepless) nights in San Francisco.

When I move away from here in the next three years… let me tell you… San Francisco WILL NOT be missed. The people there are delusional assholes. Rude, arrogant, and unimaginative to say the least. It’s good to know that I’m not the only one who feels this way. The only thing I like about San Francisco, ironically enough, is the touristy areas like Fisherman’s Wharf and Chinatown. The rest of that city can fall into the Pacific for all I care. Good riddance!

I grew up here in San Francisco, and in school, there were like three white kids in my class. I don’t really understand it when some people claim that San Francisco is all white. It IS in the US, but if the only kind of people you’re seeing is white people, you’ve definitely just haven’t seen most of it.

Don’t get me wrong. Just because I love my city doesn’t mean that I don’t recognize its flaws. I’m not going to get my panties tied up in a bunch because you prefer another city, but I AM going to be irritated if you come here and tell me that my home is a shithole without good reason.

But anyways, on the homeless and the rude waiters and the hipsters. For every rude homeless guy, there’s at least two others that look you in the eye and thank you for every bit of spare change you give them, and another who says “god bless you” and gives you a happy smile. For every rude waiter, there’s another who will bend over backwards to make sure you’re being taken care of, and for every hipster…

Well, those will grow up someday. We make fun of them, too.

I’m sorry that you’ve bumped into a few rude people, but like someone already said, a lot of tourists have made the reputation of always acting like they’re entitled to the treatment of gods, and so some people (wrongly) judge too quickly. It’s not right for people to be rude, but I’m sure you were just kind of unlucky.

Oh, and the bad drivers? I guess you’ve had the misfortune to bump into my mother on the road. Scary, I know. It’s worse when you’re actually IN her car, haha.