Parking in sf is a major pain. everywhere you go there’s a flurry of red curbs, meters, 2 hour zones, and hardly any spots are available. i’ve only been living here since march yet i’ve already received countless tickets. i’ve gotten tickets for parking in red zones, double parking, parking in driveways, parking over the allotted time limit, etc etc. i *think* i’ve paid almost a thousand dollars in fines so far. *sigh*. the only thing worse than walking up to your car and seeing a ticket on the windshield… is walking up to your car.. and realizing that it’s no longer there. yes, my car got towed yesterday. i parked it in a tow-away from 4-6pm zone, and forgot to move it by 4. so i had to get a ride to the Hall of Justice and 200$ later i got my car back. and the saddest part is… i did the exact same thing a few months ago. same parking spot and everything. dammit!
-v
Three words… San Francisco sucks!
Just my opinion, but fuck that place! The armpit of society.
Oh yeah, sorry about your car getting towed. That sucks dood.
dude, how can you say that?? sf is totally awesome other than the parking problem which is a problem in all large metropolitan area. and armpit of society?? sf is way more interesting and lively than the strip-mall hell of the southbay.
-v
Easily. I hate the city. I have always hated the city. It’s filthy and noisy and chaotic and overcrowded. It’s a cesspool of filthy and obnoxious homeless people, criminals and crackwhores. I have not been very many places in the city that I didn’t run into at least one or a similar of those types and I have been all over that place. To top it off, regularly you end up walking through a gaseuos cloud of some freaks urine and frequently have to pay homeless people to “watch your car” which in reality means, “if you don’t kick down, me and my crackhead buddies will fuck your shit up” which has happened to a number of people I know.
It does have it’s good points (Japantown, Golden Gate, Metreon, Orpheum and other cultural highnotes), but interesting and lively doesn’t make it any less of an armpit to me.
I dig living in the south bay, for the most part (though I have plenty of issues with this place and will hopefully be getting away from this area entriely soon). It’s right smack in the middle of everything. If I want to go to the city, it’s a short drive away. Beaches and forests and fabulous parks are an even shorter drive away. And it’s for the most part quiet and chill. And any place I go, I always know that I get to leave and come home to a nice, quiet, clean neighborhood.
But that’s just me. I’ve always thought the city, in general, sucked.
the southbay may be quiet and chill, but at the same time it is just so whitewashed and sterile. most of the quiet and chill areas are basically shopping malls, strip malls, and other boring suburban places. there’s really hardly anything to do there.
the city on the other hand is filled w/ nightclubs of all different kinds, bars, museums, theaters, galleries, art events and god knows what else. there’s something for everyone here. yeah, sure it has its share of homeless people etc… but the homeless gotta live somewhere right?? and if you go to downtown sj there are plenty of homeless people as well.
and.. if you’re talking about living areas, there are plenty quiet homeless-free living areas all around the city. outer sunset, the richmond, noe valley.. the list goes on and on and on. almost all the homeless “crackheads” are either in the mission, tenderloin, haight, and a few other small areas of the city.
and as for nature.. there’s tons of beaches in sf, there’s golden gate park which is one of the largest sprawling parks around, the bay at your doorstep, and tons of nature areas right over the bridge.
-v
The immediate area, yeah, it’s pretty bland (though there are actually a decent amount of things to do), but then again, as I said, it’s right in the middle of everything. There’s tons to do if you just hop in the car for a little bit.
I’m not into nightlife and unless you are, the city isn’t all that, imo. I’m not down with clubbing or bar hopping, in fact I rather despise both. The only bars I like to frequent are chill and nice places to kick back with good friends and a few drinks.
It’s a decent place to visit occasionally, but that’s about it, imo. I did mention the places you stated above, Golden Gate is a great place. Point Bonita and the other areas nearby are nice, but it’s not enough to ever make me want to live there. I prefer living here and just taking a little trek up there every now and again. That way I get the cool things in SF along with all the great things the South Bay and a little trip in other directions can provide.
I just feel, that in all my experience in SF, it is just ugly and noisy and chaotic. I am not a fan of big cities. Sure, there are some architectural highlights, but overall, I think it’s kind of ugly to look at. As for the homeless, well I don’t live in SJ and rarely go there, but just about everywhere in SF I have been I have run into that sort of thing.
I’m not trying to dis you to dissuade you from liking the city, I just think it sucks. It’s not my cup of tea, never has been. More power to the people who want to live there, it’s cool with me, it just helps empty out my area and keep me happier. 🙂
“I’m not trying to dis you to dissuade you from liking the city”
Umm… that should be, “dis you *or* dissuade you.”
I feel your pain… I work in the same area. why don’t you get the J permit?
yeah, i really need to get one. i’ve been meaning to and keep putting it off… for 8 months now. not that it would help right now. they’re doing construction and are ripping up the whole neighborhood. now, even the meager amount of 2 hour parking spots available have become temporary tow-away zones.
-v