Tourists, workers and shoppers abandon San Francisco. Abandoned stores, streets overtaken by the homeless and drug-addled, theft so rampant that CANDY is locked away: Welcome to San Francisco's ghost town downtown. - from Daily Mail
How San Francisco became a failed city. If you're going to die on the street, San Francisco is not a bad place to do it. - from The Atlantic
How ‘woke’ policies turned Downtown San Francisco into an urban drug-den. - from New York Post
Media's San Francisco 'doom loop' obsession has turned into a doom loop. - from SFist
What if San Francisco never pulls out of its ‘doom loop’? A crisis of homelessness, drug abuse and sensationalized crime threaten the city’s future - from Financial Times
The headlines above are just some of the media narratives that pop up if you’ve googled San Francisco recently. Do these claims have basis?
I know that most of you are planning to come to visit San Francisco for Dreamforce 2023, SF Fleet Week 2023 & Folsom Street Fair 2023 that's why i'm sharing this video. I walk the streets of Downtown San Francisco (or to most people, the dangerous streets of Downtown San Francisco) almost everyday. This video is the usual sight I see everyday. In this video, I covered the following areas:
- Civic Center, City Hall & UN Plaza
- The Tenderloin
- Market Street
- Union Square
- Financial District
- A little bit of Embarcadero
Am I just lucky to get out alive? Yes and no. First, San Francisco is not more dangerous than other US big cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Austin, Orlando, Phoenix, etc. If anything, SF is way safer than most of them. You have to keep your wits when you come here to visit or do business here though. Again, San Francisco is generally safe. This is a beautiful city and you’ll have a good time when you’re in the city. However, there are parts of the city where human misery of homelessness and drug addiction is on full display. There’s an open-air drug trade and frequent car break-ins. Please take note that 99% of the time, the crimes in SF are committed by people who don't even live in San Francisco. They come to our city to take advantage of its kindness, generosity & compassion. San Franciscans are tired of all the sh!t that is happening here, too. San Franciscans are peace-loving people, fyi.
Skip the problematic areas if in doubt. But!!!!!! Most of SF is safe and vibrant! Great restaurants and lots of things to see and do.
Based on this 2-hour + walking video, what do you think? Does it resemble the filthy, dangerous, apocalyptic city that media is painting it to be? Let me know by leaving a comment.
Downtown San Francisco, California, USA
Recorded August 23, 2023 Wednesday
3 сен 2023
