krrf
Wholenote
Posts: 376
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Post by krrf on May 21, 2022 12:30:42 GMT -5
I just got back from a business trip to San Diego. What was once a beautiful town by the sea, has now been over run with homeless. I stayed downtown near the stadium in a fairly "high rent" hotel; right across the street on the sidewalk was a handful of people camping out. As my colleagues and I walked to dinner, one narrowly avoided stepping in human feces. All this and gas was in the $6-7 dollar range a gallon. As we drove to and from the airport, just about every space on the sidewalk resembled a small tent city. I used to frequent San Diego growing up and it's a shame to see the state it's in at the moment.
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Post by Taildragger on May 21, 2022 12:44:50 GMT -5
Go to downtown L.A. (around 5th Street) or Venice Beach if you want to savor the "full effect". Further north, Oakland is pretty awful as well. Or take a stroll along Kensington Avenue in Philly. There's at least some of this blight in most major, metropolitan areas. It's especially bad in CA due to the relatively mild, year-round climate (as well as....uh..."other reasons"). Last time I passed through L.A., there were squalid camps even on the freeway embankments. I was born in CA and have lived here for all but 5 years of my life, so I can tell you that it hasn't always been this way: not by a long shot. I won't get into what I think should be done to address this problem vs. what is being done because that would drag us down into the political pigsty and violate the rules.
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Post by RufusTeleStrat on May 21, 2022 12:47:57 GMT -5
San Diego's new mayor wanted to help the homeless. What his programs did was encourage them to swarm the city, and thus create a horribly run encampment. What was beautiful is now just tent city.
One of the reasons I am happy I moved inland.
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Post by tahitijack on May 22, 2022 12:54:54 GMT -5
San Diego was once America's Finest City. But like everything else in California it has fallen into the mud. I've also called California home for almost all my life. It saddens me to think that it truly was a better place just 10 or 15 years ago. As has been said you can't talk about how we got into this stink hole without getting into a conversation that is forbidden here. We have the will, resources and ability to solve the homeless problem, but we are being prevented from doing that. Can't go any further.....
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Post by walshb 🦒 on May 22, 2022 13:33:27 GMT -5
It's really sad to hear this! But not surprising, unfortunately. I've only been to SD once, years ago on business for a couple of weeks, and as stated, it was beautiful....and then there's the weather, also.
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Post by HeavyDuty on May 22, 2022 16:39:20 GMT -5
I love San Diego. This saddens me.
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Post by Mfitz804 on May 22, 2022 16:46:36 GMT -5
If I were going to be homeless, I can’t think of a better place weather wise…
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Post by LeftyMeister on May 22, 2022 16:52:29 GMT -5
I lived in Sand Diego around 1980. It was a great place. But as with many large cities in America, their downtowns have become almost 3rd world cultures. I traveled to India quite a bit in the 90s and tent/cardboard cities were everywhere. Now they're plaguing America. Sad!!!
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on May 23, 2022 4:40:24 GMT -5
Orlando was the same way: nice weather pretty much year-round, and it attracted the campers. The city cracked down and cleaned things up--and it was NICE. But sadly the Thurd World seems to be winning the argument again and things are getting worse.
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Post by 6l6 on May 23, 2022 10:26:34 GMT -5
I've called the San Francisco Bay Area home since 1969. Our beautiful City by the Bay is a very sad sight these days and I no longer make the 20 minute drive north from my home in Silicon Valley to visit San Francisco.
The homeless problem is off the charts. Other points to consider about California:
* We currently have a $22BB budget SURPLUS
* Last year California passed the United Kingdom to become the 5th largest economy in the world. Think about that one for a second or two...
* We have roads currently ranked second WORST in the nation. And it doesn't even freeze here (except in the Sierra).
* Our public schools are ranked second worst in the nation
It's disgraceful. Plenty of money to fix problems, but wasted on things like a bullet train between SF and LA that no one will ride.
All that said, I love living in this beautiful state. If we could only elect folks who will do what they say they're going to do, we'd be off and running. Maybe the next generation will do better. There's no way but up for Californians like me.
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Post by Larry Madsen on May 23, 2022 10:46:15 GMT -5
It's disgraceful. Plenty of money to fix problems, We have first hand experience with this in our family. I don't want to take this thread completely off the rails, but money doesn't change the human acceptance of the life one has and lives. Two examples: My ex-Wife and my step Son. Money does nothing to better their life. I should add, as of the spring of 2019 my ex-Wife has no life to make better. They both are/were driven to ask for money, but not to better their life. I can't say every single case is this way, but in this family we have two examples, both amount to complete lost causes. Edited to add: Money can certainly fix roads. I'm not so sure about schools, but (IMO) it will do very little to fix homelessness as it currently exists in our major cities. We are in fact (probably) adding to the problem exponentially by the day. |
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Post by markfromhawaii on May 23, 2022 12:24:03 GMT -5
I've called the San Francisco Bay Area home since 1969. Our beautiful City by the Bay is a very sad sight these days and I no longer make the 20 minute drive north from my home in Silicon Valley to visit San Francisco. The homeless problem is off the charts. Other points to consider about California: * We currently have a $22BB budget SURPLUS * Last year California passed the United Kingdom to become the 5th largest economy in the world. Think about that one for a second or two... * We have roads currently ranked second WORST in the nation. And it doesn't even freeze here (except in the Sierra). * Our public schools are ranked second worst in the nation It's disgraceful. Plenty of money to fix problems, but wasted on things like a bullet train between SF and LA that no one will ride. All that said, I love living in this beautiful state. If we could only elect folks who will do what they say they're going to do, we'd be off and running. Maybe the next generation will do better. There's no way but up for Californians like me. 6 Sounds like Honolulu. After spending $10B on fixed rail, the powers that be decided to pull back on the route. Meanwhile… www.khon2.com/local-news/headstones-used-as-flooring-in-homeless-encampment/ |
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krrf
Wholenote
Posts: 376
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Post by krrf on May 23, 2022 16:47:10 GMT -5
I've called the San Francisco Bay Area home since 1969. Our beautiful City by the Bay is a very sad sight these days and I no longer make the 20 minute drive north from my home in Silicon Valley to visit San Francisco. The homeless problem is off the charts. Other points to consider about California: * We currently have a $22BB budget SURPLUS * Last year California passed the United Kingdom to become the 5th largest economy in the world. Think about that one for a second or two... * We have roads currently ranked second WORST in the nation. And it doesn't even freeze here (except in the Sierra). * Our public schools are ranked second worst in the nation It's disgraceful. Plenty of money to fix problems, but wasted on things like a bullet train between SF and LA that no one will ride. All that said, I love living in this beautiful state. If we could only elect folks who will do what they say they're going to do, we'd be off and running. Maybe the next generation will do better. There's no way but up for Californians like me. 6 Sounds like Honolulu. After spending $10B on fixed rail, the powers that be decided to pull back on the route. Meanwhile… www.khon2.com/local-news/headstones-used-as-flooring-in-homeless-encampment/Hawaii made me sad as well. I visited there quite a few times in the 80's. I took my wife there in 2019 before the pandemic and I was shocked by the conditions in some places. We were on the big island I loved Hilo in the 80's, but it felt really sketchy and weird to me this go around. As we drove out heading to Kona, there was a scenic overlook we wanted to stop in, but it was full of people living in tents who didn't look tourist friendly! |
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Post by LeftyMeister on May 23, 2022 17:08:50 GMT -5
We were in DC a few months ago and their were tents everywhere.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on May 23, 2022 17:16:27 GMT -5
I did one trip to Austin last summer. Very much the same view. The trip home through rural scenery cleansed my brain.
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