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PaperclipPerfector  9mo ago (text post)   29234 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of February 19, 2024

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I think you visit cities incorrectly. Before I was married my trick was to go on a dating app and arrange a couple dates with locals. You’ll meet in some real neighborhood, go to a nice bar, see where people actually live, and get laid if you play your cards right. The last time I was in Seattle, a bit post pandemic, I had a really fabulous time. Lovely city, lovely people.

Same in SF, same in LA, same in San Diego.

In non-shithole cities, you can just stay at a decent hotel, walk outside, and you will already be somewhere that people want to be. Hotel locations are not typically chosen without attention to the local surroundings, so properties that are anything above the lowest tier of sketchy hotels will, by default, be in a location that's pleasant to visit. It is incredibly unfortunate that a place as naturally beautiful as San Diego has elected to ruin big chunks of the city with drug-addled lunatics camping on the sidewalks, but this isn't just some natural property of cities.

In the case of San Francisco, hotels were originally set up in what were then nice areas, which then collapsed. Unfortunately, most SF hotels are now in the most unpleasant part of the city (or, more accurately, two or three blocks from the most unpleasant part of the city). You could throw a dart at a map of San Francisco and hit a better area than the Four Seasons.

Yes, and the same is true of Seattle. But that’s kind of the point, that the locals accept that most visitors (especially business travelers) will see the worst of the city instead of just… cleaning up the worst of the city.

I think this is consistent with my claim that the Four Seasons was built in a good location and that San Francisco has elected to turn it into a shithole. Unfortunate. In one sense, @Tomato is correct that @2rafa is "visit[ing] cities incorrectly" and that more research is required, but I think "cities" is doing too much work there, when what we really mean is that the most pathologically progressive American cities have been ruined to the extent that you have to exercise a degree of attention that should never be necessary in first world hubs.

You don't have to do this in Geneva, Madrid, or Amsterdam. You just go to the Hyatt or Marriott website (or go independent if you want, it doesn't really matter for most purposes), select a hotel at the brand level you're comfortable with, and you will default to staying somewhere pretty neat. Sure, you could benefit from additional planning, but you don't need it to avoid being accosted by junkies.

I agree with everything you said, and no one should have to worry about making sure there isn't a homeless encampment a block away from a Four Seasons.

That said... 2cim isn't some yokel from Kansas City visiting San Francisco for the first time with her corn-fed husband and kids unexpectedly finding herself surrounded by syringes and shit. She is absolutely aware of the issues with San Francisco, and she's quite capable of finding and staying in parts of the city that are liveable.

In non-shithole cities, you can just stay at a decent hotel, walk outside, and you will already be somewhere that people want to be.

This is true. Traveling in Europe, I often just stay near the city center of a random city without doing much (or any) planning at all. No problems ever.

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