How Is Covid-19 Impacting Life in Your City?

[someone123]

I did a trip around the western US and, while I expected it, I was still a bit shocked by how normal everything was, and how pleasant it was to be out doing things normally (add in nicer weather and it's hugely better). I don't really feel as comfortable around even medium sized groups as I did before, not because of perceived covid risk but because it's not routine for me anymore.

Of course when I came back to Canada they "randomly selected" me for a post-arrival PCR test to go with my pre-arrival PCR test. That is the vibe here. We're still not back to normal but this may turn out to be the very end since the mask mandate just got dropped and the vaccine passport will be dropped soon. I think things will bounce back somewhat this summer.

Many of the places I used to go to in Vancouver are gone now or don't operate as they did before, and I've noticed there is more "street disorder" than before. People smoking crack outside of the traditional areas where you'd expect that, more homeless camps around the fringe of the city. My neighbourhood probably has worse amenities for residents (shops and so on) than it did 10 years ago even though it's seeing tons of condo development, although we have gotten a few nice new things and in my little area the restaurants held on just fine. Vancouver was very expensive before all this happened and there was a general sense that a lot of the nightlife was withering away and wouldn't come back. The pandemic amplified a lot of the trends already happening.

[badrunner]

I'm actually starting to miss the 2020 post-apocalyptic vibe of the city.

You never know what you have until it's gone.

[dave8721]

Originally Posted by badrunner

I'm actually starting to miss the 2020 post-apocalyptic vibe of the city.

You never know what you have until it's gone.

I certainly miss the lack of traffic. And short lines at the airport. The last couple months, stuck in lines everywhere again, I keep thinking, "did we really live like this?" Can we go back to 2021 please?

[craigs]

I think LA is in a sweet spot in terms of traffic. I can't drive to Venice Beach from the Valley in 20 minutes anymore, but traffic hasn't completely returned to the pre-pandemic gridlock. There are still jams in the usual places like Sepulveda Pass and in the beach cities at the end of a hot day, but moving around the region is not as horrible as I remember it.

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I don't think we should underestimate just how many people got into a somewhat comfy rut during the pandemic whereby they got used to not going out much at all and are cocooning in the extreme most of the time.

One can wonder if they might not even be as numerous as those of us who were just itching to get out and do stuff.

Some of these may eventually be "back", but I think a good number of them probably never will come back out much.

Exactly.

And now that inflation is so high as are gas prices, there's even more reason for me to sit my ass at home.

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

Exactly.

And now that inflation is so high as are gas prices, there's even more reason for me to sit my ass at home.

Transit, anyone?

[biguc]

Berlin is getting there. There are still storefront scars around but the popular areas have recovered. We're enjoying some kind of freakish early spring, which helps. Parks are filling up. There's music in the streets. Australians are crawling out of whatever caves they spend their winters in. Tourists are coming back--my wife claims she even saw a selfie stick. Ubahns are starting to get crowded again. Maybe most importantly--symbolically if anything--clubs have reopened. Checked out a party last week and people were out of their minds. There's been a lot of pent up energy, which in February meant people rolling in pubs and trying to make out with everyone; now they have their outlet back. It looks like it'll be a good summer.

[kool maudit]

In Stockholm, restrictions were so light and masking so absent throughout that you didn't really notice the pandemic beyond some odd opening hours and a muted level of activity (I like how the poster above said their city was kind of Xannied). It's all gone now, though. Nobody is making even the slightest gesture towards it.

The way that Swedes kind of did COVID while not doing COVID still leaves me scratching my head.

I mean, it wasn't Florida. It wasn't oppositional.

They just sort of said "of course, of course, this is very important" throughout but actually did next to nothing.

It's like how I'm super-agreeable when I'm sleeping in and don't want to be woken up "sure, sure -- yeah, go to the store, sounds great, I'll be here zzz).

[10023]

^ Good for them!

Were clubs open the whole time like in Miami though? I feel like most places that didn’t have “lockdowns” still restricted nightlife because the young don’t vote.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by 10023

Silly for omicron to have set back anything. It’s less dangerous than flu.

your blithe yammering is what is dangerous.


Study: Death 40% More Likely From Omicron Than From Flu

https://khn.org/morning-breakout/stu...than-from-flu/

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

It hasn't been THAT cold. We had two 70 degree days this week.

lol no, not that warm, but mostly bad and miserable lately, and dangerous ice storm all day the day before. but better already this morning and as i said by next week it should turn spring like instead of relentless winter like.

[PhilliesPhan]

Originally Posted by William Van Alen

Chiming in from Philly - things mostly feel back to normal aside from the subways and crime. The vibes are pretty much there as far as I can tell - more people downtown, buses are pretty packed at rush hour, even the commuter train that I reverse commute on occasionally seems to be pretty crowded. Bars and restaurants are as busy as they've ever been. Unfortunately, the subways are pretty sad at the moment, with lots of people openly smoking cigarettes and weed on them, a few instances of people pushing others onto the tracks for no apparent reason, and violent crime in underground walkways . Really hope that changes soon.

As a fellow Philadelphian, I agree with your assessment--even the less than favorable portions of it (though the crime wave we're experiencing certainly hasn't slowed the number of people moving here). The advantage that Philly had and continues to have over other cities, is that we've always had a large residential population in Center City. While it certainly feels differently than it did in 2019, it never really felt as "dead" as other cities I've visited. Also, it seems like the retail corridors outside of Center City are busier than ever. I live in Fairmount (at least until I move to Northwest Philly in two weeks), and Fairmount Avenue is jumping. Same with Frankford Avenue (Fishtown), Main Street (Manayunk), Passyunk Avenue (South Philly), Germantown Avenue (Chestnut Hill), and others.

Anecdotally, it seems like Regional Rail ridership is starting to come back. Due to my runs on the Schuylkill River Trail, I've been taking the R6 Manayunk/Norristown Line a lot recently. While ridership is still down, the trains are starting to feel packed again at certain times. I won't divulge into what position I hold, but I will say that the numbers I've been seeing seem to support my experiences.

[kool maudit]

Originally Posted by 10023

^ Good for them!

Were clubs open the whole time like in Miami though? I feel like most places that didn’t have “lockdowns” still restricted nightlife because the young don’t vote.

There were two periods from around Nov '20-Mar-'21 and Nov '21-Feb '22 when opening hours were restricted such that all bars closed at 8 p.m., which killed clubs. But outside of those two periods, everything rolled as usual.

We got rid of restrictions in early February and there were impromptu velvet rope scenes all around town, pop-up clubs and all sorts of stuff, girls shivering in miniskirts in -5 outside face control

So I guess there was still some degree of people feeling cooped up.

[kool maudit]

There were still private events selling tickets that blurred a lot of lines, though, even during those periods. I attended one on NYE and caught COVID there....

rite of passage I guess.

[the urban politician]

Our cousin is a dick.

Covid, like all viruses, and all forms of life on Earth, is our distant cousin.

What a jerk off Covid is

[dktshb]

SF seems to be pretty darn normal except for Downtown. I work at 2nd and Mission and I would say it is about 30 to 40% of normal foot traffic on good days. I will be going to the office today and it will be a literal ghost town since it is Friday. For some reason hardly any of the workforce is back and at most those who are back are only back 3 days a week (like my office). No conventions either. I would say about 50% of the restaurants shuttered for good and sit vacant. I feel really bad for the ones still hanging in there. Since Downtown is probably the only place there isn't a significant residential population it still is really hit hard.

[ilcapo]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

In Stockholm, restrictions were so light and masking so absent throughout that you didn't really notice the pandemic beyond some odd opening hours and a muted level of activity (I like how the poster above said their city was kind of Xannied). It's all gone now, though. Nobody is making even the slightest gesture towards it.

The way that Swedes kind of did COVID while not doing COVID still leaves me scratching my head.

I mean, it wasn't Florida. It wasn't oppositional.

They just sort of said "of course, of course, this is very important" throughout but actually did next to nothing.

It's like how I'm super-agreeable when I'm sleeping in and don't want to be woken up "sure, sure -- yeah, go to the store, sounds great, I'll be here zzz).

Super-accurate. Made me laugh, because of how accurate you described the past 2 years.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by dktshb

SF seems to be pretty darn normal except for Downtown. I work at 2nd and Mission and I would say it is about 30 to 40% of normal foot traffic on good days. I will be going to the office today and it will be a literal ghost town since it is Friday. For some reason hardly any of the workforce is back and at most those who are back are only back 3 days a week (like my office). No conventions either. I would say about 50% of the restaurants shuttered for good and sit vacant. I feel really bad for the ones still hanging in there. Since Downtown is probably the only place there isn't a significant residential population it still is really hit hard.

I think 3 days/week is prob as good as we're gonna get for the foreseeable future. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is. Will prob need to start looking into ways to get more residents living in the FiDi.

[photoLith]

Lots of weirdos still wearing masks in the most liberal uppity of neighborhoods. Not sure it’s because they’re still paranoid or is to show how much holier than thou they are. Very strange.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by photoLith

Lots of weirdos still wearing masks in the most liberal uppity of neighborhoods. Not sure it’s because they’re still paranoid or is to show how much holier than thou they are. Very strange.

It doesn't bother me that some people choose to wear masks, but I'd say my area is still maybe 40% masked up outside (far away from transit/businesses), which doesn't make a lot of sense. It's very common here to see people riding their bike or walking/jogging along a path by themselves with a mask on.