‘Is San Francisco dying?’ Americans are googling some strange questions about SF
ANDREW CHAMINGS
Updated: Sep. 24, 2021 8:48 a.m.
San Francisco is an enigma. One of the most walkable cities in America yet filled with streets so steep your legs burn; a hub of zero-emission vehicles and electric bikes crisscrossed with the world's last manually operated cable car system; a leftist haven with more free-market billionaires per capita than any other city on Earth.
This complexity may lead to some nuanced questions about the city, but also sometimes people open their phones and ask: “Is San Francisco a country?”
I found the weirdest questions people have been asking Google about the city, seemingly largely informed by a misunderstanding of maps and a campaign of misinformation from right-wing media.
Here goes.
(The questions below are all drawn from the top 50 queries in Google search about San Francisco.)
Is San Francisco in New York?
No.
Is San Francisco open?
Yes! San Francisco is open. The city was the first to shutter during the outbreak of coronavirus and saw some of the fewest deaths per capita from the disease of any major city in America. Bars, restaurants, clubs and gyms are all now open (if you’re vaccinated).
Come visit. Take in the view from the Top of the Mark. Grab the best Sichuan food in the country at Spices. Go see the sea lions at Fisherman’s Wharf (don't worry, the Bushman seems to be long gone). Drink some cutty bangs in Dolores Park. You can even ride the cable cars again.
Is San Francisco the city of love?
No, that’s Paris. But the Summer of Love was here. San Francisco is “SF,” or maybe “Baghdad by the Bay,” or even “Frisco” (if it’s good enough for Otis Redding, it’s good enough for us). It is never “San Fran” and it is definitely not the “Golden City,” despite what Goop thinks.
Is San Francisco safe from fires?
Despite the city’s history being shaped by one devastating inferno, and the surrounding state increasingly seeing millions of acres of damage every year, San Francisco is largely safe from wildfires. The most recent urban wildfire near San Francisco occurred in Oakland in 1991 when a firestorm fueled by high winds razed nearly 3,000 homes and killed 25 people in the hills.
Is San Francisco an island?
Almost. The city is on the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, surrounded on three sides by water that gets less salty from the Pacific through the Golden Gate to the bay. The south side of the city is a land border with San Mateo County and the cities of Daly City and Brisbane.
San Francisco does have islands though, from the tiny rock formation of Seal Rock off Ocean Beach to Alcatraz, Treasure Island, a small portion of Angel Island and most distantly, the uninhabited Farallones — home to many shipwrecks and a colony of elephant seals (and some hungry seal-eating sharks).
Is San Francisco built on sand?
Great question. Kind of. The whole western part of the city — now filled with the green meadows of Golden Gate Park and suburban avenues — was once sand dunes. A portion of the city on its eastern shore is built on the wrecks of ships abandoned by gold-crazed prospectors.
Some downtown skyscrapers are literally built on sand, which hasn’t worked out well for the residents of 301 Mission St.
Is San Francisco a country?
No. But it once had an emperor. In 1859, a San Francisco newspaper published a notice announcing that an English businessman in the city, one Joshua Norton, had proclaimed himself “Emperor” of the U.S., at the request of a “large majority of the citizens.”
While he had no actual power, and all of his decrees were ignored, he became a bona fide city celebrity walking the streets with a beaver hat decorated with a peacock feather. Most of his ideas were laughed at, like when he created his own currency with his face on it, but he did suggest building a bridge to Oakland 50 years before that became a reality.
The city embraced Norton’s kooky ways, selling pins and belt buckles with his likeness and even providing him with military regalia when his beaver hat wore thin. After he dropped dead on California Street in 1880, it’s said 10,000 San Franciscans attended his funeral.
Is San Francisco better than Los Angeles?
Yes.
Is San Francisco safe?
It’s possible that this question is being asked by confused Fox News viewers with pleasant memories of the beautiful city, now ingesting primetime host Laura Ingraham’s tirade against San Francisco, framing it as a dystopian town in decline. She recently claimed the city was "ruining itself" by building a bike lane in the city.
Let’s look at violent crime numbers. The murder/negligent homicide rate in San Francisco is 6.35 per 100,000 people, per FBI data from 2017. That number is far lower than years ago (in 2007 it was 13.63). It also makes the city safer in that metric than Miami, Las Vegas, Chicago and Omaha, Nebraska. In fact, San Francisco has fewer homicides, aggravated assaults and rapes per person than 65 of the 100 most populous cities in the country. More recent data shows that violent crime in the city dropped further from 2018 to 2020, though vehicle thefts are up.
So, safe from crime? Relatively, yes. Safe from right-wing primetime agitprop? Maybe not.
Is San Francisco coffee good?
Despite an infamous 1963 headline that declared, “The Terrible Coffee in S.F.’s Restaurants: A great city’s people forced to drink swill,” Tea and Coffee magazine rates the city’s coffee today as the second best in the country after Seattle. Coffee companies from Folger’s to bougie third-wave roaster Blue Bottle (now owned by Nestle) got their start in the Bay Area.
It’s not cheap, and it’s not all tasty though. I once went to Lombard Street and paid $17 for a cup of coffee that had passed through the bowels of a cat and it tasted like ass.
Is San Francisco Sodom and Gomorrah?
No. The biblical towns of Sodom and Gomorrah were laid to waste by a very angry God due to their human wickedness through divine retribution. San Francisco is quite lovely, and doing well.
Is San Francisco bike friendly?
Yes, very. A SmartAsset study found it to be the safest city in the country for cyclists.
One of the city’s most ridden bike thoroughfares is the Wiggle. The zig-zagging bike path between the Panhandle and downtown that weaves through the hills is a hugely popular commuting route for cyclists looking to avoid calf-crushing inclines. The route actually follows an ancient creek used by livestock and settlers long before bikes were invented.
Is San Francisco cold?
Honestly, yes. Except for a few weeks in the early fall when it’s downright magical.
Is San Francisco Chinatown safe?
Yes. And beautiful. The largest Chinatown outside of Asia is a vibrant bustling neighborhood of hidden alleys, amazing food, ornate churches and some of the best bars in the city. It’s also home to Portsmouth Square, where elders gather to play Chinese chess in the oldest public square in San Francisco.
Is San Francisco dog friendly?
Very. DogTime rates the city as the third best in the country for dog owners. Pups are welcome at many restaurants and even gyms, and the city has a lower relative pet deposit on rentals than anywhere in the country.
The city’s fondness for canines may start with a curious furry duo named Bummer and Lazarus. In 1860, the city dogs became beloved by San Francisco. The pair had a penchant for visiting saloons and drinking from fountains to the joy of residents. They became exempt from city ordinances and were even gifted nightly tickets to every opera house in town. Mark Twain eulogized their passing, and their taxidermied bodies were displayed at their favorite bar long after they uttered their last ruff.
Is San Francisco known as the windy city?
Come on now.
Is San Francisco expensive?
Very. Prohibitively so. A family of four needs to make $111,136 annually just to make ends meet in San Francisco. Investopedia lists the city as the second most expensive city in the nation after New York. Despite the endless stories of folks leaving San Francisco, the city is still hugely desirable. Time Out just declared it the greatest city in the world, and with the ocean and bay leaving no room for suburban sprawl, there’s little chance of it becoming more affordable any time soon.
Is San Francisco hilly?
Extremely. There are 48 named hills in the city. Some, like Irish Hill, were obliterated by dynamite. Others, like Mount Davidson and Mount Sutro are hidden paradises right in the middle of the city. Many have their own famed identities, from the parrots on Telegraph Hill to the old-timey tranquility of Nob Hill. The hills and steep streets make the city what it is. One ambitious man tried to walk up the 10 steepest streets, and discovered the actual steepest block isn’t where you think it is.
Is San Francisco due for an earthquake?
Yes. I mean no. Sorry, no one really knows. Experts say that a 1906 level quake in the city should occur in the bay at 200-year intervals. USGS says that the chances of that happening in the next 30 years are about 2%. So probably not? But it can’t hurt to start building that earthquake kit.
What is the main newspaper in San Francisco?
San Francisco has a long history of warring newspapers that laid claim to that mantle, largely between the Call, the Examiner and the Chronicle. In the 1890s this resulted in an extravagant and sometimes stupid skyscraper war that was finally ended by the 1906 fire that gutted the publications’ downtown towers.
This led to a very brief moment of brotherly love when all publications joined forces to publish under the “Call-Chronicle-Examiner” in the days following the disaster.
Today the biggest news site in San Francisco is SFGATE. With about 25 million to 30 million monthly readers, only the LA Times can count more loyal readers in all of California.
Is San Francisco dying?
No.
https://www.sfgate.com/local/amp/goo...s-16476213.php
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