SFO Bad or Bad Press?

https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org/stay-safe/crime-data/crime-dashboard

 

Was there two weeks ago, lived there in the early 90s. Its bad...... so sad really

 

Two thumbs up on Half Moon Bay. The Ritz is still a great property with proper golf course.

Stay away from the City. It used to be one of my favorites places in the US to go and now......no way. It is becoming Baltimore on the Bay.

 

Big fan of Marlowe for dinner. Very casual, very good.

https://www.marlowesf.com/

My last trip to SF wasn't enjoyable, it HAS deteriorated....

 

We live about an hour south of SF and it has deteriorated tremendously over the last 10-15 years. When friends visit, we advise them to find a hotel outside SF and to just travel in the larger Bay Area (Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, Carmel, Monterey, Marin, Napa/Sonoma, etc). If they just have to see some of the popular tourist spots in the city, those are still well-traveled/populated enough that those are usually OK. We advise them to set aside a day or two, go in to SF, hit the tourist spots, then leave.

BART stations can be very nasty/dirty/unsanitary. Rental cars or any car with visible luggage, backpacks, purses, etc, are also prime candidates for smash and grabs.

 

As a former resident (11 years), all I can say is Good Luck, and stay safe.
Situational awareness will be key.

 

SFO is an airport. It’s fine.

I live in Half moon Bay, it’s awesome.

San Francisco is in steep decline. Union Square was a shopping destination when I was a child. Now it’s a cesspool. Homeless drug addicts, human feces, and smash and grabs.

 

An hour south?
I was born and spent the first 8 years of my life in Watsonville, and I remember
it well from back then.
Never went back until 1991, and of course it had totally changed,
have not been back since then, no desire to. I don't speak spanish....

 

Keith - for what's it worth, SF is not what it used to be, but still worth a visit for the sites and/or the food. Its not any more worse than LA, NYC or any other metropolitan city nowadays, that said, just be aware of your surroundings, and the list of areas to avoid have certainly grown, even in traditionally "safe tourist traps". IMO SF is still the place to stay to use as your base to explore Napa, Marin, Half-Moon Bay etc. As others noted, I'd avoid BART or driving in the City if you can. UBER is a must within the City just because its a hassle finding safe parking, expensive and not always near where you need to be.

 

hey Keith!
sounds like you already have digs...
I stayed here years ago when my dad had surgery at UCSF. Very cool neighborhood (embassies, etc). Very european flair to the hotel.
https://hoteldrisco.com/
of course... Muir woods is a must!
not too far from SF is Danville CA, home of the Blackhawk car museum... which is awesome!

 

Pacific Union Club is amazing-- you are very lucky. I had the good fortune to have dinner there several years ago.

I was in San Francisco in November and found it to be not nearly as bad as I expected. It was worse than in 2019, but hardly the sort of hellscape some make it out to be. Just keep an eye out and you will be fine.

 

I did!
many thanks!

 

I won't go back. The dirtiest drug infested city i've been to. We felt unsafe.

 

We lived 7 miles from museum. We still left and never looked back.

 

Most aggressive pan handlers in the world. There's a lot of very good reasons their thriving convention business has dried up.

 

Cabo kids are worse