San Francisco - Areas to Avoid?

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While you're there, be sure, when you go to Fisherman's Wharf, to take the tours on the liberty ship SS Jeremiah O'Brien and the submarine USS Pampanito, both at Pier 45. I can't say enough good about those two "living" exhibits and their historical significance.
 
I can understand 'mljdeckard'. I've been in an almost parallel situation when I had my wife and small child in Rome and Naples, Italy for the first time. Couldn't carry, pickpockets galore, crooked taxi drivers, foreign land. :)D on the "foreign land", but appropriate.)
 
if you want an adventure, take your wife/girlfriend on a public bus in a South American country...and you thought the Japanese were infamous for their subway cars

Americans don't really comprehend how safe America is compared to most of the world...that's what will make the Olympics in Rio so interesting
 
My parents live in the S.F. Bay Area. I live in Northern California (the real Northern California, not the halfway up the state that calls itself northern). My folks are always trying to convince me to move my family to the Bay Area because it's such a safe place to live. B.S!

It appears safe to people who work their jobs and only see the city on weekends and looking out their car window on their commute. There was a website (can't remember it now) that plots out recent crimes on a map of your area. the Bay Area lights up like a christmas tree. Robberies, carjackings, rapes, murders, beatings, assaults, the list goes on and on.

Now, It's true that you can avoid most of the criminal element by staying out of the rougher areas, but you can't avoid all of it that way. These are only bad areas because bad people tend to gather there, and those bad people can and do leave the bad areas.

I don't want to sound paranoid, but it's not wise to assume that you're safe because you're in a good part of town. Especially when the bad part of town is just a short drive away.

Do not let your guard down in S.F.


P.S. someone mentioned O.C. being legal in California...it is, but not a good idea in S.F. as the police will be relentless in their harassment and so will the people you'll come across in the street. S.F. is not gun friendly.
 
B yond,
Everyone has their view, but how many American big cities have you visited and spent time in? San Francisco has it's share of problems, but it is one of the safest big cities in the USA and has earned this.
 
I spend quite a bit of time there and used to go there for most of my classes for my continuing education and I have family there. Tourism is one of the main life bloods of the city and as such the main tourist areas are heavily trafficked and heavily policed and people go out of their way to be helpful to tourists who always seem lost. As long as you stick to those areas you will have zero problems. You may see some things that will bother you from a cultural standpoint and the bums have their own flavor (my kids used to love to see San Francisco bums cause they're--well--different in a colorful way, but they're harmless, just ignore them and walk on) but that has been true from day 1-read up on Emperor Norton. There really isn't anything worth bothering with in the more troublesome areas of town so you shouldn't have a problem with winding up there. Golden Gate park with the museums and aquariums is great, Exploratorium is a must see, Pier 39, and Fisherman's wharf are all must do's. If you get a chance check out Lombard Street and Ghirardelli square, take a tour boat to Alcatraz and if you have some time to kill walk the golden gate bridge. My all time favorite place is the view from the entrance to the old Naval base on Treasure Island at sunset. Breathtaking. You will generally be surrounded by people with cameras most of the time and lots of families. Like any major city, keep your antennas up, if you are someplace where there are no families and couples, you probably shouldn't be there either. And nothing good happens after midnight (not just San Francisco, but anywhere-ever). If you are staying near Nob Hill you should have no problems with nighttime. Enjoy your trip, it's a great city.
 
B yond,
Everyone has their view, but how many American big cities have you visited and spent time in? San Francisco has it's share of problems, but it is one of the safest big cities in the USA and has earned this.

I'm not arguing that it isn't one of the safest big cities in the US. I don't think it's a good idea to let your guard down in any city. I think it's foolish to assume that because any given place has a low crime rate you will be completely safe there.

Many people here have posted comments along the lines of 'stay out of X district and you'll be fine' and I don't think that's a fair statement. Neither is a blanket statement like 'the bums are harmless.' Predatory criminals move around. They aren't confined to specific parts of town. Same for crazy bums.

Being as this is strategies and tactics, my strategic and tactical advice is avoid areas known for crime when possible and keep your guard up at all times. Be aware of your surroundings. Make sure your cell phone is charged. Have a plan if your family/group gets separated.
 
Statistically, it's fairly safe. The thing about SF is, because of its geography, everything is concentrated into a small area, good and bad. It's all contained with nowhere to go. That combined with tolerant public policy makes for a lot of criminal instability.
 
everything is concentrated into a small area, good and bad. It's all contained with nowhere to go. That combined with tolerant public policy makes for a lot of criminal instability.

the same can be said of any Japanese city, like Tokyo or Yokohama, and yet their criminals are pretty stable :D

it isn't the density of the area, it's just that you see more things more closely together...that's part of the energy of The City
 
Stay off the Bay Bridge, evidence shows they used some Chinese below spec steel, against all the codes and laws, and it's failing already. :mad: No telling how much of the crap they used so IMHO, I'll use some other route, if at all possible, to get into the city.

Have fun.

Wildkow

p.s. areas to avoid, how about bypassing San Francisco altogether and heading up into the Sierra's? There is Lake Tahoe, Yosemite Park, etc. . . pretty sure you can oc up there as long as it's not a National Park.
 
Stay off the Bay Bridge, evidence shows they used some Chinese below spec steel, against all the codes and laws, and it's failing already. No telling how much of the crap they used so IMHO, I'll use some other route, if at all possible, to get into the city.

REALLY? What conspiracy site did you get this from?

You don't think it was because the brace that was used to support an already-identified crack in the bridge failed due to high winds?

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If don't want to deal with the tolls and difficulty finding parking, go to an outlying city in east bay like Pleasanton and ride BART in, and make sure to wear good shoes, those hills will get you. Also don't forget the bushman near fisherman wharf, he takes donations to scare the S*** out of other people in your part (blackguy who sits in a row of bushes holding foliage) the three times I've seen him the guy with the "I won't lie, I'm going to buy pot" sign was around. O
 
I used to live on Nob Hill, I'll echo the Mission District, some areas of market street look a little sketchy. Overall its fine, with any city being out too late isn't the best idea.

City shuts down by about 1 anyway, Mission District is fine to go to, but maybe take a cab to and fro. Tourist hot spots are definitely good to go. Pretty much safe by and large anywhere, avoiding Oakland is good, but that's bay area, not San Francisco itself.

Just depends how city comfortable you are, if you see a guy sitting on the sidewalk or in my case all kinds of homeless people dancin on the sidewalk with a boombox, don't freak out. Minding your own business, avoiding people asking for a change.

If someone looks to be offering you something or asking for change, don't even say no, just keep walking that alone can be a huge help. Otherwise they start talking to you and everyone wants a penny in San Francisco. Have fun its a cool city if ya spend some bucks.
 
Haight and Fillmore used to be interesting around 2:00 A.M.

...when I was staying there in 1988 anyway...nowhere to park...have to park blocks away and walk...


Anyway...(shudder)...
 
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