Don’t believe the gripes — booming S.F. hasn’t lost its soul

[steve2470]

http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/nativeson/article/Don-t-believe-the-gripes-booming-S-F-9214273.php?t=75318183059de46609&cmpid=twitter-premium



I have it on good authority that San Francisco ain’t what she used to be. The cool gray city of love has lost its soul.

You hear that all the time from people of a certain vintage. “It’s not the city where I grew up,” say the natives. “It’s not the city it was when I got here,” say the transplants.

It’s the damndest thing. A lot of cities are going to hell because the economy is going down. San Francisco is going to hell because the economy is going up. People are mad because the city is booming. Too many people. Too much money, dammit.

We here in the Native Son corner of the paper take these things seriously. So we conducted our own unscientific study. We walked the streets, rode Muni buses, prowled the waterfront, talked to carefully selected types, like expatriate San Franciscans, a cab driver or two, and a couple of artists. A cross section of my pals.

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On Reddit, many posters vigorously disagree.