Do you consider the San Francisco Bay Area to be pretty?
By The Horse
@TheHorse (218830)
Walnut Creek, California
June 23, 2016 9:01pm CST
When most people think of the San Francisco Bay Area, I think they have an image of a beautiful, hilly city, towering redwood trees, and the Golden Gate Bridge.
But I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Much of the Bay Area is not that pretty at all. We have neighborhoods in Berkeley and Oakland that range from seedy to just plain boring. The lush trees of my native Chicago Illinois are hard to find.
Some suburbs, like Orinda and Moraga, are nice, as are the Oakland and Berkeley Hills. And Marin County is beautiful (and expensive). But nobody talks about Concord (boring, with a fairly high crime rate and not much culture) and Pittsburg/Bay Point (near refineries and other factories).
I know I often post pictures of my hikes on Mt. Diablo, the Inspiration Point Trail in Tilden Park, and Pt. Reyes in Marin. But I couldn't help but snap a picture from near the front of one of my kid client's houses the other day. It's as representative of the Bay Area as is the Golden Gate Bridge or redwood trees.
If you're not from here, do have an image of the San Francisco Bay Area as pretty, or even beautiful? Parts of it are, but I'd take Chicago, Santa Barbara, or Seattle (places I've lived) over the Bay Area any day for overall aesthetics. Are you surprised?
15 people like this
13 responses
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
24 Jun 16
I saw some of that area like in your picture so I knew all the bay area is not like the goldem gate area. in myh area Laguna beach is the pretty area and newport bay is just ]
well newport beach not pretty but fun to walk along the beach there.
3 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43418)
• Denver, Colorado
24 Jun 16
I've only been there a handful of times, all but one I was a kid. But I only saw the good stuff, so your photo kind of shows what I'd probably never see.
3 people like this
@Drosophila (16571)
• Ireland
25 Jun 16
can I be honest? I've never thought much of SF Bay Area
1 person likes this
@Drosophila (16571)
• Ireland
25 Jun 16
@TheHorse i mean I was sorely disappointed with what it had to offer
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
24 Jun 16
only the less inhabited portions'f cali leave me any desire to visit there sadly. i'm quite certain that san franscisco 'twas indeed a site to behold...when very few lived there.
no sir, i aint surprised. we've a kindered spirit't seems - the desire'n need fer "unspoiled" beauty. to be'n the wilds.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
24 Jun 16
@TheHorse that's wonderful, hon. but seems ya gotta through the "other" 'fore ya can get to the beauty there.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (218830)
• Walnut Creek, California
24 Jun 16
@crazyhorseladycx A tourist could make it from the airport to the City and up to the redwoods without ever seeing the "seemy underbelly," to cross-reference another post.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (218830)
• Walnut Creek, California
24 Jun 16
San Francisco has some very pretty areas, with older Victorian houses, and quiet neighborhoods. The other night, I was there at a gathering, and I needed to take a walk. As I strolled, I heard someone in his living room practicing piano. I believe it may have been a Chopin Nocturne. I sat on the curb and listened. It was a lovely moment.
3 people like this
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
24 Jun 16
Yes I am. My idea is the ones in your opening sentences...especially the Golden Gate Bridge.
Also Vikram's Seth's book "The golden gate', which to me is a masterpiece of writing.
2 people like this
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
25 Jun 16
@TheHorse its a story about a group of people in San-Francisco, good human interest story but more than that the entire novel is written in verse.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (218830)
• Walnut Creek, California
25 Jun 16
@responsiveme Sounds interesting. When is it from? San Francisco has changed a lot in the last 20 or 30 years.
1 person likes this
@koopharper (7601)
• Canada
24 Jun 16
I came through San Francisco with a group back in my college days and found the city to be attractive. After college I cycled right through the middle of Oakland. At the time it wasn't the best place for a white boy to be. Definitely an education for a Canadian on a bicycle. Thankfully I didn't run into any trouble.
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (50250)
• United States
24 Jun 16
I have never been out your way. I guess all places have their less scenic places too
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
24 Jun 16
if the trash was picked up, it might still be pretty, all that space, and no homes, restful
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
25 Jun 16
Okay, I get your point, but all cities have ugly parts. Yours, at least, has charming areas too. Not all cities can say that. There is no part of the City of Angels that is as pretty as the pretty parts of SF. This from someone born and raised in LA, and loves it.
@TheHorse (218830)
• Walnut Creek, California
24 Jun 16
Yeah, I'll post more of those. Maybe I've just been in a "seamy underbelly" kind of mood the last couple of days. Here's the Golden Gate Bridge from the Inspiration Point Trail, just to remind myself (and others) that the beauty is there if you seek it out.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
24 Jun 16
It's pretty ugly on the Oakland side not just for the slums but the industrial areas alongside the bay. Vallejo is pretty bad.
1 person likes this
