‘Is San Francisco dying?’ People are googling some unusual questions on SF

San Francisco is a mystery. One of the best cities in America to walk to, but filled with streets so steep your legs will burn; a center of zero-emission vehicles and electric bikes criss-crossed with the world’s last manually operated cable car system; a left haven with more free market billionaires per capita than any other city in the world.

This complexity can lead to nuanced questions about the city, but sometimes people open their phones and ask, “Is San Francisco a country?”

I found the strangest questions people asked Google about the city, apparently largely shaped by a misunderstanding of maps and a campaign of misinformation from right-wing media.

Here goes.

(The following questions are all taken from the top 50 Google Search queries related to San Francisco.)

Is San Francisco in New York?

No.

Is San Francisco Open?

Yes indeed! San Francisco is open. The city was the first to shut down during the coronavirus outbreak and recorded some of the lowest per capita deaths from the disease in any major city in America. Bars, restaurants, clubs and gyms are all open now (if you are vaccinated).

Come to visit. Enjoy the view from the top of the Mark. Get the best Sichuan food in the country at Spices. Check out the sea lions at Fisherman’s Wharf (don’t worry, the Bushman seems long gone). Have a cutty pony in Dolores Park. You can even take the cable cars again.

Is San Francisco the City of Love?

No, this is 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’s never “San Fran” and it’s definitely not the “Golden City,” despite what Goop thinks.

Is San Francisco Safe From Fire?

Although the city’s history has been shaped by a devastating inferno and the surrounding state suffers millions of acres of damage every year, San Francisco is largely safe from forest fires. The last urban conflagration near San Francisco occurred in Oakland in 1991 when a wind-fueled firestorm destroyed nearly 3,000 homes and killed 25 people in the hills.

Is San Francisco an Island?

Almost. The city is at the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, surrounded on three sides by water that becomes 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.

However, San Francisco has islands, from the tiny Seal Rock off Ocean Beach to Alcatraz, Treasure Island, a small part of Angel Island and, furthest away, 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 like that. The entire western part of the city – now filled with the green lawns of Golden Gate Park and suburban streets – was once sand dunes. Part of the city on the east coast was built on the wreckage of ships abandoned by gold-crazy prospectors.

Some downtown skyscrapers are literally built on sand, which didn’t work 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, Joshua Norton, had proclaimed himself “Emperor” of the United States at the request of a “large majority” of the population.

Although he had no real power and all of his decrees were ignored, he became a real city celebrity, walking the streets wearing a beaver hat decorated with a peacock feather. Most of his ideas were ridiculed, for example when he created his own currency with his face on it, but he suggested building a bridge to Oakland 50 years before this became a reality.

Joshua “Emperor” Norton, San Francisco

Bettmann / Bettmann archive

The town took Norton’s crazy ways, selling pins and belt buckles with his likeness, and even providing him with military insignia if his beaver hat was thin. After he fell dead on California Street in 1880, 10,000 San Franciscans are believed to have attended his funeral.

Is San Francisco Better Than Los Angeles?

Yes sir.

Is San Francisco Safe?

It is possible that this question will be asked by confused Fox News viewers with fond memories of the beautiful city that is now picking up host Laura Ingraham’s prime-time rant against San Francisco, calling it a dystopian city in decline. She recently claimed the city was “ruining itself” by building a bike path in the city.

Let’s look at the violent crime numbers. According to FBI data from 2017, the homicide / negligent homicide rate in San Francisco is 6.35 per 100,000 people. This number is far lower than years ago (in 2007 it was 13.63). It also makes the city safer than Miami, Las Vegas, Chicago and Omaha, Nebraska in this metric. In fact, San Francisco has fewer murders, aggravated injuries, and rapes per person than 65 of the country’s 100 most populous cities. Recent data shows that violent crime in the city continued to decline from 2018 to 2020, although the number of vehicle thefts increased.

So safe from crime? Relatively yes. Safe from right primetime agitprop? Maybe not.

Is San Francisco Coffee Good?

Despite an infamous 1963 headline that said, “The Terrible Coffee in SF Restaurants: The People of a Great City Are Forced to Drink Booze,” Tea and Coffee magazine ranks the city’s coffee as Seattle today second best in the country. Coffee businesses from Folger’s to the bougie third-wave roaster Blue Bottle (now owned by Nestle) started in the Bay Area.

It’s not cheap, and not all of it is delicious. I went to Lombard Street once and paid $ 17 for a cup of coffee that went through a cat’s gut and tasted like donkey.

Is San Francisco Sodom and Gomorrah?

No. The biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were ravaged by divine retribution by a very angry god because of their human wickedness. San Francisco is very beautiful and doing well.

Is San Francisco Bike Friendly?

Yes very. According to a SmartAsset study, it is the safest city in the country for cyclists.

One of the busiest bicycle routes in the city is the wiggle. The zig-zag cycle path between the Panhandle and downtown, which winds its way through the hills, is an extremely popular commuter route for cyclists who want to avoid the leg crusher inclines. The route actually follows an ancient stream that was used by cattle and settlers long before the bicycle was invented.

San Francisco

Alexander Spatari / Getty Images

Is san francisco cold?

Honestly, yes. Except for a couple of weeks in early fall, when it’s downright magical.

Is San Francisco Chinatown Safe?

Yes sir. And pretty. The largest Chinatown outside of Asia is a vibrant, bustling neighborhood with hidden alleyways, fantastic food, ornate churches, and some of the best bars in town. It is 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. Puppies are welcome in many restaurants and even gyms, and the city has a lower relative pet deposit than anywhere in the country.

The city’s fondness for dogs could start with a curious furry duo named Bummer and Lazarus. In 1860, San Francisco’s city dogs were loved. The couple had a penchant for going to saloons and drinking from fountains to the delight of residents. They were exempted from city ordinances and even received evening tickets to every opera house in the city. Mark Twain praised their demise, and their stuffed bodies were on display in 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. Illegally. A family of four needs to make $ 111,136 annually to make ends meet in San Francisco. Investopedia lists the city as the second most expensive city in the country after New York. Despite the endless stories of people who have left San Francisco, the city is still very sought after. Time Out has just named it the greatest city in the world, and with the ocean and bay leaving no room for suburban sprawl, there’s little chance it will become more affordable anytime soon.

Is San Francisco Hilly?

Extremely. There are 48 named hills in the city. Some, like Irish Hill, were wiped out by dynamite. Others, like Mount Davidson and Mount Sutro, are hidden paradises in the middle of the city. Many have their own famous identities, from the parrots on Telegraph Hill to the old calm of Nob Hill. The hills and steep streets make the city what it is. An ambitious man tried walking up the 10 steepest streets and found that the steepest block is not where you think it is.

Is San Francisco Due To An Earthquake?

Yes sir. I mean no. I’m sorry, nobody really knows. Experts say the bay should experience a quake at the city’s 1906 level every 200 years. USGS says the chance this will happen in the next 30 years is around 2%. So probably not? But it can’t hurt to start building this earthquake kit.

What is the main newspaper in San Francisco?

San Francisco has a long history of belligerent newspapers claiming this coat, mostly between the Call, the Examiner and the Chronicle. In the 1890s, this resulted in an extravagant and sometimes stupid skyscraper war, which was eventually ended by the 1906 fire that gutted the towers of the Publications downtown.

This resulted in a very brief moment of brotherly love when all publications joined forces in the days following the disaster to publish under the Call-Chronicle-Examiner.

Today the biggest news site in San Francisco is SFGATE. With about 25 to 30 million monthly readers, only the LA Times can count more loyal readers across California.

San Francisco is dying?

No.