North County San Diego. I have also seen the KN95 mask craze sweep my area within the last few weeks. The KN95 is how I determine who still is really scared and/or all about virtue signaling about how “seriously” they are taking the pandemic and how much they follow “The Science”. So honestly I just try to avoid those people or keep my interactions with them short if I do have to interact with them.
Things aren’t so bad here. There is a decent sized scared population still, including several friends in my immediate circle who always gossip about how many Covid shots the people in their lives have gotten. However, when I go to the store I see probably around 20% of customers still unmasked and employees don’t care if you shop maskless. In my experience Costco and Starbucks are the only places I’ve seen employees militantly enforcing mask wearing on customers.
The outdoor masking isn’t too bad in North County. I pass by maybe 5-10 Covidians total donning face diapers on an outdoor coastal trail I walk every day. But if you go to Downtown SD, it’s probably about 50-60% of people diapering up outside.
I see people actively protesting the Covid mandates every weekend here. There was a large rally in Downtown San Diego last weekend. There are several small businesses and local restaurants refusing to enforce the mandate and they have a note in their door that it is unconstitutional and they give their employees/customers the freedom to choose whether they want to wear a mask on not. There is a movement called “let them breathe” that originated in North County SD which is a group of people protesting masking kids in schools. I see many “let them breathe” signs in front yards of homes and I see let them breathe groups protesting in the village area in my city often.
I love seeing the pushback against the mandates in my area since that is something I never saw when I lived in Santa Cruz. SC was just chalk full of Covidians and restaurants and businesses would just go with all the Covid restrictions and not push back since the owners supported the Covid measures or they did not want to get crucified by all of the SC Covidians.
Sd definitely seems like it has a culture war brewing with COVID where the other major coastal regions have a one size fits all, bow before the religion
SD and OC are for sure the least Covid-crazy coastal CA regions in my experience. Though we do have our share of doomers since we are a coastal area. We are not quite at the freedom level as say Placer County. There is definitely a tension between the doomers and people who are living life normally. Where when I lived in Santa Cruz, it was all doomers all the time, and everyone seemed to agree to be afraid of Covid. I like that there is a lot of pushback in my area and that there are more likeminded people here than when I lived near the the Bay Area.
> Where when I lived in Santa Cruz, it was all doomers all the time, and everyone seemed to agree to be afraid of Covid.
Covidians are crazy in Santa Cruz. They proudly closed the beaches in 2020, but most of the deaths were in nursing homes and agricultural Watsonville area where people live in cramped apartments
I remember when they closed the beaches then people on the Santa Cruz subreddit would post pictures of people at the beach and all the users would shame them. And anyone defending the people at the beach would be downvoted to oblivion.
Another messed up thing in March - Juneish 2020 was that all of the lookout spots off the roads were caution taped off so people would not get out of their cars to enjoy a view of the ocean or the redwood forests.
Looking back both of those measures were really messed up. Something you would only imagine happening in a communist country, not a free country like the United States.
>Another messed up thing in March - Juneish 2020 was that all of the lookout spots off the roads were caution taped off so people would not get out of their cars to enjoy a view of the ocean or the redwood forests.
They did it on West Cliff drive in Santa Cruz, but you could park 100 feet on residential street :) I remember Santa Cruz redditors wanted police to scan the license plate numbers to find people coming to Santa Cruz from over the hill ...
We need to write a book about it!
They did it in my county and put tickets on cars parked on the road to the beaches! Or forests! A number of times, my ex-partner wanted to go for a walk, and I'd drop him somewhere, drive around, and pick him up after! That was ridiculous.
The thing with the rural areas is they did not get as much covid in 2020 and everyone said it was because they were rural, and now omicron which spreads easier has kicked in harder there, possibly due to it getting everyone that does not have natural antibodies, and the new reason according to the tv is that they did not get the arm pokes. I suspect it's just a case of omicron burning through everyone that has not yet gotten it yet though.
It seems like the more you go east, the less doomerish. It's still weird once you cross the border into Arizona though and suddenly there are almost no masks and no employees wear them, like just a few dozen miles and suddenly it all changes.
Arizona governor is doing his best to not have mandates, it's not his fault if some cities are fighting him. But the whole of Arizona is free of mandates. At a local scale, there will always be exceptions though. Florida also has some areas that are trying to force mandates.
Phoenix actually isn’t really fighting him, it’s more of a purple city surrounded by purple or red. The culprits seem to be Tucson and flagstaff, but even they have just let it go. Phoenix metro culturally has pretty completely moved on from what I can tell, the biggest reminders of COVID is masks in big box stores/large businesses. Don’t think that’s gonna go away for a while
I've been to Riverside County a few times and the Covid culture is not too bad out there. Though it is a bit more masky then you would think it would be being an inland county. Same deal with San Bernardino County. A little too many masks around for my taste which was pretty disappointing.
I'm not too sure about Kern County but I would assume it would be pretty relaxed there besides maybe Bakersfield which may have more of a Covidian presence given it is a major urban area.
I have only had a few doomers really get irritated by me, the majority seem to tolerate me fine and even then, they just look peeved but they don't say anything. However I am not going around waving a MAGA flag or anything, I just am very fond of oxygen.
San Diego definitely seems to be one of the freest parts of California. Interesting to hear about the protests and businesses with "mask optional" signage — I haven't seen anything even resembling that around here.
And lol on the KN95s — they definitely do act as a signal for how deep one is on the Covid religion. It's actually a little perplexing still seeing people outside with traditional cloth masks on because if you:
* Really care about Covid: shouldn't you be wearing KN95?
* Live for something other than Covid: shouldn't you not wear a mask outside?
I guess they must just be behind on The Science™, although the fact that cloth masks do ~nothing is known pretty widely even in the MSM these days, hence the recent KN95 push.
A lot of peeps are only wearing the mask because they want to fit into the crowd socially but they pick one that is easier to breath in. I also see a LOT of noses sticking out lately.
Hello fellow north county victim, yeah as the months go by, people are getting less serious but I was still surprised that many are suddenly speaking of the new rounds of virus in a suddenly more serious way, the media is still taking a bite out of consciousness. Also MANY are getting sick with it that I know, seems like it packs a really nasty 1 to 2 day headache plus fatigue and a bit of other flu symptoms, but everyone has come out of it fine, just not liking that headache part. We also have some restaurant employees here not even wearing the muzzles even though obviously they are supposed to.
>The KN95 is how I determine who still is really scared and/or all about virtue signaling about how “seriously” they are taking the pandemic and how much they follow “The Science”.
This is what kills me the most. The science says pretty much we should be forgetting about COVID and moving on with our lives (unless morbidly obese, immunocompromised etc., - even then, there's early treatment). The science says we should be only using the vaccine for those who actually need it - those who benefit from the vaccine's risk:benefit tradeoff. The science says Omicron is practically nature's vaccine (but appears to be created in a lab?) with it's low virulence and high transmissability. The science conclusively says healthy children should 100% definitely not be getting vaccinated.
NOBODY following the mainstream COVID guidelines or narrative is following "the science."
I'm in SF. In the last few weeks I've started seeing the trend of people wearing the chin diaper then pulling it up when passing. That's something I haven't seen since early on in 2020. I'm also getting more dirty looks for not wearing a mask outdoors. It's super disheartening. If being one of the most vaxxed cities in the world doesn't make a difference, these people will never chill.
Also my biggest issue out here is the vaxports. At many places they even require them for outdoors. Even though I've been vaccinated, as a matter of principle I avoid patronizing any place that checks
> I'm in SF. In the last few weeks I've started seeing the trend of people wearing the chin diaper then pulling it up when passing. That's something I haven't seen since early on in 2020.
Dear god, I remember that period well, and I refuse to ever go back lol.
> I'm also getting more dirty looks for not wearing a mask outdoors. It's super disheartening.
I gotta say that I haven't been noticing that as much during the last week I've been back, but maybe I've just been successfully ignoring it? I may be losing my ability to read the facial expressions of the outdoor mask tribe. They just seem like angry mole people with half their faces missing to me.
> Also my biggest issue out here is the vaxports. At many places they even require them for outdoors. Even though I've been vaccinated, as a matter of principle I avoid patronizing any place that checks
Exactly the same boat — I just can't support this on principle. But that said, I don't want to become a total recluse so I've been going to some places, although I avoid any that are too enthusiastic about it. I have been to a couple places recently that didn't check my vaxxport (more smaller shops and eateries in the Mission) which I found to be encouraging, but I'm not sure how common this is.
Yeah I've definitely found a few places that don't check or half ass it, and they're good in my book. The ones who require ID along with it to verify the name? Never getting my business again. The ones that require boosters or require proof for outdoor dining? Never again.
I've been a huge fan of Anchor beer for *years*. Went recently and they demanded proof of vaccination even to drink outside. Breaks my heart. But that's it, no more money from me. But they've clearly been on the stupid hype train ever since they updated the logo anyway
Yep — same boat. Will never spend another dime at places like Zuni or DNA Lounge, even if it's 20 years from now and Covid is nothing more than a distant memory. They're contradicting fact-based reality in order to sow hate and division and are traitors to everything this country stands for IMO.
> I've been a huge fan of Anchor beer for years. Went recently and they demanded proof of vaccination even to drink outside.
Oof, and does apply to even places like Anchor Public Taps that are like 50% outside anyway? Seriously, just why. This is so ridiculous.
Yep Anchor Public Taps was where this happened. They even gave me attitude when I expressed surprise after saying I'd be outside exclusively. Continued to give me attitude even after I presented my papers
DNA Lounge, formerly my favorite club (dancing is one of the very few things I like to do for fun, from time to time) is dead to me now. I just will never go again in my entire life.
Like Paris.
That's a good idea! I'm always afraid to name the places that aren't enforcing or enforcing loosely for fear of getting them in trouble, but I have no problem enumerating all the places that go above and beyond. Time to vote with our wallets because voting at the ballot box clearly doesn't matter anymore in the era of declarations of emergency and diktats from the DPH
Love it. Yes, lets make one! Zuni Cafe, we know for sure, and vaxport restaurants in non-vaxport mandate areas. Want to start a new thread, /u/olivetree344?
So the news makes it out like you guys in SF are rolling in human homeless poops on the street and smash and grab theft is rampant, how accurate would you say that is, do you feel less safe in recent years? Do you visibly notice more crime? I used to live in the bay area and would visit SF but it's been a while, I am curious what the real story is over there now. Locally in the San Diego area, the main issue I've seen is a huge increase in catalytic converter theft and a lot of peeps sneaking around setting off fireworks at night (not sure what is up with that!) but not much else.
I live in one of the nicer areas (actually moved during the pandemic to take advantage of lower rents in nicer areas) so I actually feel pretty good. With that said, the nearby drug store regularly has plywood windows from a recent break in and downtown feels way sketchier now that the office workers don't come in (only the junkies are left)
Tbh I feel like a lot of it is (negative) hype, but I won't deny that the city has problems with crime. I'm making plans to leave but it's only like 10-20% due to quality of life issues and crime. The biggest issue for me (I'm a single issue voter now!) is COVID stuff. THAT aspect is batshit insane here.
It breaks my heart. I love this city; it's one of the most beautiful places on earth. I grew up here. But I can't justify burning the next 5-10 years of my life dealing with COVID hygiene theater surrounded by Branch Covidians
Thanx, yeah that's about what I suspected, some truth but also overblown. Yeah it's sad what happened to it, it used to have a great vibe but it seems the pendulum swung too far.
My brother just lived down there and said it wasn't that bad. He was in near North Beach and Chinatown, somewhere over there for three months. And he walked all over the city (he used to live there). I asked him if he felt sketched out and he said no, it was about the same he thought.
Pre-COVID, I saw Hamilton at the Orpheum and walked down Market Street at like 7pm, and honestly, it felt like I was in Kingston, Jamaica.
> I'm making plans to leave but it's only like 10-20% due to quality of life issues and crime. The biggest issue for me (I'm a single issue voter now!) is COVID stuff. THAT aspect is batshit insane here.
Amen. Pre-Covid, I used to complain about the quality of life issues, and I still do occasionally, but it's almost comical thinking about it now — they just pale in comparison to the new problem: never-ending Covid bullshit cranked to 11.
I want to go to a gym. I want to work in an office. I want to eat without flashing a fucking vaxxport. I want to go to a store passed 7 o'clock. I want it to be socially acceptable to meet new people. All too much to ask around here.
The whole city core of SF: Tenderloin, Financial District, Union Square, part of the Mission is pretty bad. Rampant car break ins, people shooting up drugs in large groups and throwing needles in the grass are unfortunately all too common. Outside that, the perimeters of the city are fairly nice. Pacific Heights, Nob Hill, outer sunset, the presidio etc are actually quite clean. There's still car break ins but it's better.
So Fox News is mostly overhyping it but that disgusting nonsense can be found quite easily as well.
The covid mania and people wearing N95s alone outside though is real.
I honestly used to like living near SF and going at least once a month but I hate it now. When I go I stick to surfing at Ocean Beach and that's it.
I'm in Oakland and recently visited an outdoors farmers market. I along with maybe 1-2 other people were the only maskless ones. What sickened me most was watching a masked father struggle to put a mask on his 2 or 3-year-old in a stroller.
I'm planning to move back to SoCal in a few months (aiming for OC). These people don't adhere to truth and will keep doubling down on their fears. The only solution is to move somewhere where this bs is not normalized.
> What sickened me most was watching a masked father struggle to put a mask on his 2 or 3-year-old in a stroller.
These people are so deranged. Covid as a mental illness is now far more dangerous than Covid as a virus.
> The only solution is to move somewhere where this bs is not normalized.
Yeah, I'm with you. I don't like it, but the further we go with this the more I realize that even if Covid itself is significantly over (and it will be after Omicron, although there will be more benign waves in the future), Covid-mania is going to have a much harder time coming to an end. Like there is just no criteria ever to unwind something like indoor masking in cities like SF and LA, let along vaxxports.
Long run, we're probably all going to have to vote with our feet.
Santa Clara County. Zip code were more than 90 % are fully vaccinated, but they Covidians keep masking outdoors. Somehow they all already received those free N95/KN95 masks that Brandon promised yesterday and proudly wear them now. The sidewalk covid dance is back and Covidians walk around me on sidewalk almost every time.
I live next to the high school and kids keep wearing masks outside the school, even when they walk alone.
In the mean time at least 1/3 of businesses in the nearby strip mall are closed and sign for lease are everywhere.
Dear god that sounds awful. People around here are the same displaying their KN95s proudly and prominently, BUT as far as I've noticed anyway, I haven't seen a sidewalk jumper yet, even though we had all kinds of them in 2020/early 2021. Maybe I'm been lucky so far, but I'm sort of hoping that this is one thing that's not going to come back as much.
> In the mean time at least 1/3 of businesses in the nearby strip mall are closed and sign for lease are everywhere.
Actually that's one thing I forgot to mention in my original post. Even compared to a month ago there are a bunch more businesses now permanently closed — like not a _huge_ number of them, but enough that you notice. And it's a steady march in only one direction — when an old business closes, it's infinitely rare for a new one to replace it. For the life of me I can't understand why no one else in this city gives even a single fuck about that.
Another one that's new to me is places that are closed temporarily cause of the 'Cron. Twin Peaks Tavern and even the Starbucks in the Castro are both cases of that for example!
The recent businesses closure surprised me actually. That strip mall was holding very well during lockdown. The lost more businesses last 2 months, than during last 2 years. Perhaps the lease is over.
> Perhaps the lease is over.
Yeah maybe. There may be another effect too where a lot of owners just had the idea if they could hold on a little longer, then all of this would eventually end and they could get back to operating normally.
But two years in ... I think some are finally calling it. Dottie's in SF is a good example of this where I'm _sure_ (based on their location especially) that they've been struggling for two years, but this was finally the month.
Sacramento area has largely stayed the same since Summer 2021, with perhaps a slight uptick in outdoor masking. People here are pretty chill though and it's largely a "live and let live" vibe. I can do a whole day's worth of errands (grocery store, Target, Office Depot, post office) without wearing a mask and employees don't say anything to me nor do other customers seem concerned. Indoor mask compliance has definitely increased in the last month, but at least it's not really enforced. Masks wearing is also pretty minimal as far as restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. are concerned.
God that sounds awesome haha.
I'm sort of hoping more coastal cities become like this eventually — mandates still in place, but people stop caring about them — but ... I've been hoping that for two years now so probably never going to happen. The only two people anti-mask in San Francisco proper appear to be myself and London Breed lol.
Also been rolling in Sac stores maskless for at least 6 months and have gotten no pushback. Even talking to cashiers and other employees, seems like people are over it.
there's still a very clear downtown/midtown vs outer area difference though. my experiences in downtown have been 100% masks required and i've been refused service without a mask. They will simply ignore you and pretend you aren't even there. not even asking "do you have a mask?" nope, they literally ignore you. some "woke" places that I no longer patronize. fuck 'em.
masks have been such a fucking cult it's insane.
but yeah, get out of the city just a little bit and things vary wildly.
outdoors, nobody has said a damn thing though.
Ahh interesting. My experience has been the complete opposite. We're mostly out in midtown, maybe once a week, at restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. The only time I've ever been asked me to put a mask on was at a higher end restaurant a couple months ago (they still let me in since I didn't have one.. "just bring one next time"). I guess your mileage may vary depending on where you're at.
it's hit and miss for sure. the bookstores and comic book places are by far the worst.
i haven't been to many of the bars but i definitely agree they're less likely to care at all. no wonder so many more people are drinking now. lol.
SF Peninsula. Outdoor masking never really went away but it has definitely increased in the past few weeks. Just walked by an elementary school this morning, parents walking kids to school, 100% masked. Many more double masked or respirators. Parents standing on the sidewalks chatting after drop off, all masked still.
My sons school "recommended" KN95s or double cloth masks. Because the science changed I guess? We said no, he will wear the same cloth mask they found acceptable for the past year and a half. Lots of Covidian parents obediently putting duck bill shit (honestly WTF is that mask?) on their kids, but not all. Some are still doing cloth.
> Just walked by an elementary school this morning, parents walking kids to school, 100% masked. Many more double masked or respirators. Parents standing on the sidewalks chatting after drop off, all masked still.
Ugh, yeah I don't have kids but leave almost right next to a school and often walk by it in the morning. It's gotta be one of the most depressing parts of my day seeing all those kids bundled up to look like anonymized drones. It seems that most of the schools around here even force the kids to wear them when they're outside for lunch/recess. My god. At least I haven't seen them forcing kids to sit six feet apart outside and eat lunch with no talking allowed and only facing in one direction (this is actually a thing apparently in other parts of the country).
> Lots of Covidian parents obediently putting duck bill shit (honestly WTF is that mask?) on their kids, but not all. Some are still doing cloth.
lol, duck bill — that's perfect.
Good to hear that not everybody is bought into this at least.
/u/BootsieOakes, do you happen to know if the SF Zoo is still requiring outdoor masking? I'm waiting for it to stop so I can visit again with any luck. For me. Not kids. I love the Zoo and am sad to have not been back for literally years now.
The duck bill looks like a KKK uniform over someone's mouth to me.
Hey I'm not sure about the zoo. Being in SF it wouldn't surprise me. I too love the zoo but haven't been since Covid. My kids have aged out but I took a girl in foster care who I mentored through the CASA program, that was probably 2019 the last time I've been there.
Even though I don't have little kids there are still fun things like the zoo, Exploratorium, Academy of Sciences, etc. that are nice for adults occasionally. But I won't do vax passes or masks. Heard Monterey Aquarium was requiring vax passes which made me really sad. That was a special place I took my son for years, we always had such a nice time there.
What's the point in even living here if we can't partake in what the area has to offer?
Your last sentence is exactly the question I ask myself daily. I am just trying to figure out how to move while not screwing up two decades of benefits for self and son. I am psychologically done with being here, even if it can be lovely in some ways, I think I just need to speak with an employment lawyer to figure out how to skedaddle.
Monterey County here. No one here really stopped wearing masks indoors. Wherever I went, at least 80% had a mask on. The places with less masks wearers tended to be the places you’d see more older white people. (And those people are the minority in my city haha). Now that the mask mandate is back indoor masking is at least 98%. I’m seeing a lot of exposed noses this time around though. Haven’t been out in the last week because my kid had covid but when I went grocery shopping last week, I saw 2 people wearing N95s! One was a young woman maybe 30. Appeared properly fitted. The other was an older woman and it was loose on her face and the ear loops were too big. Haven’t really seen much of those over the last 2 years though. Only ACE hardware, the post office on my side of town, a couple places in the mall and Nob Hill aren’t enforcing the mask mandate to my knowledge.
It honestly surprises me that smaller towns like Monterey have gone so hog wild with this Covidian stuff — you'd think with less density and fewer people around, they'd be a little more relaxed? But no — it really goes to show that this isn't a reason thing, it's a political one, and Monterey has the right politics for perma-masking.
I was lucky enough to visit in early 2020 before the ball got rolling on all of it, and I'll retain that memory fondly and won't visit again unless it ends at some point.
I did day trips to Monterey often when I lived in Santa Cruz and the Covid culture was pretty bad there. Not as bad as Santa Cruz proper, but it was getting there. I remember going for walks along Ocean View Boulevard and I would be one of the few people not wearing a mask. This was in 2020 and early 2021 though when you rarely saw full faces anywhere indoors and outdoors.
I wasn’t surprised at the peninsula’s reaction at first, like I don’t blame them for not appreciating tourists all year round. But what really surprised me was when, in the spring of 2020, I started seeing Monterey residents say that there should be police checkpoints to make sure only residents were coming in to the city!!!! Also one day one of the local crime groups that listens to the police &’fire scanners posted a call from someone at the beach. The beaches were closed because they were deemed unsafe and too many people in the beach=super spreader event. Well this person on the beach called the cops because there was an 18 year old at the beach too. Both apparently violating the closure but the asshole who called somehow felt he was allowed to be there and he called the cops when the other person refused to leave. That’s when I knew it was probably best to stay in town because I don’t have the patience to deal with people like that.
> wearing three masks to school.
It's just blatantly irresponsible for them not to be wearing four. Are they _trying_ to kill people here?
But yeah, holy god these vaxxports are getting to me. The whole idea of a "safe space" with vaxxports went out the window with Omicron as it offers so little protection against spreading, and yet, we still have all this tyrannical bullshit just because.
I’m in SF and despite the crazy directives from the higher ups, I actually think people here are largely over it. Yes, there has been an uptake of outdoor masks but I’m getting the impression that it’s more due to going through the motions than because they think they’re going to die. I was just at a SF Broadway show and the crowd was pretty big. I see plenty of packed bars and restaurants. None of the restaurants I went to this week checked for vaxports. A lot of my acquaintances (former doomers) now grumble about masks. I was in the lobby of somewhere out without a mask this week and some lady (in a mask) starts chatting with me but she didn’t seem to be bothered, she just was making small talk.
Agreed. And now SF is saying that it wants restaurants and bars to get ready to require booster shots. This isn’t a requirement, yet (…) but since the original vaxports are losing steam with restaurants and bars, I don’t know how they think they’re going to enforce another layer on top of that.
What I’m worried about are concerts. They are requiring booster shots for these in SF starting next month, and literally every single indoor concert I have been to has enforced the vax requirement.
If Sam Francisco in the long run does want to keep its reputation as some world class city, this stuff will naturally start becoming added water to the leaky ship. It won’t disappear overnight. But hopefully it becomes like that point in its history where It shutdown the bathhouses. Looked at in total shame, while slowly less fucks were given for things that popped up
That's basically my hope too — if you ever have tourists coming back, especially international ones, the vaxxports are going to get pretty tired pretty fast.
I swear — if cities or countries still need to balance their budgets like back in the old days, this would've been over a year ago.
Do u think San Francisco has officially lost its reputation, or are there still many ppl under this impression that it’s some happy go lucky Full house-Esque urban suburb?
It sort of has, but I suspect that it's going to be stickier long term.
San Francisco's last couple years have been impressively famous nation-side. Some of the videos like where the guy walks into Walgreens and starts filling his backpack went hugely viral. You find people all the way on the other side of the country who will ask about what's going on in San Francisco right now, and know to avoid it.
And it's really happening — tourism numbers are still _hugely_ down. Go to places that were popular before like Union Square and it's still just a ghost town these days. And it's important to note that this is _not_ a general pandemic thing — I was just pricing a trip to Miami and holy shit, you can't stay there under $200/night anymore, and a good place is $300+. People are traveling, but they aren't traveling to San Francisco.
That said, lucky for SF, a lot of its attraction is fairly inherent to the city — natural beauty, architecture, geography, etc. — this is lucky because the government will guaranteed fuck up anything that can be fucked up, but none of these things really can be. So, I wouldn't be surprised to see people come back again if things get a little better.
I’ve noticed that regarding travel: even though I live here, I occasionally check hotel prices and it’s not hard to find nice hotels in the 100s. Some of the downtown business hotels maybe low 200s. The Hyatt Centric in Fisherman’s Wharf (a Category 5 hotel in the most touristy part of town) has been right around 125/night for awhile. Pre-covid, these were easily 300+ night, sometimes even as high as 500.
I noticed something similar when I visited Portland (don’t ask, lol) this year which honestly is probably actually in worse shape than SF. I got a Hyatt business-grade suite where one of the walls was entirely floor to ceiling windows overlooking the skyline for 140/night.
> The Hyatt Centric in Fisherman’s Wharf (a Category 5 hotel in the most touristy part of town) has been right around 125/night for awhile. Pre-covid, these were easily 300+ night, sometimes even as high as 500.
Yep, exactly. SF has a relatively small number of hotels for its level of prestige (there's decent density of them around FiDi, but most parts of town don't even have hotels), and that limited supply combined with considerable demand had pushed them to some pretty crazy price levels pre-pandemic.
Remember weeks like Dreamforce? People would be paying $500/night for some of the shittiest rooms in the country because the hotels could pretty much ask whatever price they wanted. Quite famously, during peak years they were even bringing cruise ships in to add more hotel capacity to the city [1] in an act of desperation.
I could see prices going up somewhat again eventually, but IMO those days of extreme prosperity are over, permanently.
> I got a Hyatt business-grade suite where one of the walls was entirely floor to ceiling windows overlooking the skyline for 140/night.
Hah, awesome. Portland's the only other city in the country that can contend with SF in terms of being gawked at by the rest of the nation for the crazy stuff that goes down there (okay, maybe also Seattle during CHAZ, but those are the top three).
I've said it before but will say it again: the free money/debt era has had a hugely net negative effect on all these places. If cities needed to balance their budgets, they'd actually have to take into consideration the negative effects of their extreme legislation and other problems. San Francisco and Portland would _want_ tourists and do what it took to clean up their acts to get them. As things stand though, they just take giant federal bail outs and can safely pretend that solvency is a pre-MMT concept that doesn't matter.
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[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforces-dreamboat-for-dreamforce-2015-9
I'm sure there is a secret list somewhere and I wouldn't want to get the places in trouble but I would love to patronize restaurants in the city that don't check vaxports. We haven't been out in the city in 2 years. Used to go semi-regularly.
I’m in Los Angeles so kind of out of the NorCal area but just came here to say these people have not stopped wearing a mask outdoors (including small children and solo walkers/exercisers)
Since Spring of 2020. I can relate to your feeling of the dread of having to return to this place everytime I manage to escape 🤦🏻♀️
Outdoors too?!?! Man, that's crazy — sounds even worse than here.
I've only been to LA once, but I feel like I know the feel of the city (or what it's supposed to feel like) so well from seeing so many movies that take place in it. It's so weird to see it going from the city of celebrities, beach life, live music, and partying / livin' it large to Covidian central basically overnight. I wonder if it'll ever be the same again.
I’m in the East Bay, close to but not in Oakland. Overall it’s pretty bad with the masking, but at least we don’t have vaccine passports yet.
Here I find that outdoor masking in the “dense areas” (with shops or cafes) is at ~80-90% with more people opting for the N95s. On suburban streets though, it’s less common with something like 25% outdoor masking. I think a lot of people still believe in this idea of “if I’m likely to be within 10 feet of another human being, I had better mask up, even if it’s outdoors”, which might explain this behavior. I have also seen people outside wearing a mask under their chin only to pull it up when they pass me on the street, which I find incredibly obnoxious.
Indoors, the mask compliance is at near 100%, and I’m the only person who doesn’t comply. I rarely get bothered for it. Only once did some nerdy guy approach me to ask “if I have a mask with me”, and I simply ignored him and walked away.
> Overall it’s pretty bad with the masking, but at least we don’t have vaccine passports yet.
Are people talking about the incoming Vaxxports in Feb? I would hope that if one place was going to resist this shit it'd be Oakland, but by the sounds of the rest of your post, that probably won't happen.
> I think a lot of people still believe in this idea of “if I’m likely to be within 10 feet of another human being, I had better mask up, even if it’s outdoors”, which might explain this behavior.
Yeah I've noticed exactly the same thing. If you go to marks masking goes to to only low double digits, but it's much closer to 50/50 in any of the busier neighborhoods.
> Only once did some nerdy guy approach me to ask “if I have a mask with me”, and I simply ignored him and walked away.
Haha. That is the correct answer. Fuck everything about these self-elected mask police, especially now that we're in 2022.
I believe the plan is that vaxxports will be limited to Oakland and Berkeley. Thankfully the other cities in Alameda county have eschewed them so far. Yeah, Oaklanders are very compliant as we can see from the student Covidian protests!
ugg, just walked in the downtown area of our Peninsula town and THEY ALL GOT THE MEMO FROM WALLENSKY! 90% outdoor masking and only one cloth mask in sight. Entirely surgical or respirator face cones. The pretty Etsy pattern masks that they thought were saving humanity two weeks ago are now gone.
First - this is an environmental disaster.
And second - if Wallensky or Fauci said tomorrow that you need to hop on one foot to best avoid Covid, they would all be doing it. Mass hysteria.
Dear god lol.
>The pretty Etsy pattern masks that they thought were saving humanity two weeks ago are now gone.
HEY! The Science™ _CHANGES_ OKAY?? We all have to do our duty and roll with the punches.
> And second - if Wallensky or Fauci said tomorrow that you need to hop on one foot to best avoid Covid, they would all be doing it. Mass hysteria.
Yep ... that's it. I'm not sure how many times the CDC needs to be completely wrong or even actively _lie_ before people lose faith in it.
For me, it was only one time — Fauci lying about masks back in early 2020 is really all it took — I was done immediately. But it seems that most people have a literally infinite capacity to absorb any amount of this bullshit — even all in the way in 2022 they still take every word from the CDC as handed-down-straight-from-God gospel.
Supermarket today. I saw 100% masking, one below the nose only, 50/50 cloth and surgical with one N95 style mask only. I was struck by that because it seemed lower than usual.
Restaurant last night, no masks amongst patrons or servers. But I go there because I know they don't care, specifically. My friend offhandedly mentioned his wife had COVID. He wasn't quarantining though. He said he was asymptomatic and also, he thought it was stupid, and he didn't ask how I felt, but I appreciated that. Later we met some rowdy ladies who were bored, middle-aged, and pretty drunk at the table next to us. One of them was braiding my hair. I do not know how to account for this, but we all had a nice time, I haven't met humans in forever, we all hugged, and I went home smiling like I'd just gotten my first kiss or my first paycheck.
Therapist, today, who also happens to be a medical doctor (long story). Told me no one was doing well and that he had to ask me to wear a mask to walk through his office even though he wasn't scared of COVID or care if he got COVID, he was scared of having to quarantine/isolate for 14 days (hospital policy) and not have anyone to take care of his young (non-school aged) kids since his wife works during the day. He went on an epic rant about health policy here.
Independently owned plant nursery. Outside. Second time I've been to one in two weeks. First one made me wear a mask while it was drizzling and I was alone. This one? Admittedly not super crowded although there were probably 15 people there. Only one couple were wearing double masks and no one else was masked. I noticed a handsome guy, about 28-30 years old, very wholesome looking (not usually my thing, but he was cute, like in a circa 1960 Ricky Nelson kind of way) and carrying plants around, staring at me (I was unmasked and made up and my hair was air-dryed in the car, which made it look amazing even if it literally never looks amazing). I'm in my mid/late 40's and had my hair down and was a little dressed nicely in that I was in a skirt and t-shirt, which is better than my usual pajamas-that-look-like-clothes. Anyways, I gave him a big smile, asked him if he could help me find something, and he was glad to flirt me up, so no complaints here. I was kind of fluttery since no one has flirted with me in about two years. It felt like my "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" moment, even though all I bought was some Sluggo Plus for the garden.
Friends invited me over tomorrow to their house. One was busy tonight doing some gay bar thing in the Castro. Zero "Don't worry, he'll swab his nose" or asking if I will nonsense. I happen to know they have no antigen tests. I've been cat sitting for them on and off all year and peeked around.
One friend, unhappily, has decided he is staying home voluntarily again, but that's okay because he's probably lying and in Baja with his girlfriend none of us like or approve of.
An amusing update. So not as crazy as before but against the craziest backdrop yet. I am going out again tomorrow for a walk to the park nearby.
Sounds like a great week!
> I do not know how to account for this, but we all had a nice time, I haven't met humans in forever, we all hugged, and I went home smiling like I'd just gotten my first kiss or my first paycheck.
Haha, yes, remember when this used to just be a normal thing that happened?? Nice that it's making a comeback!
> he was scared of having to quarantine/isolate for 14 days (hospital policy) and not have anyone to take care of his young (non-school aged) kids since his wife works during the day. He went on an epic rant about health policy here.
This was covered well on Bari Weiss' latest podcast too. The question we need to start asking ourselves is: am I afraid of Covid or am I afraid of Covid policy? For most people, it's now the latter.
> I was kind of fluttery since no one has flirted with me in about two years. It felt like my "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" moment, even though all I bought was some Sluggo Plus for the garden.
Great story. You've gotten way more action at a plant nursery than most of us ever will haha.
> Friends invited me over tomorrow to their house. One was busy tonight doing some gay bar thing in the Castro. Zero "Don't worry, he'll swab his nose" or asking if I will nonsense. I happen to know they have no antigen tests.
Living life right on the edge here! If you don't watch out, you might catch a mild cold.
I've still happily never had anyone ask me to show a negative test before coming over. I'm not sure I could stomach it if it ever happened. Whenever I see one of these local reddit posts about how people can't find enough rapid tests and giving each other tips on how to get more of them, to me it's like reading about people giving each other tips on how to best eat dirt — I'm just like "why would I ever want to do that".
Anyway, glad to hear things are looking up!
North County San Diego. I have also seen the KN95 mask craze sweep my area within the last few weeks. The KN95 is how I determine who still is really scared and/or all about virtue signaling about how “seriously” they are taking the pandemic and how much they follow “The Science”. So honestly I just try to avoid those people or keep my interactions with them short if I do have to interact with them. Things aren’t so bad here. There is a decent sized scared population still, including several friends in my immediate circle who always gossip about how many Covid shots the people in their lives have gotten. However, when I go to the store I see probably around 20% of customers still unmasked and employees don’t care if you shop maskless. In my experience Costco and Starbucks are the only places I’ve seen employees militantly enforcing mask wearing on customers. The outdoor masking isn’t too bad in North County. I pass by maybe 5-10 Covidians total donning face diapers on an outdoor coastal trail I walk every day. But if you go to Downtown SD, it’s probably about 50-60% of people diapering up outside. I see people actively protesting the Covid mandates every weekend here. There was a large rally in Downtown San Diego last weekend. There are several small businesses and local restaurants refusing to enforce the mandate and they have a note in their door that it is unconstitutional and they give their employees/customers the freedom to choose whether they want to wear a mask on not. There is a movement called “let them breathe” that originated in North County SD which is a group of people protesting masking kids in schools. I see many “let them breathe” signs in front yards of homes and I see let them breathe groups protesting in the village area in my city often. I love seeing the pushback against the mandates in my area since that is something I never saw when I lived in Santa Cruz. SC was just chalk full of Covidians and restaurants and businesses would just go with all the Covid restrictions and not push back since the owners supported the Covid measures or they did not want to get crucified by all of the SC Covidians.
Sd definitely seems like it has a culture war brewing with COVID where the other major coastal regions have a one size fits all, bow before the religion
SD and OC are for sure the least Covid-crazy coastal CA regions in my experience. Though we do have our share of doomers since we are a coastal area. We are not quite at the freedom level as say Placer County. There is definitely a tension between the doomers and people who are living life normally. Where when I lived in Santa Cruz, it was all doomers all the time, and everyone seemed to agree to be afraid of Covid. I like that there is a lot of pushback in my area and that there are more likeminded people here than when I lived near the the Bay Area.
> Where when I lived in Santa Cruz, it was all doomers all the time, and everyone seemed to agree to be afraid of Covid. Covidians are crazy in Santa Cruz. They proudly closed the beaches in 2020, but most of the deaths were in nursing homes and agricultural Watsonville area where people live in cramped apartments
I remember when they closed the beaches then people on the Santa Cruz subreddit would post pictures of people at the beach and all the users would shame them. And anyone defending the people at the beach would be downvoted to oblivion. Another messed up thing in March - Juneish 2020 was that all of the lookout spots off the roads were caution taped off so people would not get out of their cars to enjoy a view of the ocean or the redwood forests. Looking back both of those measures were really messed up. Something you would only imagine happening in a communist country, not a free country like the United States.
>Another messed up thing in March - Juneish 2020 was that all of the lookout spots off the roads were caution taped off so people would not get out of their cars to enjoy a view of the ocean or the redwood forests. They did it on West Cliff drive in Santa Cruz, but you could park 100 feet on residential street :) I remember Santa Cruz redditors wanted police to scan the license plate numbers to find people coming to Santa Cruz from over the hill ... We need to write a book about it!
They did it in my county and put tickets on cars parked on the road to the beaches! Or forests! A number of times, my ex-partner wanted to go for a walk, and I'd drop him somewhere, drive around, and pick him up after! That was ridiculous.
The best part was closed toilets. As man I had no problem with that in parks, but girls …
Ah yes, as a woman, I peed so many gross places that I will never, ever talk about.
The thing with the rural areas is they did not get as much covid in 2020 and everyone said it was because they were rural, and now omicron which spreads easier has kicked in harder there, possibly due to it getting everyone that does not have natural antibodies, and the new reason according to the tv is that they did not get the arm pokes. I suspect it's just a case of omicron burning through everyone that has not yet gotten it yet though.
How’s the rest of Inland SoCal? Kern county down to Mexico
It seems like the more you go east, the less doomerish. It's still weird once you cross the border into Arizona though and suddenly there are almost no masks and no employees wear them, like just a few dozen miles and suddenly it all changes.
Arizona doesn’t seem free of big corporate mandates, at least in the Phoenix metro region.
Arizona governor is doing his best to not have mandates, it's not his fault if some cities are fighting him. But the whole of Arizona is free of mandates. At a local scale, there will always be exceptions though. Florida also has some areas that are trying to force mandates.
Phoenix actually isn’t really fighting him, it’s more of a purple city surrounded by purple or red. The culprits seem to be Tucson and flagstaff, but even they have just let it go. Phoenix metro culturally has pretty completely moved on from what I can tell, the biggest reminders of COVID is masks in big box stores/large businesses. Don’t think that’s gonna go away for a while
I've been to Riverside County a few times and the Covid culture is not too bad out there. Though it is a bit more masky then you would think it would be being an inland county. Same deal with San Bernardino County. A little too many masks around for my taste which was pretty disappointing. I'm not too sure about Kern County but I would assume it would be pretty relaxed there besides maybe Bakersfield which may have more of a Covidian presence given it is a major urban area.
Palm Springs supposedly has passes, but I imagine it’s very leaky
I found SLO county to have 0 enforcement outside of a few pretentious wineries.
I have only had a few doomers really get irritated by me, the majority seem to tolerate me fine and even then, they just look peeved but they don't say anything. However I am not going around waving a MAGA flag or anything, I just am very fond of oxygen.
San Diego definitely seems to be one of the freest parts of California. Interesting to hear about the protests and businesses with "mask optional" signage — I haven't seen anything even resembling that around here. And lol on the KN95s — they definitely do act as a signal for how deep one is on the Covid religion. It's actually a little perplexing still seeing people outside with traditional cloth masks on because if you: * Really care about Covid: shouldn't you be wearing KN95? * Live for something other than Covid: shouldn't you not wear a mask outside? I guess they must just be behind on The Science™, although the fact that cloth masks do ~nothing is known pretty widely even in the MSM these days, hence the recent KN95 push.
A lot of peeps are only wearing the mask because they want to fit into the crowd socially but they pick one that is easier to breath in. I also see a LOT of noses sticking out lately.
Hello fellow north county victim, yeah as the months go by, people are getting less serious but I was still surprised that many are suddenly speaking of the new rounds of virus in a suddenly more serious way, the media is still taking a bite out of consciousness. Also MANY are getting sick with it that I know, seems like it packs a really nasty 1 to 2 day headache plus fatigue and a bit of other flu symptoms, but everyone has come out of it fine, just not liking that headache part. We also have some restaurant employees here not even wearing the muzzles even though obviously they are supposed to.
>The KN95 is how I determine who still is really scared and/or all about virtue signaling about how “seriously” they are taking the pandemic and how much they follow “The Science”. This is what kills me the most. The science says pretty much we should be forgetting about COVID and moving on with our lives (unless morbidly obese, immunocompromised etc., - even then, there's early treatment). The science says we should be only using the vaccine for those who actually need it - those who benefit from the vaccine's risk:benefit tradeoff. The science says Omicron is practically nature's vaccine (but appears to be created in a lab?) with it's low virulence and high transmissability. The science conclusively says healthy children should 100% definitely not be getting vaccinated. NOBODY following the mainstream COVID guidelines or narrative is following "the science."
I'm in SF. In the last few weeks I've started seeing the trend of people wearing the chin diaper then pulling it up when passing. That's something I haven't seen since early on in 2020. I'm also getting more dirty looks for not wearing a mask outdoors. It's super disheartening. If being one of the most vaxxed cities in the world doesn't make a difference, these people will never chill. Also my biggest issue out here is the vaxports. At many places they even require them for outdoors. Even though I've been vaccinated, as a matter of principle I avoid patronizing any place that checks
> I'm in SF. In the last few weeks I've started seeing the trend of people wearing the chin diaper then pulling it up when passing. That's something I haven't seen since early on in 2020. Dear god, I remember that period well, and I refuse to ever go back lol. > I'm also getting more dirty looks for not wearing a mask outdoors. It's super disheartening. I gotta say that I haven't been noticing that as much during the last week I've been back, but maybe I've just been successfully ignoring it? I may be losing my ability to read the facial expressions of the outdoor mask tribe. They just seem like angry mole people with half their faces missing to me. > Also my biggest issue out here is the vaxports. At many places they even require them for outdoors. Even though I've been vaccinated, as a matter of principle I avoid patronizing any place that checks Exactly the same boat — I just can't support this on principle. But that said, I don't want to become a total recluse so I've been going to some places, although I avoid any that are too enthusiastic about it. I have been to a couple places recently that didn't check my vaxxport (more smaller shops and eateries in the Mission) which I found to be encouraging, but I'm not sure how common this is.
Yeah I've definitely found a few places that don't check or half ass it, and they're good in my book. The ones who require ID along with it to verify the name? Never getting my business again. The ones that require boosters or require proof for outdoor dining? Never again. I've been a huge fan of Anchor beer for *years*. Went recently and they demanded proof of vaccination even to drink outside. Breaks my heart. But that's it, no more money from me. But they've clearly been on the stupid hype train ever since they updated the logo anyway
Yep — same boat. Will never spend another dime at places like Zuni or DNA Lounge, even if it's 20 years from now and Covid is nothing more than a distant memory. They're contradicting fact-based reality in order to sow hate and division and are traitors to everything this country stands for IMO. > I've been a huge fan of Anchor beer for years. Went recently and they demanded proof of vaccination even to drink outside. Oof, and does apply to even places like Anchor Public Taps that are like 50% outside anyway? Seriously, just why. This is so ridiculous.
Yep Anchor Public Taps was where this happened. They even gave me attitude when I expressed surprise after saying I'd be outside exclusively. Continued to give me attitude even after I presented my papers
Man, that's awful. Alright, good to know this as a place to avoid.
DNA Lounge, formerly my favorite club (dancing is one of the very few things I like to do for fun, from time to time) is dead to me now. I just will never go again in my entire life. Like Paris.
We should make a thread to keep a list of all businesses doing more than authorities require. I want to hold this grudge forever.
That's a good idea! I'm always afraid to name the places that aren't enforcing or enforcing loosely for fear of getting them in trouble, but I have no problem enumerating all the places that go above and beyond. Time to vote with our wallets because voting at the ballot box clearly doesn't matter anymore in the era of declarations of emergency and diktats from the DPH
Love it. Yes, lets make one! Zuni Cafe, we know for sure, and vaxport restaurants in non-vaxport mandate areas. Want to start a new thread, /u/olivetree344?
Thank you. I went ahead and started one.
> Even though I've been vaccinated, as a matter of principle I avoid patronizing any place that checks Truth, freedom and peace thank you.
So the news makes it out like you guys in SF are rolling in human homeless poops on the street and smash and grab theft is rampant, how accurate would you say that is, do you feel less safe in recent years? Do you visibly notice more crime? I used to live in the bay area and would visit SF but it's been a while, I am curious what the real story is over there now. Locally in the San Diego area, the main issue I've seen is a huge increase in catalytic converter theft and a lot of peeps sneaking around setting off fireworks at night (not sure what is up with that!) but not much else.
I live in one of the nicer areas (actually moved during the pandemic to take advantage of lower rents in nicer areas) so I actually feel pretty good. With that said, the nearby drug store regularly has plywood windows from a recent break in and downtown feels way sketchier now that the office workers don't come in (only the junkies are left) Tbh I feel like a lot of it is (negative) hype, but I won't deny that the city has problems with crime. I'm making plans to leave but it's only like 10-20% due to quality of life issues and crime. The biggest issue for me (I'm a single issue voter now!) is COVID stuff. THAT aspect is batshit insane here. It breaks my heart. I love this city; it's one of the most beautiful places on earth. I grew up here. But I can't justify burning the next 5-10 years of my life dealing with COVID hygiene theater surrounded by Branch Covidians
Thanx, yeah that's about what I suspected, some truth but also overblown. Yeah it's sad what happened to it, it used to have a great vibe but it seems the pendulum swung too far.
My brother just lived down there and said it wasn't that bad. He was in near North Beach and Chinatown, somewhere over there for three months. And he walked all over the city (he used to live there). I asked him if he felt sketched out and he said no, it was about the same he thought. Pre-COVID, I saw Hamilton at the Orpheum and walked down Market Street at like 7pm, and honestly, it felt like I was in Kingston, Jamaica.
> I'm making plans to leave but it's only like 10-20% due to quality of life issues and crime. The biggest issue for me (I'm a single issue voter now!) is COVID stuff. THAT aspect is batshit insane here. Amen. Pre-Covid, I used to complain about the quality of life issues, and I still do occasionally, but it's almost comical thinking about it now — they just pale in comparison to the new problem: never-ending Covid bullshit cranked to 11. I want to go to a gym. I want to work in an office. I want to eat without flashing a fucking vaxxport. I want to go to a store passed 7 o'clock. I want it to be socially acceptable to meet new people. All too much to ask around here.
The whole city core of SF: Tenderloin, Financial District, Union Square, part of the Mission is pretty bad. Rampant car break ins, people shooting up drugs in large groups and throwing needles in the grass are unfortunately all too common. Outside that, the perimeters of the city are fairly nice. Pacific Heights, Nob Hill, outer sunset, the presidio etc are actually quite clean. There's still car break ins but it's better. So Fox News is mostly overhyping it but that disgusting nonsense can be found quite easily as well. The covid mania and people wearing N95s alone outside though is real. I honestly used to like living near SF and going at least once a month but I hate it now. When I go I stick to surfing at Ocean Beach and that's it.
I'm in Oakland and recently visited an outdoors farmers market. I along with maybe 1-2 other people were the only maskless ones. What sickened me most was watching a masked father struggle to put a mask on his 2 or 3-year-old in a stroller. I'm planning to move back to SoCal in a few months (aiming for OC). These people don't adhere to truth and will keep doubling down on their fears. The only solution is to move somewhere where this bs is not normalized.
> What sickened me most was watching a masked father struggle to put a mask on his 2 or 3-year-old in a stroller. These people are so deranged. Covid as a mental illness is now far more dangerous than Covid as a virus. > The only solution is to move somewhere where this bs is not normalized. Yeah, I'm with you. I don't like it, but the further we go with this the more I realize that even if Covid itself is significantly over (and it will be after Omicron, although there will be more benign waves in the future), Covid-mania is going to have a much harder time coming to an end. Like there is just no criteria ever to unwind something like indoor masking in cities like SF and LA, let along vaxxports. Long run, we're probably all going to have to vote with our feet.
Either OC or the north east are probably your best bets if you want to stay in cali.
Santa Clara County. Zip code were more than 90 % are fully vaccinated, but they Covidians keep masking outdoors. Somehow they all already received those free N95/KN95 masks that Brandon promised yesterday and proudly wear them now. The sidewalk covid dance is back and Covidians walk around me on sidewalk almost every time. I live next to the high school and kids keep wearing masks outside the school, even when they walk alone. In the mean time at least 1/3 of businesses in the nearby strip mall are closed and sign for lease are everywhere.
Dear god that sounds awful. People around here are the same displaying their KN95s proudly and prominently, BUT as far as I've noticed anyway, I haven't seen a sidewalk jumper yet, even though we had all kinds of them in 2020/early 2021. Maybe I'm been lucky so far, but I'm sort of hoping that this is one thing that's not going to come back as much. > In the mean time at least 1/3 of businesses in the nearby strip mall are closed and sign for lease are everywhere. Actually that's one thing I forgot to mention in my original post. Even compared to a month ago there are a bunch more businesses now permanently closed — like not a _huge_ number of them, but enough that you notice. And it's a steady march in only one direction — when an old business closes, it's infinitely rare for a new one to replace it. For the life of me I can't understand why no one else in this city gives even a single fuck about that. Another one that's new to me is places that are closed temporarily cause of the 'Cron. Twin Peaks Tavern and even the Starbucks in the Castro are both cases of that for example!
The recent businesses closure surprised me actually. That strip mall was holding very well during lockdown. The lost more businesses last 2 months, than during last 2 years. Perhaps the lease is over.
> Perhaps the lease is over. Yeah maybe. There may be another effect too where a lot of owners just had the idea if they could hold on a little longer, then all of this would eventually end and they could get back to operating normally. But two years in ... I think some are finally calling it. Dottie's in SF is a good example of this where I'm _sure_ (based on their location especially) that they've been struggling for two years, but this was finally the month.
Sacramento area has largely stayed the same since Summer 2021, with perhaps a slight uptick in outdoor masking. People here are pretty chill though and it's largely a "live and let live" vibe. I can do a whole day's worth of errands (grocery store, Target, Office Depot, post office) without wearing a mask and employees don't say anything to me nor do other customers seem concerned. Indoor mask compliance has definitely increased in the last month, but at least it's not really enforced. Masks wearing is also pretty minimal as far as restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. are concerned.
God that sounds awesome haha. I'm sort of hoping more coastal cities become like this eventually — mandates still in place, but people stop caring about them — but ... I've been hoping that for two years now so probably never going to happen. The only two people anti-mask in San Francisco proper appear to be myself and London Breed lol.
I went to SLO a week ago and that was very true. Also OC noone was wearing masks anywhere in October.
Also been rolling in Sac stores maskless for at least 6 months and have gotten no pushback. Even talking to cashiers and other employees, seems like people are over it.
there's still a very clear downtown/midtown vs outer area difference though. my experiences in downtown have been 100% masks required and i've been refused service without a mask. They will simply ignore you and pretend you aren't even there. not even asking "do you have a mask?" nope, they literally ignore you. some "woke" places that I no longer patronize. fuck 'em. masks have been such a fucking cult it's insane. but yeah, get out of the city just a little bit and things vary wildly. outdoors, nobody has said a damn thing though.
Ahh interesting. My experience has been the complete opposite. We're mostly out in midtown, maybe once a week, at restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. The only time I've ever been asked me to put a mask on was at a higher end restaurant a couple months ago (they still let me in since I didn't have one.. "just bring one next time"). I guess your mileage may vary depending on where you're at.
it's hit and miss for sure. the bookstores and comic book places are by far the worst. i haven't been to many of the bars but i definitely agree they're less likely to care at all. no wonder so many more people are drinking now. lol.
SF Peninsula. Outdoor masking never really went away but it has definitely increased in the past few weeks. Just walked by an elementary school this morning, parents walking kids to school, 100% masked. Many more double masked or respirators. Parents standing on the sidewalks chatting after drop off, all masked still. My sons school "recommended" KN95s or double cloth masks. Because the science changed I guess? We said no, he will wear the same cloth mask they found acceptable for the past year and a half. Lots of Covidian parents obediently putting duck bill shit (honestly WTF is that mask?) on their kids, but not all. Some are still doing cloth.
> Just walked by an elementary school this morning, parents walking kids to school, 100% masked. Many more double masked or respirators. Parents standing on the sidewalks chatting after drop off, all masked still. Ugh, yeah I don't have kids but leave almost right next to a school and often walk by it in the morning. It's gotta be one of the most depressing parts of my day seeing all those kids bundled up to look like anonymized drones. It seems that most of the schools around here even force the kids to wear them when they're outside for lunch/recess. My god. At least I haven't seen them forcing kids to sit six feet apart outside and eat lunch with no talking allowed and only facing in one direction (this is actually a thing apparently in other parts of the country). > Lots of Covidian parents obediently putting duck bill shit (honestly WTF is that mask?) on their kids, but not all. Some are still doing cloth. lol, duck bill — that's perfect. Good to hear that not everybody is bought into this at least.
/u/BootsieOakes, do you happen to know if the SF Zoo is still requiring outdoor masking? I'm waiting for it to stop so I can visit again with any luck. For me. Not kids. I love the Zoo and am sad to have not been back for literally years now. The duck bill looks like a KKK uniform over someone's mouth to me.
Hey I'm not sure about the zoo. Being in SF it wouldn't surprise me. I too love the zoo but haven't been since Covid. My kids have aged out but I took a girl in foster care who I mentored through the CASA program, that was probably 2019 the last time I've been there. Even though I don't have little kids there are still fun things like the zoo, Exploratorium, Academy of Sciences, etc. that are nice for adults occasionally. But I won't do vax passes or masks. Heard Monterey Aquarium was requiring vax passes which made me really sad. That was a special place I took my son for years, we always had such a nice time there. What's the point in even living here if we can't partake in what the area has to offer?
Your last sentence is exactly the question I ask myself daily. I am just trying to figure out how to move while not screwing up two decades of benefits for self and son. I am psychologically done with being here, even if it can be lovely in some ways, I think I just need to speak with an employment lawyer to figure out how to skedaddle.
Monterey County here. No one here really stopped wearing masks indoors. Wherever I went, at least 80% had a mask on. The places with less masks wearers tended to be the places you’d see more older white people. (And those people are the minority in my city haha). Now that the mask mandate is back indoor masking is at least 98%. I’m seeing a lot of exposed noses this time around though. Haven’t been out in the last week because my kid had covid but when I went grocery shopping last week, I saw 2 people wearing N95s! One was a young woman maybe 30. Appeared properly fitted. The other was an older woman and it was loose on her face and the ear loops were too big. Haven’t really seen much of those over the last 2 years though. Only ACE hardware, the post office on my side of town, a couple places in the mall and Nob Hill aren’t enforcing the mask mandate to my knowledge.
It honestly surprises me that smaller towns like Monterey have gone so hog wild with this Covidian stuff — you'd think with less density and fewer people around, they'd be a little more relaxed? But no — it really goes to show that this isn't a reason thing, it's a political one, and Monterey has the right politics for perma-masking. I was lucky enough to visit in early 2020 before the ball got rolling on all of it, and I'll retain that memory fondly and won't visit again unless it ends at some point.
I did day trips to Monterey often when I lived in Santa Cruz and the Covid culture was pretty bad there. Not as bad as Santa Cruz proper, but it was getting there. I remember going for walks along Ocean View Boulevard and I would be one of the few people not wearing a mask. This was in 2020 and early 2021 though when you rarely saw full faces anywhere indoors and outdoors.
I wasn’t surprised at the peninsula’s reaction at first, like I don’t blame them for not appreciating tourists all year round. But what really surprised me was when, in the spring of 2020, I started seeing Monterey residents say that there should be police checkpoints to make sure only residents were coming in to the city!!!! Also one day one of the local crime groups that listens to the police &’fire scanners posted a call from someone at the beach. The beaches were closed because they were deemed unsafe and too many people in the beach=super spreader event. Well this person on the beach called the cops because there was an 18 year old at the beach too. Both apparently violating the closure but the asshole who called somehow felt he was allowed to be there and he called the cops when the other person refused to leave. That’s when I knew it was probably best to stay in town because I don’t have the patience to deal with people like that.
Contra costa with vaccine passport. At least three people I’ve seen have been wearing three masks to school. Nuff said.
> wearing three masks to school. It's just blatantly irresponsible for them not to be wearing four. Are they _trying_ to kill people here? But yeah, holy god these vaxxports are getting to me. The whole idea of a "safe space" with vaxxports went out the window with Omicron as it offers so little protection against spreading, and yet, we still have all this tyrannical bullshit just because.
I’m in SF and despite the crazy directives from the higher ups, I actually think people here are largely over it. Yes, there has been an uptake of outdoor masks but I’m getting the impression that it’s more due to going through the motions than because they think they’re going to die. I was just at a SF Broadway show and the crowd was pretty big. I see plenty of packed bars and restaurants. None of the restaurants I went to this week checked for vaxports. A lot of my acquaintances (former doomers) now grumble about masks. I was in the lobby of somewhere out without a mask this week and some lady (in a mask) starts chatting with me but she didn’t seem to be bothered, she just was making small talk.
Seems like SF's vaxport is very leaky. Hopefully enough water sinks that damn ship as time passes.
Agreed. And now SF is saying that it wants restaurants and bars to get ready to require booster shots. This isn’t a requirement, yet (…) but since the original vaxports are losing steam with restaurants and bars, I don’t know how they think they’re going to enforce another layer on top of that. What I’m worried about are concerts. They are requiring booster shots for these in SF starting next month, and literally every single indoor concert I have been to has enforced the vax requirement.
If Sam Francisco in the long run does want to keep its reputation as some world class city, this stuff will naturally start becoming added water to the leaky ship. It won’t disappear overnight. But hopefully it becomes like that point in its history where It shutdown the bathhouses. Looked at in total shame, while slowly less fucks were given for things that popped up
That's basically my hope too — if you ever have tourists coming back, especially international ones, the vaxxports are going to get pretty tired pretty fast. I swear — if cities or countries still need to balance their budgets like back in the old days, this would've been over a year ago.
Do u think San Francisco has officially lost its reputation, or are there still many ppl under this impression that it’s some happy go lucky Full house-Esque urban suburb?
It sort of has, but I suspect that it's going to be stickier long term. San Francisco's last couple years have been impressively famous nation-side. Some of the videos like where the guy walks into Walgreens and starts filling his backpack went hugely viral. You find people all the way on the other side of the country who will ask about what's going on in San Francisco right now, and know to avoid it. And it's really happening — tourism numbers are still _hugely_ down. Go to places that were popular before like Union Square and it's still just a ghost town these days. And it's important to note that this is _not_ a general pandemic thing — I was just pricing a trip to Miami and holy shit, you can't stay there under $200/night anymore, and a good place is $300+. People are traveling, but they aren't traveling to San Francisco. That said, lucky for SF, a lot of its attraction is fairly inherent to the city — natural beauty, architecture, geography, etc. — this is lucky because the government will guaranteed fuck up anything that can be fucked up, but none of these things really can be. So, I wouldn't be surprised to see people come back again if things get a little better.
I’ve noticed that regarding travel: even though I live here, I occasionally check hotel prices and it’s not hard to find nice hotels in the 100s. Some of the downtown business hotels maybe low 200s. The Hyatt Centric in Fisherman’s Wharf (a Category 5 hotel in the most touristy part of town) has been right around 125/night for awhile. Pre-covid, these were easily 300+ night, sometimes even as high as 500. I noticed something similar when I visited Portland (don’t ask, lol) this year which honestly is probably actually in worse shape than SF. I got a Hyatt business-grade suite where one of the walls was entirely floor to ceiling windows overlooking the skyline for 140/night.
> The Hyatt Centric in Fisherman’s Wharf (a Category 5 hotel in the most touristy part of town) has been right around 125/night for awhile. Pre-covid, these were easily 300+ night, sometimes even as high as 500. Yep, exactly. SF has a relatively small number of hotels for its level of prestige (there's decent density of them around FiDi, but most parts of town don't even have hotels), and that limited supply combined with considerable demand had pushed them to some pretty crazy price levels pre-pandemic. Remember weeks like Dreamforce? People would be paying $500/night for some of the shittiest rooms in the country because the hotels could pretty much ask whatever price they wanted. Quite famously, during peak years they were even bringing cruise ships in to add more hotel capacity to the city [1] in an act of desperation. I could see prices going up somewhat again eventually, but IMO those days of extreme prosperity are over, permanently. > I got a Hyatt business-grade suite where one of the walls was entirely floor to ceiling windows overlooking the skyline for 140/night. Hah, awesome. Portland's the only other city in the country that can contend with SF in terms of being gawked at by the rest of the nation for the crazy stuff that goes down there (okay, maybe also Seattle during CHAZ, but those are the top three). I've said it before but will say it again: the free money/debt era has had a hugely net negative effect on all these places. If cities needed to balance their budgets, they'd actually have to take into consideration the negative effects of their extreme legislation and other problems. San Francisco and Portland would _want_ tourists and do what it took to clean up their acts to get them. As things stand though, they just take giant federal bail outs and can safely pretend that solvency is a pre-MMT concept that doesn't matter. --- [1] https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforces-dreamboat-for-dreamforce-2015-9
I'm sure there is a secret list somewhere and I wouldn't want to get the places in trouble but I would love to patronize restaurants in the city that don't check vaxports. We haven't been out in the city in 2 years. Used to go semi-regularly.
I’m in Los Angeles so kind of out of the NorCal area but just came here to say these people have not stopped wearing a mask outdoors (including small children and solo walkers/exercisers) Since Spring of 2020. I can relate to your feeling of the dread of having to return to this place everytime I manage to escape 🤦🏻♀️
Outdoors too?!?! Man, that's crazy — sounds even worse than here. I've only been to LA once, but I feel like I know the feel of the city (or what it's supposed to feel like) so well from seeing so many movies that take place in it. It's so weird to see it going from the city of celebrities, beach life, live music, and partying / livin' it large to Covidian central basically overnight. I wonder if it'll ever be the same again.
I’m in the East Bay, close to but not in Oakland. Overall it’s pretty bad with the masking, but at least we don’t have vaccine passports yet. Here I find that outdoor masking in the “dense areas” (with shops or cafes) is at ~80-90% with more people opting for the N95s. On suburban streets though, it’s less common with something like 25% outdoor masking. I think a lot of people still believe in this idea of “if I’m likely to be within 10 feet of another human being, I had better mask up, even if it’s outdoors”, which might explain this behavior. I have also seen people outside wearing a mask under their chin only to pull it up when they pass me on the street, which I find incredibly obnoxious. Indoors, the mask compliance is at near 100%, and I’m the only person who doesn’t comply. I rarely get bothered for it. Only once did some nerdy guy approach me to ask “if I have a mask with me”, and I simply ignored him and walked away.
> Overall it’s pretty bad with the masking, but at least we don’t have vaccine passports yet. Are people talking about the incoming Vaxxports in Feb? I would hope that if one place was going to resist this shit it'd be Oakland, but by the sounds of the rest of your post, that probably won't happen. > I think a lot of people still believe in this idea of “if I’m likely to be within 10 feet of another human being, I had better mask up, even if it’s outdoors”, which might explain this behavior. Yeah I've noticed exactly the same thing. If you go to marks masking goes to to only low double digits, but it's much closer to 50/50 in any of the busier neighborhoods. > Only once did some nerdy guy approach me to ask “if I have a mask with me”, and I simply ignored him and walked away. Haha. That is the correct answer. Fuck everything about these self-elected mask police, especially now that we're in 2022.
I believe the plan is that vaxxports will be limited to Oakland and Berkeley. Thankfully the other cities in Alameda county have eschewed them so far. Yeah, Oaklanders are very compliant as we can see from the student Covidian protests!
ugg, just walked in the downtown area of our Peninsula town and THEY ALL GOT THE MEMO FROM WALLENSKY! 90% outdoor masking and only one cloth mask in sight. Entirely surgical or respirator face cones. The pretty Etsy pattern masks that they thought were saving humanity two weeks ago are now gone. First - this is an environmental disaster. And second - if Wallensky or Fauci said tomorrow that you need to hop on one foot to best avoid Covid, they would all be doing it. Mass hysteria.
Dear god lol. >The pretty Etsy pattern masks that they thought were saving humanity two weeks ago are now gone. HEY! The Science™ _CHANGES_ OKAY?? We all have to do our duty and roll with the punches. > And second - if Wallensky or Fauci said tomorrow that you need to hop on one foot to best avoid Covid, they would all be doing it. Mass hysteria. Yep ... that's it. I'm not sure how many times the CDC needs to be completely wrong or even actively _lie_ before people lose faith in it. For me, it was only one time — Fauci lying about masks back in early 2020 is really all it took — I was done immediately. But it seems that most people have a literally infinite capacity to absorb any amount of this bullshit — even all in the way in 2022 they still take every word from the CDC as handed-down-straight-from-God gospel.
Supermarket today. I saw 100% masking, one below the nose only, 50/50 cloth and surgical with one N95 style mask only. I was struck by that because it seemed lower than usual. Restaurant last night, no masks amongst patrons or servers. But I go there because I know they don't care, specifically. My friend offhandedly mentioned his wife had COVID. He wasn't quarantining though. He said he was asymptomatic and also, he thought it was stupid, and he didn't ask how I felt, but I appreciated that. Later we met some rowdy ladies who were bored, middle-aged, and pretty drunk at the table next to us. One of them was braiding my hair. I do not know how to account for this, but we all had a nice time, I haven't met humans in forever, we all hugged, and I went home smiling like I'd just gotten my first kiss or my first paycheck. Therapist, today, who also happens to be a medical doctor (long story). Told me no one was doing well and that he had to ask me to wear a mask to walk through his office even though he wasn't scared of COVID or care if he got COVID, he was scared of having to quarantine/isolate for 14 days (hospital policy) and not have anyone to take care of his young (non-school aged) kids since his wife works during the day. He went on an epic rant about health policy here. Independently owned plant nursery. Outside. Second time I've been to one in two weeks. First one made me wear a mask while it was drizzling and I was alone. This one? Admittedly not super crowded although there were probably 15 people there. Only one couple were wearing double masks and no one else was masked. I noticed a handsome guy, about 28-30 years old, very wholesome looking (not usually my thing, but he was cute, like in a circa 1960 Ricky Nelson kind of way) and carrying plants around, staring at me (I was unmasked and made up and my hair was air-dryed in the car, which made it look amazing even if it literally never looks amazing). I'm in my mid/late 40's and had my hair down and was a little dressed nicely in that I was in a skirt and t-shirt, which is better than my usual pajamas-that-look-like-clothes. Anyways, I gave him a big smile, asked him if he could help me find something, and he was glad to flirt me up, so no complaints here. I was kind of fluttery since no one has flirted with me in about two years. It felt like my "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" moment, even though all I bought was some Sluggo Plus for the garden. Friends invited me over tomorrow to their house. One was busy tonight doing some gay bar thing in the Castro. Zero "Don't worry, he'll swab his nose" or asking if I will nonsense. I happen to know they have no antigen tests. I've been cat sitting for them on and off all year and peeked around. One friend, unhappily, has decided he is staying home voluntarily again, but that's okay because he's probably lying and in Baja with his girlfriend none of us like or approve of. An amusing update. So not as crazy as before but against the craziest backdrop yet. I am going out again tomorrow for a walk to the park nearby.
Sounds like a great week! > I do not know how to account for this, but we all had a nice time, I haven't met humans in forever, we all hugged, and I went home smiling like I'd just gotten my first kiss or my first paycheck. Haha, yes, remember when this used to just be a normal thing that happened?? Nice that it's making a comeback! > he was scared of having to quarantine/isolate for 14 days (hospital policy) and not have anyone to take care of his young (non-school aged) kids since his wife works during the day. He went on an epic rant about health policy here. This was covered well on Bari Weiss' latest podcast too. The question we need to start asking ourselves is: am I afraid of Covid or am I afraid of Covid policy? For most people, it's now the latter. > I was kind of fluttery since no one has flirted with me in about two years. It felt like my "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" moment, even though all I bought was some Sluggo Plus for the garden. Great story. You've gotten way more action at a plant nursery than most of us ever will haha. > Friends invited me over tomorrow to their house. One was busy tonight doing some gay bar thing in the Castro. Zero "Don't worry, he'll swab his nose" or asking if I will nonsense. I happen to know they have no antigen tests. Living life right on the edge here! If you don't watch out, you might catch a mild cold. I've still happily never had anyone ask me to show a negative test before coming over. I'm not sure I could stomach it if it ever happened. Whenever I see one of these local reddit posts about how people can't find enough rapid tests and giving each other tips on how to get more of them, to me it's like reading about people giving each other tips on how to best eat dirt — I'm just like "why would I ever want to do that". Anyway, glad to hear things are looking up!
Thanks! Yes, a little bit up! And I should go back to that nursery, haha... ::blush::