Only visited for a few days for a conference, but I think if you live there you may have become desensitized to the situation. It's really really not normal to have all the stores boarded up and security guards at the entrance. It's really not normal to be outnumbered by fent addicts nodding off on the street. The worst vibes of any city i've ever been to in my life (Including many people would describe as shitholes). This is so messed up to everyone who hasn't been beaten into acceptance of it

My wife and I have lived in SF for over a decade and I go to the Fitness SF next door to this building at least twice a week these days. We can all play this game where we try to pretend that this area is really nice to people not from here.

But what that guy said was "the street scene is very bad in that part of SF." and he's dead right.

I love this city, but misleading people on the Internet is not right. Tell them the truth. I've lived here as long as I have because I think the benefits outweigh the pains. But not because there are no pains.

SF has had some cleaner parts - including north parts of Embarcadero, Presidio, etc. but the center and Market St. areas can be pretty scary to a person who's not used to it. As a large ugly dude, I didn't really feel _that_ threatened there, even if a bit uneasy, but I can only imagine how, for example, a woman would feel navigating it, especially at later hours...

Statistically speaking, women are almost never physically attacked by strangers, it is almost always someone they know.

Men are attacked by strangers at a much much higher rate than women are.

I would also say woman fear strangers much more than somebody they know.

Maybe what’s the reason they can avoid getting physically attacked by strangers better than men.

I'm not sure what your point is to be honest, are you saying women are safe in that area at that time of night because of global statistics?

"I didn't feel that threatened, but I can only imagine how X group would feel" doesn't make much sense if X group is actually at a lower risk.

I don't know if they're right at all, but the point seems pretty clear. And they're not saying anyone is safe.

I am nobody important living in rural middle of nowhere, but visited SF twice for work, and it was the most horrific city I have ever been to. I am a big man and didn't feel very safe.

About 20 years ago I was visiting SF for work and, in a moment of weakness, let someone else book me a hotel - they booked me into a rather rough hotel on Geary. When I got into a taxi at the airport the driver said "Do you really want to go there?".

I don't know what you know, but one thing you apparently don't know is that Twitter HQ is nowhere near the Embarcadero.

I visited Fisherman’s Wharf last year after dark and it was pretty poorly lit and not that clean. Maybe for a company where employees are expected be “extremely hardcore” (i.e. long hours) that is a consideration.

(Although if you’re truly hardcore you don’t care what the street looks like, you sleep under your desk.)

This is disingenuous. Twitter is located in Civic Center, which is a different neighborhood. From the ferry building at the Embarcadero to Twitter HQ is about 1.8 miles away, or 3 BART stops.

Given the density of SF and how quickly spaces can change you cannot realistically compare the two.