SF has worked at getting rid of the homeless these past few years, from opening additional shelters, to decreasing cash payments, to shipping them elsewhere. The mayor has been pretty roundly criticized for his tactics, which have been heavy-handed at times (rolling into tent cities with garbage trucks and "heavies" and getting rid of everything in sight). It's done a great job at pushing the problem underground, but no so well at solving the problem, or at least helping the people out. Only time will tell if this has any long-term impacts on the core problems...

My experience with the homeless in SF has been that most of them are totally mentally ill, and the rest are totally entertaining. I'm sorry, but people just don't want to sleep in a doorway just because they want to get drunk or high and not have to work. Where is a crazy homeless person supposed to go? A state hospital? Nope they're closed. Jail? A lot of them are already there. On the street? Yep that's about it.
Having said that, I don't know if SF has gotten better or worse, since I haven't been up there in years, but I do remember last time I was there watching Lance Armstrong, they were doing lots of new construction near the convention center area. I do miss SF. I'll have to make a trip up there soon. I absolutely love the cultural diversity it offers. Everything from a nasty punk show to the Opera or ballet. The SF MoMa is a really cool museum too.

How many of you have actually lived in San Francisco? I lived in the Mission for a year and half, in the 90's and loved it, it is a great City. I have encountered more pan handlers in Bakersfield in less time.

I bet you miss the killer burritos anon. I can't remember the name, but there was one shop in the Mission that you could just point to what you wanted they would roll it up and it would come out the size of a small baby. Mmmmmmmmm. There isn't anywhere like it here.

I lived there for a year and a half, worked there for many years including three at 6th and Market.  Haven't been back in a while, but I hear the city has moved the homeless out of the major streets.  Guessing the tenderloin is still just as bad as ever though.
Speaking of entertaining, there was this time, I was walking down 6th street, and there was a pretty heavy set guy, totally naked, who was, I'm not kidding, looking for his ***** saying "Where did it go?  Where is it?" and reaching down in the general area.  Now, I'm generally not one to make fun of people with obvious problems, but I still laugh thinking about that.  I called it in when I got upstairs to my office.  Ah, San Francisco.  If I ever decide I don't want to go into politics, I could write a book.

With massive growth and changes to San Jose and the South Bay , "The City by The Bay" had no chocie but to clean up or lose businesses. And with THE CITY being one of the most expensive places to live perhaps the transits hit the BART and headed out of town? I know San Jose, where I was born and raised, is over crowded and has too much traffic and it seems al the cities in the South Bay have merged together as one. No longer are there field, diaries and family ranches and farms on the out-skirts of the the towns. You no longer can tell when one city ends or begins.
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AHHHH.. I do miss that late trips to THE CITY when ever my friends in I got in the mood to enjoy an foggy autumn evening there, but I am glad we are in the Shafter/Bakersfield area. It's a nice place to visit but not raise a family or live stress free