And how is San Francisco different from Chicago? CTA/RTA is experiencing some financial strain from declining ridership, but problems seem to relate more to finding employees. And office space vacancy hasn't made the news.
I think that the basic problem is that San Francisco is physically small. The emptying out of office buildings in San Francisco is probably better compared to Manhattan; and in recent years the concentration of "high tech" businesses in San Francisco and nearby exurbs like San Jose has been extraordinary. ---Alan
But the article says there are now more high-tech jobs in San Francisco than before the pandemic. And in thinking aoubt office vacancies I was mostly focussing on the still smaller Loop and near-Loop areas. Maybe the point is that more and more people are choosing to live in the Loop and adjacent areas. But why not in San Francisco?
I suspect that with high tech jobs more people now work from home. Root*Center*Son works entirely from home ... goes in for a meeting maybe twice a year.
Even good-paying jobs are not sufficient to buy a house in San Francisco; cooperative ownerships of various types have long since evolved. Several years ago I was chatting with a senior deputy district attorney in Oakland (across the bay from San Francisco) and he said that because of the increase in property values newly hired DDA's couldn't any longer afford to live in Oakland--which was long a low-price exurb of San Francisco. People with what ought to be very decent jobs--municipal employees, nurses, physicians, police, firefighters, teachers, etc., not infrequently have multi-hour commutes; some rent cooperative apartments closer to work and only go home on weekends. Many of the Black citizens of Oakland have been forced out. And that isn't the half of it. In San Jose the school district has built subsidized housing on school grounds for teachers. ---Alan
Vacant skyscrapers, empty trains: can San Francisco once again reinvent itself? [Click] I remember when San Francisco had a lot of blue-collar work and residents, with far less onerous commutes for those who worked there and lived elsewhere. And elsewhere wasn’t as far away as it has been recently.
ReplyDelete—Alan
And how is San Francisco different from Chicago? CTA/RTA is experiencing some financial strain from declining ridership, but problems seem to relate more to finding employees. And office space vacancy hasn't made the news.
DeleteI think that the basic problem is that San Francisco is physically small. The emptying out of office buildings in San Francisco is probably better compared to Manhattan; and in recent years the concentration of "high tech" businesses in San Francisco and nearby exurbs like San Jose has been extraordinary.
Delete---Alan
But the article says there are now more high-tech jobs in San Francisco than before the pandemic. And in thinking aoubt office vacancies I was mostly focussing on the still smaller Loop and near-Loop areas. Maybe the point is that more and more people are choosing to live in the Loop and adjacent areas. But why not in San Francisco?
DeleteI suspect that with high tech jobs more people now work from home. Root*Center*Son works entirely from home ... goes in for a meeting maybe twice a year.
DeleteEven good-paying jobs are not sufficient to buy a house in San Francisco; cooperative ownerships of various types have long since evolved. Several years ago I was chatting with a senior deputy district attorney in Oakland (across the bay from San Francisco) and he said that because of the increase in property values newly hired DDA's couldn't any longer afford to live in Oakland--which was long a low-price exurb of San Francisco. People with what ought to be very decent jobs--municipal employees, nurses, physicians, police, firefighters, teachers, etc., not infrequently have multi-hour commutes; some rent cooperative apartments closer to work and only go home on weekends. Many of the Black citizens of Oakland have been forced out. And that isn't the half of it. In San Jose the school district has built subsidized housing on school grounds for teachers.
Delete---Alan
Today’s General Hodges interview on Times Radio [Click] Excellent, as always.
ReplyDeleteUS seeks to fine January 6 rioters to claw back donations they raked in (under false pretenses) [Click]
ReplyDelete----Alan
President Biden had (and has) more aces up his sleeve than most people knew—and the stock market knew it. [Click]
ReplyDelete—-Alan
That is an encouraging read.
DeleteWe are seeing the difference it makes when we have a President who understands how things actually work.
Competence has a lot to be said for it. Historically Mr. Biden has been too far to the right for my tastes, but I have been coming around.
Delete---Alan