Do San Franciscan's Really Hate Kids? (San Diego, San Francisco: fit in, apartments, living in)

[rah]

Like always, it depends on the person, and a little on the neighborhood too (expensive, yuppified hoods are going to have more uptight people of course). I've met people who love kids and hate kids, nice people and rude people, whether on the bus or elsewhere. The whole SF being child-unfriendly thing is blown out of proportion, in my opinion.

[Mach50]

This has been discussed ad nauseam.

I'll be honest, SF and Bay Area people in general are quite intolerant of people with kids. Especially young babies and toddlers.

I have heard way too many comments like "geez another parent who can get control of their kids". Or even parents being stared at in restaurants because their kids are too loud.

I guess these people don't have kids, because it is impossible to keep a 3 year old quiet and under control 100% of the time.

[ImRandy]

Originally Posted by sailordave

No more ridiculous than expecting an infant or toddler to sit and remain silent at all times.

I guess it's a good thing that nobody expects that.

[mini_cute]

Originally Posted by City Boy

LA is more kid friendly because it's not congested like NY or SF. LA is spread out and flat and has plenty of open space.

Good point there. Also, there are a lot of people who don't think LA is a good place to raise good kids due to the superficiality, materialism, loose morals, gang culture, smog, etc.

[andyadhi01]

Originally Posted by mini_cute

Also, there are a lot of people who don't think LA is a good place to raise good kids due to the superficiality, materialism, loose morals, gang culture, smog, etc.

You mean apart from smog the other things are not an issue in SF?

[mini_cute]

Originally Posted by andyadhi01

You mean apart from smog the other things are not an issue in SF?

Those can be issues in SF as well to varying degrees, but my point was that LA is not that much better for raising kids as was suggested.

[dlyoung123]

My big pet peeve is parents who fail to supervise there kids. I am an older man who suffered a stroke. And I am always having to dodge the little snots when at the store etc. And I usually shop mid afternoon... When kids should be in school or something. Just drives me crazy at times. A little parental supervision gos a long long way!

[uptown_urbanist]

Comparing LA to SF is a bit like apples to oranges. You could compare Bay Area to LA and that would make more sense, but then there's so much variety within there that it wouldn't do much good. All that said, I found people in general far more polite and open to kids in LA than they were in (city of) SF, and people in general much, much more polite on LA public transit (whether or not one is traveling with kids). I don't think there's any real difference in terms of a good place to raise kids, though, if you're looking at the big picture.

I think perhaps one issue that SF has that a lot of other cities don't face to the same extent is that it's a destination point for so many people who are actively looking to turn their backs on something else. You get all the people who felt restricted back in whatever town they lived in, so they move to SF because they want openness and tolerance and all those other qualities that have made SF famous. Then when they arrive in the city they look at parents with kids and see them as symbols of conforming to mainstream American life, minus the picket fence. Kind of ironic, then, that it's really the parents with the kids who are the non-conformists. (sorry if this has already been stated; I haven't gone back to read all the older posts)

There are, of course, plenty of people in SF who do like kids, but I do think as a whole it's not a really child-tolerant kind of place. I've heard that it has the lowest number of kids per capita of any big American city, so maybe that's not that surprising.

[rah]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

There are, of course, plenty of people in SF who do like kids, but I do think as a whole it's not a really child-tolerant kind of place. I've heard that it has the lowest number of kids per capita of any big American city, so maybe that's not that surprising.

This is due to high prices squeezing families out though, not some mysterious aura of "kid-hate" in San Francisco...c'mon now.

[andyadhi01]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I've heard that it has the lowest number of kids per capita of any big American city, so maybe that's not that surprising.

It also has more dogs than kids and there are more dog play areas than kid playgrounds. Goes to show about the priority of the residents! Many people have become so dysfunctional and self-centered that they are comfortable interacting with animals than other humans. The fact is SF is not like a regular city. Its more like an extended vacation spot where bunch of yuppies and hipsters come to try out different styles. Some of them realize the futility of such life style and once they do, they leave the city and move on to more productive things. The irreparable social misfits stay longer and proudly display their loony ideas about life and society.