I'm a big fan of VICE magazine. They're smart provocateurs that sport good robust prose and interesting perspectives. I even thoroughly enjoyed a recent article on their website titled "Reasons Why San Francisco Is the Worst Place Ever." Even though that's kind of old news. The San Francisco hate-fest has been a thing since the dot.com redux got going a few years ago. In fact, I think the SF-Sucks-Palooza was kicked off right here in San Francisco, by San Franciscans, circa 2010. We do like to bitch. 

As a 22-year resident of Don't Call It Frisco, let me be the first to say, hell yes, there's some truly indefensible shit on VICE's list of San Francisco things that are horrible. The rents are appalling, tech bros often do totally suck, MUNI is a travesty six ways from Sunday, BART's no better, and omfg yes, the dog and/or human shit all over every sidewalk in the city is a mortifying blight. You caught us! Good job. But you'll find that nearly every San Franciscan would agree with you on these points, even the tech bros. And we are all unanimous in our hatred of Fisherman's Wharf. (Unless you're stoned at the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum, which is actually pretty fun.)

So, I guess the obvious question is: why the hell do we live here, in this ruined city that, as VICE and others have deftly illustrated, has so obviously lost its soul? Why haven't we screwed off to Oakland or NYC or Los Angeles or Papua New Guinea or any number of less sucktastic, less obnoxious places?

We have a lot of reasons. Some of them are pretty pragmatic. For instance, a rent-controlled apartment is a big reason for sticking around. Or you have a job that's here in the shit-hole by the Bay that you actually really like. Or your family lives here. Or you like the lack of prolonged extreme weather conditions. Or your best friends live here. But there are dozens of other more rhetorical reasons. Like, the bartender at the bar you've been going to for ten years knows exactly how you like your martini. Because you love fog. Because when the temperatures top 70 degrees at night the whole town just goes delightfully ape-shit and parties, school nights be damned. Because Green Apple Books is here. Because while you cringe at the words "cocktail program" you're delighted you can get a decent sazerc at numerous bars in the city. Because you love watching people fall off a slack line in Dolores Park. Because you enjoy living in a place where it's expected that you have a rabid opinion about burritos. Because you love a waft of pot smoke in the financial district on a Tuesday morning. Because you can get into the Botanical Gardens for free. Because parklets are cool. 

And yes, I have fond memories of the good old days when Zeitgeist was a motorcycle dive bar instead of a club house for the tech set. When North Beach was a lively enclave of local color, seedy strip clubs, dive bars, and Italian restaurants instead of a corporately sponsored bridge-and-tunnel playland. When Haight Street had Recycled Records and the Anarchist Bookstore instead of dress shops and fancy shoe stores. When SOMA was full of artists and musicians instead of tech startups. When Hayes Valley was a working-class neighborhood instead of a high-end shopping district.  And, yes indeed, before the reclaimed wood and the Edison bulbs and the cocktail programs, before the drip-to-order coffee and the artisanal pastries and celebrity chefs, before the modern high-rise condos and the advent of the fixie, when NoPa was still the Western Addition, this town was totally great, it's true. It was soulful and vibrant and full of life. It was goddamn Shangri-La, and any self-respecting long-time resident misses all that terribly. 

Because, boy howdy, SF has changed, for certain. Because, you know what? That's what cities fucking do: they evolve. And it's got a lot of serious  problems that have resulted from the current evolution and the combined effects of past evolutions. But that evolution is why we live here and not in Moraga or Castro Valley or in some sad, sparsely populated red state that's still under six feet of snow. City dwellers dwell in cities because the scenery changes. We can't pick and choose the changes. We can only enjoy the changes that are good, and work to fix or learn to tolerate the changes that aren't. 

San Francisco is, horribly, no longer an easy or affordable place to live for anyone making less than six figures (unless you've got one of those aforementioned rent-controlled apartments or 50 roommates). The issues underpinning this reality must be remedied—as those issues of income inequality, poverty, the demise of the middle class, and all that other crucial shit must be addressed across the country—there is no denying that. But in the meantime, those of us who do still live here should enumerate our blessings with great enthusiasm. We are some lucky fuckers, dog shit and MUNI notwithstanding, because San Francisco still has its Shangri-La sweet spots and Utopic moments. You just need to know where to look, because they might not be where they used to be.

So, maybe, VICE  just didn't have the right guide. Or maybe we all don't need to take part in the cynical hate orgy all the time. Let's not forget to smell the fucking roses, or whatever, and take comfort in the fact that as soon as the Big One hits, the rents will finally go down. Maybe.