I’ve lived in some real shithole parts of the rest of the country and visited plenty of others, absolutely nowhere has been as outright dystopian as the SF Bay Area
The SF Bay area is one of the nicest natural climates in the world according to common preferences - stable temperatures with the extremes around 11°C and 27°C, rarely rains, but still wet enough that there’s greenery, bay and mountain views.
It is completely covered in asphalt to accommodate low density car infrastructure.
There’s an arid area, and some nice mountains (okay not super tall but styll). Video game-ass biome overall, like I wonder if it became techbro central because it has the same design as a generic open world game.
Unfortunately the real answer lies somewhere in a 700-page book by Malcolm Harris. But basically it’s techbro central because California is a uniquely fucked place, unlike anywhere else in the world
Generic open world games came after the bay area lol. There’s probably still a cause and effect relationship there though, just the other way around. Same as why all the planets they visit in Star Trek look suspiciously like the Californian desert with a color filter.
It’s incredible how the Bay Area sacrificed any culture it had at the altar of big tech, and seems to have gained no benefits. All it has is a homelessness crisis and infrastructure that, while passable, is in pretty dire condition for a city with a GDP close to like the entirety of Canada.
Last time I visited SF, there were so many moments of “wow this is a poignant visual metaphor representing this hellscape”. The one that stands out most was cryptocurrency billboard above unhoused people in front of a store where they automated out all of the customer-facing workers
I’ve lived in some real shithole parts of the rest of the country and visited plenty of others, absolutely nowhere has been as outright dystopian as the SF Bay Area
The SF Bay area is one of the nicest natural climates in the world according to common preferences - stable temperatures with the extremes around 11°C and 27°C, rarely rains, but still wet enough that there’s greenery, bay and mountain views.
It is completely covered in asphalt to accommodate low density car infrastructure.
There’s an arid area, and some nice mountains (okay not super tall but styll). Video game-ass biome overall, like I wonder if it became techbro central because it has the same design as a generic open world game.
Unfortunately the real answer lies somewhere in a 700-page book by Malcolm Harris. But basically it’s techbro central because California is a uniquely fucked place, unlike anywhere else in the world
Generic open world games came after the bay area lol. There’s probably still a cause and effect relationship there though, just the other way around. Same as why all the planets they visit in Star Trek look suspiciously like the Californian desert with a color filter.
Too cold and the days get too short in winter
accept tradition, return to equator
It’s incredible how the Bay Area sacrificed any culture it had at the altar of big tech, and seems to have gained no benefits. All it has is a homelessness crisis and infrastructure that, while passable, is in pretty dire condition for a city with a GDP close to like the entirety of Canada.
Last time I visited SF, there were so many moments of “wow this is a poignant visual metaphor representing this hellscape”. The one that stands out most was cryptocurrency billboard above unhoused people in front of a store where they automated out all of the customer-facing workers