"The city knows better than anyone that technology companies like having things their way, whether it be taxes, transport or lifestyle."
Since moving to San Francisco from NYC, I have realized that almost everyone in SF likes having things their way. It's not just the tech companies, it's a pervasive attitude.
This is why people will wait in line for an hour to get "the best" ice cream.
This is why people complain when it is slightly too chilly to have a completely pleasant bike-ride every single day of the year.
This is why people will wear t-shirts and shorts to business meetings.
This is why people get upset that their neighborhoods are being gentrified, and fight to keep low capacity charming housing.
By comparison, in NYC, I was accustomed to there being a higher level of acceptable shittiness, randomness, and contingency for everyday things.
Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy the fierceness to which SFers are dedicated to setting up their lives exactly according to preferences.
The negative side arises when people stop getting their way. There have been handful of times that I have seen this happen, and the veneer of California laid-backness peeled away, and people get pissy about things that I would consider an overreaction.
I'm not saying that this is true of everyone in SF. I'm just saying that I've observed this phenomenon more frequently since I moved here.
Since moving to San Francisco from NYC, I have realized that almost everyone in SF likes having things their way. It's not just the tech companies, it's a pervasive attitude.
This is why people will wait in line for an hour to get "the best" ice cream.
This is why people complain when it is slightly too chilly to have a completely pleasant bike-ride every single day of the year.
This is why people will wear t-shirts and shorts to business meetings.
This is why people get upset that their neighborhoods are being gentrified, and fight to keep low capacity charming housing.
By comparison, in NYC, I was accustomed to there being a higher level of acceptable shittiness, randomness, and contingency for everyday things.
Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy the fierceness to which SFers are dedicated to setting up their lives exactly according to preferences.
The negative side arises when people stop getting their way. There have been handful of times that I have seen this happen, and the veneer of California laid-backness peeled away, and people get pissy about things that I would consider an overreaction.
I'm not saying that this is true of everyone in SF. I'm just saying that I've observed this phenomenon more frequently since I moved here.