For many people around the world, the city life is a good life, if you’re lucky enough to afford it. Spending your day wandering in a daze, taking in the scene of the overbearing buildings staring down at you as you walk past them. Maybe you decide to catch a ride on the cable car from Market Street, and make your way over to Pier 39 to take a walk by the water. Maybe you’ll partake in watching the mass spectacles of the street performers begging for money because they can barely afford the city rent. I don’t blame them I mean, who can really? But that’s the city for you. It is full with diverse cultures, quaint little shops, grand sculptures, magnificent architecture…ahhh yes the lovely architecture. If that’s what you aspire to create, San Francisco is the place to be. It is an absolute dream, a must go destination stop that you never want to leave, unless you actually live there. It is often easy to forget the alluring nature of the city when you need to get anywhere by car. Going to work is an absolute nightmare. I sit back watching the unavoidable scene unravel, like it does everyday. I see the enraged faces of commuters on their way to the office, some are angry at each other, others at the lifeless thing at the end of the road. There it is, an enormous building towering over every person who walks under it. How is it that a giant piece of metal has the capability of creating a whole lot of chaos? Construction causing delays, roads becoming more narrow than the day
Hayes Valley is currently known for having tons of new and hip boutiques, restaurants, bars and has been recently one of San Francisco’s hotspots for art installations. Situated about three blocks away from Civic Center and about four blocks from Market, Hayes Valley offers a quiet escape for local San Franciscans who want to splurge on fine dining and clothing in contrast to other commercial parts of San Francisco filled with tourist. By no means is Hayes Valley’s commercial neighborhood only for locals, it attracts tons of tourist day by day, but in comparison to most of the other neighborhoods in the city, Hayes Valley is a modest destination t that has gone through a drastic change in the last two decades.
Famous for its Golden Gate Bridge, street cars traveling up and down the hilly city, and a haunted prison abandoned on Alcatraz Island, San Francisco is a city unlike any other. San Francisco during the early 1900s, too was a great city. It was on the rise from the gold rush and a fairly new transcontinental railroad that connected the growing western city to the rest of the united states.
San Francisco is one of the most urban cities in the world. This means that there are hundreds of people on the streets that are trying to get coffee, work, or go to fisherman's wharf. Not to mention the increased risk of being mugged or having to confront a homeless man on the streets when you yourself are just scraping by because of the high cost of living. Another Anecdote Solnit uses is her time in Berkeley, she recalls the parking lot of a outdoor equipment store during Christmas season saying the parking lot was “full of drivers idling their engines wand waiting for a parking space.” Berkeley, like San Francisco is also another major city but east of the bay.
In the reading, “McTeague,” by Frank Norris, a dentist named McTeague watches the day to day lives of San Francisco’s various laborers through the bay window of his Dental Parlor. McTeague noticed that the street was always occupied by people with different kinds of people at specific times of the day. Since San Francisco is described as full of energy because of the people in it, it is inferred that the city has a personal, tied connection to its inhabitants. Frank Norris portrayed the city as full of liveliness and excitement to showcase how San Francisco itself is its own main character with human-like characteristics, ultimately suggesting that capitalism makes a city thrive.
As one drives up the California coast, they will begin to notice several things. First, the general atmosphere shifts. The further north they travel from Los Angeles palms and golden beaches, the cities begin to lose their positive, sunny vibes. They go from beach villas to industrial apartments to suburban neighborhoods to run down harbor towns. The positive emotional vibrations emitted from such architecture slowly surrenders its grip on its surroundings to a grim, hopeless one. As new, booming cities fade into sleepy and ancient villages only occupied by drunken sailors and lost tourists, the traveler will soon realize they are in a much less pleasant place as where they originated their journey.
From a tourist perspective, San Francisco is gold, but beyond the golden hills and the high amount of bays are a boatload of issues that are not obvious by just looking at pictures. For one, there is an obvious difference in the poor and the rich and, by obvious, I mean there are people sleeping on the same sidewalks the rich have their Porsche parked. This is mainly due to the gentrification that goes on in San Francisco. Gentrification is the process of buying and renovating homes and businesses in an area to suit the taste
While explaining his new daily routine, he expressed his views on the city, “I began to like New York, the racy, adventurous feel of it at night, and the satisfaction that the contrast flicker of men and women and machines give to the restless eye” (56). When he says this, his tone is a tinge of sadness but mostly acceptance. It doesn’t seem to affect or bother him that he feels solitary in a big city. He admits that he feels lonely, but he also believes other people in New York feel lonely as well. Showing that even though a big city can be exciting and filled with opportunities, it’s not always as grand as people make it
In 2014, I, following my mother, moved to US as an immigrant. Everything was different. San Jose is the first place that I live since I came to the US. It is a crowded city, with the population is about one million. I was stunned by the traffic systems, amazed by those crowded avenues. The typical weather is dry, hot and windy. I love seeing the grasses, on the fields, or up to the mountain, wither into brown in the summer and become green after those rainy days. I love walking along on the side-walk, and watching the Acer Rubrum's red leaves falling from their branches in an Autumn evening. I suddenly realized that I loved this place as more as Duy Xuyen, even though it was pretty tough on me
While considering spending a holiday or a weekend with the family in a beautiful city, New York City should be at the top of the list. A considerable number of people get puzzled by the tall buildings, well structured highways and the well light streets when they visit for the same time. When planning a tour to New York City, one might wonder how a human being could have possibly built such tall buildings. The virtue that New York City is one of the largest cities in the world makes a person think that it is a paradise. In most cases, it is highly likely that a person who has never been to New York City could easily get lost due to the size of the city. The expansiveness of the city has generated economic gains.
One aspect that makes New York City exciting to me is the diversity of the people. I came to the United States as an immigrant and residing in New York City makes me feel as if I was home. I believe that’s how many immigrants feel when they move to New York City. The reason for the comfort is the fact that there are people just like them, in culture and in similar situations. As more immigrants reside in New York City, there is a greater mix of people that allows diversity to occur. When I lived in Chinatown, everyone spoke chinese which made me feel at home. However, when I moved to Brooklyn, an avenue down from where I live was full of Hispanics. I was different but I learn to appreciate other cultures by
We all know the big city that everyone loves to talk about and be a part of the experience of a lifetime which is Los Angeles, also known as L.A. It is one of the most known cities in California and around the world where people’s dreams come true. L.A. is best known for its beaches, entertainment, amusements, and the people around the city. It’s also known as “The City of Angels”, which is the spanish word for “Angeles”. It is the second most populous city in the United States after New York. I’ve always known L.A. as a big part of my life, being born in the city of luxury and fame. Growing up, I never knew how much of a big deal LA was until I was in high school. Being around so much popularity and seeing the opportunities that LA has brought to people was amazing to me. From the sports games, to the concerts, to the famous celebrities walking the red carpets brung so much excitement to me and I was glad to experience all of it.
As someone walks over the grates in the sidewalk, they can feel the wind rush up from the subway cars flying through the tunnels. While they continue walking down the street and looking at all the different people that they pass, they can smell the hotdogs being cooked in the food truck. In the distance, they hear a siren weaving through the congested narrow streets of this busy city. New York City is a one of a kind type of place. It is the only place in the world where so many different cultures and backgrounds are all in one place. Along with the multitudes of different types of people and cultures, New York City truly is the city that never sleeps. The city that never sleeps, New York City, is full sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and feels.
Living in America is a fantasy for a lot of people, but living in New York City is something even better, and more magical than any fantasy.
The sounds of the city penetrated the walls of the cab as we drove through the streets of Manhattan. I could hardly wait to partake in the action that was happening outside. The buildings themselves were an amazing site to behold. The buildings took on personalities of their own. Each building was bigger and more graceful than the next. When lights were added to the mix it was a dazzling combination. The city itself felt like a great big hug, and I felt overwhelmed by its power. The city allowed me to become part of it just like many others many years ago who immigrated to this awesome city. As I was looking out of the cab I finally got to see in person the sight of all sights; Times Square. The main juncture of
The city I propose as a perfect city, would be as close to an ecocity as possible, although have some differences. For example, for electrical needs, I would suggest the city have a solar power plant, but on those desperate times, energy would be bought from other electrical plants from nearby towns or states.