
The Exile of the Bohemians - yirgacheffe
http://read.maintainradiosilence.com/radiosilence#issue/6190/article/~xz9
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amateurpolymath
"There is no room to expand without replacing something that’s already there.
Since few of the Victorian residences that give the city its character are
taller than three stories, housing is perpetually in short supply."

The problem isn't yuppies, it's zoning.

San Francisco residents and municipal government are more interested in
preserving old buildings than increasing housing supply, then complain that
prices are going up? Well yeah, Supply < Demand.

In Miami, we had a similar problem: the booming financial industry brought in
yuppies that threatened to displace the Cuban immigrants that give the city
character. So the city simply turned the area around the financial firms
(Brickell) into a bunch of fancy high-rises.

I'm sure there were plenty of cool old buildings in Brickell. But the
municipal government compromised and Miami is better for it.

[1] [http://marketurbanism.com/2015/04/20/travel-update-a-tale-
of...](http://marketurbanism.com/2015/04/20/travel-update-a-tale-of-two-
latino-areas-in-miami-and-san-francisco/)

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Animats
Just as I'm reading these comments, I get a text from a bohemian friend about
the SF How Weird Festival, which is happening today in SOMA, on 2nd St. She,
however, had to move out of SF several years ago. and is now in Oakland.

SF's art and music culture has a long history, but hasn't been very good
since, maybe, the 1960s. It's too non-judgmental. In NY, they tell you if you
suck. In LA, they don't call you back if you suck. In SF, nobody says anything
and you can suck forever. The SF scene is a hotbed of mediocrity. I know
people from SF who made it, but they left SF to do so.

There are still artists doing cool stuff in the SF bay area, but they're more
spread out now. Big projects are at NIMBY in Oakland or the Richmond shipyard.
There are still art studio complexes in the Dogpatch area of SF, in old
industrial buildings. Most of them are cranking out art good enough to sell,
but not great art. It's a job, not a scene.

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gyardley
Of all the people to hand-wring about, the bohemians are the last we should
worry about. They will relocate, but they will be fine - and they'll bring
whatever benefits they bring to areas that need them a lot more than cash-
flush cities like San Francisco or Manhattan.

Not that I agree with the authors that bohemians are what make a city
desirable to wealthy yuppies (like, if we're being honest, myself.) I suspect
we both like the same things about higher-density cities while mutually
disliking each other.

~~~
mrrrgn
On the other hand, I moved to the Bay Area in 2013 to work for a big famous
tech company and I was utterly disappointed. Earning a high income was no fun
because I was trapped in a city full of type-a, over-achievers, who only
wanted to talk about work. The people who I most enjoyed hanging out with were
financially struggling and on their way out.

Cheaper places allow for more diversity, which creates a healthy and vibrant
culture. The Bay Area feels sick to me; like something from a William Gibson
novel. I left after a year and will _never_ live there again if I can help it.

~~~
spiritplumber
Yeah, I'm looking into moving to Austin. Even work-wise, conversations have
gone from "What are you building? Nifty, how does it work? Thanks for the link
to the schematics" to "What are you building? Nifty, who's funding your
project? Ah, nobody? I'm sorry".

~~~
ido
Funny I hear the same things from friends who left Austin to Pittsburgh :)

I wonder where the Pittsburghers move to when Pittsburgh's too expensive/no
longer cool?

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spiritplumber
Area is colonized by poor people who by necessity develop a subculture that is
adept at surviving in that area with little means.

Hipsters follow poor people, add to the subculture, making it a bit quirkier
and interesting.

Rich people follow hipsters, kick everyone else out by raising rent too much.

This has happened before and it will happen again.

What's the next step?

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davidgerard

      Hey dude, don’t make it bad
      Take a sad suburb, and make it better
      Remember to let it into your heart
      We need your art to make it better
    
      Hey dude, don’t be afraid
      Move into this low-status neighbourhood
      The minute you walk around looking hip
      Then you begin to make it better
    
      And every time we raise the rent, hey dude, relent
      You carry investments on your shoulders
      Enthusiastically organize events
      And decorate retail strips with posters
    
      Hey dudes, don’t let us down
      We allowed you to rent our suburb
      The minute you open up a cafe
      You start to drive our house prices upwards
    
      We let it out so you move in, hey dudes, begin
      Exhibit your work in this old warehouse
      Don’t forget to spread the vibe among your tribe
      Then we can convert it to a sharehouse
    
      Hey dude, don’t you delay
      Get creative in this old neighbourhood
      The minute the area’s looking hip
      We’ll throw you out, and rent it to bankers
    

[http://spill-label.org/nw/lyrics/heydude.html](http://spill-
label.org/nw/lyrics/heydude.html)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev5abK63DGE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev5abK63DGE)

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dredmorbius
Page fails to render without JS.

Flagged.

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sehr
_If you flag something, please don 't also comment that you did._

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

~~~
dredmorbius
Point.

Though feedback to the submitter regarding site issues seems useful.

One element I've long thought would be useful for user-curated content sites
is the ability to distinguish between editorial comment (that is, concerning
the suitability of articles) and discussion. I've seen few if any sites making
that distinction.

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jkot
Bohemia is actual country in Europe, but I understand the mistake, it is
fairly small. It only has 7 millions citizens and 2000 years of history.

~~~
DominikD
It's part of Czech Republic.

