Time Out’s annual list tiering the best large cities in the world to visit (or live in) see SF on it… yet again.
Conservative media’s fixation on San Francisco and the reeled, clickable detritus they spin up like carnival cotton candy deserves a dissertation. To dedicate so much energy to confabulations and overarching fears onto the most vulnerable among us is an albatross — especially to those who live in the 49-square-mile slice of Northern California.
We know San Francisco is one of, if not the best city in the country… and the world, for that matter. Recently, Resonance Consultancy ranked the World’s Best Cities, and San Francisco slotted it into the #7 spot out of 270-plus global cities analyzed. And now, Time Out has included San Francisco in its wrap-up of the best cities to visit in the world for 2024.
“What makes a city great? Some would say it’s all about buzzing neighborhoods, affordable food and drink, and a mighty selection of things to do, from art galleries and museums to live music and theater,” reads an article by the international online magazine. “Others might highlight things like the happiness of its locals, access to green space, and strong community vibes.”
To create its list, Time Out factored in “all that and more,” when surveying city-dwellers around the world to tell us what it’s like to “live, work, and play in their hometowns right now.”
Despite San Francisco’s unsubstantiated doom loop narratives pedestaled by F*x N*ws and, ironically enough, the fear-mongering pieces that populated the San Francisco Chronicle’s home page in recent years, the seven-by-seven still ranked among the top 50 cities in the entire world, coming in at 37.
Per lovely human, incredibly talented journalist, and former EIC of The Bold Italic (when it was good), Clara Hoga, although the “office-heavy Financial District” remains noticeably less bus than it did in 2019, the rest of the city is “alive with a palpable energy that harks back to the pre-2020 glory days.” Previously, Time Out named San Francisco *the city* to visit in 2021 — a decision based on SF’s still intact “progressive ideas, inclusiveness, and innovation.”
As for transients, San Francisco has more to offer than just the tourist trap that is Fisherman’s Wharf, According to Hogan, SF has “all the makings of a perfect vacation,” courtesy of its unmatched gastronomic weather, temperate weather, and proximity to gorgeous makings from Mother Nature; San Francisco iconoclastic neighborhoods and it’s rich, diverse history only add to its allure.
Moreover, San Franciscans remain hopeful that the city will only continue to thrive as the years go on; Hogan’s piece highlighted that nearly all locals surveyed — “98 percent of San Franciscans,” to be exact — say the city delights them.
What’s the opposite of a doom loop? Maybe it’s a lively ladder? We’ll go with the latter, no doubt.
