Shadowing Practice: San Francisco – What’s It Really Like Now? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Back in the day, this was millionaires.
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Now it's billionaires.
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I just want to get a pulse on the city.
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How's security these days?
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So I have a deep history with San Francisco.
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What's going on, sir?
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All these four lees.
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Wow.
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Democracy is cooked.
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That's your San Francisco shot.
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You had, like, the best of all the cultures in one spot, bro.
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It was amazing.
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Totally different world down here.
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Don't you know DUI?
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Everybody thinks that San Francisco is a bunch of sissies, but back in the day, we were all the kids of World War II veterans and blue -collar workers.
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Fentanyl is no joke, completely different.
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This is a place where really no tourists are coming.
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There's like wave after wave of people coming from the outside with an idealistic vision.
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Hold the breath if you don't want to smell meth.
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This here is a blessing for many, many people.
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good morning guys here in beautiful san francisco is it peter
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is it yeah how you doing how are you i watch
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your youtube videos okay we're starting a video right now i'm
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sorry i'll get on your way okay no no appreciate it
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how are you liking san francisco amazing amazing yeah awesome never been here before
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so beautiful place all right guys
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so today is a video about beautiful san francisco a place
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that's been in the media non -stop for the last few years.
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So today's video is about getting into as many sides of the city as we can in one day.
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I could be a crater that just shows the blight in the tenderloin
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or just show the beauty of Presidio Park or the wealthy neighborhood
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but there are many stories coexisting here at the same time and there's an overall feel.
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Is the city doing better?
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Is it doing worse?
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Where is it at?
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So let's get down there, talk to the locals, get some interesting perspectives, and get a better understanding of what San Francisco is currently like.
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Let's do this.
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Here we are, Pacific Heights, one of the nicer neighborhoods in the city.
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These houses are
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phenomenal check these out i looked on zillow you see numbers like 15 million 20 million
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this is the big money here all the way down to the bay so you'll see the streets are very clean
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everything's trimmed manicured taken care of
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so i have a deep history with san francisco first started coming here
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when I was 18 years old lived here the last stint was back in 2020
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and that was a very rough period in the city winter of 2020 2021 a lot of crime peak COVID
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and so my wife
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and I left the city a lot had to do with just quality of life issues smash and grabs, break -ins, street takeovers that,
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you know, take over an intersection, do burnouts.
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Not up here in this neighborhood, but in some areas where we lived, there'd be someone on fentanyl,
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there'd be a tent, there'd be an RV parked leaking sewage out into the street and just a bad overall environment.
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So from my understanding, that has been the absolute low point in modern history.
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Now we're four years later.
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Now these neighborhoods always stay pretty good.
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To this area here, you have no problems.
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You have no problems up here?
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You don't have problems here.
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They take care of these people.
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Most of the times when the city we're working, we come in, we get down, go to the other side of the bridge, but we never had any issues with you.
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I've been coming to the city for the last 30 years.
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30 years yeah coming back and forth
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and uh i love to see it it's a blessing that's
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great kiss me i put on a table based on from
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the table yeah yeah a lot of work you guys have
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plenty of work here yes yeah this year is a blessing for many many people
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such a san francisco shot here we have the driverless car
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coming to you in just a matter of time i mean
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you can just walk for hours in these neighborhoods taking in
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the beauty we're seven by seven miles here seven by seven miles
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but the topography is all over the place you live in
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this neighborhood you go down to the water there you can bike along the bay go to the golden gate
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which is over that way presidio park you can live quite a beautiful life up in these areas.
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You've got your hands full?
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I'm good.
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Can I ask you one question?
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Sure, sure.
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Okay.
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How is the city right now versus two years ago, would you say?
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It's coming back.
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It's coming back.
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It's the world that we're in, you know?
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That's what I believe, you know?
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If you sue the cops, who wants to be a cop?
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If you want to treat the cops more like criminals, then who wants that job?
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The city has 500 less police officers, so it's just like dog water.
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If you make it harder to do it, who wants to do it?
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I mean, it's all good, all good, but the city is different.
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These have all been clients for 30 years.
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Oh, OK.
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Yeah, but, you know, it turns over and all different.
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I've never seen this many dogs that well behaved around each other.
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They're regulated.
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You only have eight dogs in the car.
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So then if you have this many on the sidewalk, where are you going to take them?
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Anyway, have a good day.
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Take care.
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You too.
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Yeah, he was saying back in the day, this was millionaires.
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Now it's billionaires.
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And it's hard to keep employees now just because of the costs.
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Like you have to pay so much to be able to keep them in the city
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that he can't make any money with employees.
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So he's just doing it himself now.
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this is great guys there is a lot more life down
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here a couple years ago it was not looking at all like this as far as people walking out
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and about people going to work
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and this is really good to see okay first impression guys
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so keep that in mind just what i'm feeling
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and what i'm seeing this is fantastic i used to park
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my motorcycle here all the time i mean there are less cars down here it's not as busy
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but this is a big improvement i gotta say how you
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doing sir hey the city looks great oh yeah thank you
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you guys bringing it back huh well trying to keep it clean
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because it's business area you know people want to come shopping and
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that they don't want to dirt all over the place yeah
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i was here a couple years ago it didn't look like
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this no it looks clean you're doing a good job yeah
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thank you oh this is great to see the big bus is full
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union square for those
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that don't know this is the center the hearts of the
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city during the pandemic it really got slammed down here very
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hard now you can see some of the storefronts here empty
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we'll walk around some of these streets i remember what was open and what wasn't before
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the famous weston st francis you can see that's not closed see much more of a police presence
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we got this guy giving it
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so i just read in the chronicle this morning sf down
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45 000 jobs from 2019 level now a lot of these
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are tourism jobs services jobs a lot are tech jobs people
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that can move out of the city
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and you can see here versus the u .s versus california bay area
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and san francisco
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so the city got really hit hard during covid with people
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leaving town with tourists not coming it's such a big part
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of the economy there's a point i'd like to make sometimes people say coastal elites okay now
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that exists for sure people on the coast doing really well
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and sometimes talking for the rest of country
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when they don't know what the rest of the country is like
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but i do want to poke a hole in the coastal
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elites label most people out here are not elites most people
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are out here getting by they're going to their job at the western saint francis
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or could be singing on the streets or
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working in construction
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and they're just getting by getting through life raising their families doing the best they can
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so it's easy to put that label of coastal elite on places like San Francisco
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but most of the city is not that elite class.
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Yes, tons of money here that exists but it's not a fair label I would say.
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Democracy is good.
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There's a great thin line between democracy and MIT people.
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You just have to be careful how much freedom you can give to people.
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Okay.
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Okay.
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So explain that in the case of San Francisco.
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What do you mean?
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Drugs.
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That's a good problem.
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The drugs?
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How is it right now, would you say?
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End of October, 2024.
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What are your thoughts?
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I think it's getting better.
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When I lived in Morocco, the king, the previous king, it was tough.
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You'd be walking, let's say, midnight.
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Yeah.
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But I see less homeless on the streets, I got to say.
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The city bought hotels, the people in hotels, some of them don't understand.
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In the 90s, in the early 90s, when the technology started to pick up in the Silicon Valley, the housing got so expensive.
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When I moved here, I could get a studio apartment for $200 a month.
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What year did you move here?
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$79.
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What do you think about America?
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Well, it's in America.
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There's nothing like that.
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It's a beautiful place.
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You know, I wouldn't want anybody to criticize and say, you know, against this and that.
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A lot of times, foreigners can understand the country better than citizens that were born here, I think.
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Because you have something to compare and contrast against.
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It's like somebody living with his parents, right?
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He's never been anywhere.
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He's going to criticize his parents.
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He goes to high school and his friends say, oh, your parents are tough, you know, this and that.
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So he says it's the same thing.
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When people trouble, if you trouble somewhere else, especially to third -world countries, then you realize that they're lucky.
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Didn't expect this here.
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That's interesting.
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You think he's going to win?
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Yeah.
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Are you getting much love out here?
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Yeah.
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San Francisco's coming out of the political policy.
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Lots of support from locals, lots of foreigners too, but the locals are living in fear that they'll lose their job,
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that they'll get attacked violently.
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They're going to get attacked violently? For what?
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Just simply expressing their views or expressing what they see
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and just in order to be honest that there's a cost to pay.
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And so a lot of broken windows of your car, broken windows of your home are physically attacked personally.
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Okay.
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What about you?
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Do you have problems down here doing this or no?
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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The first week was intense, but after you enforce justice or what's right and you hold people accountable, it's just momentum has come and you shouldn't have to live in fear.
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This is a free country.
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You should be able to express yourself, especially in San Francisco.
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San Francisco is always the place to have whatever idea it might be, and that's acceptable.
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It used to be.
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Right, so basically...
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It got more conformist.
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Yeah, look, and if you look around, like, these places are empty.
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All of these are empty.
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What do you mean they're empty?
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It's a ghost town out here.
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Because no one wants to bring business here.
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Macy's, they're trying to get the holiday season out, and then they're out.
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You know, no more Christmas trees.
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It's just daily...
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America is great again.
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Yeah!
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Thank you!
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it used to be
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so colorful full of life here it was like almost yeah
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had like dance around people to get you know here to cross the street
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and it was uh it was just a different situation people who had integrity
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and this is right now what you're seeing today i don't know
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if you're a visitor here
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but what you're seeing today they clean this all up this
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is this is like this is it clean why visitors for
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a fleet week four weeks five weeks ago dude the track
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uh crack pipes need a heroin needles all kinds of stuff
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all over the place are you from here yeah born
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and raised uh in the bay area yeah do you love
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growing up here oh yeah dude that's what i mean it's like it's amazing
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because right here it's an international spot
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so you have like the best of all the cultures in one spot bro it was amazing
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and this is why immigration is great it boosts the economy but But there's a process to immigration, we want you to make a pledge to say,
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hey, I want to do what's right with everyone that I'm joining in a family, basically, you know, and I want to do, and I pledge to be honorable.
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And that's all it is.
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It's just like, hey, man, do you promise to abide by these simple principles?
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And if you do, then you're welcome.
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Come on, let's go.
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And if you're not, then dude, I'm sorry, tough luck, you know.
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I appreciate it.
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Thank you.
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Thank you for voting for Joe. Of course.
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Who else would I vote for?
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Are you from San Francisco?
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Los Angeles.
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Okay.
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See you guys.
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Take care.
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Okay, before those watching say you're pushing a candidate or this is a political angle on things, it's not.
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It's what I run into.
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If there's a Kamala stand, I'm going to go over and talk to that person.
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I'm going to go talk to that person
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because it's an interesting take of what's going on
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And this is a way to access people's thought processes and where culture is at.
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And if you don't like what you see, then this is not the channel for that.
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how you doing sir how's security these days pretty good how's
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the city police doing they stepping up yeah except did you
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hear what happened here right no what happened uh there was
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an attempt uh monday early morning at four uh there's three uh bunch of juveniles
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and then they used the stolen lexus i -250 to ram the door
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but it got wedged they weren't able to penetrate
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because uh sapd responded right away and then one car took off
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that way and one car took off this way at four in the morning
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so they rammed right into the louis vuitton no they weren't able to make it in
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because the car got wedged
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because the tight squeeze it was hella funny oh the doors at the door
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so it just got replaced yesterday i think so what they what they
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and then what they started to do is a good arm garden uh evening graveyard okay
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so how's business down here is it coming back a little
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bit towards our back they're happy seeing us wrong wrong way oh geez okay
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so everything's been quiet it's been quiet cool
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so things are getting better in the city way better the mayor was here yesterday
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and she was suggesting their little little speeds see those planters
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the gray planters yeah i think they want to add more
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so no cars can just benefit like
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that did they catch the guys no they're all
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that they go oh man i know man all right be
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sweet well keep up the good work thank you you have a good day yeah take care
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san francisco police cars definitely relics of the past what's going on sir
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No work?
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No work.
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No work.
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Here, here, here, here.
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Find a contact like you said.
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I'm just fighting for a decent contact.
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Room cleaners, cooks, dishwashers, servers, bartenders, bellpersons, and others who've worked here for many years.
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Okay.
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there's the driverless car with a passenger and we have a closed store here unfortunately
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this is a tourist hot spot we have the powell street
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cable car you can see there's a building there closed down
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one down here some stuff is still open how you doing
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sir is business coming back at all not really not really
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look anything all the convention don't come to san francisco they
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or somewhere else mosconi center isn't filling up no better than
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two years ago fair to say a little bit better okay
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i'm seeing more tourists to be honest okay well good luck
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with everything what's your name tony tony peter okay everyone's leaving
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and you're staying yeah all right
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and this is pretty bad here all these four lees this is the heart of the city
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what was that before i think it was footlocker or some shoe company
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so my theory with this cycle is things went down really quickly businesses tried to hang on
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they hung on many for a while
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and then left the people need to come back before the
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businesses come back the safety security situation needs to be good the tourists have to come back
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and then someone will invest in setting up a shop here because i'm sure the lease is super expensive
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wow that's close i think that was walgreens
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market street's an interesting one down there it's a bit more financial
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and up here it's always been a bit rough
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and then we're going to jump into the notorious tenderloin
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and see how that is i've never seen it good
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so i'm sure it's not now but what i'm not seeing
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or i haven't seen today are the tents on the streets that's a huge improvement sf democrat headquarters over here
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and this looks vacant down low and it's quite quiet on market street
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how things going out here boss pretty good making a video on the city okay hitting all sides What do you guys, security or something?
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No, we're out here for safety and service, pretty much.
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We're out here to make sure the community, like, people can get through, like, make sure, like, the unhoused guests and stuff don't be blocking the sidewalks and stuff, so people can walk to where they're going and stuff like that.
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Okay, so if someone's having a problem here, you call in the police or something?
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Yeah, like, we're trying to step in and de -escalate it before we even have to call in the police, but if we can't do it, we'll call in and have them come home.
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Okay, cool.
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What's your organization?
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Urban Alchemy.
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we're out here every day we keep it clean
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and peaceful for people to walk through and get to their jobs
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and everything like that yeah i don't see the tents anymore yeah no
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that uh that part stopped i'm i'm new here
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so i don't know when it stopped but it's been stopped for a
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while now they used to have a tent section for like
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the homeless to go oh yeah like on jones i believe
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yeah all right boss we'll keep up the good work thank you have a good one take care
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so if you ever see those videos from san francisco where people are on fentanyl
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or trank tents on the street most likely it's from this
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neighborhood the tenderloin this is what it is okay i remember a couple years ago tents all down this street
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and i've never seen zones look so good and i'm serious good job you guys looks good out here god bless
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I got a big speaker.
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The one that smoked all the weed that has a big speaker.
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You know who I'm talking about?
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Have you seen him?
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Ma 'am, can I ask you a question?
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Yeah.
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Jones Street's doing better these days, yeah?
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Yeah.
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Kind of.
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Yeah, it's better.
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I've been here all my life.
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Okay.
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I'm from New Orleans.
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So are you, uh, what are you?
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I make YouTube videos.
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I'm all over the country, all over the world.
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Well, put me on, because I'm an actress.
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There you go.
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okay so you're you've been here all your life ma 'am
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and i've been working here for 10 years okay tell us about john street
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and tenderloin right now um don't speak they have cleaned it up you got to get out of there
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that problem over here that's the problem
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but you think it's your song oh yeah i agree with her bunch of problems
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and go back live hi right here and eddie yeah
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so what happens
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if someone puts up a tent here now they take it
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down immediately take it down immediately like the supreme court said who does it the police
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or who's coming at at least in the city uh dpw all right
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so you guys are happy with
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that yes cool i want to continue to clean it up
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no i live right there in a new place yep that's
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your place cool yeah what's what's your name then my name is sydney sydney peter hi peter terry terry
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You're not as old, right?
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Hey, you hit me with that thing.
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Sorry.
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He's just a baby.
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I don't care about your little thing, boy.
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What are you playing, man?
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Sex phone.
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Nice.
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You're pretty good?
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Is it hard to do?
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I'm older.
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13?
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And keep on.
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Oh, you're going to be all right.
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I'm sorry.
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My son is 10 years older than you.
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He's 23?
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My son is 23.
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Keep going with that guy.
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So you play pretty well?
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I'm going to be playing at this park down here.
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Right now?
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Yeah, right now.
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I'll go with you.
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Right now.
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Is that cool?
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Yeah.
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Let's go.
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Go ahead are you recording yeah oh my god you're on youtube yeah nice meeting you ladies thank you
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hey youtube what's your name uh kalamata kalamata yes peter where
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are we going kalamata uh down to the bowdecker park this is the tenor it's the bigger cousin
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and the biggest cousin of them all is the contra bass
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and uh baritone how long you've been playing for about three
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years nice you love it i love it here i love
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it i love playing saxophone this kid i had a bad
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experience with it at first okay this kid broke my saxophone it was really bad
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because i beat him up for doing it he broke it in front of me
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because he was jealous i was playing for these girls the girls like it don't they yeah they love it
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hey how are you doing man good i'm making a video
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on the city you guys are doing a great job thank You know who I am?
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I've been scared of police my whole life.
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Yeah?
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I had to run from one.
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Why?
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I was terrified.
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I didn't know what to do.
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I just ran for my life.
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How was the encounter?
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Not good?
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Pretty good.
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He caught me.
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I jumped to him for a little bit.
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What are you filming today?
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San Francisco, the whole city.
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What's up man?
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I'm Brandon.
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Brandon, I just want to get a pulse on the city.
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I've been out of it for two years, and going from Pack Heights to here and everywhere in between.
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What do you think about the city over the last two years?
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okay i haven't been here in two years so i see it with fresh eyes it looks better
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that's the goal i'd say i'd say looks are deceiving i
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don't know what's going on underneath i don't know the crime numbers per se but like
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so i'm we're this is as you know this is the
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tenor one it's always going to be the tenor one right yeah
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we have officers out every hour of the day
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and we do our best we're outnumbered and you can take a walk
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and look for yourself but it's it's the tenderloin you know
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so it's an uphill fight a lot of locals are really
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happy you got about you guys being here thanks man yeah
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the ones i talked to appreciate you yeah i've seen some
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of your videos oh thanks man yeah it's pretty cool
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but don't be scared of them then like I said I'm Brandon
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Franco Ragusa
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and Finnegan cops are assigned to the parts here say hi
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to them they're good news great to see you man yeah thank you thanks for all thank you man thank you
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hey that's a nice park we're gonna be performing up here feast your eyes people
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it's really nice i gotta find a song
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because i can't remember the song in my head do you need the book yes sir oh yeah yeah
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That's one.
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Jingle bells.
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and that's it nice coming on tip so this is the boys
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and girls club that kalamati goes to nice little park don't you know dui
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there we go what's your take it's getting better
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or getting worse well i've been gone for four years i come out
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and i like this is worse okay
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so you were gone before the pandemic yes i come back 2022 i came out
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and i'm like it's crazy out here they're just crazy it's
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worse a lot of fentanyl a lot trank a lot
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but it looks clean on the surface well yeah
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because we got a lot more workers out here
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and i love it like you know we got the the sender line 7
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and they're the best they pick up a lot of the garbage i deal with
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so much really what's what's the worst of it
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i got men masturbating right here next to me it's disgusting
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and i'm like what the are you doing
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and he's like oh women like this i said i don't think guys would like it either
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like what do they do this like it's crazy you know what i mean yeah
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so joe i've never seen jones look
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so good seriously yeah well we keep this corner clean you know we sit here
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and we uh yeah clean it up every day i mean because
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when i come at 7 30 in the morning it's trashed
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it's the whole thing is it's tour every morning every morning
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so i gotta clean it up or i'll call 3 -1 -1
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and have them come get the guys are people sleeping out here at nights or no yeah okay
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and i tell them they break it into our toilets just
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stupid stuff i'm just like you know we got these toilets
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out here for you guys basically you know what i mean
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and just disrespect tag all over it like what the hell
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are you guys doing like you guys are just ignorant you know what i mean like
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we let them use the water hose we let them do
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you know we know how it is we homeless you know what i'm saying
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so we just let them do what they need to do why people stop letting people use their
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yeah yeah you know they'll come in the morning
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and they'll clear all the pens out you know there's still
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this tips you come in early in the morning there still is
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and they'll come
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and clean it clean it all out it's the way you
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talk to these homeless people they're gonna listen to you you understand i'm saying
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if you come at them very rude i mean they're not gonna do
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but be rude with you you know
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so it's the way you approach people is a big thing you know
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and it's like even here in the morning like okay y
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'all it ain't no party place you know i'm like okay come on man we're all
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that i ain't trying to get high on y 'all supply
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and so they'll be thinking it's funny you know what i mean
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and then they'll start getting all right sis we got you we got you you know
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so that's the way you approach them you know well thanks
493
for doing what you guys do yeah you're making it look
494
a lot better you're welcome thank you see you later nice
495
nails by the way thank you very much you making those yourself no i went to a shop
496
and she did it all by hand are you serious all by hand let me see
497
that she is the bomb it's artwork yeah whatever Whatever you want on it, she can do it.
498
If you want your own picture on it, she can do it.
499
see you guys all right guys police stations right there it's not looking good over here obviously
500
hold the breath if you don't want to smell meth and that's rough right across from the playground
501
and then literally two three blocks up this way
502
and this all stops it gets really nice like four
503
or five blocks up very expensive real estate beautiful views of the city and totally different world down here
504
if you don't know my earlier content here it's actually an improvement but still that's that's pretty heavy stuff
505
fentanyl is no joke it's really taken over our city streets
506
and i don't know what you do it's not compassion though letting people rot away on the streets
507
not keeping the tents off completely you gotta carefully put your inhale here
508
yeah that's really sad that's really sad homeless shelter of some sort you see it in
509
so much of the country it should really be issue number one
510
or two in the conversation one of the top issues at least
511
all right guys this is the mission district a lot of younger people here more of the hipster crowd
512
see there's a pretty big art presence music live music stuff like
513
that that's what it was always known for
514
so i'd say in the city we're not going to go there today
515
but more of the preppy young part of town would be
516
the marina looks more upscale for sure it's definitely a wealthier neighborhood
517
and just blocks away we're now in noe valley a nice charming neighborhood a bit wealthier
518
and we're gonna go up over the hill there over the other side of twin peaks
519
and i'm going to show you some magic some beautiful magical neighborhoods here
520
that you don't see on many san francisco videos
521
and you can live like anywhere we all live in our
522
bubbles i bet i might be one of the only people today that's gone from pack heights to the tenderloin
523
or from tenderloin to pack heights like those two worlds never mix
524
and so even in this small city of seven by seven You have completely different universes and outlooks on everything,
525
depending on your financial situation, your safety situation, your education situation.
526
It really defines where you're going to live in this city and what you're going to experience.
527
So this is West Portal.
528
This is a place where really no tourists are coming.
529
it's a world away from downtown a lot of the people
530
that live around here might go downtown a couple times a year if
531
that it's in a way a different city it's through the
532
mountain there on the other side of the tower we have the ocean behind us
533
and if you don't have to work downtown
534
and you're not into more of the city vibe then there'd be no reason to go let's check it out
535
that's tight five minutes okay and they're serious about parking
536
and sentences no joke here you'll get the ticket hello hi
537
how is west portal these days how are things crazy crazy
538
yeah back here yeah west portal is just different than like
539
the other viewers oh i know i love it it's very incestuous
540
and it's hard to leave west portal i was just saying
541
that on the camera i'm like i bet a lot of
542
people here never go downtown it's well yeah you call it going over the hill you just get stuck here
543
because there's just enough of what you need right and it's
544
and it's nice
545
and everyone knows everyone there's a big irish community that's been here for a long super long time
546
so how's this part of the city doing right now 2024
547
things getting better worse same um well i think we're doing better than the rest of the city
548
so that's good
549
because nobody ever wanted to give us the time of day
550
like the downtown people they're like no that's too far nobody knows of you guys i know
551
so you don't deal with much homelessness or vagrants on the streets
552
but not to the extent of like yeah downtown's insane yeah like especially if i can tell the I was just there,
553
so I'm showing pack heights to the tender line
554
and everything in between okay because everyone lives in their bubbles right yeah
555
so like the neighborhood like from here
556
that way yeah they're all very middle class and then like behind us saint francis woods totally different story that's beautiful
557
have you driven through yeah i'm gonna go right now yeah
558
it's like mansion it's beautiful like their decorations are really nice cool what's your restaurant okay good food 30 years
559
so like we have customers that used to come like went through here yeah
560
and they still they're like grown up and stuff
561
and like they come here for prom so that's what we know
562
that they were
563
so you still have like a really good community back oh
564
yeah totally that's awesome you take care thank you take care
565
so i got that right it's a small community feel here
566
and you don't have to go to the city
567
if you don't need to work there
568
and it's just a small 20 000 person town type feel here
569
and then you go right through the tunnel to the belly of it you were born
570
and raised here yeah what was it like growing up here
571
pretty rowdy it was rowdy fun pretty lots of sports lots
572
of partying lots of fighting lots of uh mischievousness there are not many of you locals left right like born
573
and raised here a little more most of them are out of the city
574
because when they're they all had big families in the houses in the sunset
575
which you know they were putting three
576
and four guys in a room yeah kids in a room okay well once they all grew up
577
and then their parents passed away the houses had to be split up between too many kids
578
so they sold out at least that's my that's my theory oh okay
579
and then the asians started moving in
580
and renting rooms out one at a time
581
and saving money to buy more property and ultimately they've taken over oh okay
582
so it's a combination of some people just didn't like the
583
fog in the summer i want to be in the sun
584
so they moved over to santa rosa or up to russian river
585
or down to san mateo
586
so what is it like now many families it's either old people like me
587
that are hanging on or small families with uh you know the overnight millionaire type
588
that got stock options they can afford to pay these ridiculous prices
589
or these industrious people
590
that just save save save for the last 20 years yeah bought up the property
591
while it was still good and now they're all landlords and
592
when you're growing up you're saying it was wild here yeah
593
yeah there was a group of guys about four years old in this
594
that actually had a west portal gang and they were tough
595
so okay everybody thinks that san francisco is a bunch of sissies
596
but back in the day we were all the kids of world war ii veterans
597
and blue collar workers you know
598
and this is a pretty it's from here on down to
599
the beach was a lot of big tough people who is
600
the beef between was it like the irish the italians
601
or who was it well everybody kind of had their own
602
space in those days this was the irish neighborhood basically the
603
irish catholic neighborhood with a few rich jews mixed in for good measure
604
and then uh you know you had the other side of ocean avenue was a black neighborhood
605
ingleside then you had the mission which was like mostly hispanic yep
606
and then when it then
607
when it started blending down towards the cow palace there was whites there there was always conflict there between hispanics
608
and the whites it's a really really bad people out there back in the 70s
609
when i was growing up okay and then then there was just the obvious ghettos
610
which was bayview hunters point and the western edition the tenderloin was always like it is now right
611
uh yeah
612
when you were growing up pretty much yeah where the hookers
613
go yeah okay probably worse now drug -wise oh yeah
614
because the city's let's it happen yeah the fentanyl's back
615
when i was a kid they were all big tough irish
616
cops my godfather was a lieutenant at terrabell station he was a badass this guy named bob marsh
617
so good memories yeah cool but everybody's gone now
618
and guys my age can't keep
619
that pace up we'll go into the grave soon i i've
620
lost five friends in the last two years oh i'm sorry everybody's just dying off
621
because of the lifestyle we led when we were younger i was smart i quit all those drugs when i was 27.
622
how are they i'm 65 now okay okay
623
but i can still walk around
624
and i can still do a little work on my house
625
so you know a lot of the people walking around here
626
not no i don't not now they're not here anymore yeah okay most of them are gone
627
your name pat durnell pat durnell peter santanello hey peter yeah i appreciate it pat
628
something like good and like neutral
629
and like understandable to watch introduce them to your channel i'm trying i'm trying
630
and they they love it thank you bro yeah i'm trying
631
to get san francisco right okay okay you're from here right
632
i am i grew up here yeah okay the point i'm
633
trying to make is you have the tenderloin you have pack
634
heights sure two different universes literally 15 minutes away from each other yeah
635
so to like capture the whole feeling of here is really hard it is i mean i remember
636
when i was like 18 i met a korean kid who
637
was like can you describe like say he was making a
638
little documentary yeah he's like can you describe san francisco in one word
639
and i was like i don't know like dichotomy i mean it's really extremes next to each other
640
and it always has been and
641
when i was younger like there was still a lot of homeless my mom worked downtown
642
and the tenderloin has been like that for a very long time yeah yeah
643
so the homelessness like yeah since covid things have gotten worse
644
but it it's not a new phenomenon really
645
that kind of like extremes right next to each other has
646
it's been this way a long time it's weird man it's like very
647
i don't know like the energy like not get all hippy -dippy
648
but the energy flows in a in a way like
649
when you're wandering around you just you feel it you know
650
well you you feel all the natural elements yeah the ocean
651
the breeze yeah yeah yeah the climates the microclimates i think
652
that's a huge part of that's right out here in the sunset it's a different world
653
and there are people out here who like they don't ever
654
leave the sunset like it's very people are very in small areas in world yeah yeah
655
and you have to understand like obviously there's a lot of
656
long history of like different racial groups coming together where people okay a lot of irish out here yeah
657
and the irish are very like my family's irish very insular
658
they were in ireland there were people who didn't they lived in ireland's very much like
659
that too where like there's a lot of like small distances
660
but like completely different worlds okay and it's like you're in your little tribe in
661
that area and they're yeah it might be a mile away
662
but it's like they're different we're over here it's weird
663
because san francisco is very cosmopolitan but it's also extremely local like you'll you'll see
664
that there you go super local that's how i needed to
665
say what high school did you go to what school did
666
you go to like what year it's weird there's a strong like
667
working class element here
668
and it's ice as every time i come back i see it it's still very much here
669
and so so many people think yeah it's the west coast it's elite right
670
and my point is yeah there are let's say elite class however you define
671
that sure but the vast majority of people are working hard not elite in any way shape
672
or form they're just getting through their lives raising their kids
673
like working in the shop working in the restaurant they're just in the world right no very much
674
and there's a strong conservative element here as well
675
that i think it's understated
676
because like san francisco i think has experienced wave after wave
677
of people coming from the outside with an idealistic vision to achieve some kind of utopian thing
678
so you had you had the beat movement you had the
679
hippies you had the gay movement like each decade there's the
680
tech wave there's like wave after wave of people coming to
681
seek like some you know it's like as far west as you can go right people coming out west
682
and this is like there's and you hit this
683
and you hit the fog and you hit the edge of it
684
and that's and this is where kind of like dreams come to die in a certain way you know
685
because it's like this is it
686
and then there's a people who live here i think there's a certain type of person they like harden
687
and reaction to that in a certain way you know what i mean i totally get it
688
because you're defensive of your homeland exactly yeah there's a there's this localism
689
and those waves i described are what gets what people think of san francisco
690
but it's weird because like i'm also proud of those waves too right you're also proud of like
691
that national you know that broader impact San Francisco has in
692
that regard right it's at the leading edge of many things
693
and many movements yeah
694
and here's something I've noticed I was just in Burlington Vermont
695
where I was from where I was born yeah I grew up a little bit south of it
696
and that seems in an odd sense way more sketch yeah
697
and off -balance than San Francisco right now
698
and I feel like San Francisco a few years ago yeah was really off -balance yeah
699
and so my friends here said yeah the pendulum was maxed out yeah and it's coming back yeah
700
and i feel as san francisco leading many things in the country yeah
701
that could be a good sign yeah
702
because i i feel like it seems way more well put together this trip than
703
when i lived here yeah i completely agree
704
so i mean it's way better than a couple years ago
705
if you go like terrible you should visit my aunt's bar
706
uh grandma's saloon it's like super old school uh bar
707
but terrible like
708
when i was here a couple it was terrible i mean
709
there was also i mean there were like homeless was starting to come out to this part of the city
710
which was not common because it's uncomfortable it's cold you didn't really get
711
that as much out here
712
and it was coming out here more graffiti more crime more break -ins
713
and i think it is getting it's getting better like i'm I think it's a lot nicer now and I think...
714
Thank you.
715
I don't know what's going to happen, though, you know?
716
Because people, like, my friends have been saying, like, no, this is the time to come back, you know?
717
Like, because people have been saying San Francisco is going to go the way of Detroit, right?
718
We lost the main industry, and it's going to hollow out.
719
I don't think so.
720
But I don't think so.
721
Of course, it's beautiful.
722
People always want to be here.
723
The real estate is just, like, where it is and the beauty of it.
724
It's, like, a bit of a dreamland.
725
Yeah, yeah.
726
The closer you get to that ocean, it's got that effect.
727
No, it really does.
728
I wonder yeah what the next wave is gonna be for
729
that vitalization because right now with tech it's the AI thing some people are coming here back in tech
730
because they want to work in AI AI is still you know that's the thing but
731
he's not gonna bring what's the next wave of cultural vitality
732
the reason a lot of tech people wanted to come here was
733
because San Francisco is a fun city right and had
734
that culture it had all these different scenes
735
that have the hippies I mean you know what it was like there were all
736
so many different types things going on but
737
that has really flattened out like it has everywhere right like yeah don't have as much of it um
738
so what's going to bring the cultural lights out what's going to bring young people
739
and live interaction you know yeah this is saint francis
740
wood just across the street where we're at we're getting at
741
that time where there's
742
that magical pacific california light the sun takes on sort of a dreamy feel to it nice cool breeze coming through
743
we have the ocean i know a couple miles away you're gonna see this video after halloween
744
but i'm shooting right before halloween check out those decorations
745
this is yours sir yeah oh wow you take it seriously
746
do you do this every year yeah i built every year we add like something new every year
747
so we added this one this one this year
748
and the boat's been here for a couple years do you have kids
749
or you're the kid i have two kids yeah i have two kids
750
but now they're off to college so they usually help me do this
751
but now they're in calling so i wanted to be tired
752
you gotta love this in a major city coyote alert
753
and most people in this city don't even know of this park i'm not even gonna mention it
754
but just another example san francisco has got
755
so many cool zones it's so detailed let's get up to the view pacific off in the distance
756
and we're gonna get out there guys the sun is going down i just wanted to show you this
757
because this is one of the most misunderstood cities i would say especially in recent times
758
this place has always meant a lot to me
759
and it means a lot to the people that live here
760
and a lot of people that lived here and no longer live here
761
when they get out into these parts of the city.
762
It's nostalgia and just an amazing feeling
763
and the past two videos I made two years ago and then peak pandemic time came from the heart.
764
I was just a bit discouraged with what was going on in the city
765
and it really feels good to be back right now.
766
All right I'm gonna drive us through the most beautiful park I've seen in the world Golden Gate Park.
767
It's a monster.
768
It's bigger than Central Park.
769
We're running out of light so we're gonna just go right through it and get to the ocean.
770
Yeah the foresight to put in a park like this is a beautiful thing
771
because this is the gem of San Francisco and not only do you have this massive park in this small city.
772
There's another one called Presidio we didn't even go to today.
773
All right guys end of the road today
774
and we didn't even see a quarter of the city
775
but the goal was to show you some contrast to show
776
you the rich neighborhoods to show you the poor ones
777
and always know that when you're watching content the creator has control of what they show you
778
and my goal in this video is to give you as balanced of a look as possible
779
and lastly closing for any tourists out there you know you
780
might hear oh don't go to san francisco it's dangerous it's
781
terrible come to san francisco right now it's pretty awesome don't leave anything in your car
782
Don't get a hotel near the Tender Line, but it is one of the world's most beautiful cities and it's totally fine to travel,
783
in my opinion.
784
So thanks for coming along on that journey, guys.
785
Until the next one.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “San Francisco – What’s It Really Like Now?”. This video has 697 sentences and 7422 words to shadow. The speech runs for 49:01. The speaker talks at a natural 151 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow. 166 of its 697 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tent noun | /tɛnt/ | A pavilion or portable lodge consisting of skins, canvas, or some strong cloth, stretched and sustained by poles, used for sheltering people from the weather. |
| elite noun | /ɪˈlit/ | A special group or social class of people who have a superior social or economic status and attendant power, advantages, or privileges in society; a member of… |
| downtown noun | /ˈdaʊ̯nˌtaʊ̯n/ | The main business part of a city or town, usually located at or near its center. |
| cop noun | /kɑp/ | A police officer or prison guard. |
| label noun | /ˈleɪ.bəl/ | A small ticket or sign giving information about something to which it is attached or intended to be attached. |
| versus | /ˈvɝsəs/ | Against; in opposition to. |
| wealthy adjective | /ˈwɛl.θi/ | Possessing financial wealth; rich. |
| coastal adjective | /ˈkoʊstəl/ | Relating to the coast; on or near the coast; longshore. |
| immigration noun | /ˌɪmɪˈɡɹeɪʃən/ | The act of immigrating; the passing or coming into a country of which one is not native born for the purpose of permanent residence. |
| element noun | /ˈɛləmənt/ | One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based. |
| cousin noun | /ˈkʌz(ə)n/ | Chiefly with a qualifying word: Any relation (especially a distant one) who is not a direct ancestor or descendant but part of a person's extended family; a… |
| tear verb | /tɛɹ/ | To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate. |
| define verb | /dɪˈfaɪn/ | To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly. |
| toilet verb | /ˈtɔɪ.lət/ | To assist another (a child, etc.) in using a toilet. |
| rude adjective | /ɹuːd/ | Lacking in refinement or civility; bad-mannered; discourteous. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come back verb | To return to a place. | |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. | |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| get through verb | /ɡɛt ˈθɹu/ | To overcome; to endure. |
| come through verb | To come into a room or other space through a door or passageway. | |
| keep up verb | To maintain; to preserve; to prevent from deteriorating or falling. | |
| take off verb | To remove. | |
| take over verb | To assume control of something, such as a business or enterprise, and sometimes by force. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Can I ask you one question?
- Do you have problems down here doing this ?
- Of course, who else would I vote for?
- What are you guys, security or something?
- How you gon' carry that big ol' thing, boy?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | I've been coming · i've been working · you've been playing |
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | used to park · used to be · used to have |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | that's been · has been · I've never seen |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is cooked · were born · been stopped |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 236 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, gonna. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: wealthy /ˈwɛl.θi/, underneath /ˌʌndɚˈniθ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: immigration /ˌɪmɪˈɡɹeɪʃən/, decoration /ˌdɛkəˈɹeɪʃən/, contrast /kənˈt(ʃ)ɹæst/, capture /ˈkæp.(t)ʃɚ/, impression /ɪmˈpɹɛʃn̩/
- Long words — get the stress right: immigration /ˌɪmɪˈɡɹeɪʃən/, decoration /ˌdɛkəˈɹeɪʃən/, violently /ˈvaɪ(ə)ləntli/, ridiculous /ɹɪˈdɪk.jə.ləs/, documentary /ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tɹi/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like tent, elite, downtown.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.