San Francisco in the 50s was a paradise. Marin Co was more of the same. I speak from experience. The rot set in with the hippie invasion of haight-ashbury and went down hill from there. In spite of it all San Francisco is beautiful.
I was there in the 1970s and 80s (visiting). I thought it was just wonderful. I didn’t see any homeless but did see the hippies. If you can believe it, a wealthy family member put me up at the Mark Hopkins Hotel - at that time, I was living in LA. I loved the fog, the cool weather...everything!
>>In spite of it all San Francisco is beautiful.
Its true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so you are not wrong, but for the life of me I can’t see the attraction.
Been there several times on business, and all I see is filth everywhere I look - filthy streets, filthy people. Maybe I am just going to the wrong parts.