San Francisco is a cesspool.

This is what I’ve heard over the last few years.

I fell in love with SF a decade ago. To me, it’s a perfect city. It has unique cultures, art, climate, technological innovation, ridiculously good food and wine, and an urban landscape that’s hard to match.

But in recent years it’s been overrun by homelessness and general scumbaggery — or so I’ve heard.

On my recent visit, I expected the worst. And I feel that I’ve been lied to.

Don’t get me wrong, there is a homeless problem in San Francisco. I saw human feces on the sidewalk, people passed out beside burnt pipes, and junkies nodding off in the middle of the street.

But this isn’t a San Francisco problem. This is what a city looks like.

As bad as it is, this is not uncommon.

And while I didn’t venture into the Tenderloin this trip, Haight-Ashbury was sketchier ten years ago.

I feel that a lot of the negative hype has come from the tech billionaires of Silicon Valley. It’s like Palo Alto has finally become a normal city and they’re uncomfortable with reality.

This situation needs attention, absolutely. The cost of living is putting people on the streets on a global scale — something needs to be done about this.

But from my perspective, the scene in SF is no different than what I see every day on the streets where I live.

There are issues. It’s not great.

But it’s not the apocalypse that people imply.

And it’s still one of the greatest cities in the world.