Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
HEALTH & SAFETY
San Francisco has one of the worst homelessness problems in the country—so
much so that most visitors are both appalled and terrified at what they see. One
reason for the problem is the weather: Because the city is such a mild, temperate
place to be, people are attracted here. The local government seems paralyzed when
it comes to handling this issue. You'll see the highest numbers of homeless in the
Tenderloin district, followed by the Mission, and these are areas you need to be
cautious in when walking alone or at night.
Still, despite such high vagrancy rates, petty crime is not as common as you'd
think. Pickpockets exist in all neighborhoods, of course, but especially where
groups of distracted tourists wander. Be vigilant about any bags you're carrying,
such as fanny packs and backpacks, especially on the cable cars, which are usually
crammed with ogling visitors who pay far more attention to the views than to
their purses. Use your hotel room's safe, if there is one, but remember many of
them are too small to contain most laptop computers. If you're truly concerned
about theft, consider assembling a “fake” wallet containing a few expired credit
cards and a few bucks which you can part with in lieu of your real goods. Keep it
in an obvious place like your back pocket, and hide the “real” one in a money belt
or in your front pocket. By the time a villain, rare as they are, realizes he got a
decoy wallet, he'll be long gone.
Don't leave anything of value in your car, ever, not even in the trunk. Cars are
a popular target here just as they are elsewhere.
Nuisances such as mosquitoes are unheard of here, and rare is the day so sunny
that you'll be burned; the usual common sense applies.
Which brings us to earthquakes. They actually happen all the time, although
you're unlikely to feel most of them. If a big shaker does hit, don't run outside.
Instead, just go into a doorway, lean against a wall, and stay away from windows,
which can shatter. Don't freak out. And when you finally are able to go outside,
be alert for power lines; the city is crisscrossed with them, and it's easy to run afoul
of them. If you're in a car when a quake hits, get off bridges, overpasses, elevated
highways, or anything else that could prove unstable. If you're walking outside
when one strikes, stay away from the sides of buildings, because architectural
ornamentation and masonry have a way of coming loose.
PACKING
For the latest rules on how to pack and what you'll be permitted to bring as a
carry-on, consult your airline or the Transportation Security Administration
(TSA) at www.tsa.gov. Also be sure to find out from your airline what your
checked-baggage weight limits will be. Even airlines that previously were lax with
the limits, like JetBlue, now impose maximums of around 50 pounds. Anything
heavier will incur a fee, as will second and sometimes even first, checked bags ($25
is the norm in the U.S. as we go to press). Hotels are not likely to have scales with
which you can weigh your bags before going home, so have a sense of what your
bags weigh when empty and then how much weight you've accumulated through
souvenirs.
If you forget something, there's not really anything that you can't buy in San
Francisco. It's a major city, after all. But to save yourself hassle, bring with you the
