Case in point, the old adult theatre the parent is talking about was flush with pimps, prostitutes, and drugs along with the rest of south Congress street.
It was not somewhere you would walk during the day, much less at night. Yet people are remembering it fondly.
Oh, let me be clear, I was a teenager when that thing was around. I'm not remembering it fondly...I just remember it and thought it was funny that it was being renovated into an office at the time.
If I'm going to remember something fondly it will be the smaller music venues like Liberty Lunch and old Emo's.
Honestly...most of the changes are good. More smart people is always good. More VC attention is (mostly) good. Some of the new buildings are good.
What I don't appreciate:
People that can't stop talking about how awesome SF or NYC is.
Cookie cutter condos.
People that don't appreciate what they're moving to and trying to get the best parts shut down -- i.e. Don't move to a condo next to a well known live music venue and try to get it shut down or at least quiet after 9 pm. Not cool.
Cheap places to live are disappearing for people who don't make a lot of cash.
Straining already struggling infrastructure (traffic and water, in particular).
Lame cookie-cutter architecture in general being thrown up as quickly as possible.
And, generally, bringing bad attitudes into what has been a very chill, very accepting culture.
But those are small things, all things considered. Most of the people moving here are smart, cool people that acclimate quickly. To them, I say Welcome! To the others I say...maybe Dallas or Houston would be a better fit.
It was not somewhere you would walk during the day, much less at night. Yet people are remembering it fondly.