All anyone needs to do is read the commentary here and elsewhere, to hear people lamenting the downslide of their familiar areas. "Austin's a shithole now". "San Francisco is a shithole now". "L.A. is a shithole now". "Fremont is a shithole now". "Phoenix is a shithole now". Let's not even tip the scales with commentary about Portland and Seattle, or the politics involved. I'm wondering about a macro trend. Those among us, can any of you say that things within, say, a 15 mile radius of where you live and work are better than they were a decade ago? If so, where?