SF is much more low rise though. Could just be all the commuters that no longer commute that contributed to the feeling of... apocalypse.
Of course now with the rains and rising cases nationwide it's probably time to hibernate again.
I view this as a good thing, considering we're doing much better with our COVID caseload than many other places are. I suspect Chicago isn't doing quite as well as we are in that regard if you've see a lot of people out and about all the time (looks like your caseload per capita is ~8x ours per a sibling comment?).
To be completely fair, though, things have changed a lot since a few months ago. I go for an evening jog two or three nights a week and see a good number of people out walking, running, driving, and biking, and outdoor dining in many places (North Beach, Hayes Valley, even my little corner of the Dogpatch) has made the city feel more vibrant in some ways than in pre-pandemic times.
It's raining out now, but I plan to walk up to Potrero this evening for dinner where there's a semi-covered outdoor space.
Obviously I would not wish this pandemic -- or the associated increase in financial/housing insecurity for a lot of people -- on anyone, but in several ways I like how SF has changed because of it. There's not been a lot to be proud of with how SF has handled homelessness and the housing crisis over the past several years, but pandemic response has been pretty great, all things considered.
The Windy City is near freezing people near me that were begrudgingly complying with the guidelines took advantage of our Indian summer, choosing to eat on patios and social distance in backyards, have given up entirely and are choosing to dine in and gather in houses.
I'm going to opine that climate in SF helps a lot.
I've lived in SF 25 years. All summer the uniform is long sleeve shirt w/under shirt. Light jacket for evenings/outings. Light to moderate wind. Only a week or so of hot/90F temperatures.
It's turning toward winter now, so we're adding a sweater and water-resistant jacket. Moderate winds. I've never needed a down coat.
In other words, we can pretty easily socialize outside and/or keep windows open, so any Covid virus tends to quickly disperse.
And the areas I've lived in definitely have massively more "SF culture" than downtown.
Only old money, youth that knows no better, tech hope gambles, and those trapped in debt remain. The city is unhospitable.
I had a couple opportunities to move to the Bay Area in the mid-90s. Even then it felt like a quality of life downgrade because of CoL. And I didn't even live in an especially cheap area--west of Boston.
but yes the residential areas feel pretty much the same as far as crowdedness goes.
Like the only thing we're allowed to do is go sit in the cold next to a flame and drink so folks is doing that.