When I visit San Francisco I skip the hire car option - partly because I've never trusted myself to step off a ten hour flight, across eight time zones, and then learn to imediately drive on the 'wrong side of the road' ;-)

The main reason, though - and this will sound weird - is that I love using public transport in the Bay Area. As someone who has been a tech recruiter for 20 years, the names of the towns are almost mythical...

The buzz I get sitting on the Caltrain and watching signs such as Menlo Park, Palo Alto and Mountain View whizz past is still as intoxicating as the first time. The sense of being at the centre of the tech universe is palpable.

However, the juxtaposition of wealth and poverty has become increasingly stark. With the exception of Rio de Janeiro, I have never witnessed such disparity between the 'have yachts and have nots' in such close proximity.

The state of California - on it's own - would be the planets' sixth biggest economy. An area which has given the world so much enhancement - in all aspects of quality of life - should surely be able to muster the resources to solve the calamity right under it's nose?...