Anyone who thinks this is a Wall Street problem is delusional. Check out the latest statistics on September auto sales: Ford -34%, Toyota -32%, Volvo -52%, Honda -24%. For more, read this post: http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/10/auto-sales-tank.html

I am in Amsterdam right now and I have never seen it this quiet. Where are all the tourists? Usually in the early fall, there are a lot of British, Italian, French and Spanish tourists in the Nine Streets neighborhood where I live (which has a lot of cool boutiques and restaurants). But it’s eerily quiet. The shops are empty, the cafes feel like vast tombs. Last night I went out to dinner with my Malaysian friend at a restaurant that’s usually packed, and it was empty. Where’s everybody?

In San Francisco, I’ve noticed how easy it is to get a table at restaurants where, in the bad old days, one would have to reserve several weeks ahead. In fact, I was able to get a table easily at two of the wine bars I frequent in SOMA. Have people really just stopped going out?

Do you also see the effects of the credit crisis in your city?