Each year, Time releases a list of the world’s “Greatest Places” to explore on vacation. Among the 50 featured this year were the expected beautiful getaways: the Galapagos Islands, Greenland, Jamaica, etc. But there were five American cities on the list, and those choices ranged from entirely appropriate to puzzling to just wrong.

The most defensible one was Miami, Fla. The beautiful natural features and the awesome culture make it a wonderful travel destination. Also a good choice was Park City, Utah. With its beautiful mountain scenery and great ski resorts, it makes for a wonderful trip. The third city was Detroit, Mich. This choice was a little bit questionable, but the Motor City is on the rebound and will make for great tourism in the coming years.

The other two choices, however, were entirely bizarre: San Francisco, Calif. and Portland, Ore. The two cities, while large and highly populated, are far from two of the best in the world, especially with all of the deterioration that has resulted from left-wing governance.

Time’s editors must have been incredibly touched by the recall of San Francisco’s district attorney Chesa Boudin. Although his ouster was the right decision by San Franciscans, the failures of his policies are sure to leave a lasting legacy.

In the time Boudin took office in 2020 to when he was recalled last month, his soft-on-crime policies allowed the homicide and property-theft rates to absolutely skyrocket. Multiple times, he released or refused to charge career criminals who allegedly went on to kill people.

With Boudin gone, the city might be learning from its mistakes. After voters disapproved of the rising crime that resulted from Mayor London Breed’s reduction of the police force’s budget, she reversed course and promised much more enforcement.

These are all positive developments for the “Great Golden Gate,” as Time calls it, but it still needs to improve before we can declare it one of the 50 greatest places to visit in the world. While tourists have a slightly lower chance of becoming the victims of violent crimes, they still need to watch their step, lest they tread upon feces and used heroin needles.

Portland, on the other hand, may just be completely lost. Time recognized it for the hotels that will soon grace the city, as well as its biking infrastructure. Highly praised in the description was the city’s inclusivity. In Portland, “All are welcome,” the magazine said.

Unfortunately, the Portland experience in recent years has been so inclusive as to welcome riots and violent crime. Who can forget the events in the summer of 2020 where several radical left-wing groups led violent uproars, attacking political targets such as a federal courthouse, as well as the homes and small businesses of ordinary people?

More recently, the dystopian state of the city has taken a serious toll on its citizens. Small-business owners have to deal with chronic break-ins at their places of work, and the gutted police department can do nothing about it.

Even big businesses have felt the effects of the city’s failures. Just last week, Starbucks announced that it will close two locations in Portland, specifically citing the company’s lack of confidence that the city will keep their managers and employees safe.

San Francisco and Portland have been derelict in their duty to ensure their cities flourish. They both have been the victims of liberal governance, leading to unfortunate declines. San Francisco is at least showing improvements, but, in Portland, the plight of its people has not been enough to incite the government to action. Maybe if the tourists are upset, it will change something.