San Francisco VS. New York City (living, best, cost, state)

[KT13]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

I really need to take a trip out to New York. I have been to Seattle however and I wouldn't say SF and Seattle are really comparable. SF is certainly more dense, has more of a cosmopolitan feel to it and is more urban feeling than Seattle with the exception of downtown Seattle. They're comparable only point by point (like waterfront vs waterfront etc.).

Perhaps San Francisco may be comparable to NYC this way? Like SF vs Manhattan maybe? Certainly not all of New York as I don't think any other American city can really compare to NY.

There is no comparison between the SF proper and the island of Manhattan in terms of density and vibrancy and commercial business offerings. Most of the SFs population lives in lowrise apartment buildings and single family townhomes with yards and garages (that is in the middle of the city practically). Most neighborhoods in SF would be more comparable to the outer boroughs of NYC, like Brooklyn, Queens vs. Manhattan. I'd have to say SF is about as urban as Brooklyn and Queens, at the exception of the small area downtown SF crowded by hotels/shops/tourists and touristy Fisherman's Worth. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you like.

SF has more distinct neighborhoods with their more dense commercial/dining/entertainment areas surrounded by swaths of mostly residential housing with only specks of commercial business. To walk from one neighborhood to another you often have to walk through streets pretty much devoid of any commercial businesses. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you like. In Manhattan, the boundaries of neighborhoods blend into each other.

[KT13]

Originally Posted by OakAve2OakLand

And this isn't even to mention the difference in climate between the 2 locales. If you're trying to argue the case for NYC, you know you don't even want to go there...

This is purely subjective. Personally, I absolutely cannot stand SF's weather, this is really the main reason I would never be able to move back here despite wanting to be close to the family for the kid's sake. I would have to move to the burbs in the Bay Area to escape the endless fog, freezing wind and generally dreary non-existent summers. I personally love the 4 seasons, a mild version that NYC offers, without extremely long and cold winters and with bearable levels of heat/humidity in the summer. Some people like hot summers and warm summer nights and a little snow in the winter and dramatic change of foliage colors in the fall. I agree if you are a dedicated runner/biker and love to be outdoors all year round, SF offers very nice moderate weather to be able to do this.

[KT13]

Originally Posted by 415_s2k

I look at it more like this...

Golden Gate Park is, IMHO, better and more enjoyable than Central Park.

You can also afford to live off of GG Park with a middle-class income (I live about 3 blocks from it). Try living around Central Park unless you're a member of the financial elite.

Furthermore, big deal if GG Park doesn't have museums around it. Since when does something have to be EXACTLY like NYC to be worth anything, or worth comparing? Such arrogance. It does have the DeYoung Museum, the Academy of Sciences, and other amenities inside it.

Again, subjective. If you are looking for a park perfect for exercise outside, long runs, bike rides, generally for healthy active people, GG park is great. It's wild, not an urban park really. Central park is designed to be the urban park and caters to the needs of everyone, old and young, active and couch potatoes alike. Those who cannot schlep for miles to find a nearest bench to sit on would enjoy Central park a bit more. There is a lot more stuff to do there when you have kids as well, playgrounds right in the park, street performers, concerts and just in general opportunities for people watching. I personally find Central park to be more picturesque, it's prettier, better designed and definitely more crowded, although there are remote places there you can escape crowds and still find an empty bench to sit in the shade.

I used to live near GG park in SF and took advantage of its trails for running all year round, loved the rugged scenery and lack of crowds esp. on weekdays. Both are great parks, but I cannot say which one is better, it depends. At this point in life, I find Central park to be better fitting to our needs and more enjoyable.

Also, whenever I visit SF nowadays, i prefer the park Presidio, Lincold park, Sutro heights, prettier views there than GG park.

[Miss Sarah]

Iv visited NY so I wouldn't say that its that dangerous I think that some people are exaggerating a little bit

[Larry Siegel]

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

Places like Los Altos and Atherton used to have no cache whatsoever... the houses were normally priced.

How long ago? They had plenty of cachet (not cache) when I lived in the Bay Area in the seventies.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by Larry Siegel

How long ago? They had plenty of cachet (not cache) when I lived in the Bay Area in the seventies.

I think they have transitioned from "sleepy and pleasant" to "posh and highly desired."

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by KT13

This is purely subjective.

Er, when it comes to people's personal opinion, isnt it all subjective?

[Anewyorkopinion]

Quality of life..is it all based on weather?

I am born and raised in NYC, not Manhattan, (which is the only place worth paying the expenses for here, and the only borough the mayor cares about) but Jamaica, Queens.

What about questions that should be really analyzed that fall under the concept of quality of life?

What about the mentality of people? The good, The bad, The grimy? I bet san frans shady aren't as diabolical as mines. The saying "wanna know how new yorkers say F#^k you?, Trust Me." has valid reasoning behind it.

What about the major crime going on in the subways and public transportation that everyone considers the best in the country?? try googling the brooklyn paper, and see the crime that really happens that isn't aired on major news networks, most of it is happening in williamsburg right now because people from the projects see the hipsters as easy prey, one dude got slashed up with a box cutter and robbed for his wallet at 8pm getting off the train at morgan about 4 weeks ago.

Have you youtubed fights, robberies, jumpings, that go on in the NYC subway system? the "mentalities" of our thugs are not because they gotta do stupid ish to get money to satisfy drug addictions or to feed their starving babies, But to record it and put it on youtube so they can have they folk watch it and comment how "GANGSTAA" it was.

You're gonna live in a "nice" neighborhood? guess what, your nice neighborhood can be accessed from the projects in 40 minutes thanks to our GREAT public transit system. And every other hell hole hood.

Culture, yea we got culture. Alot of new school immigrants coming in, mainly of west indian and asian backrounds. They are rapidly picking up on the survival mode mentality you have to aquire to live here and have some basic level of enjoyment, but even they want to get their kids through school and then get the hell out of here when they get a chance. Look up dailynews reports, a large perfect of young graduates are going to be leaving NYC within the next few years, for reasons explained in the article. The ones who wont be leaving? people on section 8 who the government pays to live here, people in the projects, and You.

[04kL4nD]

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[Jasmine658]

NYC - about 4 months of great weather (Oct, Nov, May, June) - 8 months too cold or too hot & humid
SF - 12 months of good weather (rain doesn't bother me)

NYC - lots of red water from pipes since pipes ancient, plus slopping flooring is common due to old buildings, and bedrooms may be the size of a full size bed with no room to spare - I've seen this more than few times.
SF - Victorian charm is possible but disappearing with rebuilds, more chance of a real one bedroom, with room to walk around a bed.

NYC - great transportation, but better like lots of stairs for subways
SF - good, not great transportation but escalators often work on BART & MUNI

NYC - 5th floor walk-ups for the affordable housing
SF - 3rd floor walk-ups for affordable housing

NYC - friendly people, lots of talent, lots of people generations there
SF - more reserved (think computer programmers, etc), lots of talent, lots of transplants, fewer natives.

NYC - driving can be gridlock for hours
SF - driving is tolerable, even fun if avoid commute hours

NYC - good restaurants, but scary if just "try" a place - can be a rip-off & really bad food
SF - hard to walk into a bad restaurant, possible, but much harder to find bad restaurants

NYC - more media, fashion, art, & international banking
SF - more computer related jobs

NYC - difficult to figure out where to go for weekend, need to fly somewhere nice or settle for something not so great.
SF - amazing places to drive for weekend with 4 hour drive (Carmel, Big Sur, Yosemite, Tahoe, Napa, etc).