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That's interesting to know. I'm one to think that the "Seattle Freeze" is absolutely real (borrowed from Minnesota) based on everyone I know from SEA who went to college with me in SoCal. But my clients and other co-workers in SEA are surprisingly down to earth and pretty fun.
Any chance that your clients/co-workers are mostly transplants? In my experience, the friendlier folks I've come across here aren't originally from Seattle, or lived elsewhere for awhile and came back. As a native, one of the funniest things I've been told by a transplant was that I was "pretty friendly for someone from Seattle" .
Even if the city and region is becoming transplant-heavy, I do feel that the introverted nature of Seattle tends to mainly draw in more introverts, helping to perpetuate it's reputation for being "Freeze-ish". Or that's at least the theory I'm going with for now.
Seattle, coming from NYC, seemed small and provincial. It's a gorgeous setting but man, when it rained I was bored out of my mind (read: most of the time). People were nice but not exactly boisterous. They like their space in Seattle.
SFO is a pleasant global city, very manageable yet has plethora attractions, both cultural and outdoor. Diverse.
Seattle can only be considered "small" from someone coming from NYC or Chicago, and maybe San Francisco. It is all relative. "provincial" is somewhat subjective, but with all the new residents I don't think this term fits anymore.
It feels small whenever I return from a big global city. Less now than a decade ago, but it's still true.
The rain point sounds like it's based on a small sample. In the winter it might rain 20% of the time, and only 2% maybe would be hard enough to get wet if you walk to work. In the summer...we've had maybe 30 minutes of measurable rain all summer, though it's not always like this. These are pure guesses on numbers.
Lesson #1: If you think it is great, don't call it "Frisco". SF is acceptable, even San Fran is somewhat acceptable, but no, never "Frisco". I post this with good humor.
Seattle is rapidly evolving from a 3rd tier to a 2nd tier major US city. The downtown is really improving, and the near in neighborhoods are becoming much more dense and urban, both in terms of housing (SFH conversions into townhomes, new medium density builds) and street level commercial activity.
The challenge will be to preserve some of what made Seattle unique and appealing (manageable scale, easy access to nature, vibrant neighborhoods close to the center of downtown) while balancing the challenges of rapid growth (housing costs, traffic, gentrification, homogenization.)
San Francisco is very much a big brother to Seattle, and can be used as a guide to work towards some of its strengths (vibrancy) while trying to avoid some of the pitfalls (affordability.)
Any chance that your clients/co-workers are mostly transplants? In my experience, the friendlier folks I've come across here aren't originally from Seattle, or lived elsewhere for awhile and came back. As a native, one of the funniest things I've been told by a transplant was that I was "pretty friendly for someone from Seattle" .
Even if the city and region is becoming transplant-heavy, I do feel that the introverted nature of Seattle tends to mainly draw in more introverts, helping to perpetuate it's reputation for being "Freeze-ish". Or that's at least the theory I'm going with for now.
They actually are - funny you bring that up.
Bay Area natives I've always found to be on the right level of being sincere and direct. That is unless they are the type of breed that starts riots up at Berkeley, then all bets are off.
I frequently hear these two cities compared to one another (Both IRL, and here on the CD forums). I made the visit to SF this week (First time as an adult, at least!) as a lifelong Seattle-ite, and wanted to share my experiences (as well as hear those of others!). I figured city vs city is probably a better place to post this, since posting this in either the Seattle or SF forum would probably just end up having it turn into a VS thread anyways...
Anyways, it's easy to see why these two cities are frequently compared to one-another (Hilly and scenic, mild climates, high COL + strong tech economies, politically liberal, on the west coast, etc.), but these are my main observations on how the two cities differ..
Overall vibe: SF feels a lot more historical than Seattle, with many more older buildings left intact (both downtown, as well as apartments and houses on the outskirts). Seattle has a lot more modern construction/newer buildings, and feels newer - and a bit cleaner. I think both cities have great skylines - the two best west of Chicago, IMO. More more of Seattle is zoned for single family homes. SF seems to have a lot more rowhomes/it's own distinctive apartment buildings. SF also seems quite a bit more fast-paced/busy. Seattle is in transition to becoming a truly major city (i.e - "Alpha" ranking). SF already is one.
Diversity/culture: No doubt about it, SF is a far more diverse place than Seattle. Seattle feels more homogeneous/mostly white, where as SF feels like a true melting pot of a city. I was very impressed by SF's Chinatown, and the Mission District area, as well as how many different languages I overheard people speaking in (Maybe a mix of locals and visitors?). To be fair, Seattle has it's diverse areas too (like Columbia City/Rainier Valley) - but more of them tend to be outside of the city (Bellevue, the suburbs to the south).
Cuisine: As many great eats as there are in Seattle, I have to hand it to SF here. The Mexican food I had in SF blows everything I've had at home out of the water (Which is unfortunate for me, because Mexican is one of my favorite cuisines!). I also had some Italian food that did the same (First place I've tried that I felt compared to an amazing place I once went to near Boston's north end several years back). It seems that you can find top-notch versions of any cuisine in SF, whereas Seattle excels at certain things (Seafood, Asian food, some random hole-in-the-wall type spots), and is okay at others. I was also quite impressed by the local breweries in town. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like SF's beer scene doesn't get quite as much press as the Pacific Northwest's, or San Diego's. Yet everything I tried was at least as good, if not favorable.
Public transit/infrastructure/getting around: Yes, the Bay Area has lots of traffic (both foot traffic and cars!), but if I'm being honest, it really didn't phase me much at all (that's how bad Seattle's has gotten). The key difference here, is that it seems much easier to get around SF, thanks to more options. You have the BART (which Seattle desperately needs something similar to, and won't for many years), and Uber drivers everywhere (with shorter wait times, in my experience). Seattle is still a pretty car-centric city, despite having many walkable neighborhoods, and decent bus service within it's downtown core.
Social atmosphere: Say what you will about the infamous "Seattle Freeze", but the more I travel, the more I believe in it. Most of the locals seemed pretty friendly and easier to talk to in SF. I also feel this way about a number of cities, however.
It's probably safe to say I had a great time in SF. Overall, I must say both cities are great, and despite the regular comparisons between the two that I hear, they're pretty different, IMO.
No way San Fran beats Seattle in Cuisine. Yeah there is a lot of variety but the freshness of the food here, the seafood, and the affordability of the food is what makes Seattle such a good food scene. In San Francisco every decent meal cost me 25% more than in Seattle for the same quality.
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SF is acceptable, even San Fran is somewhat acceptable, but no, never "Frisco". I post this with good humor.
