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I'm surprised there's so much opposition to the New York-San Francisco comparison. Obviously they're different cities, but the area of San Francisco around Union Square reminds me of New York, in particular the western part of Midtown, probably more than any place I've ever been. It's a mix of newer high rises, six-story Italianate buildings with front fire escapes, and the occasional one- or two-story building that's survived all the construction booms. Both cities also have a mix of upscale chains and low-endy, often immigrant-owned businesses that you don't really see in cities like Chicago.
As somebody from New York that really loves San Francisco, I don't see it. Actually one of the main reasons that I love San Francisco is because it is so different from NYC and offers things that I can't get here in NYC, which is rare.
SF definitely is the most urban city on the west coast by far though, and both are restricted geographically. NYC is a city made of up a bunch of islands (+ the Bronx), and SF is on a peninsula, and both also have some of the most beautiful/iconic bridges.
So I do see some similarities but I definitely wouldn't call SF a west coast NYC at all.
Orlando is a lot poorer, liberal, and slightly more diverse than Orange County, CA. Also, much of OC was developed from the 1950s to the 1980s with newer developments in the interior foothills. Much of Orlando/Central Florida was a citrus grove and cowtown until the 1970s. It also doesn't seem to have as much organized development as Orange County, CA. The Irvine Company played an instrumental role in developing Orange County since the 1960s from Newport Beach to San Clemente. North OC is an extension of LA County nowadays. Orange County FL/Seminole/Osceola are a lot more dispersed in terms of development. Not much of Disney's meticulous planning is seen outside of their property down in Lake Buena Vista. Also, Orlando seems to stand on its own in terms of identity. Anaheim and Santa Ana are the largest cities in OC, but they don't seem to dominate the County in the same manner as Orlando dominates its metro area. It's too close to the very dominant Los Angeles right up the road.
Miami and LA have a few similarities on paper, but the two cities are not as similar as most people think they are
Considering that San Francisco is the most urban large city on the west coast, with influence over much of the region, I'd say it parallels with NYC on the east coast. Los Angeles and Miami are nothing alike but they are both the largest cities on their respective coasts well known for a flashy beach culture. I don't see why people are getting their feathers ruffled here.
Considering that San Francisco is the most urban large city on the west coast, with influence over much of the region, I'd say it parallels with NYC on the east coast. Los Angeles and Miami are nothing alike but they are both the largest cities on their respective coasts well known for a flashy beach culture. I don't see why people are getting their feathers ruffled here.
I get that Miami and LA both have popular beaches, but I think the similarities end there. Miami is a popular nightlife/party destination. LA is not really. LA is known for other things, many other things.
Idk I wouldn't say my "feathers are ruffled" or whatever, I'm just not seeing these comparisons. I've never been to OC and I don't know anything about Orlando outside of Disney and Universal so I can't comment on those, but I've been to all the others.
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
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Originally Posted by That_One_Guy
I get that Miami and LA both have popular beaches, but I think the similarities end there. Miami is a popular nightlife/party destination. LA is not really. LA is known for other things, many other things.
Idk I wouldn't say my "feathers are ruffled" or whatever, I'm just not seeing these comparisons. I've never been to OC and I don't know anything about Orlando outside of Disney and Universal so I can't comment on those, but I've been to all the others.
The Sunset Strip/West Hollywood would beg to differ with your assertion of LA
The Sunset Strip/West Hollywood would beg to differ with your assertion of LA
I'm not saying that LA doesn't have a nightlife scene. It's just not known to be a popular nightlife destination like Miami. The last call is also way too early. On the other hand, LA is known for many other things outside of its beaches and nightlife where in Miami that is the main attraction.
I agree, as a poster above said, that SF is most similar to Boston among east coast cities. Here's the comparison I made in another thread:
To me, the US city most similar to SF is Boston. They are similar size metros, although SF has grown a little bigger (and that growth has caused a lot of cost-of-living/traffic/congestion pains as a result). Both cities have historical blue-collar port town roots along with a white-collar banking center. Both cities have a bigger rival nearby (NYC/LA). Both cities have a reasonably small city at their center with most people in the suburbs and outer cities. Both cities are built around bodies of water. SF has better weather, more nature nearby, and more diversity. Boston is less geographically isolated. But I still think Boston is the city most similar to SF in the US (Seattle would be my second-closest comparison).
I've heard the SF-Boston comparison before and, given that I live an hour from Boston, I was actively looking for it when I was in San Francisco last week, but I didn't see it. There weren't many similarities in the look or the layout. The SF core seemed much bigger than Boston. I thought Chicago and New York were better parallels; even a Seattle might be a better analogue than Boston.
None of these make sense to me. New York and Los Angeles are fundamentally different and incomparable, while San Francisco is much more similar closer to Boston or DC. As for Orange County, probably Connecticut or Northern New Jersey is the best comparison, but even then it's tenuous.
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