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Can I get some opinions from everyone on their favorite city on the west coast? I am considering a move in 08 out west and am trying to weigh down the pros and cons of each of these cities. I am considering in no particular order: San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Denver (I know Denver isn't on the west coast but I'm still considering it). Any past or present experiences in any of these cities would help.
Can I get some opinions from everyone on their favorite city on the west coast? I am considering a move in 08 out west and am trying to weigh down the pros and cons of each of these cities. I am considering in no particular order: San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Denver (I know Denver isn't on the west coast but I'm still considering it). Any past or present experiences in any of these cities would help.
Los Angeles. #1 in the West. The largest city & metro in the West. If you like your T.V., all network stations are O&O's (no more preemptions) and have been since the early days of television. In fact, the CBS and NBC stations were the only O&O's west of the Rockies and the FOX station is still the only O&O on the West Coast.
yeah LA is everything, but i see SD being more attractive to the celebrities and all other plastics. even more sun and more clean beachfront. am i wrong?
I've always been drawn to Portland, and Oregon in general for that matter. Something about a state's residents wanting to preserve their open space via strict growth boundaries to curtail sprawl has always astonished me. You don't see that in California, which from Google Earth looks like one giant suburban wasteland. At least Portlanders are trying to infill existing neighborhoods before transplants start plowing over vast swaths of forests and fields for McMansionvilles in subdivisions named McFartsyFancyPants Estates. I only wish PA residents and legislators could be this "enlightened" in terms of long-range land usage policies in order to encourage our massive numbers of transplants from NY and NJ to move into existing neighborhoods FIRST before building new homes everywhere.
If money deosn't matter I would say San Francisco. Just depending on what your looking for. This would my order:
San Francisco
Seattle
Portland
San Diego
Los Angeles
Denver
Also, don't forget about Sacramento. I think it would be a very good option, considering it is much cheaper than the rest of Cali, and a great place to live.
I would go with Seattle. The only drawbacks are the weather and cost of living, but the scenery makes up for it. It is also a fun city with a lot of energy and plenty to do, not to mention a beautiful skyline.
Second choice would be Denver. The city is a lot like Seattle, but no waterfront. The Rockies are beautiful. The plus about Denver is the cost of living is relatively cheap.
Third choice would be Portland, a smaller version of Seattle. Cost of living is a lot cheaper than Seattle, but can get boring if you like the big city.
San Francisco and the Bay Area is nice too but way too expensive.
I'm not a big fan of SoCal, so that's why I'm ranking Los Angeles lower than the Bay Area. It is a fun and exciting city though. You never know when they'll roll out the red carpet and have the spotlights out for celebraties. There's also a lot of culture there. The drawbacks are cost of living, traffic, and smog. The weather is nice though.
San Diego would be my last choice. Imo, it's the most overrated city I've ever been to. Sure the weather is nice like L.A., but that's all it really has going for it. If you like to surf and enjoy water activities, than San Diego might be for you. If you like an urban/big city vibe, San Diego is not for you. It has more of a laid-back suburban cookie-cutter atmosphere everywhere you go, which has it's disadvantages. I personally think it's a boring and uneventful city which is why I prefer L.A. over S.D. The cost of living is too high and I don't think it's worth it, and the traffic is bad but not as bad as L.A. One plus about San Diego is that it's one of the safest cities in the United States, but all the other West Coast cities are pretty safe (except for Oakland).
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At least Portlanders are trying to infill existing neighborhoods before transplants start plowing over vast swaths of forests and fields for McMansionvilles in subdivisions named McFartsyFancyPants Estates. 
I only wish PA residents and legislators could be this "enlightened" in terms of long-range land usage policies in order to encourage our massive numbers of transplants from NY and NJ to move into existing neighborhoods FIRST before building new homes everywhere.
