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Old 08-30-2007, 01:25 PM
 
Location: Dallas
989 posts, read 2,433,632 times
Reputation: 861

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I keep hearing how great SF is...but why is it so great?

From here, all I see is (1) most expensive place in country almost (2) wacky hippie liberals (3) crapload of bums.

What is so great about that? What am I missing there? Is it just a place I need to actually visit to appreciate, the ambience and scenery and people and all that, or what?
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Old 08-30-2007, 02:11 PM
 
Location: yeah
5,717 posts, read 16,313,133 times
Reputation: 2974
It has great architecture and topography complimenting each other.
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Old 08-30-2007, 02:25 PM
 
Location: Northern California
3,721 posts, read 14,690,246 times
Reputation: 1962
You're right about housing in SF being overpriced and the homeless bum population is way out of hand. However there are many nice places around SF and the bay area to visit. It's close to the ocean and the mountains and the weather is great.
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Old 08-30-2007, 02:29 PM
 
Location: the best coast
718 posts, read 2,683,652 times
Reputation: 225
bums like the mild winter climate and the dollar bill hand outs as opposed to colder climates in the east and pennies
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Old 08-30-2007, 04:10 PM
 
Location: Dallas
989 posts, read 2,433,632 times
Reputation: 861
None of these answers are really explaining to me why SF is so beloved, there is good weather, mountains, and ocean all along the west (and east) coast. So why all the positive attention on SF?
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Old 08-30-2007, 05:32 PM
 
Location: Oakland, CA
1,554 posts, read 5,281,059 times
Reputation: 713
Quote:
Originally Posted by justsomeguy View Post
None of these answers are really explaining to me why SF is so beloved, there is good weather, mountains, and ocean all along the west (and east) coast. So why all the positive attention on SF?
Why don't you figure it out for yourself. How is somebody going to explain to you why they feel like they feel? Maybe they just happen to love SF for reasons that cannot be explained. There is a reason it is one of the most famous cities in the world.
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Old 08-30-2007, 05:44 PM
 
Location: Dallas
989 posts, read 2,433,632 times
Reputation: 861
Quote:
Originally Posted by City Boy View Post
Why don't you figure it out for yourself. How is somebody going to explain to you why they feel like they feel? Maybe they just happen to love SF for reasons that cannot be explained. There is a reason it is one of the most famous cities in the world.

That's why I asked in my original post if it was "just a place I need to go visit to understand, or what?"
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Old 08-30-2007, 06:18 PM
 
Location: Denver
9,963 posts, read 18,453,403 times
Reputation: 6181
Default Well..

My wife and I are moving there (Bay Area) with our newborn baby, for the following reasons:

1) Urban Life (We used to live in NYC).
2) Progressive, forward thinking city.
3) Culture, arts and diversity.
4) Tech Jobs, we both are software engineers.
5) Great Multilingual schools for our newborn.
6) Green city with lot's of parks.
7) Easy to get to the beaches, mountains and Lake Tahoe.
8) There is a certain intellectual pride and sophistication we like about SF.
9) Mass transit.
10) Good food.

We like SF more than NYC because it has a mixture of Urban and Outdoors you just can't find in NYC. I would say SF has a more integrated lifestyle than NYC or any other place in the US. Different races, sexes, religions all seem to live together, NYC is very segregated.

The above reasons offset the cost of living, bums, liberals...and other negatives you may sum up from the internet.
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Old 08-30-2007, 10:13 PM
 
Location: Houston, TX
832 posts, read 3,846,176 times
Reputation: 217
SF, though has its charms, is somewhat overated.
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Old 08-31-2007, 01:17 AM
 
Location: In the Redwoods
30,286 posts, read 51,807,958 times
Reputation: 23659
First of all, I do think you need to visit before judging... shouldn't that be said for any place? Now to answer your questions, there are sooooo many great things about SF - the weather (I love fog, btw ), cultural & recreational activities, amazing scenery, proximity to Tahoe & other cool places, beaches, first-class universities, historical sites, diversity, strong job market, open-minded & accepting people, and so on. Of course we have negatives too, like the high cost of living, congestion, traffic/crazy drivers, and others that are typical of a big city. So if you're looking for quiet life & cheap housing, SF wouldn't be your cup of tea... but if you like cities, I personally think San Fran is among the best.

As for the "wacky hippie liberals", that's kinda hard for me to address - considering I'm a proud liberal, and wouldn't consider that a bad thing. But it's not like we're all vegan tree-huggers, and we actually have more yuppies (liberal-leaning) & conservatives than you'd imagine. And finally, the "crapload of bums" is also quite an exaggeration... we do have a bad homelessness problem, but they're typically located in certain neighborhoods - Tenderloin, Mission, Civic Center, etc. Plus they're usually harmless enough, and I've even become friends with a few near my work. Anyway, sorry I've written a novel, but I do think you should see SF at least once!
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