A few questions about San Francisco from a New Yawkah! (Los Angeles: renting, violent crime)
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Well, I've posted some questions about Los Angeles but if I don't visit Los Angeles, my girlfriend and I want to visit more up north west and San Francisco is definitely on our list of places we want to visit.
One of the things that really interest me about San Francisco were it's really steep hills and of course, the Golden Gate Bridge. I know it might sound cliche to say that about San Fran, but when I visit a city I want to VISIT A CITY TO WALK! I love walking and exploring the city and it's people. Amongst other things, San Francisco seems to have a charm and character of it's own so I definitely have always had an interest in it. So here are my questions:
1) Walkable/mass transportation: I know this a probably a no brainer but I have to ask anyway. Though it's constantly ranked in the top 5 of walkable cities in the U.S., I still want to know from a native of San Francisco, how it is to work there. Coming from NYC, I'm more than conditioned to walking, so it really is nothing for me. I would like to know how it compares.
I also want to know how the mass transit is. NYC has probably the best mass transit in the world since it runs 24/7 but I want to know how the buses/trains/trolley's are over there. I don't care about renting a car and rather take public transportation or a cab anytime to save on money while I am there.
2) How is the nightlife?: Probably another silly question to ask but like I've said, I've never been there so I really don't know. I'm into the clubbing and bar scene so my girlfriend and I definitely would like to check out some clubs/bars while we're in the area. Other than that, is the city still vibrant at the late hours of the night? I love being out late at night.
3) Cuisine: How is the food? I'm into all sorts of food so I'm not picky. Any restaurants worth checking out? I heard about this over-the-top restaurants with dancing trannies and such.
4) How is the arts?: How is the art scene over there (theater, film, any type of art)? I know Los Angeles is the "creative capital of the world" and is south of San Francisco but I don't know much of the art scene over there but people I have met from San Francisco always seem to be very colorful of personality and creative (though they are not artist themselves).
5) Crime: With Oakland near by and usually top ranked as one of the most crime ridden areas of the U.S., I wonder how San Francisco is effected by this. Also, I hear mixed bags of San Francisco being a city where you have to watch you're back all the time . Don't know how true that is but a lot of people definitely tell me that crime there is sketchy.
6) The People: Coming from NYC, I find people to be actually pretty friendly is you ask general questions (directions, time, train questions) and it's not as unruly as some people make it out to be. This city is also very dynamic and of course has plenty of character. On that same note, it has gotten more corporate in the past years and social dynamics are changing in that people have more of this "you're in my way" type of attitude and it can be a very cold city at times. A city of cliques almost.
How are the people of San Francisco for the most part? Colorful? Full of character? Rude? Bland? Will I get a different vibe and culture that will be different from me in NYC?
Well, thanks for taking your time to answer my questions, I truly appreciate it!
Well, I've posted some questions about Los Angeles but if I don't visit Los Angeles, my girlfriend and I want to visit more up north west and San Francisco is definitely on our list of places we want to visit.
One of the things that really interest me about San Francisco were it's really steep hills and of course, the Golden Gate Bridge. I know it might sound cliche to say that about San Fran, but when I visit a city I want to VISIT A CITY TO WALK! I love walking and exploring the city and it's people. Amongst other things, San Francisco seems to have a charm and character of it's own so I definitely have always had an interest in it. So here are my questions:
1) Walkable/mass transportation: I know this a probably a no brainer but I have to ask anyway. Though it's constantly ranked in the top 5 of walkable cities in the U.S., I still want to know from a native of San Francisco, how it is to work there. Coming from NYC, I'm more than conditioned to walking, so it really is nothing for me. I would like to know how it compares.
I also want to know how the mass transit is. NYC has probably the best mass transit in the world since it runs 24/7 but I want to know how the buses/trains/trolley's are over there. I don't care about renting a car and rather take public transportation or a cab anytime to save on money while I am there.
2) How is the nightlife?: Probably another silly question to ask but like I've said, I've never been there so I really don't know. I'm into the clubbing and bar scene so my girlfriend and I definitely would like to check out some clubs/bars while we're in the area. Other than that, is the city still vibrant at the late hours of the night? I love being out late at night.
3) Cuisine: How is the food? I'm into all sorts of food so I'm not picky. Any restaurants worth checking out? I heard about this over-the-top restaurants with dancing trannies and such.
4) How is the arts?: How is the art scene over there (theater, film, any type of art)? I know Los Angeles is the "creative capital of the world" and is south of San Francisco but I don't know much of the art scene over there but people I have met from San Francisco always seem to be very colorful of personality and creative (though they are not artist themselves).
5) Crime: With Oakland near by and usually top ranked as one of the most crime ridden areas of the U.S., I wonder how San Francisco is effected by this. Also, I hear mixed bags of San Francisco being a city where you have to watch you're back all the time . Don't know how true that is but a lot of people definitely tell me that crime there is sketchy.
6) The People: Coming from NYC, I find people to be actually pretty friendly is you ask general questions (directions, time, train questions) and it's not as unruly as some people make it out to be. This city is also very dynamic and of course has plenty of character. On that same note, it has gotten more corporate in the past years and social dynamics are changing in that people have more of this "you're in my way" type of attitude and it can be a very cold city at times. A city of cliques almost.
How are the people of San Francisco for the most part? Colorful? Full of character? Rude? Bland? Will I get a different vibe and culture that will be different from me in NYC?
Well, thanks for taking your time to answer my questions, I truly appreciate it!
San fran is very walk-able, though you'll probably want to aim for a specific district and explore it on foot.
The food, well, I may be biased, but it is some of the best in the world. Hard to compare to New York, but it is up there.
The art scene is great, but it really depends what you are looking for. I think it is one of the more artistic cities in the US. There is something about the old architecture that really adds to it. I love the houses around the Haight.
As for friendliness, it is about on par for a larger city. Friendlier than say, LA. Depends where you go and how you act, I guess. As with any financial district, you probably won't get much love, but the smaller ethnic communities are pretty good.
The vibe is TOTALLY different than New York. Very west coast, if you know what I mean.
Try these guys out, their san francisco tours are great. They will give you a good sampling of the food and neighbourhoods.
San fran is very walk-able, though you'll probably want to aim for a specific district and explore it on foot.
The food, well, I may be biased, but it is some of the best in the world. Hard to compare to New York, but it is up there.
The art scene is great, but it really depends what you are looking for. I think it is one of the more artistic cities in the US. There is something about the old architecture that really adds to it. I love the houses around the Haight.
As for friendliness, it is about on par for a larger city. Friendlier than say, LA. Depends where you go and how you act, I guess. As with any financial district, you probably won't get much love, but the smaller ethnic communities are pretty good.
The vibe is TOTALLY different than New York. Very west coast, if you know what I mean.
Try these guys out, their san francisco tours are great. They will give you a good sampling of the food and neighbourhoods.
Have a great trip...
I can say really take this into consideration as chrisrich said it well here. East coasters tend to be a bit confused at what seems to be a more introverted atmosphere. You will hear this said about SF, Seattle and San Diego in particular. People here are just not as, well..."in your face" like the east coast.
Transit here is no where near on par with NYC. There is not a gridded subway pattern, the subway is essentially the part of BART that is underground in the more central areas of the City. BART does not touch the outer districts. Something SF has that NYC does not is a light rail system. Coverage of that is passable but leaves out the entire NW and northern part of the City. That leaves the buses. Along primary routes it's on par with NYC in terms of coverage, in terms of performance, not so much.
Nightlife is considered sleepy by NYC standards, mostly due to 2AM cut off of alcohol service (in fact, earlier at most places on their own accord) and poor transit (other than night buses and very expensive, hard to flag down cabs) after midnight. There are few of the sorts of grand clubs one would find in NYC, the upside of course is covers are far lower.
People are people whereever you go, especially these days. That said, a more recent thing here is a sort of bat sh___ crazy type of Progressivism that makes the East Coast version look like your Grandfather's Progressivism. It's more like a religion than a polity here.
Agreed. Especially transit. Don't expect the level of NYC where you can walk to a subway station virtually anywhere Manhattan. BART is essentially just one line through SF coming from or going to different starting/stopping endpoints (think Boston's green line with different branches, it is somewhat like that). But they have the central SF subway in planning which will add another dimension to it.
SF's light rail is also not like those of Silicon Valley, Seattle, Minneapolis, Boston etc. that most of the time don't mess with the traffic. SF's light rails are more like buses with a track.
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Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly
Transit here is no where near on par with NYC. There is not a gridded subway pattern, the subway is essentially the part of BART that is underground in the more central areas of the City. BART does not touch the outer districts. Something SF has that NYC does not is a light rail system. Coverage of that is passable but leaves out the entire NW and northern part of the City. That leaves the buses. Along primary routes it's on par with NYC in terms of coverage, in terms of performance, not so much.
Nightlife is considered sleepy by NYC standards, mostly due to 2AM cut off of alcohol service (in fact, earlier at most places on their own accord) and poor transit (other than night buses and very expensive, hard to flag down cabs) after midnight. There are few of the sorts of grand clubs one would find in NYC, the upside of course is covers are far lower.
People are people whereever you go, especially these days. That said, a more recent thing here is a sort of bat sh___ crazy type of Progressivism that makes the East Coast version look like your Grandfather's Progressivism. It's more like a religion than a polity here.
Last edited by fashionguy; 04-04-2012 at 11:50 AM..
SF is definitely walkable. And you'll get quite a workout doing it too.
My limited experience with mass transit is that buses are annoyingly slow but the BART is okay.
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4) How is the arts?: How is the art scene over there (theater, film, any type of art)? I know Los Angeles is the "creative capital of the world" and is south of San Francisco but I don't know much of the art scene over there but people I have met from San Francisco always seem to be very colorful of personality and creative (though they are not artist themselves).
SF has a well developed music scene. Lots of local bands and lots of traveling bands passing through.
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5) Crime:
In SF there's quite a lot of homeless people and petty crime associated with them (theft, vandalism). There are also a few well known neighborhoods with high amount of violent crime. Apart from that, most of the neighborhoods are safe.
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6) The People: Coming from NYC, I find people to be actually pretty friendly
I personally think New Yorkers are much friendlier. New Yorkers enjoy talking.
The San Francisco vibe is different than NYC. Not as much diversity.
Thanks so much for all your info guys! As for the transportation, I'm not expecting it to be on par with NYC. NYC has the best public transportation system without question in the U.S. As long as I can walk, bike or even hail a cab to where I got to go, then I'll be fine.
Another question, for BayareaHillBilly: So the alcohol stops being served at 2am, does that mean the other bars and/or clubs close at time?
Another question, for BayareaHillBilly: So the alcohol stops being served at 2am, does that mean the other bars and/or clubs close at time?
State law forbids the sell of alcohol between 2am and 6am. That includes bars, clubs, liquor stores, etc. and therefore they all close down. "Last call" is about 1:30am giving you about half hour to finish your drink. You need to stock up before 2am if you intend to drink all night long
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. Don't know how true that is but a lot of people definitely tell me that crime there is sketchy. 
