Why woud someone choose SF over LA? (Los Angeles, San Francisco: lofts, theater)

[Pietro25]

I grew up in LA; have lived in SF for 30+ years.

Basically what SF has over LA is walkability. I can pass a week in SF without getting into my car. Everything I need is within walking distance. The corner store (they don't have them in LA but corner stores are an institution in SF) is a beautiful thing. You run out of milk and all you have to do is walk to the corner to buy a quart. Such a thing is inconceivable in the City of the Angels. And, of course, SF is a feast for the walker. You see all kinds of interesting architecture and everytime you crest a hill you get a wonderful new view of the city and the bay or ocean.

What I miss about LA is the summer weather and the basic open-mindedness of the people. I have a dream of moving to Venice Beach or Santa Monica as an old man. The weather and warm ocean water would be good for me. And the eye candy would keep me alert.

[beb0p]

Originally Posted by drunk on kool aid

Interestingly, it's one of your own who stated this very idea: Oakland = mini LA?. See bullet point #9.

The thread is just an observation. No one was saying "LA is jealous" or "LA sucks" or "LA rocks!". It's just, "Hey, you know what, maybe Oakland structurally is like that city down south that we really don't think about all that much..."

That thread is pretty much the exception that proves the rule.
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[04kL4nD]

Originally Posted by pietro25

i grew up in la; have lived in sf for 30+ years.

Basically what sf has over la is walkability. I can pass a week in sf without getting into my car. Everything i need is within walking distance. The corner store (they don't have them in la but corner stores are an institution in sf) is a beautiful thing. You run out of milk and all you have to do is walk to the corner to buy a quart. Such a thing is inconceivable in the city of the angels. And, of course, sf is a feast for the walker. You see all kinds of interesting architecture and everytime you crest a hill you get a wonderful new view of the city and the bay or ocean.

What i miss about la is the summer weather and the basic open-mindedness of the people. I have a dream of moving to venice beach or santa monica as an old man. the weather and warm ocean water would be good for me. And the eye candy would keep me alert.

hahahahahaha

[beb0p]

Originally Posted by Chimérique

You obviously don't get it. This is just another example of a complete lack of COMMON SENSE. People are, at times, envious of other places, ether superficially, or for deeper reasons. People make comments all the time, For example, "I wish it wasn't so cold here, I'd love to live in Florida because it never gets cold", thats being envious or even jealous. You can be envious of someone or something without having an inferiority complex.

For decades, LA and SF, WERE, I REPEAT WERE, in DECADES PAST, the only affordable hip cities with booming economies in America. NYC may have been hip with a growing economy but it was extremely expensive compared to LA and SF. I'm talking about the decades from the 40's through the 90's - LA was the media darling and it deserved it.

It's you who don't get it. You are taking a very small subset of people and applying it to the whole. There are always a few here and there who wished to live somewhere else, married to someone else, doing different jobs, drive different cars, etc, etc. And guess what? These people basically cancels each other out across various cities - there people in Florida who complains that, "There are no jobs here. Hurricane sucks. People are so superficial. I want to move to (name of place)!" We are not living in some authoritarian country where we must stay where we are, you know. People who want to live a different place by and large can just move there.

Being envious does not signal an inferiority complex, but needing to believe that other people is envious of you does signal an inferiority complex.

And I guess Seattle and Chicago (just to name a couple) don't count.
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[Chava61]

Since personally I dislike driving, the appeal of SF over L.A. is the fact that one can get around SF by public transportation much more easily than L.A.

[ssmaster]

I like sf because you can have urban walkable areas near great restaurants

I like LA because you can have a pool and drive a masarati ,Ferrari or audi R8 and your are not a douchebag because some people are driving Bentleys and Rolls Royce's

[04kL4nD]

nah, you're still a douchebag for driving those cars, but at least there are tons of other douchebags around to make you feel better for being so ridiculous.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Pietro25

I grew up in LA; have lived in SF for 30+ years.

Basically what SF has over LA is walkability. I can pass a week in SF without getting into my car. Everything I need is within walking distance. The corner store (they don't have them in LA but corner stores are an institution in SF) is a beautiful thing. You run out of milk and all you have to do is walk to the corner to buy a quart. Such a thing is inconceivable in the City of the Angels. And, of course, SF is a feast for the walker. You see all kinds of interesting architecture and everytime you crest a hill you get a wonderful new view of the city and the bay or ocean..

This is what I missed when I moved away from the Bay Area. The neighborhood supermarket. Most neighborhoods in Berkeley have a grocery store and pharmacy within walking distance, often with other shops nearby, all locally-owned. They don't design cities like that anymore in the US, and haven't for a long time. Berkeley and SF architecture, Oakland too, are a feast for the eyes, as is the Bay.

[Bonez765]

Originally Posted by Pietro25

What I miss about LA is the summer weather and the basic open-mindedness of the people.

^that, I disagree with. LA people aren't the type who tend to be open-minded. that has historically been a domain of Northern Californians rather of Southern Californians but that's changing because the Bay Area is getting full of douchebags like LA.

[dalparadise]

Originally Posted by Pietro25

I grew up in LA; have lived in SF for 30+ years.

Basically what SF has over LA is walkability. I can pass a week in SF without getting into my car. Everything I need is within walking distance. The corner store (they don't have them in LA but corner stores are an institution in SF) is a beautiful thing. You run out of milk and all you have to do is walk to the corner to buy a quart. Such a thing is inconceivable in the City of the Angels. And, of course, SF is a feast for the walker. You see all kinds of interesting architecture and everytime you crest a hill you get a wonderful new view of the city and the bay or ocean.

What I miss about LA is the summer weather and the basic open-mindedness of the people. I have a dream of moving to Venice Beach or Santa Monica as an old man. The weather and warm ocean water would be good for me. And the eye candy would keep me alert.

Okay, but you can't just brush that off, because it's huge. Walkability changes the way neighborhoods are experienced, the way people interact with one another, mixes in ethnicities, the general vibe of the city, etc. it's a really big deal. It influences things like city politics and urban planning, too. It changes the way storefronts and freeways are designed, and that filters into zoning for shopping districts and public transportation designs. Walkability--really, what SF has is a walk-positive stance and infrastructure--is one of the single-most important factors in urban planning and development, in my opinion.