East Coast vs. West Coast, Boston-California (San Diego, San Jose: home, school, colleges)

[caligirl1082]

Check out Cal Berkeley. It's a great college town, and is not very far from the City - driving, or on BART...I don't know maybe 20 minutes or less. it's slightly cheaper then actually living in SF, but does not lack on culture - there are amazing restaurants, it has awesome weather, people from all over the world come to go to school at Cal (a lot of the programs are top in the country), slightly hippy, very liberal, and pretty much all of the neighborhoods are fantastic. good luck!

[18Montclair]

People in l.a. are just more laid back and the ones in no cal take things a litte more serious.

Then why are people in LA more angry about stuff.

Just take a look at the LA forum, everyone seems pissed off at mexicans and anyone who isnt white.

I really believe that l.a. and s.f are complete opposites

How come all this "walking to the coffee bean" talk when obviously that is way more akin to the lifestyle that San Franciscans lead, no?...unlike LA where "walking" isnt something that place is known for. I mean, let's keep it real.

[18Montclair]

That said,
I think Berkeley is the best as far as walkable, vibrant yet real college environments go, at least on the west coast.

BART is a hop, skip and a jump to SF.

[DjRey]

I was born in SF and raised in the East Coast and North of the Bay.I feel Brandogirl on what she's saying about how people in SF really aren't that exciting and kinda dont have any real style.Dont get me wrong the Bay was the "Place" around mid 90's,Very diverse and fun.But now since lots minorities moved out,You're left with a pretty lame city.S.D,Las Vegas,San Jose,N.Y are way better for a mid 20's type person. Everybody also seems kinda pissed off in SF as well.When I first came back in 93',It was way better energy..Ya dig?

[jeevcy]

I've to totally disagree with Brandosgirl. SF is a place where the weather is chilly and sunny at the same time. As for getting up from bed, yes SF does provide you the incentive of getting up and catching those great views while travelling to work

[18Montclair]

Your too young to know what you want yet. Why not visit first and see if you like it.

[icazares]

My 5 cents. I don't like the weather of SF. It's not Mediterranean. It's almost 100% set by the Pacific Ocean which happens to be very cold. If you move a few miles out of the city in almost any direction other than the coast, you get sunny days most of the year. But hold on, it's not like you found gold. Sunny days are really sunny, even annoying. The clouds disappear for days. You also get a lot of wind. IMO, weather in the Bay Area is overrated.

As for friendliness and people, I'm sorry to disappoint the SF and Bay Area fans, but I don't find the crowd here particularly warmth or interesting. The SF people tend to believe that they are the most proggressive in the country, but that's just not true. People here believe that because they are more tolerant to all races in general, that automatically labels them as proggressive. Wrong.

The one great advantage (and one that is huge) is the economy. Very strong and very diverse. There are so many professional jobs that is hard to believe. The second greatest advantage would be the closeness to so many natural wonders. So you need to see what's important for you and make a decision. If natural wonders and a strong economy outweight so-so weather, average people (not better than Chicago, not worse than New York) and distance (in my case home is now really far), SF is the right decision.

One last word: if you are in the mid-20's building your future, I strongly recommend to buy the house where you live. Go to a more affordable place. I know dozens of Bay Area people in their 40's and 50's who never bought a home. It has been very expensive around here since this city was founded.

[rah]

Originally Posted by DjRey

I was born in SF and raised in the East Coast and North of the Bay.I feel Brandogirl on what she's saying about how people in SF really aren't that exciting and kinda dont have any real style.Dont get me wrong the Bay was the "Place" around mid 90's,Very diverse and fun.But now since lots minorities moved out,You're left with a pretty lame city.S.D,Las Vegas,San Jose,N.Y are way better for a mid 20's type person. Everybody also seems kinda pissed off in SF as well.When I first came back in 93',It was way better energy..Ya dig?

As a mid 20's person, I have to disagree with you. SF lame? Not exciting? No style? Lame compared to San Jose? Las Vegas?? C'mon...not to knock those cities, but seriously...in what ways? Also, it's true that rising prices have been pushing many working class people out of SF, most notably blacks. But SF still has larger black populations than SJ or SD percentage wise. In other aspects, SF is also at least as diverse as all of those cities you listed. As for the pissed off thing, how can you generalize an entire population as pissed off? I do agree that some of the changes since the 90's are disappointing...But SF is still a great place.

[DjRey]

I guess I'll be blunt. There's no hip hop scene here,really.The only Latinos I tend to meet that are really cool chill people dont even live in SF.Now if your White, Asian or Gay its a great city for ya.But I like seeing a little more than that.By the way I was born here and I've seen how it has changed.Alot of Latinos and Blacks feel me on what I'm talking about.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by DjRey

I guess I'll be blunt. There's no hip hop scene here,really.The only Latinos I tend to meet that are really cool chill people dont even live in SF.Now if your White, Asian or Gay its a great city for ya.But I like seeing a little more than that.By the way I was born here and I've seen how it has changed.Alot of Latinos and Blacks feel me on what I'm talking about.

What a crock.

The Bay Area constantly puts its own spin on hip hop, most recently through a movement known as Hyphy. Ever heard of that?

As far as Philly and Miami, Im sorry but those places arent in the same league as the Bay Area.

Downtown Philadelphia(was there 8 weeks ago) is really lifeless and boring compared to SF, mind you its not dead, but compared to SF its quite frankly, nothing. Sure its got history and architecture, but it doesnt have the buzz and excitement of DT SF at all.

Miami is alright but totally car dependent, has a very boring downtown, shallow intellectual offerings, south beach is fun though, but it seems Miami thrives more on its image then its reality.