Moving from San Diego to San Francisco (credit, college)

[hanniebal]

Hey everyone I've lived in San Diego since the 3rd grade and I might move to San Francisco for a job opportunity in early October.

I say "might" because I've been reading blogs and threads entitled "Why I Hate San Francisco". I don't think I should have. My optimism has been slightly crushed. You know, this being my first real job out of college.

Now I am a bit hesistant. Then again I googled "Why I hate San Diego" and I think people just love complaining.

So here's my questions:

- Is it really that bad, like really? Be honest and try your best not to come from a bitter, dark place.

I've been to SF about three times as a tourist and my grandfather even lived there for about 18 years and he was happy.





Oh and if I do move here, I promise I won't be a pretentious snob or a litter bug. Both of which I'm not anyways thank you very much.

I'd really like to hear your thoughts and opinions. Thanks in advance!

[sav858]

SF is a great city, I grew up in the Bay Area and moved to SD 8 years ago. I think you should do it for the experiance and to live somewhere new. I'm glad I did, you may even end up liking it more. If you liked what you saw and experianced then it should be fine. The people are cool overall. Every place has their stereotypes and such but most people are normal imo. Take what you read on the internet with a grain of salt. As long as you come with an open mind I doubt you'll have too much trouble adjusting.

[Chava61]

I think SF is a great city to live. I lived there and worked there for short period of time some years ago and I am very happy that I had the experience.

[Radical347]

I moved up here from San Diego. I too really enjoyed visiting here -- however when I moved here I had this idea it would be this big metropolitan city with an amazing transit system where you can find anything and everything, at least more than in San Diego. It really isn't. Don't get me wrong - SF has plenty of cool stuff, in many areas cooler than SD but not in anywhere close to 100% of the areas, which is what I initially thought (I know, naive.) Public transportation sucks here too.

It does have plenty of ups though. I'll admit it did take awhile to get used to, but to answer your question, no, it's not that bad. Now I like it for what it is. I think you'll be fine here.

(Tip: instead of 'Why I hate San Francisco,' try googling 'Why I love San Francisco'. You'll find plenty of results there too I'm sure.)

[rah]

Originally Posted by Radical347

I moved up here from San Diego. I too really enjoyed visiting here -- however when I moved here I had this idea it would be this big metropolitan city with an amazing transit system where you can find anything and everything, at least more than in San Diego. It really isn't. Don't get me wrong - SF has plenty of cool stuff, in many areas cooler than SD but not in anywhere close to 100% of the areas, which is what I initially thought (I know, naive.) Public transportation sucks here too.

It does have plenty of ups though. I'll admit it did take awhile to get used to, but to answer your question, no, it's not that bad. Now I like it for what it is. I think you'll be fine here.

(Tip: instead of 'Why I hate San Francisco,' try googling 'Why I love San Francisco'. You'll find plenty of results there too I'm sure.)

The public transportation in SF is pretty much light years ahead of SD's. Despite it's obvious problems, I think Muni gets a lot less credit then it deserves. For the most part great coverage (the Sunset in particular is a little sparse), buses and trains run late, including some that are 24 hours. We have an extensive light rail system that runs both above and underground, not to mention there's also BART. San Diego doesn't have nearly the same coverage or level of ridership as SF (Muni = 686,000 riders a day, MTS = 280,100 riders a day).

[theh]

Most people who live here like it plenty, they just don't post on these forums.

[youngchampion]

lol@ sf public transit system sucks. muni = best public transportation system on the west coast
with that said i never rode it when i lived in SF because i'd rather drive.

also this is personal preference but i rather live in the east bay and go to SF whenever i want than to actually live there. someone movin here from SD will find it hard to get used to (i think) because of how different the weather is. in the east bay however the weather is more comparable to san diego's. other than that though, SF is a great city, there's so much to do and see.. the rest of the bay area also has a lot to offer. i love san diego, its probably my second favorite place in all of california but the bay (and SF) are number 1. u'll know when (if) u get here, don't take anybody's word for it.

[matt345]

Originally Posted by youngchampion

lol@ sf public transit system sucks. muni = best public transportation system on the west coast

I know. San Francisco (and the entire Bay Area for that matter) easily has the best public transit on the West Coast, probably the best of any city west of the Mississippi. Yes, it may “suck” in comparison to the East Coast cities and Chicago, but it’s still much better than the vast majority of American cities. The fact that people even talk about living car-free here as a possibility is a major indicator of MUNI/BART’s effectiveness.

[City Boy]

Originally Posted by Radical347

I moved up here from San Diego. I too really enjoyed visiting here -- however when I moved here I had this idea it would be this big metropolitan city with an amazing transit system where you can find anything and everything, at least more than in San Diego. It really isn't. Don't get me wrong - SF has plenty of cool stuff, in many areas cooler than SD but not in anywhere close to 100% of the areas, which is what I initially thought (I know, naive.) Public transportation sucks here too.

It does have plenty of ups though. I'll admit it did take awhile to get used to, but to answer your question, no, it's not that bad. Now I like it for what it is. I think you'll be fine here.

(Tip: instead of 'Why I hate San Francisco,' try googling 'Why I love San Francisco'. You'll find plenty of results there too I'm sure.)

What do you mean by you thought you could find anything and everything in sf but couldn't . Just curious what could you not find here that you could find in SD other than better beaches. Also as mentioned the public transportation is really good in SF>

[Radical347]

Originally Posted by youngchampion

muni = best public transportation system on the west coast

Originally Posted by matt345

I know. San Francisco (and the entire Bay Area for that matter) easily has the best public transit on the West Coast, probably the best of any city west of the Mississippi.

These are both true statements, but I hope you realize that's not saying much.