San Francisco VS Los Angeles (San Jose: transplants, houses, neighborhood)

[SeattleWANative]

Hi I moved to Los Angeles about 3 years ago from Seattle. At the time I was debating whether to move to SF or LA and had picked SF but last minute the dude from SF said he had a drug problem so I picked LA. Right now I am considering moving to SF.

Here are the issues I have with Los Angeles

1.The sheer number of fake people - meaning people who moved to L.A. to pursue some career that involves them trying to be famous and people who get a lot of plastic surgery and overall don't really care about helping their neighbor out and they are really into material possesions and are just in general not nice to people they don't know very well.

2.Everything is so spread out / public transportation kinda sucks - I don't think I've rode on a worse public transportation system except for a few streets the bus service stops running around 1AM on a lot of streets, and the subway (metro rail) stops running around 1AM too and starts again at 5AM, it's really hard to get around in this town without a car and then when you do have a car you get parking tickets way too easily and it's always hard to find parking spots.

3.It doesn't feel like a city - After living in Seattle for almost a year the layout of Seattle is way more a city than Los Angeles, LA feels like a 3rd world country with an area that I'd say is like one fifth the city that's actually decent, the rest of the city is really ghetto like really ghetto.

So after all that I am thinking about moving to San Francisco. Has anyone else lived in Los Angeles and moved to San Francisco? Let me list a few things about SF that I've heard that make it hard for me to know if that's the right decision. I've only been in SF briefly and I felt people there actually cared that I was from Seattle and were overall really nice to me, I've heard it's more community based than everyone for themselves, I really enjoy making friends and looking out for people.

1.I've heard that people in SF are very opinionated and very PC so you have to be really PC all the time, some people have said that's its a different kind of fake that's worse than Los Angeles.

2.That it's way colder than Los Angeles

3.That the singles scene isn't really that good there and there's way better women in Los Angeles.

4.People I've met that grew up in SF and moved to LA say they love L.A. a lot more but people in SF who are visiting LA say they love SF way more.

Anyways feel free to add whatever you have to say. Should I move to SF or stay in LA?

[sacramento916]

I can help you with this. I'm a SF native who lived in LA for five years. By the end of that, it was time to get the hell out.

SF is a real city. LA is not. LA is more a collection of 30 small to mid sized cities. It feels overwhelming because there is so much sprawl and traffic, but ironically it doesn't feel particularly overwhelming.

SF is a real city surrounded by urban cities and nice suburbs. SF has politically conscious people, LA is mostly materialistic focused. SF has a very urban feel to it, and is very dense. It also has a romantic charm not found in LA.

Basically, if you are a thinking, politically conscious and cultured person, you will like SF. If you are very money driven, materialistic, brands obsessed person, you will prefer LA.

[jade408]

SF, as in the city limits, is "way colder" than LA in the summer. SF doesn't really have a traditional summer. The weather is pretty much the same all year round. Spring, Summer and Fall typically have highs around 65. Lows around 50. Summer generally has the most fog. Fall and Spring in SF are the times with the best weather. Winter is colder: highs in the 50s, and lows in the 40s with rain. It rains more than LA, but it isn't Seattle. In a very rainy winter it will rain more than 2 days in a row without a break. But most of the time on a rainy day, the clouds break, it only rains for a few hours. It doesn't rain constantly for days at a time.

So if you want to wear shorts and tank tops in the summer, SF isn't the place to be. But in the greater Bay Area there are places that feel like summer during the summer, in the inland parts. For the rest of the year the weather is very similar in the whole region, but inland areas are colder at night, some even have occasional frost.

[jade408]

In terms of the singles scene, I think that LA women try harder to "look good" with lots of makeup, plastic surgery, whatever. Women in the Bay Area generally don't try very hard -- people wear less make up and dress more casually/practical. You won't meet many plastic/image conscious people in the Bay Area. The definition of image conscious are very different.

[Natural510]

The upside in San Francisco proper, is the heterosexual male to female is very favorable if you're a dude. Not so much in other parts of the Bay Area, but definitely in the SF singles scene.
I do agree there is a different type of superficiality in the Bay Area; in LA it's mainly materialistic, but in the Bay it's more people trying to out-image each other in their favored group (whether ethnic, musical, or other lifestyle). Too many people attempting to be the most authentic at however they see themselves, when most of them either grew up in California or are transplants who otherwise have adopted some form of culture.

[SeattleWANative]

I just moved to SF it's my 5th day here. I'm starting to think I like LA more, aside from the weather being way better in LA although I do realize it hasn't rained as much as it usually has in SF it seems like I've observed the following.

-People in San Francisco keep to themselves, it reminds me a lot like Seattle. Someone I ran into told me it was like a small town, if I wanted to live in a small town I'd move to a small town where I wasn't paying the same price for a huge room in L.A. in the nice area that I get basically a closet in SF in a semi-ghetto area.

- I think there's more people moving to L.A. than SF so it's easier to run into someone who just moved there and is looking for friends, I've been walking around SF trying to make friends and it's really hard. I made so many friends in L.A. I could just go out and people would ask for my number and want to hang out with me, I made new friends almost every time I went out.

- It's really hard to find stuff to do here, in L.A. I found multiple websites that listed like all the current bars having events, or other types of music things or gatherings. I've had to do everything by word of mouth here in SF.

- Sure the people in L.A. might be more fake like plastic surgery and all but every time I try to talk to people here they question me in L.A. they didn't really care to know about my reasons for being there.

[yowps3]

What's wrong with having actual residential houses spread out? Unlike SF where it's all boxes and studious with the exception of San Jose.. Which is setup like LA..

[ValleyBoy85]

LA is Most Popular City For Europeans Looking to Move to US - Facts & Figures - Curbed LA

Buying the American Dream with Euros » Trulia Insights

Enough Said!

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by SeattleWANative

I've had to do everything by word of mouth here in SF.

Yeah, I have noticed that about SF vs LA. When it comes to things to do in SF, people go to their circle of friends.

- Sure the people in L.A. might be more fake like plastic surgery and all but every time I try to talk to people here they question me in L.A. they didn't really care to know about my reasons for being there.

So you just said that people keep to themselves in SF and now are complaining cause people in SF seem interested in who you are and what your doing there?

Originally Posted by Natural510

Too many people attempting to be the most authentic at however they see themselves, when most of them either grew up in California or are transplants who otherwise have adopted some form of culture.

I am very intrigued by the bolded part of this quote---makes a ton of sense now that I think about it. People in the Bay Area can be a bit over the top about keeping it real(to whatever lifestyle, culture, group, clique they belong to).

On the other hand, I honestly find people in the Bay Area to be a bit less guarded about hanging out with those of different races and ethnic groups.

Obviously Im speaking from my experiences and other people might have other opinions.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by SeattleWANative

I just moved to SF it's my 5th day here. I'm starting to think I like LA more, aside from the weather being way better in LA although I do realize it hasn't rained as much as it usually has in SF it seems like I've observed the following.

It is winter. Winter is in the Bay is chiller than in LA. But we are also having extremely cold weather at the moment.

-People in San Francisco keep to themselves, it reminds me a lot like Seattle. Someone I ran into told me it was like a small town, if I wanted to live in a small town I'd move to a small town where I wasn't paying the same price for a huge room in L.A. in the nice area that I get basically a closet in SF in a semi-ghetto area.

- I think there's more people moving to L.A. than SF so it's easier to run into someone who just moved there and is looking for friends, I've been walking around SF trying to make friends and it's really hard. I made so many friends in L.A. I could just go out and people would ask for my number and want to hang out with me, I made new friends almost every time I went out.

Depends where you go, I meet people almost every time I go out. I have trouble turning those positive meetings into friendships since I am over committed. If the other person made and effort, I would join in, I just don't have time at the moment to do all the cultivating.

- It's really hard to find stuff to do here, in L.A. I found multiple websites that listed like all the current bars having events, or other types of music things or gatherings. I've had to do everything by word of mouth here in SF.

Really? SF Weekly? Flavorpill? Eater SF? Meetup.com? Thrillist? I never have time to do half of the things I hear about.
Here are some links:
San Francisco | New | Thrillist
Flavorpill San Francisco Home
Do something, Learn something, Share something, Change something - Meetup

- Sure the people in L.A. might be more fake like plastic surgery and all but every time I try to talk to people here they question me in L.A. they didn't really care to know about my reasons for being there.

So you want people to ask for you phone number before asking questions? Huh? That doesn't make sense to me.

It's been 5 days. It is hard to get a sense of anything in 5 days.
Almost every bar in SF has happy hour. Pick a neighborhood, pick a bar and go. If you are personable, you'll make some new contacts. I do every time I go to happy hour.