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Then you should never visit any cities other than the one you live in. London has buildings, streets, schools, churches and restaurants. NYC has buildings, street, schools, churches and restaurants. So I guess there's no point in visiting, right?
Culturally, London is different in many ways. Plus it offers an amazing urban environment not found in some of the big cities of the U.S. I'm saying, for example, if I was living in Seattle, which is somewhat isolated like San Francisco, I have no reason to visit Portland.
I'm not bashing Philly or DC, they are awesome places. If there was something I wanted to check out - like a museum, or a concert or visit friends, I will go. But, if I were living in DC, I am not making the commute to Phily just to "hang out" or eat at Five Guys, the Hard Rock. I can do it in D.C.
Now visiting London, Tokyo, Mexico City, Johannesburg, Paris, Hong Kong, that's a whole different animal. Those cities I'd like to visit.
-Restaurants : SF
-Grocery stores: Tie
-Farmers Markets: Don't know
-Coffee shops: Don't know
-Nightlife: DC
-Museums: DC
-Performing Arts: Don't know
-Public Transit: DC
-Biking Infrastructure (bike lanes, trails, general bike friendliness)
-Parks within city limits: SF
-Nearby destinations less than an hour's drive away: DC
-Nearby destinations over an hour away: DC
-Airports: DC
-Where would you live?: SF - Would love to experience a new city
Culturally, London is different in many ways. Plus offers an amazing urban environment. I'm saying, for example, if I was living in Seattle, which is somewhat isolated like San Francisco, I have no reason to visit Portland.
Now visiting London, Tokyo, Mexico City, Johannesburg, Paris, Hong Kong, that's a whole different animal. Those cities I'd like to visit.
The great thing about living on the east coast is that you can drive or catch the train to DC, Baltimore, Philly, NYC and Boston and still have the entire day to sightsee and explore. Each city offers something unique different. That's a plus.
I'm not bashing Philly or DC, they are awesome places. If there was something I wanted to check out - like a museum, or a concert or visit friends, I will go. But, if I was living in DC, I am not making the commute to Phily just to "hang out" or eat at Five Guys, the Hard Rock. I can do it in D.C.
Well, there are apparently a lot of people who feel the opposite of what you do. Every weekend, Bolt and Megabus are packed to capacity with people going back and forth between NYC and DC.
Each city has its own vibe. Sometimes you get tired of seeing the same old people in DC and want a new social scene. Sometimes you hear about a cool gallery in Philly and want to check it out. Sometimes you hear about embassy events in DC and want to check those out. Just because you live in a city like New York doesn't mean that you NEVER want to leave. Each city on the Coast has its own vibe and its own scene.
Plus, it's not always practical to go to Hong Kong for the weekend (not for me, anyway). I could easily leave for DC on Friday and be back in NYC on Sunday for less than $40 bucks.
Looking at the two cities by themselves, I prefer San Francisco. In my opinion, no other place in the U.S. combines big city urban living (walking, using transit, vibrant neighborhoods, etc.) with such quick and easy access to natural beauty (the bay, Marin County, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite). Also, San Francisco has such a wide variety of neighborhoods packed into a relatively small area, with many of the neighborhoods having their own "theme", it almost creates a Disneyland-like effect. You "China-land" (Chinatown), "Italy-land" (North Beach), "Hippie-land" (Haight), "Gay-land" (Castro), "Hipster-land" (Mission), "Frat-land" (Marina), etc. It's amazing the wide variety of scenes one can experience in a single day.
However, being the city person that I am, I prefer DC's setting in the Northeast megalopolis with numerous other big cities only a few hours away, as others have said. I love the bus culture that has developed between the cities in Bos-Wash corridor. There's nothing like hopping on a Bolt or Chinatown bus on a whim and being in Midtown Manhattan 3.5 hours later. If you like densely-packed walkable cities, San Francisco's really all you have out here, whereas DC has Baltimore, Philly, Pittsburgh, NYC, Boston...plus countless other medium/smaller cities scattered all throughout.
San Francisco is without a doubt my favorite city, but for the pure urban enthusiast, nothing in America compares to the Northeastern corridor.
-Restaurants SF no question
-Grocery stores Probably tie
-Farmers Markets SF no question
-Coffee shops SF no question
-Nightlife SF by a little (DC seemed lacking for my tastes, very afro-centric as well)
-Museums DC no question
-Performing Arts Probably DC
-Real Estate SF more expensive, DC cheaper
-Rental Housing SF more expensive, DC cheaper
-Public Transit DC by a little
-Biking Infrastructure (bike lanes, trails, general bike friendliness) SF no question
-Parks within city limits SF no question
-Nearby destinations less than an hour's drive away SF no question
-Nearby destinations over an hour away SF no question mainly for diversity and scenery, unless you want to see other big cities with similar amenities.
-Airports Tie
-Where would you live? Living the dream in SF as is!
Last edited by Rhymes with Best Coast; 02-08-2012 at 02:26 PM..
Culturally, London is different in many ways. Plus it offers an amazing urban environment not found in some of the big cities of the U.S. I'm saying, for example, if I was living in Seattle, which is somewhat isolated like San Francisco, I have no reason to visit Portland.
I'm not bashing Philly or DC, they are awesome places. If there was something I wanted to check out - like a museum, or a concert or visit friends, I will go. But, if I were living in DC, I am not making the commute to Phily just to "hang out" or eat at Five Guys, the Hard Rock. I can do it in D.C.
Now visiting London, Tokyo, Mexico City, Johannesburg, Paris, Hong Kong, that's a whole different animal. Those cities I'd like to visit.
I go to Baltimore and Philly to eat and just hang out all the time.
But as San Franciscan, I'm not going to book a ticket to Phoenix just for the hell of it. Everything Phoenix has, SF has.
Well, yeah. Cause that's Phoenix. NYC, Philly, Baltimore, Boston...those are places worth visiting. I consider DC's proximity to those cities to be a significant amenity--particularly with the service between them offered by Amtrak and the various tour buses.
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