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Started this thread because of a separate discussion involving Californian cities matched up with other great metros in the United States in the NYC perfect metro thread.
Not trying to single out scrantiX, just posting what he stated and whether you agree with it or not.
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Originally Posted by scrantiX
I'm going to have to make some amends, San Francisco Bay Area is not the most perfect metro in the country because that title should rightfully be shared between the bay and LA. New York can be a distant third choice with Chicago an even more distant fourth choice.
IMO, there isn't a such thing as a perfect metro and it will always be subjective because everyone likes different things. Just making this to see what the majority think around here. With that said, would you consider NYC & Chicago as cities to be closer to a perfect metro or would you take SF & LA to be closer to perfect metro? (In other words, if you were ranking cities closest to a perfect metro would you rank NYC and Chicago 1 and 2 or SF and LA to be 1 and 2?)
I don't think there is a perfect metro, what's perfect to one person isn't perfect to everybody.
I will say though for me NYC, Chicago, and SF are as perfect as they get in this country. All 3 have their own flavors, each one representing the best from the 3 sections of the country.
It saddens me to have to vote against SF but its on the wrong team because the other ballot with NYC and Chicago has 2 of 3 of my preferred choices to live.
Nothing wrong with being 3rd and 4th, you're just not in California which means horrible climate, horrible politics, uglier women, worse food, less media coverage, less fame, less of almost everything basically. Hope you can live with that.
Well, I think San Fran is a neater city than either Chicago (human wasteland) or NYC (dump), so it gets my vote. I thought the area around LA was striking, but I wouldn't be able to stand living there.
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Originally Posted by scrantiX
LA better than NYC
SF better than Chicago
Nothing wrong with being 3rd and 4th, you're just not in California which means horrible climate, horrible politics, uglier women, worse food, less media coverage, less fame, less of almost everything basically. Hope you can live with that.
We're talking about cities, bud, not states. California has nice parts, but it also has areas you couldn't pay me to be in, same as any other state. And, since you brought them up, let's run down the list.
Horrible Climate -- Uh, last time I checked California has everything from deserts to pine forests and mountains. If a climate somewhere else is 'horrible,' yet it's represented in California, does that not make Cali's climate 'horrible' too?
Horrible Politics -- CA is infested with *******s. Nothing more needs to be said.
Uglier Women -- ??? Okay... no idea where this is coming from.
Worse Food -- Same food as anywhere else.
Less Media Coverage -- Last time I checked, D.C. and NYC get the most coverage. Cali might be a distant third... not even sure about that.
We're talking about cities, bud, not states. California has nice parts, but it also has areas you couldn't pay me to be in, same as any other state. And, since you brought them up, let's run down the list.
Right, cities except SF and LA are in California. Decisions made in California affect SF and LA. Its important to consider what makes California so great and most of that is thanks to the glorious scenery, biodiversity in climate, and last but not least SF and LA.
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Horrible Climate -- Uh, last time I checked California has everything from deserts to pine forests and mountains. If a climate somewhere else is 'horrible,' yet it's represented in California, does that not make Cali's climate 'horrible' too?
True, California does have its hot areas and cold areas. Actually some of the hottest temperatures recorded in the country are in the Mojave desert in California and plenty of places get to below freezing point.
Thanks for bringing this up, you did good. Pat yourself on the back, you just reminded me that people in California have a choice of what climate they can live in but I prefer near the coast where its cool all year with no snow or humidity. Sucks that New Yorkers and Chicagoans don't have that choice.
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Horrible Politics -- CA is infested with *******s. Nothing more needs to be said.
California is the most politically influential state. The president basically comes here to SV with his hands open begging for money. That's saying something.
If "*******s" is another way to say progressive then so be it. Sure beats having that whack job Donald Trump representing and humiliating us. He's the worst run for politician there has ever been especially with his birther conspiracies and guess what? He's a New Yorker!
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Uglier Women -- ??? Okay... no idea where this is coming from.
Oh you know, women who can dress as much or as little as they want all year round in places like San Diego or Santa Monica. Can that be done in New York or Chicago, the frozen tundras back east? LOL.
The women are much hotter in LA and San Diego than they are in NYC or Chicago but I will retract San Diego from this comparison since its not here.
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Worse Food -- Same food as anywhere else.
No its not the same food. California is the largest state in agriculture and produce, the food we grow here are the most organic in the country and its all thanks to our hospitable growing climate in the central valley. Which reminds me, our wine is better than NYC or Chicago's too.
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Less Media Coverage -- Last time I checked, D.C. and NYC get the most coverage. Cali might be a distant third... not even sure about that.
Right, you know that industry Hollywood. You know the one based in LA, why would NYC or DC be ahead of California (especially LA) in media coverage?
I agree there is no "perfect" metro, although these four are damn impressive. But the problem I see in this comparison (and I don't really know why I think of it in this term), is that as great as NYC and Chicago are, they are very much alike imo, so much so that some people refer to Chicago as "NYC Lite." LA and SF are two very different cities, and because of that difference, it's hard to compare "SF & LA" pair to "NYC & Chicago." I think if you like NYC, then you'll like Chicago, and vice-versa. But since SF and LA are very different, I think you'll be able to appreciate the difference more and enjoy what each city brings to the table. So some examples would be Chicago's dramatic skyline with more dramatic skyline of NYC, or Chicago's lack of beaches and mountains with a further lack of beaches and mountains in NYC, or Chicago's great public transit with more of the same in NYC, or NYC's financial prowess with more of the same financial prowess of Chicago, or both cities' harsh winters and humid summers. Of course, I'm not saying it's like that across the board, but it just doesn't feel like a good balance. Your #1 and #2 cities would be pretty similar, but I guess if that's what you like, then it would make sense. But with SF and LA, you would get the "East Coast urbanity" feel of SF that many people like with the geographical settings (i.e. beautiful beaches and mountains) that LA provides, or SF's public transit with LA's car culture, or SF's cooler climate with LA's more warmer, Mediterranean climate, or SF's financial industry making up for the perceived lack of financial industry in LA, but with LA bringing to the table manufacturing. So if you like LA and SF as #1 and #2, you'll get the best of both worlds so to speak.
I agree that New York and Chicago are very very similar in a lot of ways. While LA and SF couldn't be more different. I think LA + SF is better than NYC + CHI.
The Differences between SF and LA compliment each other when both cities are combined as one.
LA's size + SF's Density that would be real cool to see. (Actually scratch that, LA already has the most densly populated Urban area in the Country)
LA's beaches + SF's (well, Bay Area's) waves....UNREAL!!!
LA's Koreatown + SF's Chinatown...
The Turf war between West Hollywood and the Castro district
SF's COL + LA's COL .......Oh God.
The differences between LA and SF make things more interesting if they were one city....NYC + CHI on the otherhand...
New Yorks skyline + Chicago's Skyline...Um okay so...now there are a million skyscrapers and nobody on the street can tell the difference between Noon and 2am.
NYC transit + CHI transit Great, now there are 80,000 miles of Elevated Rail blocking what little sunlight that did manage to seep through the 10 Million skyscrapers.
I don't know, NYC and CHI's similarities don't seem to compliment each other the way LA and SF's differences seem to do.
Last edited by MB8abovetherim; 06-02-2012 at 01:48 PM..
NYC and Chicago built the country so that would allow people to ultimately move to California.
California is NOT perfect, and has its problems, and NYC and Chicago are great cities, but to me they just feel anachronistic. With all the diversity, and something to offer for everyone, and countless opportunities so one is never bored (especially NYC) despite the many people feel otherwise, they don't feel like places one can truly be themselves, (thats just my opinion).
The juxtaposition of nature/wilderness and city in California, with the climate, means that one can be so much more laid back in an urban environment. Sorry, central park and Chicagos lakefront, although the suburban hinterlands of both areas do have lots of great woods, wetlands, etc., etc.
There is just something about Mediterranean environments of the world that make them special (other four: Mediteranean basin/southern Europe, South Australia, the Cape of South Africa, and central Chile).
BTW: I am typing this while I have the Grateful Dead on. Outdated yes. Not a deadhead by any means. I just could not imagine the Dead coming out of NYC or Chicago.
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