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Which city has more prestige, presence, desirability & respect?
Not sure where you came up with just these four choices in the US. Does population have anything to do with it? IMHO all US cities have a degree of "prestige" or whatever you want to call it, but also have less desirable aspects to them. Boston, Philadelphia - two cities steeped in history could be added as a choice. I've heard decent things about Denver and Seattle.
Location: Watching half my country turn into Gilead
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How is D.C. not outright winning this poll? Say what you want about the federal government's efficacy, but prestige and politics kind of go hand in hand. Throw in all the museums and monuments, and I don't see how this is even a question. Los Angeles, aside from the floundering Academy Awards, isn't very "prestigious", and neither is new tech money from the Bay.
I would say SF has more of a cachet to it. You don't really hear people speak ill of SF that often (in the real world anyway).
-Very walkable
-Liberal, ecofriendly/gay rights mecca
-Diverse, racially integrated
-Beautiful landscape
-Relatively low crime
-Very recognizable icons
-Prestigious schools
-Good transit by US standards
-Restaurants, wine, etc.
SF seems to have everything a SWPL could ask for. It seems to be universally praised among non-conservatives. LA, on the other hand, seems to draw the ire of more people. A lot of people obviously love LA, but you often hear about smog, racial segregation, sprawl, poor public transit, gang warfare, a superficial, entertainment obsessed-culture, etc. Whether any of that is actually true or not, these are things you often hear people say about LA.
The only people who seem to hate SF are hard-core conservatives who poke fun at it and people in Southern California. On the East Coast, I think SF is viewed as the more "cultured" city.
How is D.C. not outright winning this poll? Say what you want about the federal government's efficacy, but prestige and politics kind of go hand in hand. Throw in all the museums and monuments, and I don't see how this is even a question. Los Angeles, aside from the floundering Academy Awards, isn't very "prestigious", and neither is new tech money from the Bay.
How laughable.
DC is not more old money San Francisco. It became capital in 1801, was burned by the British in 1812 and then had about 35 years to establish itself before San Francisco lept on to the world stage literally overnight.
Unless you can share with us what old money established itself in DC between 1812-1848(the gold rush)? You could be right, I just dont see it.
In the mid 1800s, San Francisco was populated by Railroad Barons, Gold Barons, Banking Tycoons etc. at a time that DC was largely a town of government clerks. Stanford University is a result of one such tycoon, Leland Stanford's desire to create a world class institution of higher learning in the West.
Nob Hill was known the world over as a residence of the rich long before any DC neighborhood achieved such acclaim.
I totally agree that DC is very prestigious a place of business, as a place to live, today.
But your reasoning with respect to old and new money in SF is quite wrong.
Yes, there is lots of new money in SF, but there is also lots of old money. At least in the same way as DC.
How is D.C. not outright winning this poll? Say what you want about the federal government's efficacy, but prestige and politics kind of go hand in hand. Throw in all the museums and monuments, and I don't see how this is even a question. Los Angeles, aside from the floundering Academy Awards, isn't very "prestigious", and neither is new tech money from the Bay.
Is new money from government contracting prestigious?
Washington, DC doesn't have much of a brand. When have you ever walked into a store and seen "New York/Paris/Milan/Tokyo/Washington" on a t-shirt?
How is D.C. not outright winning this poll? Say what you want about the federal government's efficacy, but prestige and politics kind of go hand in hand. Throw in all the museums and monuments, and I don't see how this is even a question. Los Angeles, aside from the floundering Academy Awards, isn't very "prestigious", and neither is new tech money from the Bay.
L.A. is capitalizing on the Pacific Rim trade. Besides entertainment, there is a huge import-export business here. The American address of those importers on the Filipino foodstuffs that my family uses are in the Los Angeles area. After all, it's the largest port in America.
Century City is full of lawyers and bankers. It's basically the Wall Street of the West now (instead of San Francisco).
Downtown L.A. has the largest federal government presence outside of Washington D.C. Getting transferred to the L.A. office is not a bad promotion after all. Obama should have bought the Spelling Manor to replace the small, dated White House and move the federal government to L.A.!
The economy of L.A. is much more diverse these days, ranging from manufacturing to shipping. There is enough critical mass for niche professions and hobbies to take hold. Geography and theology are examples of the niche professions, while anime is the most prominent niche hobby.
Lots of cultural activities. The art scene is vibrant, especially in the Contemporary art scene. D.C. has the taxpayer-funded Smithsonian. L.A. has the Getty which museum directors covet for its endowment size. L.A. has Gehry's Walt Disney Concert hall. D.C. has the brutalist neoclassical Kennedy Center.
Daily life does not revolve around national politics. But everyone comes home from work to relax in front of the T.V.! Most of those shows are taped in Los Angeles.
The bad crime press, and shrinking population automatically takes Chicago out of the running.
I would have to say it's a toss up between LA and SF for the most prestigious.
It's kind of subjective with no definitive criteria, but I think both these cities could make good arguments.
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