After New York, which city has the most prestige? (cost, downtown, size)

[NOLA101]

Originally Posted by GTSAMG

Locations of homes priced $10 million and above, 2015
Manhattan: 612
The Hamptons: 253
Los Angeles County: 198
Miami: 192
Greenwich:45
Aspen: 42
Naples: 37
Palm Beach: 28
Dallas: 20
Westchester County: 19
Honolulu: 19
Marin County: 17
Santa Clara County: 16
Atherton: 12
Brooklyn: 10
La Jolla: 10
San Francisco: 9
Santa Barbara: 9
Atlanta: 9
Newport Beach: 6
Houston: 6
Washington, DC: 6

This is a perfect illustration of how SF is nowhere near LA in prestige.

SF just isn't as desirable. It has plenty of upper middle class people of course, and a fair amount of rich people, but the truly wealthy overwhelmingly prefer NYC and LA, and to a lesser extent South Florida, and not the Bay Area. Outside of rich local techies there are probably very few wealthy living in the Bay Area by choice.

I mean, Greenwich, a small suburb of NYC, has five times as many high-end home sales. The Hamptons has about 30 times as many high-end home sales. Even Dallas has more than twice the high-end sales.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

Obviously Ottawa will have some sort of prestige about it as the capital of Canada, but not nearly as much as Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and maybe even QC--at least from an American perspective. I don't know anyone who's visited Canada or who wants to visit Canada who's been to or wants to go to Ottawa. In the same way, Canberra doesn't appear to have nearly the same amount of prestige as Sydney, Melbourne, etc.

But "prestige" is a pretty subjective thing as has been demonstrated in this thread. I think most of it comes in the form of a city's built environment and personality, as well as the amenities and attractions they offer. So DC is not without competition here, especially since most visitors don't visit DC to actually see DC, but just the National Mall and museums and such.

I live very close to Ottawa and also lived there for a time, so I've used the city as a geographic identifier while travelling abroad. I am not sure it evokes much on the "prestige" front other than being the answer to a geography quiz question that people have memorized. If you probe further most people probably think it's an outpost of some kind that was picked as the capital to avoid a fight between two other larger cities. Which is an unfair characterization of modern-day Ottawa, but it is what it is...

Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and probably Quebec City and even Calgary (Olympics) likely have more prestige or brand recognition in the wider world than Ottawa does.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by GTSAMG

Most expensive homes sold, in past year, >$40MM.
1. 60 Further Lane, East Hampton, NY - $147mm
2. Copper Beech Farm, Greenwich, CT. $120mm
3. 157 West 57th Street #90, New York, NY $100.5mm
3. Fleur de Lys, Holmby Hills, CA $88mm
4. Wooldon Manor, Southampton, NY. $80mm
5. 834 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY $80mm
6. The Carolwood Estate, Holmby Hills, CA. $74mm
7. 740 Park Ave., New York, NY $71.3mm
8. 960 Fifth Ave., New York, NY $70mm
9. 1108 North Hillcrest Drive, Beverly Hills, CA. $70mm
10. 781 5th Avenue #18 New York, NY $67.5mm
11. 27852 Pacific Coast Hwy Malibu, CA $60mm
12. 157 West 57th Street, #82 New York, N.Y $56.1mm
13. 157 West 57th Street, #85 New York, N.Y $55.6mm
14. 157 West 57th Street, #86 New York, N.Y $55.5mm
15. 101 Lily Pond Ln, East Hampton NY $55mm
16. 157 West 57th Street, #80 New York, N.Y $52.95mm
17. 157 West 57th Street #84 New York, NY $52.9mm
18. 157 West 57th Street #79 New York, NY $50mm
19. 113-115 East 70th Street New York, NY $51MM
20. 157 West 57th Street #78, New York, N.Y $50.92mm
21. 212 W. 18th Street PH1, New York, N.Y. $50.9mm
22. 19 E. 70th Street, New York, N.Y. $50.25mm
22. 1 Central Park West, PH New York, NY $50.1mm
23. West End Road, East Hampton, N.Y. $50mm
24. 616 Nimes Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90077 $46.5mm
25. East 61st Street #Ph New York, NY $52mm
26. 601 N country Rd Palm Beach, FL $52mm
27. 360 S Mapleton Dr, Los Angeles, CA $49mm
28. 15 Central Park West Apt 18 New York, NY $48mm
28. 157 West 57th St Apt 40 New York, NY $47.7mm
29.. 3 Indian Creek Indian Creek, FL $47mm
30. 27 Christopher Street, New York, NY $45MM
31. 10231 Charing Cross Rd, Los Angeles, CA $45mm
32. 271 S Mapleton Dr, Los Angeles, CA $44mm
33. East 22nd Street PH New York, NY $43mm
34. 125 E 70th St New York, NY $42mm
35. 540 S Ocean Blvd Palm Beach, FL $42.9mm
36. 802 Greenwich Street, New York, NY $42.5MM
38. 1220 S Ocean Blvd Palm Beach, FL $42mm
39. 50 Central Park West #12 New York, NY $42mm
40. 576 Meadow Lane, Southampton, NY $41mm
41. 212 W 18th St PH 2 New York, NY $40.7mm
42. 12780 Chalon Rd, Los Angeles, CA $40mm
43. 125 Mid Ocean Drive, Bridgehampton NY $40mm

Or course, people splurge on vacation homes, but your bragging about millions seems rather silly next to this:

BILLION DOLLAR COMPANIES

San Francisco, 159 billion dollar companies, worth $3.791 TRILLION
Los Angeles, 81 billion dollar companies, worth $739 Billion

San Francisco: 159 companies valued at $1 Billion+
Combined Value $3.791.457 Trillion
Apple $665.68 Billion
Google $472.45 Billion
Wells Fargo $295.37 Billion
Facebook $268.15 Billion
Oracle $172.71 Billion
Gilead Sciences $171.84 Billion
Visa $163.49 Billion
Chevron $156.94 Billion
Cisco Systems $143.68 Billion
Intel $138.20 Billion
Netflix $52.63 Billion
Hewlett Packard $51.28 Billion
McKesson $50.08 Billion
Salesforce.com $47.62 Billion
PayPal Holdings $46.31 Billion
Charles Schwab $44.63 Billion
Adobe Systems $43.02 Billion
VMWare $37.63 Billion
eBay $33.83 Billion
Yahoo! $33.60 Billion
Tesla Motors $33.14 Billion
Intuit $29.15 Billion
Franklin Resources $26.94 Billion
PG&E $26.32 Billion
LinkedIn $24.36 Billion
Ross Stores $23.26 Billion
Electronic Arts $23.03 Billion
Prologis $22.15 Billion
Biomarin Pharmaceuticals $22.10 Billion
Applied Materials $20.43 Billion
Intuitive Surgical $19.61 Billion
Twitter $19.15 Billion
Equinix $16.39 Billion
Workday $15.77 Billion
Clorox $15.35 Billion
Essex Property Trust $15.25 Billion
Symantec $14.82 Billion
Altera $14.81 Billion
Palo Alto Networks $14.53 Billion
Gap $14.46 Billion
Agilent Technologies $13.01 Billion
Autodesk $12.43 Billion
NVIDIA $12.41 Billion
ServiceNow $11.85 Billion
SanDisk $11.63 Billion
Xilinx $11.11 Billion
Juniper Networks $10.81 Billion
Linear Technology $9.703 Billion
Maxim Intergrated Products $9.412 Billion
NetApp $9.23 Billion
Digital Realty Trust $9.125 Billion
Splunk $8.791 Billion
Varian Medical Systems $8.637 Billion
Cooper $8.505 Billion
Fortinet $8.171 Billion
Medvitation $8.125 Billion
Williams-Sonoma $8.118 Billion
Synopsys $8.060 Billion
KLA-Tencor $7.905 Billion
Robert Half International $7.740 Billion
NetSuite $7.721 Billion
GoPro $7.637 Billion
Fitbit $7.584 Billion
SVB Financial $7.274 Billion
FireEye $6.890 Billion
Cadence Design Systems $6.298 Billion
Anacor Pharmaceuticals $5.830 Billion
Arista Networks $5.387 Billion
Trimble Navigation $5.138 Billion
Keysight Technologies $5.080 Billion
LendingClub $4.994 Billion
SolarCity $4.932 Billion
Align Technology $4.846 Billion
Bio-Rad Laboratories $4.376 Billion
Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals $4.310 Billion
Brocade Communications $4.155 Billion
Guidewire Software $4.089 Billion
Cavium $4.033 Billion
Pandora Media $4.014 Billion
Restoration Hardware $3.995 Billion
Verifone Systems $3.809 Billion
Dolby Laboratories $3.494 Billion
Thoratec $3.449 Billion
Implax Laboratories $3.392 Billion
SunPower $3.383 Billion
Cypress Semiconductor $3.369 Billion
Veeva Systems $3.340 Billion
Ambarella $3.300 Billion
Atmel $3.251 Billion
Infinera $3.215 Billion
Synnex $3.110 Billion
Ubiquiti Networks $3.076 Billion
Fair Isaac $2.787 Billion
Integrated Devices $2.674 Billion
Synaptics $2.627 Billion
Portola Pharmaceuticals $2.537 Billion
Proofpoint $2.513 Billion
Blackhawk Network $2.450 Billion
Ellie Mae $2.426 Billion
Zynga $2.417 Billion
Pattern Energy Group $2.231 Billion
Logitech International $2.180 Billion
Imperva $2.161 Billion
Electronics for Imaging $2.150 Billion
Nimble Storage $2.039 Billion
Plantronics $1.986 Billion
Monolithic Power Systems $1.981 Billion
DepoMed $1.920 Billion
Yelp $1.912 Billion
Financial Engines $1.847 Billion
Simpson Manufacturing $1.818 Billion
Zendesk $1.811 Billion
Tessera Technologies $1.803 Billion
Finisar $1.781 Billion
Box $1.735 Billion
Theravance $1.734 Billion
WageWorks $1.716 Billion
Sanmina $1.677 Billion
Fairchild Semiconductor $1.637 Billion
Rambus $1.522 Billion
Virgin America $1.518 Billion
Natus Medical $1.490 Billion
Core-Mark Holdings $1.479 Billion
Shutterfly $1.476 Billion
Nektar Therapeutics $1.469 Billion
FibroGen $1.463 Billion
Polycom $1.454 Billion
OmniVision Technologies $1.453 Billion
RingCentral $1.445 Billion
Intersil $1.427 Billion
ZELTIQ Aesthetics $1.415 Billion
Advanced Micro Devices $1.410 Billion
Barracuda Networks $1.393 Billion
Inflobox $1.344 Billion
Granite Construction $1.321 Billion
Viavi Solutions $1.319 Billion
Trinet Group $1.300 Billion
Super Micro $1.300 Billion
Exelixis $1.288 Billion
Omnicell $1.287 Billion
Redwood Trust $1.282 Billion
Westamerica Bancorp $1.243 Billion
PMC-Sierra $1.237 Billion
Marketo $1.232 Billion
Nevro $1.230 Billion
Atara Biotherapeutics $1.208 Billion
Heron Therapautics $1.151 Billion
Dynavax Technologies $1.147 Billion
Exponent $1.135 Billion
Qualys $1.125 Billion
Power Integration $1.113 Billion
Abaxis $1.089 Billion
Ruckus Wireless $1.071 Billion
Coherus BioSciences $1.063 Billion
California Water Service $1.054 Billion
Netgear $1.048 Billion
Raptor Pharmaceuticals $1.046 Billion
Relypsa $1.019 Billion
Diamond Foods $1.004 Billion

Los Angeles: 81 companies valued at $1 Billion+
Combined Value: $739.088 Billion
Disney $180.47 Billion
Amgen $127.17 Billion
Public Storage $37.51 Billion
Broadcom $30.98 Billion
Monster Beverage $30.93 Billion
Activision Blizzard $21.31 Billion
Edison International $19.95 Billion
Western Digital $19.24 Billion
HCP $18.81 Billion
Edward Lifesciences $15.62 Billion
Macerich $12.82 Billion
CBRE Group $12.52 Billion
Oaktree Capital Group $8.492 Billion
Skechers USA $8.038 Billion
Mattel $7.751 Billion
Alexandria Real Estate Equities $6.858 Billion
Kilroy Realty $6.776 Billion
EastWest Bank $6.482 Billion
Avery Denison $5.829 Billion
Health Net $5.508 Billion
Jacobs Engineering $5.367 Billion
Live Nation Entertainment $5.311 Billion
City National $4.988 Billion
VCA $4.814 Billion
First American Financial $4.563 Billion
Douglas Emmett $4.529 Billion
Molina Healthcare $4.504 Billion
Reliance Steel $4.488 Billion
Aecom $4.408 Billion
Ingram Micro $4.115 Billion
Ares Management $3.907 Billion
Cepheid $3.703 Billion
Teledyne Technologies $3.697 Billion
Air Lease $3.570 Billion
j2 Global $3.539 Billion
CoreLogic $3.460 Billion
American Homes 4 Rent $3.310 Billion
Microsemi $3.121 Billion
Sunstone Hotel Investors $3.088 Billion
Mercury General $3.054 Billion
Puma Biotechnology $2.980 Billion
Kennedy-Wilson $2.902 Billion
Hudson Pacific Properties $2.834 Billion
Cathay General Bank $2.644 Billion
Colony Capital $2.588 Billion
Standard Pacific Homes $2.552 Billion
TRI Pointe Group $2.506 Billion
Kite Pharma $2.478 Billion
Ryland Group $2.225 Billion
Masimo $2.222 Billion
PS Business Parks $2.118 Billion
On Assignment $2.093 Billion
Cornerstone OnDemand $2.050 Billion
ICU Medical $1.919 Billion
DineEquity $1.909 Billion
CVB Financial $1.861 Billion
Guess? $1.830 Billion
Marcus & Millchap $1.825 Billion
Korn Ferry $1.795 Billion
Sabra Health Care $1.733 Billion
Crown Media Holdings $1.723 Billion
MannKind $1.683 Billion
Dreamworks Animation $1.677 Billion
Tetra Tech $1.632 Billion
LTC Properties $1.569 Billion
KB Home $1.509 Billion
California Resources $1.487 Billion
Kaiser Aluminum $1.470 Billion
American States Water $1.452 Billion
Wesco Aircraft $1.443 Billion
Stamps.com $1.428 Billion
OSI Systems $1.398 Billion
IPC Healthcare $1.386 Billion
Smart& Final $1.275 Billion
Ensign Group $1.248 Billion
Ixia $1.245 Billion
BBCN Bancorp $1.243 Billion
PennyMac Mortgage $1.190 Billion
BJ's Restaurants $1.187 Billion
Semtech $1.097 Billion
Opus Bank $1.082 Billion

Nice houses tho. lol

Furthermore,

Surely, spawns from the world's richest non-working family -- Rothschilds, would laugh at the suggestion that they buy luxury property in San Francisco.

Oh?

Bay Area Billionaires, 2015 : 71(ranked 2nd in the US)
5 Larry Ellison $54.3 Billion
16 Mark Zuckerberg $33.4 Billion
19 Larry Page $29.7 Billion
20 Sergey Brin $29.2 Billion
45 Laurene Powell Jobs $19.5 Billion
137 Eric Schmidt $9.1 Billion
170 Dustin Moskovitz $7.9 Billion
179 David Duffield $7.4 Billion
195 Gordon Moore $6.9 Billion
208 Jan Koum $6.6 Billion

220 Charles Schwab $6.4 Billion
230 Rupert Johnson Jr $6.2 Billion
283 Garrett Camp $5.3 Billion
283 Travis Kalanick $5.3 Billion
291 George Roberts $5.2 Billion
309 George Lucas $5.0 Billion
341 Reid Hoffman $4.7 Billion
352 John A Sobrato $4.7 Billion
360 Elizabeth Holmes $4.5 Billion
435 Riley Bechtel $3.9 Billion
435 Stephen Bechtel Jr $3.9 Billion
435 Andres von Bechtolsheim $3.9 Billion

512 Brian Acton $3.4 Billion
512 Marc Benioff $3.4 Billion
512 John Doerr $3.4 Billion
512 David Filo $3.4 Billion
557 Dagmar Dolby $3.2 Billion
557 Doris Fisher $3.2 Billion
628 David Cheriton $2.9 Billion
628 John Fisher $2.9 Billion
628 Evan Williams $2.9 Billion
690 Jack Dorsey $2.7 Billion

714 Michael Moritz $2.6 Billion
737 Romesh T Wadwhani $2.5 Billion
782 Nicholas Woodman $2.4 Billion
810 John Arrillaga $2.3 Billion
810 Robert Duggan $2.3 Billion
810 Richard Peery $2.3 Billion
810 Thomas Siebel $2.3 Billion
847 James Coulter $2.2 Billion
847 Douglas Leone $2.2 Billion
847 Daniel Pritzker $2.2 Billion

847 John Pritzker $2.2 Billion
847 Peter Thiel $2.2 Billion
894 Jum Breyer $2.1 Billion
894 Gordon Getty $2.1 Billion
949 Robert Fisher $2.0 Billion
949 William Fisher $2.0 Billion
949 Meg Whitman $2.0 Billion
949 Jerry Yang $2.0 Billion
1006 Nathan Blechaczyk $1.9 Billion
1006 Brian Chesky $1.9 Billion

1006 Scott Cook $1.9 Billion
1006 Joe Gebbia $1.9 Billion
1006 Kavitark Ram Shriram $1.9 Billion
1054 Robert Pera $1.8 Billion
1118 Vinod Khosla $1.7 Billion
1118 Mark Stevens $1.7 Billion
1190 Thomas Steyer $1.6 Billion
1250 Jay Paul $1.5 Billion
1324 Ryan Graves $1.4 Billion
1324 JEFF ROTHSCHILD $1.35 Billion

1415 Aneel Bhusri $1.3 Billion
1415 Sanford Diller $1.3 Billion
1500 Alexander Spanos $1.25 Billion
1533 Drew Houston $1.2 Billion
1533 Alexander Karp $1.2 Billion
1638 John Morgridge $1.1 Billion
1741 Reed Hastings $1 Billion
1741 John Martin $1 Billion
1741 Sheryl Sandberg $1 Billion



Oh, and talk to me when you arent owned by a place with 10 Million LESS people.

Ultra High Net Worth Individuals, 2014
$30 MILLION+
1 New York 8,655
4 San Francisco 5,460
5 Los Angeles 5,135
9 Chicago 2,885
11 Washington DC 2,730
12 Houston 2,545
15 Dallas 2,330
31 Atlanta 1,230
36 Seattle 1,095
37 San Diego 1,090
38 Miami 1,085
38 Detroit 1,085
40 Boston 1,040
41 Minneapolis 990
46 Denver 850
51 Philadelphia 695
52 Milwaukee 685
58 Orlando 640
61 Indianapolis 615
62 Kansas City 610
65 Austin 580
65 Tampa 580
68 Sacramento 550
75 Nashville 490
76 Cleveland 480
76 Fresno 480
78 Phoenix 475
78 St Louis 475
82 Palm Peach 455
30 Charlotte 440

Until then, *yawns*

[18Montclair]

Im just saying. At some point you all need to admit that you have officially been PWNED.

The Bay Area runs west coast finance, technology and energy, SF is the most prestigious business address after New York, the region has the highest concentration of wealth, the most prestigious cultural and educational institutions, the most important and most coveted economy of really anywhere in the world, and is the first choice of educated and affluent persons on the West Coast, and SF is BY FAR, the premier urban environment on the West Coast.

The only thing you have to talk to me about is a few expensive homes in the Westside and celebrities on tv.

That's actually quite embarrassing for LA if that's all you have to counter the barrage of things I've pointed out in this thread.

The fact that you guys never go into detail about much of anything really says it all.

[NOLA101]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Im just saying. At some point you all need to admit that you have officially been PWNED.

You do realize that you're the only person on this thread who believes this, right? Not one other person has come to your wacky, unsubstantiated conclusions, where the relative desirability of a place is based on the present market value of a company located 50 miles away, or whether or not there are lots of middle class census tracts.

Using your metrics, Bentonville, Arkansas is more prestigious than London or Paris because it has a more valuable company than London or Paris and a greater proportion of middle class housing tracts than London or Paris.

In the real world, LA wipes the floor with SF when it comes to high-end demand. The wealthy don't live in SF, they live in LA. There is almost no high-end real estate market in SF. There's essentially zero demand from high net worth types who can live anywhere.

LA and SF are so far apart it's silly to compare. You might as well compare SF with Sacramento while you're at it.

[18Montclair]

Sorry NOLER, but talk is cheap. A few expensive homes and Kim Kardashian does NOT beat the Bay Area.

I really have zero interest in any of your whining unless you respond to this:


The Bay Area runs west coast finance, technology and energy, SF is the most prestigious business address after New York, the region has the highest concentration of wealth, the most prestigious cultural and educational institutions, the most important and most coveted economy of really anywhere in the world, and is the first choice of educated and affluent persons on the West Coast, and SF is BY FAR, the premier urban environment on the West Coast.

The only thing you have to talk to me about is a few expensive homes in the Westside and celebrities on tv.

That's actually quite embarrassing for LA if that's all you have to counter the barrage of things I've pointed out in this thread.

The fact that you guys never go into detail about much of anything really says it all.

You guys NEVER extrapolate beyond trite, boring statements. That migh work with the 8th graders from stupidlandia that are voting for LA but people in places like SF and DC actually require evidence.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by AceintheSpace

Seriously? Agree with NOLA101.

LA > SF. Just because of some niche economy doesn't mean SF is the master of the universe, Johnny Come Lately.

Haha SF has always been more expensive, has always been more affluent, has always been more sophisticated, has always been the west coast financial center, SF was aleady The City when LA was a farm, and to this day is the best urban environment on the west coast-period.

Johnny come lately indeed. lmao.

[NOLA101]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Sorry NOLER, but talk is cheap. A few expensive homes and Kim Kardashian does NOT beat the Bay Area.

Actually, yes it does. Rich people/celebrities can live anywhere, and they choose to live in LA (among other places), not SF. There isn't much high end real estate in the SF area, nor do many rich choose to live in the Bay Area. People with money don't want to be in SF.

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

The Bay Area runs west coast finance, technology and energy, SF is the most prestigious business address after New York, the region has the highest concentration of wealth, the most prestigious cultural and educational institutions, the most important and most coveted economy of really anywhere in the world, and is the first choice of educated and affluent persons on the West Coast, and SF is BY FAR, the premier urban environment on the West Coast.

Some of this is true, some of this isn't true (really most of it isn't true), though none of it has anything to do with the discussion.

Just because SF has a better urban environment than LA doesn't make it "more prestigious". Naples, Italy wipes the floor with SF when it comes to urbanity, yet I don't think anyone would claim that rundown Naples is "more prestigious" than SF. Relative urbanity is unrelated to prestige.

The obvious BS claims are "most prestigious business address", "highest concentration of wealth", "most prestigious cultural and educational institutions", most important economy" "first choice of educated and affluent persons". That's obviously all made up. SF is the most urban city on the West Coast, though, and is certainly #1 in tech (technically SJ, not SF, but whatever), and possibly #1 in west coast finance and energy.

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by Mr Ambitious

Prestige

Dictionary-Refernce

1.reputation or influence arising from success, achievement, rank, or other favorable attributes.

2.. distinction or reputation attaching to a person or thing and thus possessing a cachet for others or for the public:
Prestige | Define Prestige at Dictionary.com

Merriam-Webster

the respect and admiration that someone or something gets for being successful or important

standing or estimation in the eyes of people :weight or credit in general opinion

commanding position in people's minds
Prestige | Definition of prestige by Merriam-Webster

So none of those definitions leads us to a clear answer.

There's no objective way to measure prestige. In the U.S., however, there are some general rules that apply. Prestige is more strongly associated with the Coasts. It's rarely ever associated with the Midwest (and almost never with the American South). And it's strongly associated with Europe and European things (nearly everything we associate with style and class is associated with Europe). I'd also say age is a factor. And naturally, money.

Thus...

London > New England > Midwest

Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Porsche > Anything American made

"British accent" > General American accent

Paul > Panera

Wimbledon > U.S. Open

Paris-St. Germain > Dallas Cowboys

Prada > Tory Burch

Benetton > Banana Republic

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by NOLA101

Actually, yes it does. Rich people/celebrities can live anywhere, and they choose to live in LA (among other places), not SF. There isn't much high end real estate in the SF area, nor do many rich choose to live in the Bay Area. People with money don't want to be in SF.


Some of this is true, some of this isn't true (really most of it isn't true), though none of it has anything to do with the discussion.

Just because SF has a better urban environment than LA doesn't make it "more prestigious". Naples, Italy wipes the floor with SF when it comes to urbanity, yet I don't think anyone would claim that rundown Naples is "more prestigious" than SF. Relative urbanity is unrelated to prestige.

EPIC FAIL.

Naples' urban area is largely a crumbling dump with a business park in the middle of the city. Have you ever been there?

The obvious BS claims are "most prestigious business address", "highest concentration of wealth", "most prestigious cultural and educational institutions", most important economy" "first choice of educated and affluent persons". That's obviously all made up. SF is the most urban city on the West Coast, though, and is certainly #1 in tech (technically SJ, not SF, but whatever), and possibly #1 in west coast finance and energy.

All 100% true and have been backed up with facts and stats.

All you have to talk about is a few expensive homes and Kim Kardashian.

#cute but that doesnt beat SF.