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Napa, Sonoma, Stinson beach, mt. tam, tahoe, big sur, carmel, sequoia nat park, redwood nat park, yosemite... it's so absurd how blessed the bay area is with amazing trips within 3 hours.
Is there anywhere that comes close? I can't think of one that even has half of the great getaways the bay does (literally). Seattle I think comes closest, with the North cascades, olympic nat park, san juans, eastern desert, vancouver, and the coast.
Boston, where I live atm, definitely has some good road trips, but nowhere even remotely close to the bay. Coastal maine, white mountains n.h., lake winne/squam lake, vermont, newport, cape, vineyard, nantucket are cool... but none of those are world-class in any way. Tahoe is probably a world top-10 ski destination. Napa/Sonoma is a top 10 wine region, ghost trees and mavericks are world top-10 rated surf waves, yosemite is THE no.1 rock climbing spot in the world, Sequoia has THE biggest trees in the world, U.S. 1 through big sur is regarded as a world top 10 drive. Oh, and the bay area happens to be THE biotech, software, social media, semiconductor, computer, and entrepreneurship capital of the world. So easy to be so jealous. Ahhh
Napa, Sonoma, Stinson beach, mt. tam, tahoe, big sur, carmel, sequoia nat park, redwood nat park, yosemite... it's so absurd how blessed the bay area is with amazing trips within 3 hours.
Is there anywhere that comes close? I can't think of one that even has half of the great getaways the bay does (literally). Seattle I think comes closest, with the North cascades, olympic nat park, san juans, eastern desert, vancouver, and the coast.
Boston, where I live atm, definitely has some good road trips, but nowhere even remotely close to the bay. Coastal maine, white mountains n.h., lake winne/squam lake, vermont, newport, cape, vineyard, nantucket are cool... but none of those are world-class in any way. Tahoe is probably a world top-10 ski destination. Napa/Sonoma is a top 10 wine region, ghost trees and mavericks are world top-10 rated surf waves, yosemite is THE no.1 rock climbing spot in the world, Sequoia has THE biggest trees in the world, U.S. 1 through big sur is regarded as a world top 10 drive. Oh, and the bay area happens to be THE biotech, software, social media, semiconductor, computer, and entrepreneurship capital of the world. So easy to be so jealous. Ahhh
um...anywhere on the east coast! Or even much of the midwest? lol different strokes...
Sequoia and Redwood National Parks are definitely more than a 3 hour drive, more like 5-6 hours. Tahoe is usually more than 3 hours with typical traffic going towards and through Sac. Yosemite and Sequoia are just as much weekend trips from SoCal as the Bay Area pretty much too.
Also I highly doubt Tahoe is Top 10 Ski destinations in the world, lot of Rocky Mountain, European, and Canadian resort areas rank ahead of it imo. The snow isn't the best and can be inconsistent. Tahoe isn't really that world class or high end either imo, maybe more so now but it still has a lot of that cheap, cheesy 50's-60ish motel/casino vibe to it.
Oh cool Mavericks, said .000001% of the population that actually partakes in it. And maybe the few thousand people that watch it IF it actually occurs once a year.
The Bay Area definitely lacks a nice, warm swimmable beach scene or destination for a day trip. SoCal can be a weekend beach trip if you're flying. Stinson, Carmel, Big Sur, etc.. while very scenic are cold AF for the most part and never swimmable. Plus I don't see how Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Newport, etc..are any less world class than those places. If anything they are more so with all that WASPY old, blue blood money.
Napa/Sonoma, while unique to the US, are rather overrated as hell imo; scenery is pretty meh/average for the most part compared to the rest of the US 101/inland NorCal coastal corridor. Overpriced wineries and hotels; seriously who pays $300 a night for a Best Western Motel room in some dry, dusty ass valley?
Bay Area has some cool day/weekend destinations but I think they can be matched for the most part.
Also unless you're in tech making a ton of money, that industry is rather annoying and the main reason why living in the Bay Area is so difficult for a lot of people now and actually a negative.
Short answer is no, not when you take into consideration the diverse topography and climate.
Boston: Portland ME, Nantucket, Lake Winnepesaukee, Burlington VT, Portsmouth NH, Newport RI, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Catskills, Providence, Lake Sebago, the White Mountains, best skiing east of Colorado (Killington, Stowe, Sugarbush, Jay's Peak, Sugarloaf etc.)
As for Biotech, i'd give the nod to Boston. Entrepreneurship is close. For the rest? SF is the winner. It's funny, but more and more everyday you realize that Greater Boston is the Diet Coke version of the Bay Area.. The east coast version.
EDIT: Nantucket/Martha's Vineyard aren't world class?
I don't think the cast of Seinfeld, Bill Gates, the Obamas, the Clintons, David Letterman, Tommy Hilfiger, the Farrelly Brothers, James Taylor, etc. etc. etc. would own properties there if the areas weren't world class. Step foot on Nantucket in August. 50% of tourists will be international.
New York and Philadelphia have a lot of variety when it comes to weekend/day trips with their comparative strengths to SF being institutional, historic or urban sites and the weakness being less dramatic nature.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Anywhere in the mid-Atlantic could.
Chesapeake Bay, Va Beach, Ocean City/ DE beaches, Jersey shore, Shenandoah valley, Blue Ridge mountains, PA Amish country, Virginia wine vineyards, Chincoteague and Assateague pony islands, Sugarloaf Mountain Maryland, Deep Creek lake Maryland, the Poconos, Luray Caverns Virginia, Harve de Grace. And that’s not even getting started on the big cities and small towns yet.
Last edited by the resident09; 05-01-2018 at 08:17 AM..
The whole premise of this thread's title is so arrogant that it makes me want to vomit.
Why? The topographical variation near San Francisco means there are a lot of dramatic shifts in biomes from one place to another with different climates, flora, and fauna. It really does make for a lot of varied weekend trips if you're talking about non-city things.
You pay for it by having the risk of massive earthquakes though.
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