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Besides maybe NYC, these are two of the fastest-paced, most status-obsessed cities in the country, if not the world.
Which one is faster-paced, more stressful?
I'll give this one to the Bay Area. It's more crowded than DMV, far more expensive than DMV, and while at least DMV has some slow, dinosaur government bureaucracies that dominate the town everything in Silicon Valley is high tech--here now and gone tomorrow. There's far more high tech in the Bay Area than there is in Washington D.C., although D.C. is no slouch in tech, either. And there is simply no industry (other than finance) that moves faster than high tech.
Traffic: this one is debatable. INRIX says D.C. is worse, but we know that we should take INRIX with a grain of salt, especially if you have to cross the Bay Bridge everyday! Also, at least D.C. has a nicer, cleaner, safer, more extensive, and more frequent subway than the joke that BART is, so the D.C. Metro does help you avoid more traffic than the BART does.
As for whether D.C. or SF have nicer people--yes, D.C. is a big East Coast cities that can be rude, but San Francisco takes the cake. People talk about that Seattle Freeze, but it might as well be the San Francisco Freeze.
Hmm, I think I'd go with DC for "fast paced", but I'd pick the Bay Area for actual output. DC is a lot more hard, but inefficient work, whereas the Bay Area works smarter and has a better culture for innovation. Just my take.
Also, the Bay Area does have more than BART. There is also SF Muni, Caltrain and the VTA light rail. The bigger issue for the Bay Area is that outside of SF proper and Oakland it is very sprawling and low-density. It's hard to make transit work in the type of city. DC is definitely easier to get around by public transit, but probably worse by car.
Last edited by whereiend; 03-04-2020 at 07:46 PM..
SF/San Jose/SV although are very innovative - are also more laid back in their workforce.
The only place where I found SF traffic to be noticeably worse than any other major city is when you have to cross a bridge... otherwise my driving experience there was actually fairly pleasant.
SF/San Jose/SV although are very innovative - are also more laid back in their workforce.
The only place where I found SF traffic to be noticeably worse than any other major city is when you have to cross a bridge... otherwise my driving experience there was actually fairly pleasant.
What I notice about the Bay Area is that the ridiculous cost of living causes many people to have extremely long commutes. I agree that the traffic itself really isn't particularly bad.
Depends what you mean by fast paced. Outside of NYC, SF has the most bustling, urban, dense neighborhoods in the country but D.C. has a culture that's less laid back than SF/SV. California cities in general have a laid back character IMO
I'd say the East Coast in general is more "faster paced" than the west coast but the Bay Area and particular San Francisco itself is the most "east coast" like city on the west coast.
I voted for the Bay Area because it's growing too fast. It seems like everyone wants to go there because of high wage tech jobs. Rents constantly increasing and changing. Real Estate is ridiculous and the prices keep going up. Super commuting is becoming the norm. Everyone wants a piece of it and it seems very stressful.
Of course DC has the same problems but to a lesser extent I would wage to guess.
DC between the two, but Boston and Chicago seemed to have more hustle than either of them. Also, neither of the two choices are particularly fast-paced when compared to cities outside the US. I find the idea of either being among the fastest-paced cities in the world to be pretty funny.
DC between the two, but Boston and Chicago seemed to have more hustle than either of them. Also, neither of the two choices are particularly fast-paced when compared to cities outside the US. I find the idea of either being among the fastest-paced cities in the world to be pretty funny.
That is not true. I have been to Hong Kong seven times; it's one of the fastest paced cities in the world. And yet I'll say that Silicon Valley can come close in terms of working hours, how status-obsessed it is.
I think people are looking at Silicon Valley, and saying, "Oh, it's suburban. Not very crowded at all. Must be more laidback than Manhattan, Wall Street's hustle and bustle, pedestrian traffic." BUT remember high tech is THE fastest changing, most competitive industry on the planet, and Silicon Valley is the center of it. People in high tech work longer hours, face more competition than any other industry. And by and large Silicon Valley has a larger tech sector than D.C.
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