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Entertainment/Night Life - DMV
Culinary options -I don't know
Big city Amenities (parks, libraries, museums etc.) DMV
Current & future job market - DMV
Crime - Bay Area
Cost of Living - Chicago
Future growth - DMV
Urban development/character - DMV
Traffic - Chicago
Economic influence - DMV
Public transportation - DMV
Climate - Bay Area
Let's open this can of worms and debate the good old controversial 3 regions that seem to cause the most frequent debates.
Entertainment/Night Life -
Culinary options -
Big city Amenities (parks, libraries, museums etc.)
Current & future job market -
Crime -
Cost of Living -
Future growth -
Urban development/character -
Traffic -
Economic influence -
Public transportation -
Climate -
In over all desirability... which one is superior?
Nightlife/Entertainment-- Chicago, then SF. Wash-Bal is nowhere to be found
Culinary -- Chicago and Bay Area curb-stomp DC/Baltimore here
Big city Amenities-- Chicago and DC
Jobs markets--- DC will always win because of the prominence of government, so it's the safest. The Bay Area is the most expensive of the three so that's very anti-business. Chicago has bad taxes but it isn't as bad overall as the Bay area. I'd say Wash/Bal wins, but HEAVILY thanks to DC.
Crime- SF/Bay Area
COL- Chicagoland
Future growth-- I feel like Chicago and Wash/Bal are good here
Urban character-- Tie for all three, but Chicago is the most uniform one. Baltimore is very urban too.
Traffic- None are good with traffic, but Chicago is easily not as bad as either SF or Wash/Bal
Economic influence--???
Public Transit-- DC and Chicago can fight over being the second best city for PT after NYC. Honestly, I'd say it's a tie between. SF can't compare here.
Climate-- SF is the best IMO, then DC... Chicago has the worst of the three
Superior? Chicagoland pretty easily for me. I like DC but the "rich" culture in that city is too much for me.
I get what you're doing here, but it's hard to compare the metro of one whole city with two different ones (Wash/Bal). For example, DC has excellent public transit.... Baltimore however does not. DC has lots of safe gov't jobs... Baltimore does not.
Comparing individual cities would really be easier.
Last edited by CCrest182; 07-08-2019 at 02:28 AM..
Entertainment/Night Life - Chicago
Culinary options - Chicago/ San Francisco
Big city Amenities (parks, libraries, museums etc.) DC and then Chicago
Current & future job market - San Francisco/ DC
Crime - San Francisco
Cost of Living - Chicago
Future growth - San Francisco / DC
Urban development/character - 3 way tie here
Traffic - Big cities all have terrible traffic, I think Chicago’s traffic at times can be easier to manage because of its grid system
Economic influence - DC/ San Francisco
Public transportation - Chicago/ DC
Climate - San Francisco but I like DCs climate as well
In over all desirability... which one is superior?
Initially for a lot of people I think both DC and San Francisco are more desirable than Chicago until they’ve actually spent time in Chicago (land) and realize you get more than what you bargain for. It’s simply about preference.
This is tough! I've lived in all three and these are all in my top 4!
Entertainment/Night Life - Chicago/SF > DC, I slightly prefer Chicago's scene, DC's is a bit generic
Culinary options - SF/Chicago > DC, I slightly prefer SF's diversity in culinary options. Napa area in itself is a foodie destination
Big city Amenities (parks, libraries, museums etc.) - DC > Chicago > SF
Current & future job market - SF/DC > Chicago
Crime - SF> DC/Chicago, Chicago gets alot of flack but if you're anywhere on the northside you're perfectly fine
Cost of Living - Chicago > DC > SF
Future growth - DC > SF > Chicago
Urban development/character - TIE... each are unique and different from one another. Love DC's circles and rowhouses, Chicago grid and skyline and SF's hills and victorians.
Traffic - They all suck! I hate 80 in SF, 90 in Chicago and 66 in DC. None are better then another.
Economic influence - SF > DC > Chicago
Public transportation - Chicago > DC > SF (I put Chicago ahead of DC because of the bus system)
Climate - SF/DC > Chicago, I like SF's Mediterranean climate but I also enjoy the 4 seasons of DC. Chicago in the winter is just the worst!
In over all desirability... which one is superior? I have to say it's probably SF with the slight edge then DC then Chicago. Honestly I would prefer to live in Chicago but really, I just can't do those winters. Never again!
Entertainment/Night Life -. Chicago, then SF or DC
Culinary options -. Chicago or SF both have great dinning scenes. DC has improved, but obviously can't compare to a city 4times it's size.
Big city Amenities (parks, libraries, museums etc.)- Chicago is the clear front runner when it comes to big city amenities then SF then DC. DC does have great musuems, but it lacks the well rounded big city feel of a place like Chicago.
Current & future job market -. Depends on field, but SF or DC in general. Although Chicago has a pretty diversified economy.
Crime -. In general pretty comparable. All have good and bad areas. Baltimore feels the hardest to avoid crime.
Cost of Living -. Chicago followed by DC followed by SF
Future growth - hard to say, probably the DC region. It seems better able to build new housing than the bay area.
Urban development/character - Chicago, SF, DC. Chicago is the other grand American city, SF is small but has a very urban core, DC is urban by US standards, but lacks the density and vibrant core of SF
Traffic - all suck
Economic influence -. Depends, in general SF Bay right now is really driving the global economy, but DC has lots of influence given the federal government. Chicago has a big economy, but lacks a signature industry like Silicon Valley
Public transportation -. Chicago has the most useful system then either DC or SF. DCs system is better, but the decentralized nature of the area makes it less effective than it could be.
Climate - the Bay Area follow by DC then Chicago.
It is hard to compare a specific city like Chicago to a sprawling region like DC Baltimore. You can actually be in a city and experience it in real life, a region is more theoretical. Sure, there is obviously overlap between SF and SJ or DC and Baltimore. People can have long commutes or take day trips between the two. But they are so far apart they don't feel like cohesive communities when it.
Entertainment/Night Life - Two different things-on overall entertainment as I define it? SF. On nightlife? My guess is Chicago. Not certain though.
Culinary options -All 3 have plenty of great options. However, I think SF might be strongest here though.
Big city Amenities (parks, libraries, museums etc.)-This is a hard one to define because each of the three asked, it's probably a different one. Parks? I'm gonna be different and say DC actually. Yes, maybe not quite as dynamic of scenery, but within the city core... more and better parks IMO. Libraries? Not that any are bad here, but again, DC. Chicago esp. has a borderline world class municipal library, but it's kinda hard to beat the Library of Congress IMO. Museums? SF is behind DC and Chicago here. I think I'm gonna give a narrow edge to DC, even though Chicago has great ones too, DC has so many national ones... and they're free. DC sweeps this category actually, wow.
Current & future job market - Depends on which industries you are looking to pursue? Not quite sure.
Crime - SF has a lower crime rate than DC or Chicago. Plenty of safe areas in all 3 though.
Cost of Living - Definitely Chicago here.
Future growth - SF has fastest current rate of growth... but I think that may slow eventually due to available land, climate/drought factors, unsustainable. Chicago will hold steady, maybe make a comeback here, but I don't see DCs growth slowing anytime soon either.
Urban development/character -DC probably has the most urban character having been laid out by L'Enfant, all the historic neighborhoods in the core and throughout the metro. Each has interesting parts though.
Traffic - Gonna echo what others are saying, assuming Chicago is better here.
Economic influence - Right now Chicago has the largest metropolitan economy of these 3 still. That said, one could say that the companies SF has around it if including them are of perhaps greater importance, and DC, even it's current economy aside (which is quite strong too), has an economic influence on the nation and world which is massive
Public transportation - DC or Chicago-would need to take both systems to truly compare. I would say Chicago is probably better right within the city, but DC has better regional transit?
Climate - SF of course
In over all desirability... which one is superior?
I guess it depends on what you are asking me. If I am planning a weekend city break, esp as someone with not much familiarity with the US? Definitely DC. If I am planning a week vacation, where I want to also visit national parks, spend some time in the city, and be somewhere with fantastic weather? Almost certainly SF. If I am picking one to live at this point? No offense to Chicago as a visit destination too as it really is great for that too... but here it's the one I would choose to live in (lifestyle, cost of living, general atmosphere/pace). I feel like it would be a smoother big city transition for me than either of the other two, even though I'm perhaps most bullish on DC as a city itself. SF, I think has appeal for environmental factors (weather, opportunity), and the nature, etc. that surrounds it, but to me the city itself is somewhat overrated (not saying it's bad, just perhaps a bit propped up by tech bros or something), whereas I think Chicago as a city is probably underrated by a fair amount of people of late.
Let's open this can of worms and debate the good old controversial 3 regions that seem to cause the most frequent debates.
Entertainment/Night Life - Tie
Culinary options - SF definitely
Big city Amenities (parks, libraries, museums etc.)-parks and libraries do not define "big city amenities" to me. All 3 have those, so what? SF feels the most vibrant, then Chicago. DC is last.
Current & future job market -The Bay Area has a much larger, faster growing, and more relevant economy than the other 2. This translates into lots of high paying jobs
Crime - Tie
Cost of Living - Chicago is the best value for the money
Future growth - The Bay Area economically
Urban development/character - I actually like DC here.
Traffic - they are all awful
Economic influence - see my answer to the jobs question
Public transportation -Chicago
Climate - The Bay Area
In over all desirability... which one is superior?[/quote]
Big city Amenities (parks, libraries, museums etc.)-parks and libraries do not define "big city amenities" to me. All 3 have those, so what? SF feels the most vibrant, then Chicago. DC is last.
Current & future job market -The Bay Area has a much larger, faster growing, and more relevant economy than the other 2. This translates into lots of high paying jobs
Crime - Tie
Cost of Living - Chicago is the best value for the money
Future growth - The Bay Area economically
Urban development/character - I actually like DC here.
Traffic - they are all awful
Economic influence - see my answer to the jobs question
Public transportation -Chicago
Climate - The Bay Area
In over all desirability... which one is superior?
Entertainment/Night Life - Chicago > Bay > DC Culinary options - Bay > Chicago > DC Big city Amenities (parks, libraries, museums etc.) - DC > Chicago > Bay Current & future job market - Bay > DC > Chicago Crime - Bay >>>> DC > Chicago Cost of Living - Chicago > DC > Bay Future growth - Bay > DC > Chicago Urban development/character - Chicago > DC > Bay (but all are close) Traffic - Bay > Chicago > DC Economic influence - Bay > Chicago > DC Public transportation - Chicago > DC > Bay Climate - Bay >>>>>> DC > Chicago
Overall: Bay > Chicago > DC for me
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