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View Poll Results: Which do you prefer?
San Francisco 38 71.70%
Orlando 15 28.30%
Voters: 53. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 05-09-2020, 04:04 PM
 
Location: Medfid
6,807 posts, read 6,036,414 times
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Which do you prefer and why? (Includes metro areas). Which is better for the following:

Climate
Education (includes higher education)
Dining out
Cultural offerings
Classical music performances
History
Healthcare
Diversity
Entertainment
Nightlife
Public transport
Strength of local economy
Scenery
Cost of living
Shopping
More friendly people
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Old 05-09-2020, 04:36 PM
 
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Very strange comparison... But at least it's not asking so much about obvious things such as "urbanity" and "skyline." Here goes:

Climate: SF

Education (includes higher education): SF

Dining out: Orlando

Cultural offerings: ........ Not sure

Classical music performances: Not sure, but Orlando is underrated/overlooked in this department -- no shortage of that there.

History: SF

Healthcare: Florida in general gets a bad rap in this department, but this is another area where Orlando is definitely NOT lacking. I can't speak on SF though, so I can't vote on one here.

Diversity: Tie

Entertainment: Orlando

Nightlife: Orlando

Public transport: SF

Strength of local economy: SF

Scenery: SF

Cost of living: Orlando

Shopping: Maybe Orlando. A little too spread out though. No real centralized shopping district.

More friendly people: Tie

Hard to pick one out of the two, because they are too different. I live in Orlando, but wouldn't mind living in SF if I had the same dollar power as I do in Orlando over there.
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Old 05-09-2020, 04:41 PM
 
Location: Medfid
6,807 posts, read 6,036,414 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kibblenbitz View Post
Very strange comparison... But here goes:
I was inspired by the “Boston vs Vegas” thread recently created: at first I was taken back by the large difference in size and function, but then fascinated by the realization that “you know, there are some good arguments for Vegas being better!” I figured SF/Orlando would be similar.

For example, Orlando most definitely has much better Caribbean food than SF.
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Old 05-09-2020, 05:58 PM
 
747 posts, read 497,255 times
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This is such a strange comparison, comparing a historic mega city to a young medium-sized city. SF is going to DOMINATE this but that’s okay. It’s still fun to do. Having lived in each city, I’ll indulge:

Climate- Tie. People from both cities like to brag about the weather but the truth is SF is cold and Orlando is hot. I don’t like walking outside in the summer and being drenched in my own sweat. I also didn’t like having to wear a jacket almost every single day.
Education (includes higher education)- San Francisco. Both public school systems are solid. But SF has Berkeley (ranked 22nd nationally) and University of SF (97th). Orlando’s UCF is only ranked 166th.
Dining out- San Francisco. This is pretty subjective, but SF has 6 James Beard-nominates restaurants, while Orlando has 4. San Francisco’s food scene is known to be pretty trendy and unique.
Cultural offerings- San Francisco, pretty easily. No explanation needed. Orlando is a growing city but SF has about 100 years of a head start.
Classical music performances- San Francisco. I’m not sure because I could t care less but to my knowledge Orlando doesn’t much of any, so I’ll go with SF.
History- San Francisco. SF established in 1770s. Orlando in the 1880s.
Healthcare- Tie? I have no clue.
Diversity- Orlando. Both cities are very diverse. Orlando is about 40% white, 30% Hispanic, 25% black, 5% Asian, and then the rest Other. San Francisco is almost 50% white, 40% Asian, and then 5% black, and then some Other.
Entertainment- Orlando. SF is more grown up and swanky but lacks any real excitement for a city of its size. Orlando is more fun and a bit raucous but lacks cultural refinement. I’ve had more fun living in Orlando than in San Francisco though. Might be different when I turn 40.
Nightlife- Orlando. Downtown Orlando is poppin from Wednesday to Sunday. San Francisco’s nightlife is lacking and is a little pretentious.
Public transport- San Francisco. BART is not perfect but it trumps Sunrail easily.
Strength of local economy- San Francisco. Tech capital of the universe, enough said.
Scenery- San Francisco. SF is literally breathtaking. One of the most gorgeous natural cities in the world. Orlando is very beautiful and clean but none of it is natural. It’s just taken care of.
Cost of living- Orlando. Nothing else needs to be said.
Shopping- Orlando. Honestly I’m not sure. But I assume Orlando since it caters to tourists. I’m not really a shopper so I can’t say for sure, but my wife absolutely raves about the shopping in Orlando. Never said anything about SF though.
More friendly people- Orlando. It has some elements of southern hospitality and although the people are POS behind the wheels of their cars, they are very friendly in person. SF otoh is very cliquey. People are nice and polite but have no interest being your friend. It’s the weirdest thing.

I voted for Orlando, since I’m not rich. SF is by all accounts the better city, but it comes with an ABSURD price tag. I hated living there and was glad when I got transferred. I adore living in Orlando and will be sad to transfer next month.

Last edited by _Uncommon_; 05-09-2020 at 06:24 PM..
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Old 05-09-2020, 06:25 PM
 
Location: Evergreen, Colorado
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Not a fair comparison, not even close
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Old 05-09-2020, 08:28 PM
 
Location: Nashville, TN
9,680 posts, read 9,387,327 times
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You were wrong for this...
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Old 05-09-2020, 08:54 PM
 
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I prefer Orlando
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Old 05-09-2020, 09:07 PM
 
Location: East Bay, San Francisco Bay Area
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San Francisco.
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Old 05-09-2020, 10:03 PM
 
Location: Louisiana to Houston to Denver to NOVA
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For the 100th time. There's nothing wrong with comparing these two metros just because one is larger and more urban. For all the silly posts and threads on this site, comparing two different sized metro areas in America is completely normal and something that people in the real world do every day.

With that said, I prefer the Bay area over Central Florida. I don't care much for San Francisco itself but I also know that Orlando wouldn't suit me either.
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Old 05-10-2020, 08:16 PM
 
Location: Greater Orlampa CSA
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The which do you prefer aspect makes this more interesting, as a number of these are more subjective.

Climate: I really strongly prefer SF. It is in a general sense of comfort year-round, cool, but for my tastes, not too cold. Very nearly can't be beaten, and I think objectively people agree the California coast has one of the nicer climates in the world.

Education (includes higher education): So, as someone holding 2 degrees from UCF, I don't have bad things to say about the school, and there are good educational options in Orlando overall. However, SF, esp. Greater SF, has truly world class options for all levels of education, reflective of the fact it is a global knowledge magnet. It might be a Top 5 metro on the PLANET for that (joining LA, Boston, London and Hong Kong)

Dining out: SF has more options overall being a more diverse and larger area. However, I think there are plenty of options in an Orlando sized city too-so honestly this one isn't that big a deal to me, and Orlando does have certain advantages, including the Caribbean, Southern Cooking/BBQ, and Price Point.

Cultural offerings: SF by a dramatic margin. I don't think SF is necessarily Top 5 in the US in that regard, but considering the wider region, and old and new institutions that are there, it is most certainly Top 10. Orlando's cultural options are not to the level of other major Florida cities, reflective of a place that was effectively a town up until Disney came to the area in the 60s.

Classical music performances: I would have to think SF, by a dramatic margin. Orlando has an Orchestra, but SF has one that has won 16 Grammy's, an Emmy, and a Pulitzer Prize. It is on the cusp of being a modern day "Big 5" orchestra within the US. Then you have the San Francisco Opera, also Top 5 in US, maybe Top 10 in world, playing in a venerable old building which I believe is the oldest in the US, where the UN was founded. I don't believe Orlando even has an official opera company at this point though I could be wrong on that.

History: Even something like this can technically be subjective. And one could argue that both Walt Disney World and Kennedy Space Center have played tremendous roles in our history, from Greater Orlando. But I mean... the SF Bay Area has 13 NPS Historical Units... and the city of San Francisco has 18 National Historic Landmarks by itself. This really isn't a fair fight in some categories.
Healthcare: I've never heard particularly bad things about AdventHealth... but Stanford Hospital is ranked 12th nationally..and UCSF Medical Center is ranked 7th... so objectively it almost certainly comes out ahead.

Diversity: I guess this one sorta depends on what you are talking about since diversity can mean so many different things. SF has more foreign-born population, and at the metro level it is 26% Asian (leading the US perhaps?) and 22% Hispanic... but then Orlando is 31% Hispanic and 16% African American at the metro level.. and actually even 4% Asian I think is more comparatively than a number of comparably sized Sun Belt metros, so it's reasonably diverse too, even though SF is much more multinational. I think the argument for Orlando here could be perhaps an increased diversity of thought and lifestyle compared to SF which is more unilaterally urban cultured and liberal? Not sure-I tend to think this one also goes in SFs direction, but I think there is at least some case to be made for Orlando here unlike some others.

Entertainment: I guess that depends too-as far as family entertainment-Orlando very well might win, as it is a global destination for that sort of thing, given the theme parks.. however SF is larger and generally will feel much more vibrant as a city overall and in other kinds of entertainment-so to answer this question fully you have to determine how "entertainment" is being defined (diversity and quantity of offerings vs. a hyper-focus/hub status on amusement park based entertainment).

Nightlife: I really haven't experienced SF Nightlife so I can't comment-it is a much bigger area so I would tend to think it would have more options-but at the same time I don't think it's known for nightlife in the way Las Vegas, Miami, or even New York are. Orlando-I will say that is perhaps one of the most underrated nightlife scenes of any city in the US-since it is not a polycentric city and Downtown Orlando along Orange Ave (which gets closed off on evening weekends) is the primary nightlife hub for the city.. and with the nearby presence of UCF, things get quite active.. truly. I would say that the area on Orange Ave between Church Street and Wall Street and extending onto those almost perhaps calls to mind a small scale version of 6th Street in Austin-I have generally said non-Disney parts of Orlando feel a decent bit like Austin-and I think would be very surprising to those that have not previously experienced it.

Public transport: San Francisco perhaps isn't as great as it could be or as some of the best cities in the US, though it is still arguably Top 5 overall, and runs away from Orlando here.

Strength of local economy: Umm... Orlando. Of course. lol.

Scenery: SF for me-I can see why people would make the case for Orlando-but I like the dramatic topography, world's deepest natural harbor, redwoods, decent size mountains, vineyards and ocean surrounding SF.

Cost of living: San Francisco. No question.

Shopping: San Francisco likely has more high-end options than Orlando-but this one is actually somewhat competitive given the presence of mall culture in Orlando, the quality of the outlets-etc. Put it this way-Orlando mall shopping might be one of the best in the US for deal-finding. That said, SF does have the larger retail base... but Orlando still has more retail options than someone like me could ever want.

More friendly people: This one is truly subjective and honestly there are friendly people everywhere IMO.
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