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I'll start. SF is more vibrant because it is so compact but DC has a faster paced. DC also have more neighborhoods offering better nightlife. SF nightlife dies at 2:00. People go to Adams Morgan at 2:00 after they have left the club just to hang out and eat. DT DC is definitely more busy. DC subway triples SF in ridership. DC has more tourist on the streets and is abuzz during the summer. SF doesn't have an area like the National Mall where thousands of people work, play, protest, sightsee etc....
I'll start. SF is more vibrant because it is so compact but DC has a faster paced. DC also have more neighborhoods offering better nightlife. SF nightlife dies at 2:00. People go to Adams Morgan at 2:00 after they have left the club just to hang out and eat. DT DC is definitely more busy. DC subway triples SF in ridership. DC has more tourist on the streets and is abuzz during the summer. SF doesn't have an area like the National Mall where thousands of people work, play, protest, sightsee etc....
I'll start. SF is more vibrant because it is so compact but DC has a faster paced. DC also have more neighborhoods offering better nightlife. SF nightlife dies at 2:00. People go to Adams Morgan at 2:00 after they have left the club just to hang out and eat. DT DC is definitely more busy. DC subway triples SF in ridership. DC has more tourist on the streets and is abuzz during the summer. SF doesn't have an area like the National Mall where thousands of people work, play, protest, sightsee etc....
DT DC more busy than San Francisco? Are you serious?
Dude, DT DC has over 100 million square footage of office space. The third largest CBD in the US. Almost 900,000 ride our subways everyday (second busiest in the US). Millions upon millions of tourist pour into DC everyday (more than SF). SF does have better shoping and restaurants but it isn't fast pace by east coast standards. There are way more things to do and see in DC. We have like 60 museums in the city, 40 are in a two mile (walkable) area DT. Plus, DC's daytime population almost doubles. A higher percentage of our population uses PT.
Dude, DT DC has over 100 million square footage of office space. The third largest CBD in the US. Almost 900,000 ride our subways everyday (second busiest in the US). Millions upon millions of tourist pour into DC everyday (more than SF). SF does have better shoping and restaurants but it isn't fast pace by east coast standards. There are way more things to do and see in DC. We have like 60 museums in the city, 40 are in a two mile (walkable) area DT. Plus, DC's daytime population almost doubles. A higher percentage of our population uses PT.
After business hours and on the weekends, all of that office space is empty and you could shoot a cannon down many of the streets.
There is absolutely no comparison in retail, dining, hotel offerings and live theatre. A government/lobbyist/legal office district is still that - an office district.
San Francisco wins in this category, hands down. Besides that, DC attitude is in very short supply there, thankfully.
Right. The fact that most buildings on the National Mall are government related is not a positive thing for urbanity or nightlife. It becomes dark and dead quickly after work hours. Once I got off the subway at the "downtown" station of DC. It was dark. There are very few lights, and scary, actually. I saw one Macy's store and an H&M but there weren't people shopping. Most shopping opitions are either in Georgetown (mid-scale) or Tysons Corner Center (upscale). The real vibrant center in DC is Georgetown, with decent retail and trendy restaurants, but it is only a wealthy neighborhood not of the all stuff together type of feel as downtown SF. Downtown SF has the best retail, restaurants, bars, office all together. Therefore it is more urban.
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnatl
After business hours and on the weekends, all of that office space is empty and you could shoot a cannon down many of the streets.
There is absolutely no comparison in retail, dining, hotel offerings and live theatre. A government/lobbyist/legal office district is still that - an office district.
San Francisco wins in this category, hands down. Besides that, DC attitude is in very short supply there, thankfully.
Last edited by fashionguy; 07-27-2009 at 06:09 PM..
Fashion, DT DC is three times as big as DT SF. Yes there are some dead spots. But to say, DT empties out on the weekends? If that's the case, why can't anyone find parking in DC? Have you ever been to Gallery Place? Penn Quarter, McPherson Square, 18 & M, West End? All of these are popular neighborhoods after hours. The main government buildings are located near the Mall? And that's crowded because of the millions of tourist. Have you been to DC? Seriously! I said that SF has better shopping and restaurants. Nightlife? Not even close. What SF neighborhood can compete with Georgetown, U Street, Adams Morgan for nightlife??? Plus there is so much more stuff to do in DC. DC has better museums, galleries, nightclubs, sports events, colleges (in the city), transportation, iconic monuments, media, importance, cosmopolitan, history, neighborhoods, diversity, etc... SF wins in the vibrancy category but thats it.
I’ve spent a lot of time in both and while DC certainly is one of the more urban cities in America, I’ve got to give the vote to San Francisco. Nothing in DC comes close to the level of urbanity you find in the area around Union Square.
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