Do you SFers realize how lucky you are to live there? (San Diego: college, move to)

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by Natural510

It's not a matter of the "winters being too cold" but that there is never a summer in San Francisco. Even in the greater Bay Area warm & sunny days are at least 10 degrees cooler with the wind factor. Hardly the ideal year-round climate many Friscans believe they live in; most of the areas of the country which have true winters also have 6+ months of T-shirt weather throughout the year.

I hear this complaint a lot, and I understand it.

However, having personally come from places with real winters, I would take a "fake summer" with temps in the 60's-70's over hellish winters where you have to dig out your car routinely from feet of snow and where there is a serious risk of death if you go outside for too long unprotected (or not protected enough). Weather here very rarely kills, and I just can't help but chuckle when people complain about it...I suppose people will always find something to complain about.

Plus, like others have mentioned, if the SF weather in the summer gets too "cold", you can always drive 10-20 miles North, South, or East and be in significantly warmer weather (weather that I honestly can't stand most of the time...to each their own, though). Just this past weekend, I was at my GF's place in SF where it was 65 degrees...we drove over the GG bridge, around the Bay, through the Delta and into the central valley...the thermometer went from 65, to 75, to 85, and finally to 95 in less than an hour of driving... The microclimates are one of the best things about the Bay Area, I think. Everyone can find their "ideal" climate.

[pmac6270]

So let me get this straight. You pay NY prices to live in a city where you still need a car to escape the crappy summers? ZipCar is not ideal for long trips. So you definitely need a personal car which is what I had when I lived there.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by pmac6270

So let me get this straight. You pay NY prices to live in a city where you still need a car to escape the crappy summers? ZipCar is not ideal for long trips. So you definitely need a personal car which is what I had when I lived there.

Or you moved here years ago and don't pay NY prices (rent control). Or you live outside of SF, but still close enough to be there in 15-20 minutes (which is, oddly enough, quicker than many who live in the outer reaches of SF are to downtown), and definitely don't pay NY prices.

I agree, although I love SF a lot, it's certainly not worth the Manhattan-like prices we're seeing right now. It was certainly worth it only about a year ago before things exploded on the rental market (almost seemingly out of no where) when you could still find decent 1 bedrooms in decent areas for ~1,200-1,500; but not at these asinine levels. These rental prices don't seem sustainable, though, so I'd hope prices would come down eventually (perhaps if/when another tech bubble burst occurs?).

That being said, "crappy summers" is certainly subjective. I definitely love the weather here. You can have the crappy NY weather any day of the week (crappy weather, that I might add, you can't easily escape).

[CA-DC-CHI]

Originally Posted by rkwalton

It's better than horribly humid east coast summers. Those are brutal.

i disagree, i'm a bay native and have come to love hot humid summers...i love waking up, putting on a thin strapless dress and leaving the house at 7:30 am with no jacket, and coming home at 2am never having to have thought about a jacket...it's subjective. i love the heat, if i ever move back to the bay, i plan on staying in the south or deep east bay where summer feels like summer!

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by goldenchild08

This. SF is no different than any fantastic desirable big dreamer city like NYC. NYC is a great if you're rich and live in an expensive highrise apartment in Manhattan; not so much if you live in the highrise projects in Brownsville and are unemployed. Same with SF. SF is great if you are rich, not so much if you are a poor and unemployed minority person living in the projects in Hunter's Point. Believe it or not, SF can be hell for some of the statistically insignificant poor people that live there. Tucked away over some of those beautiful hills is the same type of poverty, social disorganization, outlaw atmosphere, lack of personal safety, ghettoization and regularity of senseless violence that is more widespread in much more infamous cities like Oakland, Baltimore, Detroit, New Orleans, Camden etc.

That's definitely true. But I was more thinking about people who work full time jobs but can't even afford a studio apartment on their own.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by dragontales

So you'll gladly take dooshbags (guidos) over SF peeps? And yes they are all dooshbags. Ok maybe 98% are.

If you're going to call someone a douchebag, at least learn how to spell it.

Douchebag | Define Douchebag at Dictionary.com

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

They're also stacked on top of each other, and squished together in a small space. One can achieve this for free by living in one of our choice California prisons.

Some people like high density living. I like density myself...although SF is a little too much for me in that regard. I think Berkeley or Oakland density is about ideal.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by TheGreatCurve

Compared to the Midwest or the Northeast, SF doesn't even have winters so not much effort needed to "handle" it. Go live in Minnesota or Vermont for a few years and you'll love SF winters when you come back.

Ick, no. I could never live in MN or VT. I wouldn't survive the winters there.

[TheGreatCurve]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

Ick, no. I could never live in MN or VT. I wouldn't survive the winters there.

And you wonder why Californians have the reputation of being "wimpy"? LOL

[gone down south]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

If you're going to call someone a douchebag, at least learn how to spell it.

Douchebag | Define Douchebag at Dictionary.com

"Dooshbag" is an acceptable alternate spelling when referring to a type of person.