Sandiego vs SanFransisco (San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland: school, pros and cons, place to live)

[MikeRN1971]

You guys make a lot of great points. Isebiel, When I visited SF, my friend and I really only stayed in the Castro area and, like I said before, it didn't seem like the friendliest, welcoming crowd. It appeared to be the stereotypical "if I can't hook up with you, I want nothing to do with you, where's the next party" kind of crowd...definitely not my kind of crowd. It's nice to hear you say you don't get that vibe everywhere in the city. Bigdumbgod, I never really considered LA. I never really heard too many good things about the city...or I should say, not the kind of city that would be for me. Too glitzy and "fake"...just what I heard...I could be wrong. Fizbin, I also prefer more mild weather. Not big into super hot weather. Here in Pittsburgh, it could be 30 one day and 80 the next. Very humid here in the summer and cloudy/rainy most of the year. Slushy wet snow in the winter and did I mention lack of sun, haha. 60's and 70's for me are ideal give or take a few degrees. I just want more sunshine than clouds/rain and the chance to do outdoor things.

[bmw335xi]

SF if you want a more vibrant concentrated gay scene with more of an urban atmosphere.
SD if you want a more spread out laid back beach atmosphere.

The difference between the two cities is night and day, it's similar to comparing Boston to Miami.

[04kL4nD]

I will say that BOTH cities are a lot of fun to go out in if you already have friends to go out with. But yeah, expect to be chatting with a lot of people online before you break in and roll with your own posse to the bars in either city.

[mayorhaggar]

I'm not gay but I used to live near the Castro and I really liked it as a neighborhood. It's quiet and laid back and it's smaller than anyone ever expects it to be, and has a lot of great local places to eat and shop which aren't really gay-themed, just your typical neighborhood places you see anywhere in an old established neighborhood in SF.

[dalparadise]

Originally Posted by MikeRN1971

You guys make a lot of great points. Isebiel, When I visited SF, my friend and I really only stayed in the Castro area and, like I said before, it didn't seem like the friendliest, welcoming crowd. It appeared to be the stereotypical "if I can't hook up with you, I want nothing to do with you, where's the next party" kind of crowd...definitely not my kind of crowd. It's nice to hear you say you don't get that vibe everywhere in the city. Bigdumbgod, I never really considered LA. I never really heard too many good things about the city...or I should say, not the kind of city that would be for me. Too glitzy and "fake"...just what I heard...I could be wrong. Fizbin, I also prefer more mild weather. Not big into super hot weather. Here in Pittsburgh, it could be 30 one day and 80 the next. Very humid here in the summer and cloudy/rainy most of the year. Slushy wet snow in the winter and did I mention lack of sun, haha. 60's and 70's for me are ideal give or take a few degrees. I just want more sunshine than clouds/rain and the chance to do outdoor things.

Weather-wise, you will probably love either place. SF has more variation. It will be 50 degrees one day and 70 the next. Rarely does it get above 80 or below 45 in the City. The farther inland you go, the wider those extremes range.

I'm straight, so I can't really comment on the gay scene in either place other than to say that my gay friends from places all over the country seem to love SF like it's their second home. LA gets mentioned a lot, too, but in a "scene" kind of way, rather than as a place to live.

My impression of San Diego is that of a beautiful, laid-back beach town. If you have job prospects or are independently wealthy, I think it's great. The weather is remarkable -- probably the best overall in the country, though there's very little variation. But, as a city, where multiple opportunities present themselves in a thriving job market and a new resident can quickly become established, it's comparatively pretty sleepy.

[MikeRN1971]

SanFransisco seems like a great place. I loved it the first time I went there. I just wonder what the weather is like year round. One reason I want to leave Pittsburgh is the bad weather. Lots of overcast days (more than sunny days), humid hazy summers and freezing rain in the winter. Cooler/mild temps...60's and 70's are fine with me, I just wanna see some sun. One thing about Pittsburgh that is true is that it is a very friendly city. Total strangers say hi to you on the street passing by, you can strike up a conversation with a stranger at a coffee house and people help each other out here. It would be difficult to go to a not so friendly, "stand offish" social scene. Establishing a nice group of genuine friends...that don't want to hookup would be nice.

[thecooler]

Sunwise, you'll definately get more in San Diego, but they do have June gloom-lots of overcast in June. San Francisco has micro-climates, so if you stay in the Eastern side of town, you'll see plenty of sun most of the year. Avoid the Richmond and Sunset neighborhoods to avoid the foggier areas. In the winter I would assume you'll get more overcast/rain in SF then SD, but it changes year to year. This year we had a sunny dry winter and a wet spring.

As far as friendliness I would say west coasters are polite, but less friendly then other parts of the US. There are lots of transplants constantly coming and going and that makes it hard to establish long friendships. However there are lots of things like meetup.com or other groups where people get together to make new friends at all ages.

I'm a straight woman and used to live near the Castro and still get my hair cut there. My next door neighbors there were a gay couple who'd been together 10+ years, and my hairdresser has been with his partner at least 5 years, so its not all just hookups, but that's just my anecdotal experience.

[dalparadise]

Again, compared to Pittsburgh, SF weather will seem like heaven. It is sunny here most of the time. Even with the summer fog season on the western part of the City, there are usually a few hours of sun per day. It rarely rains at all from about March-November. And it NEVER freezes.

In the Spring (now) it's usually 62-68 degrees and partly sunny during the day, 52-58 at night.

Summer heat will actually pull in Pacific moisture in the form of fog that will cool the City down quite a bit, though other parts of the Bay Area will be warmer. In the summer, Highs can sometimes stay below 60 during the day and dip into the 40s at night.

Indian summer will arrive in October and the wind will shift out to sea. That can make for week-long stretches of 80s during the day and 70s at night. Often, even in this time, changes can be swift and dramatic, back to highs of 60s and lows of 50s. The wind and what it does with the fog makes all the difference.

December and January are comparatively cold and rainy. Highs can sometimes be upper 40s to low 50s and there will be odd evenings when the temp dips to the upper 30s, but doesn't really freeze. You'll see the occasional frost on windshields. That's it.

The Bay Area is a crazy mix of micro climates. It can be 20 degrees cooler on one side of town than another. It can be 90 in the Berkeley hills and 55 in The Sunset. It can be 60 in the FiDi and 88 in Marin County. Dress in layers.

People are pretty friendly here, but it's not the kind of yokel chit-chat friendly you describe from Pitt. It's more of a helpful, genuine interest in your California experience kind of friendly. I like that a lot better, honestly.

I hope, if you decide to come to SF, you will love it as much as I have. Coming here was the best decision I've made. It's one of the few places, I believe, that actually pays dividends on the sizable investment it requires to move here.

[MikeRN1971]

Thanks "thecooler" and "dalparadise". I appreciate the input. I'm sure the weather is better in most cities compared to Pittsburgh. I think we we were voted one of the most overcast cities outside of Seattle. I was in Seattle once and thought the weather was horrible. You guys are swaying me towards SF, haha. I hope I can find a job as a nurse. You guys have any favorite neighborhoods? I heard finding an apartment can be a huge challenge. Thinking of looking for a roomate ad on craigslist. Not sure if I'd be able to afford my own place plus I'd meet a local that can orient me more to the city.

[Gentoo]

You know the saying, "if you don't like the weather wait ten minutes"? In SF, if you don't like the weather, walk a few blocks.