Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Francisco - Oakland
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 05-23-2017, 03:54 PM
 
24,324 posts, read 26,716,110 times
Reputation: 19745

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by sav858 View Post
I wasn't even responding to you, I was referring to tsieber's 86 degree pool comment. According to your standards even Hawaii is too cold for you. Yes I'm aware the Bay Area/Northern Ca is too cold for swimming, its basically its what I've been saying this entire time....
I assumed you referred to me thinking no ocean gets near 85 lol
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 05-23-2017, 04:27 PM
 
12,823 posts, read 24,286,846 times
Reputation: 11039
Quote:
Originally Posted by tstieber View Post
I'm also a Bay Area transplant to San Diego, and I love it down here! Especially because it's nothing like La. It reminds me a lot of the Bay Area for the same reasons as the OP said about the Bay Area.

But let me interject about 'warm water' in the ocean in San Diego. Hahahahaha! It's almost June, and the ocean is still in the low 60s. By August, we will have maybe 4 weeks of swimmable water, but it will still be far colder than any public swimming pool. The ocean is occasionally tolerable here, but it is almost never ever warm.

Back to the original topic. Truly the Bay Area has the most diversity of any region I've ever seen. Vineyards, Forest, beaches, suburbs, cities, every type of microclimate imaginable, every type of person imaginable. but I will say that San Diego comes a close second. While the city can't compare to San Francisco, it's more urban than San Jose or we are on the bay, we have our own Bay Bridge, we have wineries, mountains, forests, beaches, lighthouses, deserts, you name it. In fact,, mountains are so tall we can visit the snow in the winter time in under 1 hour. And the one thing we have that's totally unique is that we can visit a very large city in another country! Other than that, I'd say the Bay Area is like the world's Disneyland, a massive large-scale playground with totally unique regions to visit. You could truly see the entire world in a day.
RE: Water temps. I dove Wreck Alley in May once. Quite an adventure. Suffice it to say, I clocked 45 deg F on my temperature gauge when I reached the wreck of interest. Granted, this was not the sea surface - that was a bit better, 59 F.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-23-2017, 04:43 PM
 
12,823 posts, read 24,286,846 times
Reputation: 11039
Quote:
Originally Posted by EclecticEars View Post
I'm the opposite of you in this case.

I think L.A. is great, despite its many pronounced flaws. It's basically a more "horizontal" New York, of sorts, with less attitude (there's still plenty of 'tude, though, don't get me wrong) and even more dynamic urban transformations currently taking place, IMO.

By contrast, I thought San Diego was boring and sterile, and San Diegans were surprisingly hostile and hateful (like, NYC- or Miami-level hostile and hateful). I like Balboa Park and the USS Midway, but that's about all the use I have for "Bland Diego."

As a side note, I actually think the Bay Area has more in common with L.A. than with any other metro area in the world. The modern Bay Area is basically what happens when L.A. and Seattle have a baby.
1. Expansive sprawling overall metro area with embedded "downtowns" (multiple) or nodes - check
2. The older suburbs were Streetcar Suburbs. Sadly, the original excellent streetcar / light rail systems were torn out to bring on the busses and freeways - check
3. Geographic barriers play a prominent role in defining directions and styles of development - check
4. A high percentage of the population are immigrants or first generation Americans - check
5. WW-II and the following Cold War military - industrial developments were a key factor in moving the area from a sleepy backwater to a world class metro - check
6. Has an outsized contingent of former New Yawkahs - check
7. Has a relocated NYC baseball team which was a long time cross town rival of the other metro's team - check
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-23-2017, 06:45 PM
 
Location: SW King County, WA
6,400 posts, read 8,229,157 times
Reputation: 6570
As an entire USA metro region, the Bay Area competes with the likes of NYC and LA and holds its own. It's actually pretty impressive when you consider how just how small SF is for a city and the reality that entire Bay Area has nowhere near as many people as NYC or LA- not even close.

As a 'livable' city though? SF is pretty overrated once you get past the novelty of the place. In fact, I'd say it was probably a much more interesting place to be before cities became 'cool' again 5-7 years ago. It's definitely still got some really fun neighborhoods, exceptional views, unique architecture, great food/entertainment if you know where to look for it, and it's fairly well set up for the average tourist, but it's just not on the same level as any of the Alpha Global cities it wishes it could compete with so desperately (London, NYC, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, etc). Personally, I think Chicago and Philadelphia are MUCH better cities overall (at least in the traditional sense), and even Boston, Seattle, DC, and Atlanta can certainly give SF a run for its money as far as livability goes, depending on one's priorities. If you want just a fun weekend in a unique, but easy to navigate city, you might enjoy your time a lot more in places like New Orleans, Las Vegas, Orlando, San Diego, Miami, Austin, Portland, Denver, or Nashville which are generally much less expensive (Miami excluded) and less of a hassle (relatively speaking). For people who've done a lot of traveling around the country and the world, SF is pretty hit or miss these days. What's new in SF? Pretty much nothing but higher prices and more traffic than the past few years...

Overall, I think exorbitant housing costs and extremely poor infrastructure/planning make SF AND the entire Bay Area a much better place to visit than to live for the vast majority of people these days. It takes deeply established roots (either being FROM here or having family in the area), prime work connections, tons of money, pure luck, or a naive/reckless mindset to dismiss all of these flaws and actually make it here long term. If I had children, or if I hadn't spent so much of my life in the Bay Area already, I would have probably left in 2014-2015 when I had the chance. I'm hunkering down for the time being and hoping my savings will be enough to afford a home I own in the next few year, but it's feeling a bit like a pipe dream these days.

I guess for some it's easier to just be positive and sing the praises of the Bay Area and enjoy it all without pause, but for a lot of us, it's not as easy as it used to be.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-23-2017, 07:21 PM
 
Location: where the good looking people are
3,814 posts, read 3,977,803 times
Reputation: 3284
Quote:
Originally Posted by EclecticEars View Post
I'm the opposite of you in this case.

I think L.A. is great, despite its many pronounced flaws. It's basically a more "horizontal" New York, of sorts, with less attitude (there's still plenty of 'tude, though, don't get me wrong) and even more dynamic urban transformations currently taking place, IMO.

By contrast, I thought San Diego was boring and sterile, and San Diegans were surprisingly hostile and hateful (like, NYC- or Miami-level hostile and hateful). I like Balboa Park and the USS Midway, but that's about all the use I have for "Bland Diego."

As a side note, I actually think the Bay Area has more in common with L.A. than with any other metro area in the world. The modern Bay Area is basically what happens when L.A. and Seattle have a baby.
San Diego is Milwaukee by the Sea.

People are lame there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-24-2017, 02:38 AM
 
Location: America's Expensive Toilet
1,516 posts, read 1,239,854 times
Reputation: 3190
Quote:
Originally Posted by bmw335xi View Post
I don't go in the water unless the water temperature is at least 85 degrees
West Coast beaches are freezing. My first trip to LA, I went in August, completely expecting to swim in the ocean as I do on the EC. NOPE. I probably went in for a total of 10 minutes tops. Definitely not pleasant.

I miss swimming, but I'm too concerned about my health to use a public pool here in the Bay.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-24-2017, 08:21 AM
 
882 posts, read 684,355 times
Reputation: 905
"The Bay Area, despite all its faults"...lol. That's like saying the Arianna Grande concert, despite the bombing, was awesome.

Wording a thread like that simply shows insecurity. If a place is that great, you should be able to show it despite its negatives (pros and cons). The problem is, the Bay Area has one serious negative, and that's the cost of living. There are basically two groups here now...people that are rooted here and own property they bought in prices that are anywhere from 1/5 of the current cost to 1/20th (got a kick out of talking to my neighbor the other day who paid $28k for his house), and then there are the elite. Bottom line is, if you plan on coming in here now, you better earn in the top 5% of income earners in the country. Admittedly, I'm glad there are people that feel as strongly as the OP and will be willing to rent my house out for $4k per month while I live high on the hog someplace else on the cash flow.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-24-2017, 08:25 AM
 
345 posts, read 247,728 times
Reputation: 303
"The Bay Area, despite all its faults, is a region that truly has it all."

I'll say.

(Human) Wasteland
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-24-2017, 08:32 AM
 
Location: 49th parallel
4,593 posts, read 3,245,010 times
Reputation: 9561
Quote:
Originally Posted by bmw335xi View Post
I agree, the San Francisco Bay Area is a really unique place from redwood forests, tundra, beaches, mountains, hills, cities, ocean, etc... it has a lot of cool little towns and awesome hiking areas too. I've moved a lot in my life, so while I find it a good thing to have many experiences, it also has made it hard for me to settle in one place or not get bored after a couple years. The San Francisco Bay Area will always have a warm spot in my heart and I have tons of great memories too. That's why I don't get when people think if you move out of a city it's because you couldn't afford it or you're a failure or you view it as being dumped or some other childish reason. I sometimes envy people who can live in one spot and never get bored or feel the desire to try somewhere else. I'll move somewhere and be in love, but then a couple years later I'm ready to move again lol. It doesn't mean I now hate that place, it's just a matter of getting bored, and then all the cons become very visible and over powers the pros.
Never heard anyone state my feelings so well - in fact never knew there was anyone else like me, who has the "move" gene. Not necessarily as referring to the Bay area, but just in general. I think I have a longer attention span than you, however. I usually make it to about 5 years!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-24-2017, 10:19 AM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
18,962 posts, read 32,433,950 times
Reputation: 13609
Quote:
Originally Posted by Independentthinking View Post
"The Bay Area, despite all its faults"...lol. That's like saying the Arianna Grande concert, despite the bombing, was awesome.

Wording a thread like that simply shows insecurity. If a place is that great, you should be able to show it despite its negatives (pros and cons). The problem is, the Bay Area has one serious negative, and that's the cost of living. There are basically two groups here now...people that are rooted here and own property they bought in prices that are anywhere from 1/5 of the current cost to 1/20th (got a kick out of talking to my neighbor the other day who paid $28k for his house), and then there are the elite. Bottom line is, if you plan on coming in here now, you better earn in the top 5% of income earners in the country. Admittedly, I'm glad there are people that feel as strongly as the OP and will be willing to rent my house out for $4k per month while I live high on the hog someplace else on the cash flow.
Everyplace has it's negatives though. If the OP didn't acknowledge the Bay Area having faults some people on here would have had an aneurysm and ranted on them and the OP.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Francisco - Oakland

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top