Which of these global cities is the most similar to San Francisco? (2015, dangerous)

[Turnerbro]

So I've always felt that San Francisco was a pretty unique city, especially when compared to other American cities. However I'm wondering if there's any international cities that compare well to it. After looking around it seems like the following 12 cities do have a decent amount that is similar to SF. However I'm wondering which one is truly the most similar. Some Things to keep in mind. Vote for up to 3 if you feel it's too close to call.

1. City Layout
2. Architecture
3. Climate
4. Topography
5. Economy
6. Culture
7. Transportation
8. Vibe

[usuariodeldia]

lol Sydney or Wellington of course and they are not even on the list...

[Turnerbro]

Originally Posted by usuariodeldia

lol Sydney or Wellington of course and they are not even on the list...

Well I thought about putting Wellington on here. However I think Auckland has more in common, it's layout is closer to the Bay area metro. It also has more international appeal, similar to SF. Is Sydney really that similar to SF? I always thought it was more similar to American cities like L.A, Chicago and even Miami.

[deneb78]

I've not been yet but I suspect Auckland would be a good match for San Francisco. I have heard that Valparaiso, Chile is very similar too.

[Turnerbro]

Originally Posted by deneb78

I've not been yet but I suspect Auckland would be a good match for San Francisco. I have heard that Valparaiso, Chile is very similar too.

Right. Forgot about Valparaiso. It probably deserves an honorable mention at least for the architecture.

[iMarvin]

Lisbon is the first city that came to mind.

[Nn2036]

Lisbon. There is even a twin sister of the Golden gate bridge.

[Gentoo]

If you compare the city of SF with other cities vs the Bay Area metro, you're going to get some wildly different results. San Francisco is unique even within it's own metro; climate, architecture, density etc. are all distinct from the rest of the Bay Area. Take climate for example, the outer suburbs in summer can be as much as 40 degrees hotter on the same day! The challenge is finding another metro that comes close to having that kind of variation.

One place I would guess that's not on this list is maybe Santiago, Chile?

[Pokitobounto]

Not Marseillle I guess...
They share a lot, and Marseille is the "closest" thing to SF in France IMO, but still, it's different.
1. City Layout => idk what it means
2. Architecture => Different... Marseille is extremely old and ultra compact. I prefer SF, more open
3. Climate => Marseille is hotter, dryer... But with less sun / year . Marseille has one default: it's very very windy, non stop. All year long...
4. Topography => They aren't flat, both of them.
5. Economy => It's comparing a cat and a lion, literally.
6. Culture => Well, Marseille has very old roots, starting in -600 before JC. They are quite different...
7. Transportation => I hate both I guess. marseille makes efforts, but could do much better.
8. Vibe => I like SF. Marseille has this "Naples" aspect, old -dirty for euro standards-, mixing ultra rich villas with view on the calanques and very poor ghettos, the most "dangerous" in France (Its not Caracas but there's fight between drug gangs)... I don't know SF for its crime.

Marseille is the french Naples. Cities with huge potentials, not always very well used... Little photos of marseille and SF, cause' I love pics:





I can't wait to come back to the West of USA



Edit: Oh, I forgot it, but Marseille has its little Alcatraz-like Island, the If Island with the If Castle:

[theurbanfiles]

I feel like another place that is but maybe not so much getting mentioned is Lima Peru. In some ways, at least.

Also, not to be a pedant, but wouldn’t Haifa resemble SF more than Tel Aviv in Israel?