O.k., a few months back I was going to move to San Francisco. I mentioned it here, and got more than a few great replies back. I ended up not moving because I didn’t get transferred, my band was doing real well, and I had this thing about a girl for a bit. Well anyways now I have no girl, no band, and i’m tired of my company. So it’s back to Cali goes broccoli!
My dilemma this time (if we can manage this without a war starting): Which city is cooler - San Diego or San Francisco? I seriously like the laid back attitude of the dopers i’ve talked to from SF, but I think i’d like the weather better in SD. Plus (plug your ears OldScratch) I hear there’s a better punk scene in SD. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure SF has more computer work (silicon valley and all).
Any info you can provide me will be greatly appreciated and considered.
I’ve been to San Diego and never to San Francisco but sight unseen I’d pick SF, just from what I’ve heard of it. Better weather (In my opinion. The weather in SD can’t be that different from the weather here in LA, and it sucks.), better public transit, better food, the biggest Chinatown on the continent…what more can you want?
Welllll… i don’t know a whole hell of a lot about San Diego, but here’s as much as i can tell you:
Most people would say it has a really nice climate. Pretty much always sunny and warm, but not too hot, and not humid. It’s predominately suburban, and while it has a huge population, that’s mostly because it’s so spread out geographically. Politlcally, it has a reputation for being staunchly conservative.
I live in San Francisco, so i can tell you a bit more about it:
The climate is as much determined by where you live in the city as it is by the season (the temperature could rise or drop 10+ degrees depending on what side of a hill you’re on), but generally it’s pretty cool and foggy. It’s pretty much always in the 50s-60s here during the day, summer or winter. It’s more urban than anywhere else in the country, except NYC. Within the city itself, you’re generally better off without a car, since finding a parking space usually takes longer than just biking to your destination. The surrounding Bay Area is of course much more suburban and car-friendly. Politically, SF is arguably the most liberal large city in the country (with the only possible contender here being Boston). I don’t know much of anything about the punk scene here. The job market these days really sucks, since so many of the dot-coms have gone under and there’s now a whole mess of unemployed tech workers looking for work. For a large city, it’s definitely laid back.
Both cities have wackos, but the the type of wacko varies. SF has people blocking streets in the financial district by stringing neck ties across them and standing in the middle of Union Square (big shopping area) on the day after Thanksgiving urging people to stop buying stuff, while SD has survivalist millitiamen and UFO societies (Heaven’s Gate, for instance).
You’ll pay a hell of a lot more for housing in SF than you will in SD. You might find a 2 bedroom apartment in SD for about $1000/month, but you’d be lucky to find one for twice that in SF.
