AdamS
AdamS

Is anyone considering leaving San Francisco or the Bay area?

San Francisco is such a great city, it really is like a second home to me, but the last couple of times I have been I have found myself liking San Francisco little less each time, especially since I have spent some time in Chicago. Is anyone living in San Francisco a bit over it and planning to move?
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FlowerGirl
FlowerGirl 2yrs+
How can anyone not like San Francisco. I've lived in the area my whole life except for a couple of months here and there and I really can't think of too many other places I'd like to live.
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
I'll second you on that. I grew up in the LA area--the San Fernando Valley--and I don't ever want to go back.
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FlowerGirl
FlowerGirl 2yrs+
I have never understood what people like about L.A.
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
My experience has been that it is usually people from the Midwest who have never actually lived in LA that are sold on it. Once they actually live there for a while they usually give up their fantasy vision and see it for what it is: a big, smoggy, sprawling mess.
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FlowerGirl
FlowerGirl 2yrs+
No kidding! And ugly too. LA is one of those cities like Las Vegas that just seems to rise up out of nowhere. Its just flat, flat, flat then you get these buildings all huddled together.
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
That's one thing that made me fall in love with SF. The beauty of the Bay Bridge hopping to Treasure Island and then to SF with the Pyramid Building and Fairy Building. On clear breezing day its amazing. I used to just go up to Grizzly Peak at stare at it.
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FlowerGirl
FlowerGirl 2yrs+
Really well put. But it doesn't have to be a clear day I've been up there and watched the fog roll up over the city or when early in morning you get up above the fog and it just rolls off like a carpet of cotton candy.
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
The only time people ever go to look at LA is night to look at the lights. And really, people do that with any city. Twinkling lights are pretty no matter how unremarkable your city is.
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FlowerGirl
FlowerGirl 2yrs+
Its ugly. Its dirty. And you know what else, it makes you rude and superficial. I thought that people around here were obsessed with material stuff but that is nothing compared to LA. It is all about plastic surgery, Beamers and looking like you just stepped out of a GQ ad.
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
Well, I add the usual, not everyone there is like that, etc. But it does definately lean that way. If you stay there you get so used to seeing the wannabe starlets waiting at your table that you start to think that the average person is as well sculped as an extra in the later blockbuster.
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FlowerGirl
FlowerGirl 2yrs+
I see. So what you're saying is that the chics down in LA are hotter than the chics up here?
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
No. Only if you are really into Silicone.
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FlowerGirl
FlowerGirl 2yrs+
lol. Harsh. I was just messing with you.
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
But its true. There is a whole lot more plastic surgery down there. Just take a look in the phone book and you'll see how many of them there. I mean, when I was in high school down there people would go away for summer break and come back with straight noses and bigger breasts and more defined cheek bones.
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FlowerGirl
FlowerGirl 2yrs+
That happens around here too. Girls get boob jobs all the time. I had a friend that got one right before college to help improve her social life.
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
But I'm talking guys and in High School. There were at least 3 that got them when I was in High School.
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
And everybody is so proud of them too. My wife's cousin came up to her after her breast augmentation and just said, hey look at these--aren't they great. Have a feel. Dont' they feel real? And so soft and firm huh?
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FlowerGirl
FlowerGirl 2yrs+
Lol. But you know that's not that uncommon. I have a friend that works in a Vet clinic and she had a friend there once that went around flashing everybody her piercings. Even the guys.
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
Yeah, but somehow that's different. Piercings and tattoos have a lot more to do with artistic expression. Breast augmentation just feels more vulgar somehow.
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FlowerGirl
FlowerGirl 2yrs+
I hate to end the session of Late Night at Street Advisor--but, was there anything that you liked about living in LA?
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
That's probably a good idea. I wouldn't want to have to explain why I was talking about piercings and breasts to my wife.
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
As your question. I would say that there are a few things that people like about LA. First, I would say that they like the beaches better there than here. If you are the sort of person that likes getting a natural tan at the beach than LA is definitely the place to go.
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FlowerGirl
FlowerGirl 2yrs+
We got Santa Cruz, though and Stinson Beach.
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
Yeah, but that's not the same, you know. Stinson is more about hiking than actually going in the water. And Santa Cruz I hear has okay surfing but for most of the year it is just too cold for anyone without a wet suit on.
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
Down in LA though, you got great beaches for sun bathing and the weather for it for about half the year. You also got Santa Monica pear which is like a cliff, so its kind of attarctive. And there is the Santa Monica Pier that you may have seen in movies--its really nice for having fun and people watching and for going on dates. There are some pretty good stores and bookstores in Santa Monica as well. And there are a couple of really great movie houses that play old movies (at least there were twenty years ago when I used to live there).

Also, there is Venice beach, which is a little bit like Haight on the water with nice weather. Its a great place to go look at strange characters and rollerbladers and people in bikinis. So definitely has SF beat in terms of the beach scene.
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FlowerGirl
FlowerGirl 2yrs+
Alright uncle, uncle! I give in. The beaches are better. If I bleach my hair blonde and decide I want to spend my time getting skin cancer I will pack my things and go. Any thing other than the beaches?
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
Well, then there is also the weather. A lot of people prefer the warmer weather of So Cal to what they see as the cold of Nor Cal.
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FlowerGirl
FlowerGirl 2yrs+
Now there I can't agree. I know it is warmer down there, but its not exactly Siberia up here. As a matter of fact, I would say that for most of the year we have the more moderate livable weather.
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
I aggree. I am just saying that I know a lot of people who prefer it. Personally I think it is too hot and to make matters worse it is just too smoggy. My wife used to get bad allergiest he entire time that we were downt there. They cleared up when we came up here. I mean you can literally smell how much cleaner the air is up here.
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FlowerGirl
FlowerGirl 2yrs+
Okay, so is that it? Is that all you got for LA?
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
Another thing about LA is that it has a far more vibrant movie scene. It just seems like they got a lot more when it comes to revival houses and amazing theaters.
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AndyBell
AndyBell 2yrs+
San Francisco is a good place to live.How can anyone not like San Francisco.
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FlowerGirl
FlowerGirl 2yrs+
@AndyBell: I totally agree, but I have noticed more and more people complaining about things like the cost of living here. I think it is worth every last penny, myself.
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IpanemaGirlSF
IpanemaGirlSF 2yrs+
I just got here and I can't imagine leaving. I think its the most beautifullest city in America.
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StephSF
StephSF 2yrs+
SF is definitely the best city in the United States that I have been to - and my second favorite in the world (only Sydney, Australia tops out). There is SOME appeal to LA - it is a great place for anyone working in the entertainment industry, you can live in the middle of a large city and still feel like you live the suburban lifestyle, and, perhaps most importantly, the weather cannot be beat.

But the traffic is a joke, and not in a good way at ALL.

I did like Malibu a lot, too, when I visited. Maybe I'll move there some day when I have a few extra million dollars lying around.
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