NYC Chicago all completely trounce SF in nightlife …it isn’t a contest.

I am not living in SF for now, but think about moving back out there all the time. I think it would be the best place out of any of those for the 30-retirement age… NYC and Chicago both easily beat SF for living in your 20′s. I’ve experience all 3 in my 20s. NYC >>> Chicago > SF

My beef with Chicago is mostly it’s location/weather and it feels a bit Midwestern Vanilla sometimes.

SF beef is it just feels pretty small in comparison and I do miss the winter/snow sometimes…

NYC beef is just the high strungness…this is fine, and you will say oh I like it…Trust me, the most fast pace people eventually don’t really want that when they have kids. Most move to the burbs of NYC anyway, but still have to put up with the high energy. But you can have a bit more balance in say, San Francisco.

All three great cities though.

for me when it comes down to where you would want to live? for myself i would not involve what i did for work because most of us are stuck inside not enjoying the city as we go about earning that paycheck. Im looking at what is there to do outside of a standard 9-5 and i believe san francisco wins as a whole where nyc has its upsides too…both have great places to eat and drink but nyc has more because the city is more populated..simple econmoics! nightlife isnt for everyone and different folks have a different idea of what a good nightlife really is…for some it can be a whole night in a wine bar or just a run of the mill pub or full blown ear ringing nightclub. Both places have them and nyc wins on closing time at 4-5am but thats about it. See as a whole san francisco has the space you can bike, drive around town which i enjoy on a nice sunny day and just enjoy yourself. Theres nothing can replace going on a date with a girl and picking her up at her place and driving to a movie or to a nice dinner. In nyc its about meeting them at the restaurant in manhattan by way of subway or taxi. What if you wanted to get closer? you cant go back to her place because shes in a one bedroom apartment in east village with 2 other people sleeping in the living room. SF quality of life wins hands down. end of rant!

I enjoyed your article, having recently come back from San Francisco. As a native Philadelphian who lives in New York, I have a pretty neutral view on both places (although I hate New York sports teams).

As far as weather is concerned, you are dead on. SF has the best weather by far. The winter isn’t as bad as you make it out to be, however the summer in NY is unbearable.

As far as coffee is concerned, I can’t really comment…having lived in Paris for a few years, I have to say that the coffee scene in the US is weak, not so much as quality of coffee, but quality of hanging out at the cafe.

As far as outdoors in concerned, I suppose I concede that to San Francisco, although I must say, I’m not much of an outdoorsman. If I’m playing sports, I’m in the ice rink playing hockey. For hockey the East Coast is far superior to the West Coast.

Real estate is outrageous in both places-the 2 most expensive markets in the country-for good reason-the 2 most desirable places to be in the country.

In terms of culture, San Franciso falls far short of New York-there are some interesting items to see in SF, however the museum scene pales in comparison to New York, as does theater (London is the only place that compares to New York). Furthermore, Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago have more culture than SF. This is a serious flaw of SF.

Diversity is similar, however I give the nod to New York on this one as well.

One item you forgot is geography. New York is 3.5 hours from Boston, 1.5 hours from Phila, 4 hours from Washington, and 6 hours from Montreal…all by car. The 2 hour flight to Chicago is nothing, and the 5.5 hour flight to Paris is similar to the flight to the West Coast. What is the closest major city to SF? LA is a horrible, godforsaken place (I would rather live in Baltimore).

Wine, in and of itself, is a reason to move to San Francisco. My love of Sonomoa pinot noir draws me to SF annually. Healdsburg is a gem. Napa is a bit pretentious, however there are some excellent cabernet sauvignon selections there-if you are a big red meat eater. Outside of France, there is nothing like the California wine country.

As far as food is concerned, San Francisco is a fabulous city. I would even have to say it’s a half notch above my beloved Philadelphia (don’t laugh-if you’ve never been there, Philly runs the gamut from junk food to high-end restaurants, including places where you can bring your wine for no corkage fee). That being said, it doesn’t quite have the variety that New York does. Asian food is better in SF, however European food is better in New York. New American is comparable (Gary Danko and Cyrus are awesome, Michael Mina was disappointing), however it’s a bit better in NY. What stood out to me in San Francisco was the freshness of the produce and ingredients…this surpassed NY for sure.

The biggest shock to me was the friendliness of people in SF-they are nicer in Paris! NY gets such a bad rap for unfriendly people, which couldn’t be more true. People in NY are ‘busy,’ whereas I found people in SF to be genuinely rude. Granted, I only met a small portion, so I could be off on this, however after 5 trips to SF, I find the Parisians to be warmer.

Overall, SF and NY are the 2 best places in the country. I’m drawn to NY b/c my family (and my wife’s family) are in NY and PA-all within 100 miles. I would trade anything to spend summers in SF. Hopefully I’ll be able to retire in SF (or preferably Healdsburg).

This city to city thing is funny though. It’s kind of like, now compare the quadratic formula to a Granny Smith apple.

SF is Brooklyn, without Manhattan. Great town if you are a couple, married, family, have wine for blood, etc.

Single? Unless you are a librarian, WTF are you doing in SF?