131–140 of 154 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm from Minnesota, and I didn't think the weather in SF was terrible, but I definitely thought it was weird that in SF it would be 80 degrees one day in November and 50 degrees and foggy all summer.
I've been in and out of north beach for 10 years. It's hardly ever 50 and foggy. It's sunny for a large part of every day and rarely below 65 midday.
This list was very startup-bro oriented, as are most lists like this. Startups, Computer Science departments, hiking, beer are the axes of importance. What's interesting is what's left out: can I meet good friends? get laid? find a wife? etc.
Can't remember where the article is now, but apparently SF has the highest ratio of single straight women to single straight men in the entire US. However, it also ranks as one of the most difficult to date in, because no one steps up to the plate. And please, don't discount the beer. I'd cry if I lived in a city where I couldn't get a good beer.
And the abundance of male techy immigrants means that women who are attracted to geeky men are the most in demand and most likely to be already taken.
If you're single (and male) and you'd like to be paired up, make it happen before or after your time in SF.
For folks that are outside of SF or didn't vote, we had a measure up for vote to prevent sitting or lying on public sidewalks. This is principally targeting the homeless problem. Luckily, it passed! Go to this link and go all the way to the bottom. Its item L. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/03/... Edit Additionally, it looks like Ron Conway was a big contributor to this. http://ballotpedia.o…
> This is principally targeting the homeless problem. Did you miss the word "hiding"? It doesn't seem to be much of a way to "solve it".
The city government has also aggressively harassed the homeless in parts of downtown where they congregate, displacing them further. They then had the gall to proclaim proudly that homelessness had gone down, since their yearly headcount (of the popular spots, of course) decreased.
All of this has served to cut the homeless off from the services that help them, and displaced them further afield.
My city doesn't suck (Houghton, Michigan). Granted it isn't startup world... But we do have a good University that brings in the nerds. And it's awesome because it isn't too big (only around 7,000), and it's been listed as one of the 100 best small towns in America. It's for hackers like me that don't like lots of people and like to be outdoors a lot (and don't mind 250 inches of snow a year!). The city has many beau…
My city doesn't suck (Houghton, Michigan). Granted it isn't startup world... But we do have a good University that brings in the nerds. And it's awesome because it isn't too big (only around 7,000), and it's been listed as one of the 100 best small towns in America. It's for hackers like me that don't like lots of people and like to be outdoors a lot (and don't mind 250 inches of snow a year!). The city has many beau…
And no place I've seen matches Houghton on cost of living. The linked article says $1700 for a 2-bedroom apartment. My friends and I rent a 5-bedroom house for less than that.
Seattle reminds me of London. Sure the weather sucks and it is raining all the time, but the people make up for it by being awesome to each other. People in sunny cities tend to be dicks[1] Some of my fav cities in the world are those I least expected to be awesome. [1] not a scientific study but exhibit A: Los Angeles
Have you heard of the Seattle Freeze? Basically it goes like this: the locals here (people who grew up/went to school here) are incredibly resentful of "transplants" who came from elsewhere, mostly to work in the tech industries here. We're blamed for anything from turning Seattle from a sleepy laid-back town into a monstrosity of big-city lights (it... isn't), to raising housing prices, to making everything suck mor…
I avoid I-405/I-90 just so my commute's transit time can have lower variance.
I'm from central Canada, and traffic in Regina and Winnipeg is a breath of fresh air compared to how it is around here (a 30 minute drive is considered exceptionally long). I'm tempted to move back to a smaller city just because of how much time I waste driving around.
How does Austin, TX compare?
I've lived in SF and now I live in Austin.
Austin
Pros:
-Great Food, you can't find the type of food you get in austin anywhere else. Great BBQ, the best tacos, tons of food trailers and Tex-Mex
-Great Beer.
-beautiful down to earth women (I feel like this is SF's big problem it was extremely hard to meet women I was interested in)
-night life is amazing (most people in Austin don't work they just party)
-very bike friendly...you can bike the whole city in 30 mins (15 late at night). Austin is pretty flat (unlike SF) so biking is just so enjoyable.
-There's rivers and lakes and hiking right in the city
-The cost a living really can't be beat (cheap rent, cheap food, cheap beer). I can go to a bar and get a beer for $2.
-UT is right here (I don't know anything about there CS dept, but I think they have some pretty good grad school depts)
-THE WEATHER its almost always sunny. It gets hot in the summer but everywhere has great AC so you don't feel it. It's actually great to feel the heat and then be able to relax with AC. I prefer the weather here to SF where at least in the city its almost always a little rainy and cold.
-Great Airport (flys jetblue and southwest) and great public transit (even though you don't need because biking is so great)
-If you like music theres no place better
-SXSW is awesome every year
-no state income tax!
Cons:
-Tech Scene is super small (trying to change that)
-lots of hipsters (which is good and bad)
-I wish it were a little bigger
-no big mountains or ocean
Nickpick: Seattle IMO actually has a pretty disappointing music scene, especially with respect to indie music. Presumably all of the artists moved out as the cost of living increased. But the awesome beer makes up for it.
Nitpick^2: I don't think the Seattle beer scene is actually that good (granted, I live in Denver). Red Hook, Mac & Jacks and Pyramid are all decent. Ranier Beer is some of the most foul stuff I've ever tasted. Am I missing places? I think most of the good beer in Seattle comes from Portland or elsewhere.
There are also small breweries that don't bottle (like Mac and Jacks) and you have to get them on tap at the famous beer bars like Uber, Brouwers, or Beveridge Place. There are plenty of places to look up more interesting beers in Seattle, the beers you named are just the tip of the iceberg.