3 ms·

It is facile. You can insert any 2 areas for "Omaha" and "Bay Area" and much if not all of what you says remains true. Denver is also known for nearly everythin

It is facile. You can insert any 2 areas for "Omaha" and "Bay Area" and much if not all of what you says remains true. Denver is also known for nearly everything you mention except valley companies. Our housing is a fraction of bay area prices. Heck, even places like Portland, ME offer all but similar ethnic diversity and their home costs are a small fraction bay area prices. The difference at play is not culture. The difference is housing market restrictions, median wages and company + worker density. Every city has cultural, food and geographic advantages. To word it that the Bay Area is nearly strictly superior is to frankly confuse the issue entirely.

matthewowen 10y ago
I didn't say it was strictly superior. Denver has snow. It doesn't have a comparable food scene. Portland, ME is small and has cold winters. Did you mean Portland, OR? Again, big climate difference. Again, it's not whether one is better or not. That's personal preference. But the Bay Area has excellent cultural amenities and a pleasant climate. There are many people for whom that is important. There's a reason so many people say that they'd love to live in Chicago if it weren't for the winters. If that doesn't apply to you, congratulations! You can save money! Personally, I like being in the Bay Area, and the things I like about it aren't available in Omaha or Denver.
- dsfyu404ed 10y ago
  "and the things I like about it aren't available in Omaha or Denver" Like $4 gas and $6 bagels? Or is the the ability to belong to a group of people that can afford $4 gas and $6 bagels that's notably missing from other places?
  - Johnny555 10y ago
    You don't have to pay for $4 gas (because public transit in the Bay Area is generally pretty good by American standards, or you can easily bike year-round due to the mild climate), nor do you need to pay $6 for a bagel, there are lots of more reasonable options. But the high housing prices are hard to escape if you don't want to live far from work.
  - matthewowen 10y ago
    It's the height of irony that your post (which seems to be suggesting that the only reason I prefer San Francisco is snobbishness) is fundamentally predicated on a disbelief that anyone could reasonably have preferences different from your own. If you don't think the Bay Area has amenities worth paying for, that's ok. I do. Many other people do too. Different people like different things. That's ok. This is obviously besides the point that I've never paid $4 for gas or $6 for a bagel in San Francisco.

matthewowen 10y ago

I didn't say it was strictly superior. Denver has snow. It doesn't have a comparable food scene. Portland, ME is small and has cold winters. Did you mean Portland, OR? Again, big climate difference. Again, it's not whether one is better or not. That's personal preference. But the Bay Area has excellent cultural amenities and a pleasant climate. There are many people for whom that is important. There's a reason so many people say that they'd love to live in Chicago if it weren't for the winters. If that doesn't apply to you, congratulations! You can save money! Personally, I like being in the Bay Area, and the things I like about it aren't available in Omaha or Denver.

dsfyu404ed 10y ago
"and the things I like about it aren't available in Omaha or Denver" Like $4 gas and $6 bagels? Or is the the ability to belong to a group of people that can afford $4 gas and $6 bagels that's notably missing from other places?
- Johnny555 10y ago
  You don't have to pay for $4 gas (because public transit in the Bay Area is generally pretty good by American standards, or you can easily bike year-round due to the mild climate), nor do you need to pay $6 for a bagel, there are lots of more reasonable options. But the high housing prices are hard to escape if you don't want to live far from work.
- matthewowen 10y ago
  It's the height of irony that your post (which seems to be suggesting that the only reason I prefer San Francisco is snobbishness) is fundamentally predicated on a disbelief that anyone could reasonably have preferences different from your own. If you don't think the Bay Area has amenities worth paying for, that's ok. I do. Many other people do too. Different people like different things. That's ok. This is obviously besides the point that I've never paid $4 for gas or $6 for a bagel in San Francisco.