I lived in SF for almost a decade, NYC for a decade, and seattle now for a decade. Of those places I would stay in seattle (as I have). In fact I face a lot of

I lived in SF for almost a decade, NYC for a decade, and seattle now for a decade. Of those places I would stay in seattle (as I have). In fact I face a lot of friction because I work mostly for high end finserv companies who rarely hire remotely to stay here. NYC is wonderful for restaurants, and maybe for bars but I don’t drink. It’s great for museums and cultural activities in ways that make SF and seattle look provincial and backwater. It has a Gotham city vibe that you can’t replicate and if you like that it’s great. What I didn’t like and drives me away today: * public transit while complete is frustratingly time consuming. To go distances around town I sneeze at in seattle takes at least 45 minutes each way, turning shopping for a new shirt into a full afternoon activity, and commuting to work 25% of your workday. * loud. It’s chronically loud in all dimensions. I hate discordant noise, it stresses me out. Seattle is quiet. New York is maliciously loud. * I like having a garden. No go in Nyc unless you’re independently wealthy. * it’s expensive for what you get for housing. Seattle and SF is too, and maybe SF has moved beyond, but generally NYC expect to always feel house poor - both in spending too much of your base income but also in the quality of location of where you live.