4 ms·

I would continue living in the Bay Area even if I changed my career. I love the vibe and culture. Oakland First Friday is a fun street fair. The multiple rode g

I would continue living in the Bay Area even if I changed my career. I love the vibe and culture. Oakland First Friday is a fun street fair. The multiple rode gardens in about every city are fantastic. I lived an eight minute walk from the Oakland garden during the pan and I was there every day. SF is one of a small number of cities that almost every musical act will play when they tour. And there are lots of art galleries. If the tech scene is the only draw for you, there are still a lot of reasons it’s a great area. And there are so many beautiful trails to hike that are just a short drive away. If you wanna buy a house with a yard and the above doesn’t draw you, it’s probably not for you. Edit: and fresh produce at the farmers markets!

lobsterthief 3y ago
You just described a lot of cities in the US though
- bevekspldnw 3y ago
  Exactly, Pittsburgh PA checks all those boxes with a fraction of cost of living and crime. Also, way way way more artists - because they can afford to live there. The art scene in the bay is actually really bad.
  - moron4hire 3y ago
    I can see that about Pittsburgh. My wife did college there, and we've visited a few times. It's got the right mix of tech and working class, I think. That's what I miss about Philadelphia. Actually, probably the only thing I miss, because there are a lot of problems in Philly, too. But the indie hacker scene in Philly was amazing. We had a lot of intermingled circles of entrepreneurs, hackers, and artists . If you wanted to get something done and make it a cool, weird thing along the way, you just had to show up at the hackerspace with some parts and beer. I'm in the DC area now, since I got married 10 years ago. Nothing like that here. Lots of extremely intelligent people, but no desire to Just Make Things. Everyone's got their career plan, retirement plan, home ownership plan. And none of it involves just hanging out and fucking around with a soldering iron.
    - bevekspldnw 3y ago
      DC is pretty upright in general, whereas I believe Philly is a very loose place. Philly definitely has more of a creative class than DC, but there’s still things happening in DC.
  - andsoitis 3y ago
    > The art scene in the bay is actually really bad. The only cities in the US with a superior art scene than San Francisco are New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and maybe Chicago. Washington DC, Houston, Marfa, Pittsburg, and Santa Fe lag behind San Francisco.
    - bevekspldnw 3y ago
      And where, exactly, do all these bay area artists live? The other cities all have some sort of semi livable areas for artists, SF has nothing to offer in that regards. Likewise, people in South Bay lack the sophistication to appreciate anything other than a vanity license plate on a sport car.
  - jjav 3y ago
    > Pittsburgh The weather though.. I like Pittsburgh (CMU alumni here), but only a few weeks a year.
    - bevekspldnw 3y ago
      100% agree, just saying there’s more art and other amenities than people realize. Also, one of the genuinely friendliest places I’ve ever lived. The weather is bad enough that I consider it basically uninhabitable if you have seasonal depression. South Bay is a cultural wasteland but god damn the weather is 10/10. The biggest drawback beyond the weather is the coke/steel plants regularly put shit in the air far in excess of EPA guidelines and the water supply is about two steps above Flint in quality. Overall, PGH is amazing if you can live with the climate - but if you can’t, you can’t.

lobsterthief 3y ago

You just described a lot of cities in the US though

bevekspldnw 3y ago
Exactly, Pittsburgh PA checks all those boxes with a fraction of cost of living and crime. Also, way way way more artists - because they can afford to live there. The art scene in the bay is actually really bad.
- moron4hire 3y ago
  I can see that about Pittsburgh. My wife did college there, and we've visited a few times. It's got the right mix of tech and working class, I think. That's what I miss about Philadelphia. Actually, probably the only thing I miss, because there are a lot of problems in Philly, too. But the indie hacker scene in Philly was amazing. We had a lot of intermingled circles of entrepreneurs, hackers, and artists . If you wanted to get something done and make it a cool, weird thing along the way, you just had to show up at the hackerspace with some parts and beer. I'm in the DC area now, since I got married 10 years ago. Nothing like that here. Lots of extremely intelligent people, but no desire to Just Make Things. Everyone's got their career plan, retirement plan, home ownership plan. And none of it involves just hanging out and fucking around with a soldering iron.
  - bevekspldnw 3y ago
    DC is pretty upright in general, whereas I believe Philly is a very loose place. Philly definitely has more of a creative class than DC, but there’s still things happening in DC.
- andsoitis 3y ago
  > The art scene in the bay is actually really bad. The only cities in the US with a superior art scene than San Francisco are New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and maybe Chicago. Washington DC, Houston, Marfa, Pittsburg, and Santa Fe lag behind San Francisco.
  - bevekspldnw 3y ago
    And where, exactly, do all these bay area artists live? The other cities all have some sort of semi livable areas for artists, SF has nothing to offer in that regards. Likewise, people in South Bay lack the sophistication to appreciate anything other than a vanity license plate on a sport car.
- jjav 3y ago
  > Pittsburgh The weather though.. I like Pittsburgh (CMU alumni here), but only a few weeks a year.
  - bevekspldnw 3y ago
    100% agree, just saying there’s more art and other amenities than people realize. Also, one of the genuinely friendliest places I’ve ever lived. The weather is bad enough that I consider it basically uninhabitable if you have seasonal depression. South Bay is a cultural wasteland but god damn the weather is 10/10. The biggest drawback beyond the weather is the coke/steel plants regularly put shit in the air far in excess of EPA guidelines and the water supply is about two steps above Flint in quality. Overall, PGH is amazing if you can live with the climate - but if you can’t, you can’t.