4 ms·

Isn't it just a flat out better quality of life choice to live & work in a city? Traffic and a commute etc, and the lack of local food alternatives... that just

Isn't it just a flat out better quality of life choice to live & work in a city? Traffic and a commute etc, and the lack of local food alternatives... that just sounds terrible! (I like dense urban locals)

rdl 14y ago
I like some big cities (Seattle, NY, Amsterdam, Berlin, Tokyo) , but hate SF. I love PA and MV.
- gruseom 14y ago
  Why do you hate SF?
  - rdl 14y ago
    Many reasons. I like guns, cars, law and order, cleanliness, and square footage. Anything I do in SF (going to a store, visiting an office) is a huge production, compared to MV/PA/MP where I can just drive there, park in a parking lot, go in and do it, and be out in a known amount of time.
    - dredmorbius 14y ago
      You can drive and park in most of SF. For $5-15/hour if you insist on trying that downtown. It turns out that transit is cheaper and, generally, faster.
    - raldi 14y ago
      But in those regards, NY and Tokyo are like SF turned up to 11. And how can you cite guns as a reason to prefer European cities to American ones?
      - rdl 14y ago
        NY and Tokyo have positives to counterbalance the sacrifices, and in NYC (at least Manhattan), public transit actually works. (NYC I'd visit, but never live in long-term, due to the gun laws; same with Hong Kong and Tokyo). German gun laws are better than Japan. Various Eastern European countries (Czech Republic, Finland, etc) are a lot better. While in the city itself, I think NYC, DC, and Chicago laws are worse than many European countries on this one axis (obviously not the UK). Seattle, Boulder, Portland, Boston, and Austin are worse than SF on tech startups (but still not bad), and on diversity/quality of food and culture, but with a lot fewer low scores for the other things. The other thing is proximity. I can have most of the benefits of SF (which, for me, are "proximity to a few decent tech companies there"), with very little of the cost, in PA/MV. It's a drive or train ride, but not a flight. Still suffer from California state craziness (soon, 13% taxes on income and capital gains on top of federal, inflated property prices which also lead to inflated property taxes on an absolute level, crazy laws), but SFBA tech scene wins over that, at least for the next 5-10 years.
haberman 14y ago
Totally agree. One of the things I love about Seattle is that I can live and work in the city. No 45-minute commute required.
- BadassFractal 14y ago
  Seattle is definitely quite nice from that point of view. The whole Cap Hill / Lake Union area is dense with activity and places where to have it.
joshAg 14y ago
rents are annoyingly high, even compared to the bay area, and it is very hard to find a room/apartment if you don't want to live by yourself and don't have a roommate(s) already (so you can just lease a 2br+ apartment instead of trying to find a sublease on a room).
lhnn 14y ago
There are benefits to sprawl... I do wish there were more shopping center/apartment complex combos, which would make for a nice place to live, play and drink without driving. OTOH, I like low rent, low taxes, fresh air, and small(er) government.

rdl 14y ago

I like some big cities (Seattle, NY, Amsterdam, Berlin, Tokyo) , but hate SF. I love PA and MV.

gruseom 14y ago
Why do you hate SF?
- rdl 14y ago
  Many reasons. I like guns, cars, law and order, cleanliness, and square footage. Anything I do in SF (going to a store, visiting an office) is a huge production, compared to MV/PA/MP where I can just drive there, park in a parking lot, go in and do it, and be out in a known amount of time.
  - dredmorbius 14y ago
    You can drive and park in most of SF. For $5-15/hour if you insist on trying that downtown. It turns out that transit is cheaper and, generally, faster.
  - raldi 14y ago
    But in those regards, NY and Tokyo are like SF turned up to 11. And how can you cite guns as a reason to prefer European cities to American ones?
    - rdl 14y ago
      NY and Tokyo have positives to counterbalance the sacrifices, and in NYC (at least Manhattan), public transit actually works. (NYC I'd visit, but never live in long-term, due to the gun laws; same with Hong Kong and Tokyo). German gun laws are better than Japan. Various Eastern European countries (Czech Republic, Finland, etc) are a lot better. While in the city itself, I think NYC, DC, and Chicago laws are worse than many European countries on this one axis (obviously not the UK). Seattle, Boulder, Portland, Boston, and Austin are worse than SF on tech startups (but still not bad), and on diversity/quality of food and culture, but with a lot fewer low scores for the other things. The other thing is proximity. I can have most of the benefits of SF (which, for me, are "proximity to a few decent tech companies there"), with very little of the cost, in PA/MV. It's a drive or train ride, but not a flight. Still suffer from California state craziness (soon, 13% taxes on income and capital gains on top of federal, inflated property prices which also lead to inflated property taxes on an absolute level, crazy laws), but SFBA tech scene wins over that, at least for the next 5-10 years.

haberman 14y ago

Totally agree. One of the things I love about Seattle is that I can live and work in the city. No 45-minute commute required.

BadassFractal 14y ago
Seattle is definitely quite nice from that point of view. The whole Cap Hill / Lake Union area is dense with activity and places where to have it.

joshAg 14y ago

rents are annoyingly high, even compared to the bay area, and it is very hard to find a room/apartment if you don't want to live by yourself and don't have a roommate(s) already (so you can just lease a 2br+ apartment instead of trying to find a sublease on a room).

lhnn 14y ago

There are benefits to sprawl... I do wish there were more shopping center/apartment complex combos, which would make for a nice place to live, play and drink without driving. OTOH, I like low rent, low taxes, fresh air, and small(er) government.