Post #34749 by thejab on Sun, May 18, 2003 2:27 PM

Having lived in San Diego until I was 27 and living in the Bay Area for the last 10, I'd like to give you my opinions (some of which I don't expect people to agree with).

The economy here sucks now. Jobs are getting scarce. On the plus side people are leaving the area in droves and apartments are for rent everywhere. A couple years ago there were lines to see an apartment in Oakland and forget about finding one in San Francisco. Now they are everywhere. Unfortunately rents are still high and show no signs of dropping very much. When I moved into my one bedroom apartment 4 and a half years years ago (at the middle of the boom) I paid $695 (currently $830). Now a 1 bedroom in the East Bay averages $1000-1200 and in SF about $1200-1500. However, I have heard of people negotiating lower rents.

House prices are still super high. 2 bedrooms with 1 bath in a good neighborhood start at $450,000!

I don't know how important this is to you but the Bay Area used to be a hotbed of music. There were lots of clubs that booked bands I liked (mostly garage, rockabilly, punk, etc.) and now there are few clubs that book those kinds of bands. Lots of bands have left the area for cheaper rents and more affordable rehearsal spaces. I think LA (and San Diego) has a far better music scene now. For this reason mainly I have thought about moving down south myself.

Bay Area pros:
Visual beauty - lots of water and hills and nice cityscapes
Restaurants - some great food but can be trendy causing many cool old places to die a slow death
Clean air
Weather - less rain than Seattle but more fog
Diversity of cultures and politically liberal
Trader Vics, Tonga Room

Cons:
Cost of living
Traffic - the bridges are constantly under construction and people drive badly (too slow)
Public transportation - BART is OK but outside SF it's hard to get around without a car
Too many hippes - people are super casual and laid back in their appearance
Beaches - pretty but cold with freezing cold water
Music scene - dying
Unfriendly, snobby people - in my travels I've found people are nicer in many parts of the country

LA / Orange County / San Diego pros:
Weather
Beaches
cheaper cost of living in some parts
Restaurants - more cool old joints survive for some reason than in the Bay Area
Tiki Ti, Trader Vic's, Bahooka, Sam's, Royal Hawaiian, Islands, Bali Hai (you get the point)
More mid-century modern architecture
Palm trees
Mountains and desert are so close
People are more glamorous - get dressed up more often (some people in No. Cal see this as being phony but I like it)

So Cal cons:
Traffic - pluses are people drive faster (and San Diego driving is a piece of cake)
Dirty air - not too bad close to the ocean
Public transportation - improving with the new rail lines and San Diego trolleys
Politically more conservative (may be a plus for some people)

San Francisco is more like Seattle in that they are both fairly dense cosmopolitan thriving cities. Oakland is bleak - the city is in severe debt and crime is getting worse. San Diego is a lot like Portland - more compact than LA and very pretty.

Hope that helps you.