I agree, pick a city that suits your way of life. I was born and raised in SF so I have a bias. But I have a lot of family in NYC so I can appreciate it for what it is. To me, SF is a scaled down version of NYC with better/closer access to woodlands and beaches......if you're into that.
I am into that! Love our SF and Bay. I have to say, it's nice to see someone who has a "bias", essentially speaking fondly of our SF, instead of the "I'm leaving SF forever" line I see so often lately.
thats one of my faves of sf bay. ease of access to events. I always love the indoor gardening expo at fort mason, i get all my free samples then go biking from fort mason to golden gate and back. some views of the city are only accessible by foot or bike. used to go raving in sf way back, cow palace and 3com park had a few unforgettable nights . i dj once for 94.9 house nation back in 03. love to go crabbing to at pacifica too.
City was the height if sophistication, class, food, banking and insurance. Cant blame republicans fir turning it into a open air toilet. We use to laugh at detroit chicago philly, New York, dc etc… i heard kids in China who dint finish their dinner are told…think about all the homeless people in San Francisco! Stupid threat….our thieves, drug addicts and homeless are the fattest in the world!
Man my family has been the same house in SF for the past 83 years. SF is engraved into me man. NYC is da best around... SF is too laid back . just too lazy for me.. Thanks for the comment back I appreciate it! ^5 Kuya
100% it comes down to relationships. You could be in the most beautiful place on the planet and without someone to share it with, it won’t be as meaningful. On the flip side, you could be surrounded by people who love you and make you feel special in any hotel room in any city, and be content.
Relationships are over rated. Just learn to enjoy yourself. But if relationships matter so much to you, then you are far more likely going to find someone in SF and the Bay Area than NYC.
except you can take a train to Washington DC, and you will have to drive to Tahoe, among thousands of other Bay Areans trying to go there for a weekend.
NYC is connected with DC, Philly, Boston, Baltimore and many cool cities, even Atlantic City! SF you would have to go on a very long drive to reach LA or Seattle. NYC is close to Europe! Hiking yes Catskills, etc are all there. Beaches are not as cold as SF during the summer.
As a native New Yorker who moved to SF Bay Area 30 years ago to start my career in tech. Mostly agree with you. NYC better for transportation and SF better for weather and outdoor activities. NYC is probably more walkable but many parts of SF are very walkable. Issue on homeless being more visible maybe because the weather allows you to sleep outside in SF year round, whereas in NYC you will freeze to death in the winter. There are tent cities in SF because the weather permits it.
Weather isn't an excuse when similar climates in cities across the world that are the same size as(or bigger than) SF don't have nearly the amount of homeless or degeneracy.
@@ASQ1Fan not true and I have traveled world and see plenty of homeless in London, Tokyo, Sydney, etc. Most of the homeless are not from San Francisco or California and many are veterans with ptsd from republican wars for oil.
If faced with the choice between NYC and SF, know that these are cities “from different shelves”. NYC can be better compared to São Paulo, Mexico City, Shanghai, Paris. These are centers of the universe, and you know it when you’re there: pace, vibe, energy, crowd, etc. SF “feels” so much more like a midsize city. It’s much less crowded, slower paced, more spaced out. In fact, SF often reminds me much more of Queens (except the weather), not Manhattan.
SF is about 1/10 the size (population wise) of NYC, so naturally it will feel smaller and less crowded, because it is. I agree though that NYC is a "world city" where SF is more of a normal "big" city.
@@mariowalker9048 Exactly, SF reminds me a lot of Queens. Even Chicago feels way larger and more cosmopolitan than SF, it has more of a “world city” vibe and more going on. The only part of SF that reminds me of the mega cities is the Financial District, although I also find that part of SF not very desirable.
San Francisco's 750K population doesn't begin to compare with New York's 8 million. New York is busier, more crowded, and higher energy, but San Francisco is a small city with big city muscles. The climate and the easy access to a variety of outdoor activities help it to win on points and the city also punches above its weight, with national sports teams, a world class symphony and ballet company, a vibrant art scene, hundreds of terrific restaurants, and a lot of the other major city "must haves." I'm a fan.
@@Meyerc-yv2bi Yeah. Also, your guys's sports teams are ass. Point off, San Francisco is like a scaled down nyc, which is more diverse, and not overly concreated. They bot have beautiful parts. They both also have alot of green, such as GGP and Central Park. It's all on a guy's perspective
I prefer SF, but one cool thing about NYC is the SHEER CONCENTRATION of diversity within a square block. As accepting and diverse as SF is, it's not integrated near the level of NYC which makes for an interesting local culture.
@@MichaelGu It’s not even slightly it’s much more diverse than SF lQueens is the most diverse area in the world. Thats just queens. Not to mention how diverse Brooklyn and Bronx is. Theres over 600 languages spoken in nyc.
Yeah came looking for this comment when he started talking about diversity and how you pick your crowd lol....that definitely doesn't exist in San Francisco within reasonable reach. In NYC, you see it around you all the time and while NYC is busier, crowded, and people can be abrupt, I've found it much more welcoming socially than San Francisco.
@@MichaelGu Not slightly, significantly. It can be seen in the census data and just walking around. SF is mostly white/asian, combined they up almost 80% of the population. NYC has a much more even distribution across all groups.
Totally agree with the more laid-back energy of SF compared to NYC and having visited NYC recently, I would say SF is most similar to Brooklyn out of the five boroughs.
Excellent summary, Michael. I had the great privilege of living in both Manhattan and San Francisco over 15 years each. I agree about just about everything. Walkability is really at the top of my list. I lived for one year between the two in the US Virgin Islands. Talk about contrast! The homeless visibility has to do with the climate mostly. NYC simply doesn’t have space to set up tents, and businesses would chase them out in no time. It’s about tolerance, too. As a professional classical musician, NYC has way more going on, but it got overwhelming after a while. SF has just the right amount and I don’t feel as if I’m always missing something. SF is definitely more laidback, and as we get older this can become more desirable. The almost manic energy of NY becomes almost too much at times. It would be ideal to have an apartment in each city, and when you get tired, you can go to the other one.
As someone who lives in Manhattan and visits S.F. often....I would say that this is a very good and compact assessment of both cities. And, yes...who you associate with is very important irregardless of where you chose to live.
From someone who moved here in 1992. We are in drought so you usually do need an umbrella in the Winter months. Normally wet Winters do give you a sense of season here, rainy season turns the hills green with Winter rain, Summer is bathed in our wonderful fog and fall is Summer. The hills change color from green to gold to brown. Also, the streets are generally more full of people, but the pandemic changed that. Once things are back to normal you will see a lot more people out and about at all times of day and night. (A new law will also allow venues to stay open to 4 am, which will help give you that sense of a 24/7 city.) The initial tech boom of the last decade did reduce the arts and nightlife, because the newest generation of young people who came to the city were hyper focused on their careers, working more and playing less. The San Francisco of old tended to be more focused on people discovering themselves. I moved here from the east coast 30 years ago giving up a high powered career to experience that culture. Now NYC and SF have more in common when it comes to people being career focused. Welcome to the city by the bay. Any place can be a home, if you engage with its history, culture and people Make sure whichever place you choose, that you come to contribute and engage with it, not simply consume it. That's good advice for anywhere you wish to settle.
How I miss the once affordable, rainy and eclectic San Francisco! By the mid-'90s, San Francisco began it's brutal ascent to the survival of the richest, and San Francisco lost its soul.
San Francisco never had a tech boom in the 2010s. Also, the seasons are weird as only two seasons exist: hot dry summers and mild wet winters, though even the winter is not that wet. New York City has four seasons: mild wet fall, cold wet icy winters, mild wet springs, and hot wet summers.
Love the concise and calm explanation of it. I think people look too much outwardly on making living decisions instead of being honest with what they really want!
SF certainly has all types of people. Whether you want to hang out with an artistic group, outdoor hikers, techies, gamers, to socialites. You can choose your crowd albeit in a more smaller city. I’ve been living here for 20 years now but one thing I notice is how dirty the city is getting. It wasn’t as bad before but I’m noticing it spreading in the downtown area more and more. Everywhere else is still really clean. I live in Nob Hill so maybe I just need to move to a different neighborhood. I’m glad you’re enjoying what the city has to offer. I’d recommend checking out Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods for some awesome weekend hiking.
NYC is filthy. Tons of garbage piled five feet tall on the sidewalks, rats everywhere, Times Square is a disgrace. San Francisco is pristine in comparison.
If you say Lake Tahoe is near SF then near NY you have: Finger Lakes, Adirondacks (4-5 hrs) And < 3 hrs Hudson River Valley, Berkshires, Hamptons, Bear Mountain, Rockaway beach, Long beach, NJ beaches etc. There are plenty of outdoor activities near NY. I think the main difference is that outdoor activities are just not as core to NY culture (or really most eastern US cultures when compared to the West)
I'm glad to see someone else who took notice of the SF/Tahoe proximity comment. It's strange to me that people often associate SF with Tahoe. They are so far away from each other and not convenient to get to either direction.
Thank you, ZP. We can add: NYC: frequent commuter rail to Jones Beach; gorgeous warm water. Ive also done day trips by bus to Atlantic City for beach and boardwalk fun. It was free since the organizer gave me my $25 back so n assumption I’d gamble with it. Swim on SF beach? No thanks. Huge frequent commuter bus system to natural sites upstate and northern NJ. Commuter rail to dozens of Hudson Valley sites that are spectacular. Guy should also credit NYC for easy rail access to the Northeast corridor. Cali deserves credit for its beautiful coastal rail routes, but you’d have to go to Oakland first to access them.
Honestly, aside from skiing or snowboarding, you don’t need a Lake Tahoe in New York City as it actually snows there, though not as much as upstate. Of course since sf doesn’t get freezing cold during the year and you can go by five months without rain, you see outdoor activities there more often.
Your video brings back a lot of great memories from my 3 week trip to the SF/Oakland area 4 years ago. Loved SF/Oakland except for the Tenderloin of course. Chinatown is definitely one of my favorite memories, the food, walking across the golden gate bridge, the beach with a great view of the bridge,and the streetcar ride (talk about hills). I grew up and worked my whole life in the NYC/NJ metro area so I am a bit bias. But SF is a beautiful city. I cannot wait to get back there! Great video. Thanks for sharing!
SF transportation is cleaner and once you learn it all, it’s amazing and very convenient. The new trans bay terminal is good. Golden gate park is also way more magical.
@@Meyerc-yv2bi Wish it was better connected with the rest of the Bay down to each city like the boroughs though. Like yes, there is a BART stop in Hayward, but it goes with the flow of the highways. You needed a car to get to the store, dentist, supply pickup, etc. locally. The buses' timing were unreliable when I lived there.
@@megganvoustas1185 There are busses for that. I use to live in Hayward. For a city the size of SF, the transportation is top notch. Not to mention BART going right into downtown San Jose in the near future.
@@Meyerc-yv2bi Problem with the buses when I lived there, the AC transit was inconsistent with their timing more than several times whenever I needed to go somewhere. Sometimes they were very late, at times they arrived and left 5-15 minutes earlier than when it said it arrived on the app. I know I should've been way more aware of this myself, and lesson learned, but something like a scheduled appointment I ended up using my car more often than relying on public bus routes. Wish they could figure out the knots and I know it'll be a great and timely system.
Nature (both quality and access) and weather are two things where San Francisco is absolutely unbeatable. I daresay it might be the best region in the whole world if you're only judging on those two features. Everything else... NYC wins by a landslide and it's not even comparable at all. San Francisco is beautiful and has a lovely history and culture though, and the people are very friendly and more approachable. SF is definitely my second favorite city in the USA.
Good takes. I would say that also depending on the neighborhood you live in, you’ll have a vastly different opinion of each city. Loud vs. quiet you can find that in both cities just depending on the neighborhood. Until I moved to the Inner Sunset (Western SF, which is closer to Golden Gate Park), SF didn’t click for me. Then it did once I moved neighborhoods it worked out.
Each offers something different which is cool! SF has the west coast vibes to its own level! If you come from warm weather you would probably like it here! Cool down in the city and experience a quick winter in the summer, said someone before?
Its nice hearing what other thinks, though I have to say I 100% disagree that you need a car in SF. I got rid of my car when I moved here. It’s very walkable. You get used to the hills (plus they equal great views and toning!). Most things in the city are in walking distance, plus you can bike, scooter, bus, BART or MUNI underground. Plus, the temperate weather is very inviting for a walk.
This was a great assessment. I’ve been living in SF for 13 years, love it. I’ve visited NYC many times, love it. His summary at the end did a great job summing it up. More laid back (SF) vs more hustle and bustle (NYC). And SF having mild weather year round is a big pro for me. Only thing he got wrong is that bar/clubs close at 2am not 1am.
I think this is a very fair comparison. I'm a born/raised SF'n. And, I love visiting NYC! I have a former colleague, who has the opposite experience, and feeling. She has moved back to NYC, since living here for a couple of decades. I guess the "bottom-line," is that those of us who live in EITHER city/area are very lucky!
It definitely dosent if we are including seatle, but let's say you're right. Not exactly a flex, the the usa in general, but especially the west, has some of the worst transit on the planet, most places not ever even seeing transit.
@@ShonnMorris holy shit sorry I for some reason mixed the Seattle transit map in my brain with Boston hahaha. Yes you are definitely right. Still though, sadly not exactly a flex. San Francisco transportation was somehow more disappointing than visiting a Siberian village. Never used a car once there, but I had to multiple times in San francisco. It's a city that could have been really amazing, but it doseng seam like it's leaders think so.
@@tortellinifettuccine No worries. When I said SF is the best on the west coast, I literally meant just the west coast. Of course there's better around the world but out of the west coast metros; San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Portland, and Seattle, San Francisco's is best and let me clarify what I mean, I'm not talking about the Bay Area. I'm talking specifically about SF as there are numerous transit angecies in the Bay Area and most of the Bay Area doesn't have good transit. In SF, there are some buses that run so frequently, you don't need a schedule. They come every 2 to five minutes. Then there are the light rail, cable cars, Street Cars, and BART. Each of those others by themselves are limited but they all add up to having many options for the city.
@@ShonnMorris I understand, yeah in terms of just west coast it's probably the best, and yeah the bay area is what I'm more focused on as that's its metro area, but as someone that did go visit San Francisco and stayed for a few weeks I could not live without a car, and everyone I spoke with agreed, and I mean you see it on the streets, more cars than people is just shocking to me, and the highway wide streets don't help. There are multiple forms of transit in the city yes, but they're ridiculously small and ineffective. Most areas of the city dont have much if any transit acess, many parts not even busses. (Side note, the inclusion of bus lines on the transit maps that pretend they are light rail lines are really sad, its like philly pretending their commuter rail is apart of the metro. The busses with that frequency only get that frequency during rush hour in my experience, it's 30 minutes every other time, which is what it is on most of the busses in the city always, or more (again in my experience, and looking at average wait time stats.) The majority of the bart in the city is also just essentially in one line that isnt even in a very useful place, and is very awful at doing anything (im mad because waited an hour for a bart train that didnt show up twice), but especially at being urban, I mean Bart stations are some of the most car centric stations I have ever seen, more than the highway stations in Chicago which are purposely made to be more car oriented. They at least are still completely human accessible and safe, but I couldn't even cross from one side to another on some of the bart stations like MacArthur I think it was called, (yeah I know that's in Oakland but that's just an example). Also oh my God are the cities around San Francisco awful. San Francisco is bad, but wow. I'm sorry for my massive rant haha, I just have a large fondess for American cities (really only Chicago and new york) but I see cities like san francisco and I know that in the 40s it wasn't like this, and was likely much better, and I'm just so upset it suffered like LA, but in a way more similar to Detroit. Still some remnants of the past remain, but mostly surrounded by the present. If you are from San Francisco, know that I hope your city changes. I may not consider it a city yet, but maybe one day. It's got amazing potential.
I grew up in NYC and live in SF. I've never driven in either city and I don't really have a problem with the public transportation here. It gets me where I need to go, and I find the city pretty walkable. I miss NYC's theater scene, but I love the weather & nature in SF. My favorite thing is being able to walk to Golden Gate Park from my home.
NYC has beaches (Orchard, Rockaway, Jones, Hamptons ...), hiking (Harriman State Park, Mohonk State Park, ...), and wineries (north fork of Long Island...). You have to get out of the City. There are many free events in NYC during Spring and Summer.
But NONE of those things/places compare to their California versions. Beaches (Pacific, sunset on the water unlike sunrise on the Atlantic), hiking (not even close: sierras, santa cruz, hills of bay) and wine (napa, sonoma) are MASSIVELY better in California.
@@RandomRabbit007 I've been to both. One is not better than the other. They are different. Are you saying that hiking the Appalachian Trail is less impressive than hiking in CA? To whom? You?
you didn't include MUNI on the SF subway map - Muni is way more extensive in SF than the BART system which is only really a commuter train to get into SF from outside the city
Native bay area local, visited NYC a variety of times, the last was 3 yrs ago. I find NYC overall has a strong focus of street fashion and the arts. SF had a big art scene in the 80's and 90's but with the cost of real estate and cost of living, it has eliminated the art/music scene to a large extent.
This video was SO good, I really enjoyed listening to your thoughts, experiences. love ur vibe 🍀i have been trying to decide between these cities, and after everything you have mentioned I know I will prefer NYC living and regular visits to SF! I really dont want to have to get a car, LOVE walking everywhere and I thrive on the bustling, big city energy. The other thing is that I lived in LA for 11 years and grew tired of seeing the encampments everywhere, so thats another thing that NYC has going it.THANK YOU!
Love video I've been living in NYC since 84 I'm from LA and have family in sf. Sf is the most beautiful city I've seen I love showing people around it. But I landed last year at 8:30 went to rent a car and asked fir a Chinatown restaurant opens late and there were none. I drove everywhere looking for a place to eat and all I saw open was fast food that was a bummer.
Both cities are great for walking but SF is better IMO. The amazing views are unsurpassed and you get used to the hills. Also, biking is way better in SF. The dry weather is conducive to walking and biking year around.
First of SF doesn’t have a summer, it’s cold all year round. NYC downtown and midtown views are sensational compared to SF buildings, SF wins if you consider pure nature views. NYC is closer to the world, Europe, etc vs SF. Plus Xmas despite being cold is much much more fun in nyc
The rain will come back, and when it does it can seem to go on without end. On the other hand droughts are becoming more frequent and intense, so it might be a while before we see the kind of rain I remember.
The buses run 24/7 in S. F. but not BART. I walk a LOT in S.F. Agree with empty streets. I have seen that in N. Y. C. ; especially by Wall Street on the weekends where my daughter used to live
I was born & raised in SF for most of my life. I'm now living in Los Angeles County, Southern California. I do travel to SF on a yearly basis in June during the summer to get together with my special sister. We had a good time dining out I enjoyed the food (both Chinese & American foods) & the cooler weather (don't like the gusty winds). I usually stayed for about a week. When it was time to go back to Southern California, I personally felt I don't want to leave.☹ It's "I left my heart in San Francisco," LOL. Thanks for sharing your video. ❤🙂😸👍✌🦉
NY streets and subways just got flooded with heavy down pour of rain. On 9/29/2023. Many train lines were shut down. The city workers can’t do much about the flood. They just waited out few days for the water to drain slowly back into the ground. Still want to move to. NY ?
NYC has many city parks and beaches in the city or nearby. Maine, NH, VT, CT, RI, NY, etc are the "other" places to go for nature that are a few hour Amtrak or plane ride away. SF Muni does run 24/7 and there are some very frequent lines. Service is being restored since the Rona cuts 2 years ago. SF usually rains about 20 inches in half the year but not this year since we are in a drought.
Yes, New York City has one advantage and that is that three other states are less than an hour away from you: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Also, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are just three hours away. In San Francisco, you need at least three and a half hours to actually leave the state, whether to Nevada or to Oregon. Arizona is too far to the south.
@@bayarea4153 to be fair, 20 inches is too little which is why a drought when you have 39 million people living there, and that’s excluding the tourists of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Many places get thirty inches and higher. New York City gets like 40-50 inches of rain a year and more than 20 inches of snow a year, though this season, our snow has been lower than expected.
He is wrong that it almost never rains in SF. It almost never rains from sometime in April until sometime in November. It can often rain a lot, as in a real lot in winter. The last few years have been mostly drought years, with the winters being dry, so someone who lived here only one year, with that year being 2021-2022 would experience little rain. In El Nino years it can rain, and rain, and rain. Summers are quite cool with the fog coming in most days. You never get a heat wave more than 3 days long in SF, as in never, ever. By the third day the fog comes back in. Spring and autumn have excellent weather, with most people thinking September to mid-November almost guaranteed to be nice weather.
Tahoe maybe 3-4 hours depending where in the bay area you are. But redwoods and Napa like 1 hour. Pacifica 20-30 minutes. Big sur 2 hours. Stinson beach 20 minutes. Russian river 45 minutes. Santa cruz 2-3 hours. Monterey 1.5 hours.
I have lived in SF since 1992. For the last 10 years, I have never worn long pants unless it is for a function or work. Cargo pants all the time. SF wins hands down.
Walkability. Love walking NYC and just soaking in the vibe but nothing compares to the hills in SF. You get the views and a workout combined, 2 for the price of 1. Try California Street from the Embarcadero to the top of Nob Hill or run the Lyon Street steps in Pacific Heights.
San Francisco has a ton of untapped potential, the tech industry will only become stronger, it’ll be much better if the building regulations weren’t so strict
I disagree with the transportation statement in sf I’ve lived here for 20 years and you can definitely get anywhere in the city on bus , it is a fairly small city everything is close literally everything is everywhere so I would have to disagree very strongly that having a car is crucial to have, besides the bus there’s many other options of transportation as well like the trains and yk e scooters
San Francisco wasn’t always like this. It was an amazing place to grow up in , in the 80s/90s. Very colorful and a lot of colorful ppl/local celebrities
The Bay Area priced out all the people that made it what it was. The artists, misfits, musicians, and weirdos, have all gone elsewhere. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
NYC Chinatown has not only expanded but many of the Asian residents have moved and created other chinatowns in the outer boroughs like Brooklyn and Queens. NYC has a huge influx of Asians from different regions of China. For example the Chinatown in sunset Park Brooklyn is heavy mandarin and the Chinatown in flushing queens is majority Cantonese and other regions. Never been to SF Chinatown, but heard nothing but great things!! 😎👊
San Francisco has many Chinatowns, not just downtown Chinatown. There's the Clement street corridor in the Richmond plus Irving st and Taraval in the Sunset.
Chinatown in SF it's One Of My favorite in US . SF , Honolulu are my favorite so far . I didn't spend long time only visiting In NYC but I lived in both city SF & Honolulu . i know NYC Chinatown would be awesome !
@@ec6678 Yeah, same here. I heard more Mandarin being spoken on the 7 train to Flushing, Queens that in anywhere else in NYC. I've only briefly walked through Sunset Park in Brooklyn, but don't remember hearing much (if any) Mandarin there. It sounded mostly Cantonese to me. And in Manhattan Chinatown... Fujianese?
great video man! i love both cities in their own respective ways! i'm from Orange County, so i love going to San Francisco and NYC for the points that you made.
Ive lived many years in both. I love Manhattan for the clubs, but San Francisco is by far the better choice for general life in my opinion. The views, the pacific, the community, the opportunity. I really appreciate San Francisco and miss it dearly.
SF is only better for general life if you’re white, and I don’t mean that as an insult or anything! It’s just that NYC is objectively the most diverse city in the world, and most longtime NYers are immigrants or children of immigrants.
Did you never leave NYC to see all the nature around it? I lived in SF for 13 years, and NYC now for 12 years. I find the nature around NYC far better and cheaper once you get there (hotels in Napa can be $600 a night). It's easier to get to without a car (Subways, Metro North, Amtrak), and more varied by the seasons. Hudson River Valley, the Berkshires, Long Island Beaches, Adirondacks, Lake Placid, Vermont for skiing, the Cape... so much more variety in a closer proximity. No one really considers "hiking" in Central Park.
SF resident here (originally from east coast) who’s visited nyc a lot. This is accurate. Given COVID, I can say this is definitely an especially weird time in SF. I do love nature being so close, and you’re right about Publix transit. It’s pretty bad, and I get so aggravated with neighbors who don’t want to invest in it/don’t realize what we could have. The rain issue is because we’re ina drought. It’s convenient, but also scary.
Also, your map didn't have any of the light rail muni lines. It only had BART which is merely to get to/from each of the larger parts of the bay area, whereas the light rail muni lines service SF specifically.
my only HUGE gripe w/ this video is the "its only a 3/4 hour drive from SF" when speaking about nature activities. From NYC you can make it all the way up to maine and all the way down to VA or PA in 3/4 hours. East coast is so much more compact which is a huge plus.
SF is 3 sides surrounded by water and actual beaches. Cross a bridge and you're exposed to endless hiking with amazing shorelines or redwoods within 30minutes. Golden Gate Park is similarly situated in SF as Central Park in NY and GGP is bigger. We also have the Presidio. For water activity you do have to drive a few hours south because it's cold up here.
@@ruibai434NYC has all of New England at close distance, Montreal is 5-6 hours away, upstate has the Catskill mountains and Adirondacks, etc. Not to mention, NYC is literally an island surrounded by the Atlantic and has its own beaches (Coney, Rockaway, Jones, etc), and all of Long Island, especially the Hamptons. The main diff is that NYC beaches are generally colder and more crowded, and you can’t really go all year round like you can in Cali.
In SF ,even when you wake and it's a sunny nice day, you still bring a sweater, it can cool down pretty fast. Golden Gate park is 1/3 bigger and much wilder then Central park and the neighborhoods surrounding it are pretty safe. By the way, you can surf at SF beaches.
while i agree that NYC's public transportation is unbeatable, i think SF's is pretty good considering how small the city is: only 850k residents and 49 square miles. i have been living in SF for almost 2 years now and i moved here because I knew I would not need a car for my daily commute.
My pick is San Francisco by a nose. Pretty equal, but there's a slight edge in more liberal clueless people walking around in yoga pants staring at their phones tracking their Uber rides in SF. That's the tiebreaker.
Really enjoyed this comparison. NY has far better transit than SF ever will. I love both cities and was born in Queens. I agree with everything shared in this video except for the opinion that it's simply about "who you choose to surround yourself with." Lived in the Bay Area for 8 years. I'm not in tech and made friends with tons of people outside of tech. It still feels very much like a monolith. Ask anyone who's born and bred there. Also, drive 101 and just look at all the billboards.
How difficult is it to find a group of friends that match your vibe in SF, for example? Planning on moving there and wondering what meeting people will be like.
I find it difficult making friends as an adult no matter what city you're in, but you should be able to find people that are into similar interests as you in SF. there's always something going on and the city's large enough to find your niche
I found SF to be very cliquey and I had a lot easier time to make friends when I visited NY. Also if you're straight male, you will love NYC more hands down, as SF tend to be a bit sausagy.
honestly lots of like-minded people make friends, especially at work and at common hangout places. but if you try to find a friend group, you will probably find one if you try hard enough and are open-minded. but if you're an independent thinker with opinions and not just a sheep...good luck lol
Spent only 3 days in Manhattan and been living in bay area for 20 yrs. I guess I just got iffy with public transportation in NYC especially subways with big mickey and Minnie 🐁 . Sf has urine smell in some bart stations but I prefer cities surrounding sf ie alameda oakland and San leandro. Less hilly, more parking, good food
I lived in San Francisco for five years, Nob Hill and didn't really need a car. I had moved out from Greenwich Village and was used to walking and taking public transportation. Back in Manhattan these days, I find the city plagued with tourists. Certain downtown neighborhoods have been transformed by the newly established venues for the domestic and international tourists. Broadway shows also cater to the tourists who comprise a substantial part of the audiences at this point. There is a Vegas like atmosphere at shows I've seen recently. The audiences behave like they are at a taping of a television game show. The weather in San Francisco is probably the best in the country, lacking cold, a lot of rain and humidity. We do have decent beaches in New York City, accessible by subway or just outside via train and bus.
As a European, I must admit I loved SF because it feels rather 'European', in both style, way of living and the people are more relaxed. Must say I haven't been to SF since 2019 and I have understood some areas are now better to be avoided, more homeless people and more drugs than last decade.
For your nature activites point, would arue that ny has all the things you mentioned. You can travel to nj or ct or upstate to hike, surf, ski, swim, etc. technically it isnt nyc, but you mentioned for sf its a 3-4 hour car ride which is a huge distance and reaches nj, ct, etc from nyc. Its just that nyc really is tiny
Cool video, my guy. As a native New Yorker that has spent time in SF, I agree with the points you make. I'd say that your video is very accurate! Hopefully it will help some young folks pondering NYC vs. SF. God bless you.
i was raised in and around ny and lived there for a decade or two after college. We moved to the bay area 6 or 7 years ago. With all its problems, I would rather live in Oakland then SF. Oakland and Brooklyn are pretty comparable given the differences in climate etc. Oakland is a very interesting town, super challenged by housing and inequality. Like Brooklyn, it is a very large town, with many different nabes. Don't sleep on the east bay. Berkeley has a lot going for it too. I really don't care much for SF itself, though I love the beaches.
I know that SF public transit doesn't compare with a "real city," but I've lived here for over 50 years without owning a car. It may take longer, but you can get most anywhere in the city. Outside SF -- Oakland or Berkeley or San Jose or the Peninsula that is less true. But even then you can take BART or CalTrain or something else to the general area and then a taxi or Uber to your actual destination. We are still much better than almost anywhere else west of the Mississippi. Interesting that Mr Gu mentioned our winters are milder. For me the big advantage is the summer which is almost never uncomfortably hot.
You gave SF a "3-4 hr" window for all the nature activities you listed... but then relegated NYC to only the 5 boroughs? Which realistically only takes 45 mins to get to the extreme edges of if starting from Midtown. If you were to apply the same "3-4 hr" driving window for NYC as well, you would find all the natural beaches and TONS of hiking trails in NJ and upstate NY or CT you could want. It's amazing the number of options you have in NY for nature lovers. Just get out of the city. Which I presume is exactly the same advice for SF -- get out of the city. It only takes 30 mins to leave NYC and be in Upstate or NJ. And an additional 45 mins will get you into actual mountains. With 4 actual hours you could reach the ski resorts of the Adirondacks or the Green Mountains. NY is great for nature lovers!
I lived in San Francisco for 26 years. I watched it go from a vibrant art city to a dirty hole... The politics and lawlessness chased all the unique artists out... it is a shell of what it use to be.
I have lived in both and cost is comparable, but you get much more for your money in San Francisco. It's a much more livable city with a significantly higher quality of life.
Great video! But it's definitely not crucial to have a car in SF. Public transport in SF is far worse than NYC but it's good enough to not need a car. At least in the eastern half of the city. In the western half it's harder.
Pointing out a wrong comparison. You mentioned lots of activities are just 3-4 hour drive away from SF. But in comparison, you only mentioned some Brooklyn beaches, Central park hiking etc. There are amazing hiking, lakes, falls, water activities, beaches just 1-3 hour drive away from NYC too(upstate, Long Island, NJ, PA)
Additional comments. The architecture in SF is very unique. It is much more interesting than New York's IMO. Central Park is better than Golden Gate Park. SFO is better than JFK or LaGuardia.
Thing is, not to set up some kind of silly competition of places. I’m from SoCal but have lived several years now in SF. I could easily see the good in NYC or some other town. Most of us have financial and family constraints that keep us from wandering too much, but it’s a big world and life is short. If you want to try a new place and feel like you’re stagnating, go for it! 🍀
I’m moving to SF in a couple months, but from Sydney Australia. Nevertheless, this is really helpful. I was aware of the homelessness issues in SF, but I was a bit surprised to hear how poor the public transportation is. For such a famously progressive place with so many people, it seems weird that the government wouldn’t prioritise an equitable transportation system that negates the need to drive more.
Ok Boston guy here so I’m biased 😅 I love both cities for different reasons, but I share your concerns about the negatives, especially the homeless situation both places (and in Boston as well). Feel free to give Boston a try tho someday.
I really enjoy the well balanced view of both cities and squash the stereotypes of each of them. I grew up in Queens and relocated to SF for a job 3 years ago, which I must say the energy shift was a huge cultural difference for me. Then NYC is more of concrete jungle but SF def has more mature to offer in close proximity. Overall, it’s a great life experience before settling down.
5:42 we used to go to that laundromat when I was a child before we moved to a different part of the city. Now we have washing machines at our apartment.
I agree, pick a city that suits your way of life. I was born and raised in SF so I have a bias. But I have a lot of family in NYC so I can appreciate it for what it is. To me, SF is a scaled down version of NYC with better/closer access to woodlands and beaches......if you're into that.
I am into that! Love our SF and Bay. I have to say, it's nice to see someone who has a "bias", essentially speaking fondly of our SF, instead of the "I'm leaving SF forever" line I see so often lately.
thats one of my faves of sf bay. ease of access to events. I always love the indoor gardening expo at fort mason, i get all my free samples then go biking from fort mason to golden gate and back. some views of the city are only accessible by foot or bike. used to go raving in sf way back, cow palace and 3com park had a few unforgettable nights . i dj once for 94.9 house nation back in 03. love to go crabbing to at pacifica too.
City was the height if sophistication, class, food, banking and insurance. Cant blame republicans fir turning it into a open air toilet. We use to laugh at detroit chicago philly, New York, dc etc… i heard kids in China who dint finish their dinner are told…think about all the homeless people in San Francisco! Stupid threat….our thieves, drug addicts and homeless are the fattest in the world!
Great way of looking at it, thanks for watching!
Man my family has been the same house in SF for the past 83 years. SF is engraved into me man. NYC is da best around... SF is too laid back . just too lazy for me.. Thanks for the comment back I appreciate it! ^5 Kuya
100% it comes down to relationships. You could be in the most beautiful place on the planet and without someone to share it with, it won’t be as meaningful. On the flip side, you could be surrounded by people who love you and make you feel special in any hotel room in any city, and be content.
this 1000%
Relationships are over rated. Just learn to enjoy yourself. But if relationships matter so much to you, then you are far more likely going to find someone in SF and the Bay Area than NYC.
Facts
Well said 🎉
@@nicholasdauphinais Density matters. You are more likely to find someone statistically in a smaller city than a larger one.
Tahoe is 200 miles from SF..... That like saying one of the benefits of living in Manhattan is hiking in Washington DC.
Lol points were made
except you can take a train to Washington DC, and you will have to drive to Tahoe, among thousands of other Bay Areans trying to go there for a weekend.
NYC is connected with DC, Philly, Boston, Baltimore and many cool cities, even Atlantic City! SF you would have to go on a very long drive to reach LA or Seattle. NYC is close to Europe! Hiking yes Catskills, etc are all there. Beaches are not as cold as SF during the summer.
he said it's a 3-4 hour drive to these places so i don't understand the point of this comment at all
think he was trying to explain how it’s more beautiful in california
As a native New Yorker who moved to SF Bay Area 30 years ago to start my career in tech. Mostly agree with you. NYC better for transportation and SF better for weather and outdoor activities. NYC is probably more walkable but many parts of SF are very walkable. Issue on homeless being more visible maybe because the weather allows you to sleep outside in SF year round, whereas in NYC you will freeze to death in the winter. There are tent cities in SF because the weather permits it.
The gov. Permits it
Weather isn't an excuse when similar climates in cities across the world that are the same size as(or bigger than) SF don't have nearly the amount of homeless or degeneracy.
@@ASQ1Fan not true and I have traveled world and see plenty of homeless in London, Tokyo, Sydney, etc. Most of the homeless are not from San Francisco or California and many are veterans with ptsd from republican wars for oil.
@@BronwynAlexandriaa what would you have the government do?
@@ramenlover1727 Japan has more social programs for the less fortunate.
If faced with the choice between NYC and SF, know that these are cities “from different shelves”. NYC can be better compared to São Paulo, Mexico City, Shanghai, Paris. These are centers of the universe, and you know it when you’re there: pace, vibe, energy, crowd, etc. SF “feels” so much more like a midsize city. It’s much less crowded, slower paced, more spaced out. In fact, SF often reminds me much more of Queens (except the weather), not Manhattan.
Unfortunately, that wasn't always the case. You can thank suburban sprawl and car-minded development for that.
SF is about 1/10 the size (population wise) of NYC, so naturally it will feel smaller and less crowded, because it is. I agree though that NYC is a "world city" where SF is more of a normal "big" city.
SF is better compared to Chicago. I heard SF as being a hilly Queens.
@@mariowalker9048 Exactly, SF reminds me a lot of Queens. Even Chicago feels way larger and more cosmopolitan than SF, it has more of a “world city” vibe and more going on. The only part of SF that reminds me of the mega cities is the Financial District, although I also find that part of SF not very desirable.
"Except the weather" That is one helluva exception. No more fucking sleet and slush is what it is. Except the weather my ass.
San Francisco's 750K population doesn't begin to compare with New York's 8 million. New York is busier, more crowded, and higher energy, but San Francisco is a small city with big city muscles. The climate and the easy access to a variety of outdoor activities help it to win on points and the city also punches above its weight, with national sports teams, a world class symphony and ballet company, a vibrant art scene, hundreds of terrific restaurants, and a lot of the other major city "must haves." I'm a fan.
What muscle? the rampant fentanyl overdoses or the constant looting by BLM?
Apples to oranges. If you want to compare, compare Manhattan to SF or the entire Bay Area to NYC.
@@Meyerc-yv2bibay area bridges are better than nyc
@@bobbobsin3202 Define better.
@@Meyerc-yv2bi Yeah. Also, your guys's sports teams are ass. Point off, San Francisco is like a scaled down nyc, which is more diverse, and not overly concreated. They bot have beautiful parts. They both also have alot of green, such as GGP and Central Park. It's all on a guy's perspective
I prefer SF, but one cool thing about NYC is the SHEER CONCENTRATION of diversity within a square block. As accepting and diverse as SF is, it's not integrated near the level of NYC which makes for an interesting local culture.
great point - I do think NYC is slightly more diverse esp with Queens
@@MichaelGu It’s not even slightly it’s much more diverse than SF lQueens is the most diverse area in the world. Thats just queens. Not to mention how diverse Brooklyn and Bronx is. Theres over 600 languages spoken in nyc.
yeah SF is weirdly segregated
Yeah came looking for this comment when he started talking about diversity and how you pick your crowd lol....that definitely doesn't exist in San Francisco within reasonable reach. In NYC, you see it around you all the time and while NYC is busier, crowded, and people can be abrupt, I've found it much more welcoming socially than San Francisco.
@@MichaelGu Not slightly, significantly. It can be seen in the census data and just walking around. SF is mostly white/asian, combined they up almost 80% of the population. NYC has a much more even distribution across all groups.
Totally agree with the more laid-back energy of SF compared to NYC and having visited NYC recently, I would say SF is most similar to Brooklyn out of the five boroughs.
How so?
@@whatsonhermind1768gentrified and filled with insufferable transplants.
@@whatsonhermind17681 yr later and still no response lol 😆
@@musicmane4146 You are NOT owed a response. Entitled much?
@@Meyerc-yv2bithis made me laugh
Excellent summary, Michael. I had the great privilege of living in both Manhattan and San Francisco over 15 years each. I agree about just about everything. Walkability is really at the top of my list. I lived for one year between the two in the US Virgin Islands. Talk about contrast! The homeless visibility has to do with the climate mostly. NYC simply doesn’t have space to set up tents, and businesses would chase them out in no time. It’s about tolerance, too. As a professional classical musician, NYC has way more going on, but it got overwhelming after a while. SF has just the right amount and I don’t feel as if I’m always missing something. SF is definitely more laidback, and as we get older this can become more desirable. The almost manic energy of NY becomes almost too much at times. It would be ideal to have an apartment in each city, and when you get tired, you can go to the other one.
I feel that last line, only wish someone else paid for the apartments though
@@shinobi9461 i agree!
typical liberal buffoon. "apartment in each city" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 no wonder trump is gonna win again
I love your analysis. I grew up in NYC and have lived in SF for 5 yrs. I would say you're pretty spot on.
As someone who lives in Manhattan and visits S.F. often....I would say that this is a very good and compact assessment of both cities. And, yes...who you associate with is very important irregardless of where you chose to live.
No need to associate with anyone.
From someone who moved here in 1992. We are in drought so you usually do need an umbrella in the Winter months. Normally wet Winters do give you a sense of season here, rainy season turns the hills green with Winter rain, Summer is bathed in our wonderful fog and fall is Summer. The hills change color from green to gold to brown. Also, the streets are generally more full of people, but the pandemic changed that. Once things are back to normal you will see a lot more people out and about at all times of day and night. (A new law will also allow venues to stay open to 4 am, which will help give you that sense of a 24/7 city.) The initial tech boom of the last decade did reduce the arts and nightlife, because the newest generation of young people who came to the city were hyper focused on their careers, working more and playing less. The San Francisco of old tended to be more focused on people discovering themselves. I moved here from the east coast 30 years ago giving up a high powered career to experience that culture. Now NYC and SF have more in common when it comes to people being career focused. Welcome to the city by the bay. Any place can be a home, if you engage with its history, culture and people Make sure whichever place you choose, that you come to contribute and engage with it, not simply consume it. That's good advice for anywhere you wish to settle.
@PapayaDoctor
There’s a thriving scene here on giving. You may like Berkeley
Agreed! I miss the rain!
How I miss the once affordable, rainy and eclectic San Francisco! By the mid-'90s, San Francisco began it's brutal ascent to the survival of the richest, and San Francisco lost its soul.
San Francisco never had a tech boom in the 2010s. Also, the seasons are weird as only two seasons exist: hot dry summers and mild wet winters, though even the winter is not that wet.
New York City has four seasons: mild wet fall, cold wet icy winters, mild wet springs, and hot wet summers.
@@SYDAirlineEnthusiast you wouldnt know that because youre literally a new yorker bruh
This deserves a lot more views. Great video, chill vibes, clear information, high quality shots... 👌
🙏!!
As a Berkeley local who’s worked in SF for years- I’m impressed with the author’s take. Very Well made videography and high quality content. 🙌
Love the concise and calm explanation of it. I think people look too much outwardly on making living decisions instead of being honest with what they really want!
100% - thanks for watching!
You made a great point.
dude, this vid had such good energy/vibes. well said!
:)
This is a cool analysis, I used to live in NYC and now live in SF. Def a different vibe, but they're both cool in completely different ways.
SF certainly has all types of people. Whether you want to hang out with an artistic group, outdoor hikers, techies, gamers, to socialites. You can choose your crowd albeit in a more smaller city.
I’ve been living here for 20 years now but one thing I notice is how dirty the city is getting. It wasn’t as bad before but I’m noticing it spreading in the downtown area more and more. Everywhere else is still really clean. I live in Nob Hill so maybe I just need to move to a different neighborhood. I’m glad you’re enjoying what the city has to offer. I’d recommend checking out Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods for some awesome weekend hiking.
NYC is filthy. Tons of garbage piled five feet tall on the sidewalks, rats everywhere, Times Square is a disgrace. San Francisco is pristine in comparison.
If you say Lake Tahoe is near SF then near NY you have:
Finger Lakes, Adirondacks (4-5 hrs)
And < 3 hrs
Hudson River Valley, Berkshires, Hamptons, Bear Mountain, Rockaway beach, Long beach, NJ beaches etc.
There are plenty of outdoor activities near NY. I think the main difference is that outdoor activities are just not as core to NY culture (or really most eastern US cultures when compared to the West)
I'm glad to see someone else who took notice of the SF/Tahoe proximity comment. It's strange to me that people often associate SF with Tahoe. They are so far away from each other and not convenient to get to either direction.
Thank you, ZP. We can add: NYC: frequent commuter rail to Jones Beach; gorgeous warm water. Ive also done day trips by bus to Atlantic City for beach and boardwalk fun. It was free since the organizer gave me my $25 back so n assumption I’d gamble with it. Swim on SF beach? No thanks. Huge frequent commuter bus system to natural sites upstate and northern NJ. Commuter rail to dozens of Hudson Valley sites that are spectacular. Guy should also credit NYC for easy rail access to the Northeast corridor. Cali deserves credit for its beautiful coastal rail routes, but you’d have to go to Oakland first to access them.
Honestly, aside from skiing or snowboarding, you don’t need a Lake Tahoe in New York City as it actually snows there, though not as much as upstate.
Of course since sf doesn’t get freezing cold during the year and you can go by five months without rain, you see outdoor activities there more often.
Cuz CA is car culture that’s the main difference
@@RobertAng-qm9lz SF is not a car culture city.
Your video brings back a lot of great memories from my 3 week trip to the SF/Oakland area 4 years ago. Loved SF/Oakland except for the Tenderloin of course. Chinatown is definitely one of my favorite memories, the food, walking across the golden gate bridge, the beach with a great view of the bridge,and the streetcar ride (talk about hills). I grew up and worked my whole life in the NYC/NJ metro area so I am a bit bias. But SF is a beautiful city. I cannot wait to get back there! Great video. Thanks for sharing!
SF transportation is cleaner and once you learn it all, it’s amazing and very convenient. The new trans bay terminal is good. Golden gate park is also way more magical.
SF has great transportation for a city of its size. MUNI, BART, CalTrain, AC Transit.... to name a few... and THREE airports!
@@Meyerc-yv2bi Wish it was better connected with the rest of the Bay down to each city like the boroughs though. Like yes, there is a BART stop in Hayward, but it goes with the flow of the highways. You needed a car to get to the store, dentist, supply pickup, etc. locally. The buses' timing were unreliable when I lived there.
@@megganvoustas1185 There are busses for that. I use to live in Hayward. For a city the size of SF, the transportation is top notch. Not to mention BART going right into downtown San Jose in the near future.
@@Meyerc-yv2bi Problem with the buses when I lived there, the AC transit was inconsistent with their timing more than several times whenever I needed to go somewhere. Sometimes they were very late, at times they arrived and left 5-15 minutes earlier than when it said it arrived on the app. I know I should've been way more aware of this myself, and lesson learned, but something like a scheduled appointment I ended up using my car more often than relying on public bus routes. Wish they could figure out the knots and I know it'll be a great and timely system.
Nature (both quality and access) and weather are two things where San Francisco is absolutely unbeatable. I daresay it might be the best region in the whole world if you're only judging on those two features.
Everything else... NYC wins by a landslide and it's not even comparable at all. San Francisco is beautiful and has a lovely history and culture though, and the people are very friendly and more approachable. SF is definitely my second favorite city in the USA.
Nah, SF wins by a landslide. NYC is a cesspool.
I agree. San Francisco has unbeatable nature and weather, but disagree about the rest. New York loses in a landslide. It's disgusting there.
Good takes. I would say that also depending on the neighborhood you live in, you’ll have a vastly different opinion of each city. Loud vs. quiet you can find that in both cities just depending on the neighborhood. Until I moved to the Inner Sunset (Western SF, which is closer to Golden Gate Park), SF didn’t click for me. Then it did once I moved neighborhoods it worked out.
Each offers something different which is cool! SF has the west coast vibes to its own level! If you come from warm weather you would probably like it here! Cool down in the city and experience a quick winter in the summer, said someone before?
San Francisco is cloudy and cold most days. The weather is shit
Its nice hearing what other thinks, though I have to say I 100% disagree that you need a car in SF. I got rid of my car when I moved here. It’s very walkable. You get used to the hills (plus they equal great views and toning!). Most things in the city are in walking distance, plus you can bike, scooter, bus, BART or MUNI underground. Plus, the temperate weather is very inviting for a walk.
This was a great assessment. I’ve been living in SF for 13 years, love it. I’ve visited NYC many times, love it. His summary at the end did a great job summing it up. More laid back (SF) vs more hustle and bustle (NYC). And SF having mild weather year round is a big pro for me. Only thing he got wrong is that bar/clubs close at 2am not 1am.
I think this is a very fair comparison. I'm a born/raised SF'n. And, I love visiting NYC! I have a former colleague, who has the opposite experience, and feeling. She has moved back to NYC, since living here for a couple of decades. I guess the "bottom-line," is that those of us who live in EITHER city/area are very lucky!
SF is so unique and it's own type of crazy. My heart stays in SF. Maybe I'm just biased because the bay is always home.
SF believe it or not actually has the best public transportation on the west coast. Wait till you take it in LA or San Diego.
It definitely dosent if we are including seatle, but let's say you're right. Not exactly a flex, the the usa in general, but especially the west, has some of the worst transit on the planet, most places not ever even seeing transit.
@@tortellinifettuccine Seattle's public transit is not as good as SF's. I've used it there too. Better than the rest of the west coast though.
@@ShonnMorris holy shit sorry I for some reason mixed the Seattle transit map in my brain with Boston hahaha. Yes you are definitely right. Still though, sadly not exactly a flex. San Francisco transportation was somehow more disappointing than visiting a Siberian village. Never used a car once there, but I had to multiple times in San francisco. It's a city that could have been really amazing, but it doseng seam like it's leaders think so.
@@tortellinifettuccine No worries. When I said SF is the best on the west coast, I literally meant just the west coast. Of course there's better around the world but out of the west coast metros; San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Portland, and Seattle, San Francisco's is best and let me clarify what I mean, I'm not talking about the Bay Area. I'm talking specifically about SF as there are numerous transit angecies in the Bay Area and most of the Bay Area doesn't have good transit. In SF, there are some buses that run so frequently, you don't need a schedule. They come every 2 to five minutes. Then there are the light rail, cable cars, Street Cars, and BART. Each of those others by themselves are limited but they all add up to having many options for the city.
@@ShonnMorris I understand, yeah in terms of just west coast it's probably the best, and yeah the bay area is what I'm more focused on as that's its metro area, but as someone that did go visit San Francisco and stayed for a few weeks I could not live without a car, and everyone I spoke with agreed, and I mean you see it on the streets, more cars than people is just shocking to me, and the highway wide streets don't help.
There are multiple forms of transit in the city yes, but they're ridiculously small and ineffective. Most areas of the city dont have much if any transit acess, many parts not even busses. (Side note, the inclusion of bus lines on the transit maps that pretend they are light rail lines are really sad, its like philly pretending their commuter rail is apart of the metro. The busses with that frequency only get that frequency during rush hour in my experience, it's 30 minutes every other time, which is what it is on most of the busses in the city always, or more (again in my experience, and looking at average wait time stats.)
The majority of the bart in the city is also just essentially in one line that isnt even in a very useful place, and is very awful at doing anything (im mad because waited an hour for a bart train that didnt show up twice), but especially at being urban, I mean Bart stations are some of the most car centric stations I have ever seen, more than the highway stations in Chicago which are purposely made to be more car oriented. They at least are still completely human accessible and safe, but I couldn't even cross from one side to another on some of the bart stations like MacArthur I think it was called, (yeah I know that's in Oakland but that's just an example).
Also oh my God are the cities around San Francisco awful. San Francisco is bad, but wow. I'm sorry for my massive rant haha, I just have a large fondess for American cities (really only Chicago and new york) but I see cities like san francisco and I know that in the 40s it wasn't like this, and was likely much better, and I'm just so upset it suffered like LA, but in a way more similar to Detroit. Still some remnants of the past remain, but mostly surrounded by the present. If you are from San Francisco, know that I hope your city changes. I may not consider it a city yet, but maybe one day. It's got amazing potential.
I grew up in NYC and live in SF. I've never driven in either city and I don't really have a problem with the public transportation here. It gets me where I need to go, and I find the city pretty walkable. I miss NYC's theater scene, but I love the weather & nature in SF. My favorite thing is being able to walk to Golden Gate Park from my home.
NYC has beaches (Orchard, Rockaway, Jones, Hamptons ...), hiking (Harriman State Park, Mohonk State Park, ...), and wineries (north fork of Long Island...). You have to get out of the City. There are many free events in NYC during Spring and Summer.
But NONE of those things/places compare to their California versions. Beaches (Pacific, sunset on the water unlike sunrise on the Atlantic), hiking (not even close: sierras, santa cruz, hills of bay) and wine (napa, sonoma) are MASSIVELY better in California.
@@RandomRabbit007 I've been to both. One is not better than the other. They are different. Are you saying that hiking the Appalachian Trail is less impressive than hiking in CA? To whom? You?
@@gkennedy2998 Compared to Sierra's, Yosemite, Redwoods, Tahoe? Yeah I say those are much better
@@RandomRabbit007 Stay in Lala Land, GH. California has always been the "Land of Fruits and Nuts". Sayonara.
@@RandomRabbit007you never been on the hikes in NY so how can you have an opinion on this matter 😂
you didn't include MUNI on the SF subway map - Muni is way more extensive in SF than the BART system which is only really a commuter train to get into SF from outside the city
I visited both San Francisco and New York, and I agree that they have their own vibe :)
10000%
I liked the vibe of San Francisco and it being close to Napa but I don’t think I would be able to live in California.
I have never been to SF and can also agree each city has their own vibe
Native bay area local, visited NYC a variety of times, the last was 3 yrs ago. I find NYC overall has a strong focus of street fashion and the arts. SF had a big art scene in the 80's and 90's but with the cost of real estate and cost of living, it has eliminated the art/music scene to a large extent.
Accurate
As an artist with a studio in SF, I can say the arts are very much alive. However, I feel arts have taken a back seat everywhere, not just SF.
arts moved to Austin
This video was SO good, I really enjoyed listening to your thoughts, experiences. love ur vibe 🍀i have been trying to decide between these cities, and after everything you have mentioned I know I will prefer NYC living and regular visits to SF! I really dont want to have to get a car, LOVE walking everywhere and I thrive on the bustling, big city energy. The other thing is that I lived in LA for 11 years and grew tired of seeing the encampments everywhere, so thats another thing that NYC has going it.THANK YOU!
thanks for watching and for the kind words!
Love video I've been living in NYC since 84 I'm from LA and have family in sf. Sf is the most beautiful city I've seen I love showing people around it. But I landed last year at 8:30 went to rent a car and asked fir a Chinatown restaurant opens late and there were none. I drove everywhere looking for a place to eat and all I saw open was fast food that was a bummer.
Both cities are great for walking but SF is better IMO. The amazing views are unsurpassed and you get used to the hills. Also, biking is way better in SF. The dry weather is conducive to walking and biking year around.
First of SF doesn’t have a summer, it’s cold all year round. NYC downtown and midtown views are sensational compared to SF buildings, SF wins if you consider pure nature views. NYC is closer to the world, Europe, etc vs SF. Plus Xmas despite being cold is much much more fun in nyc
The rain will come back, and when it does it can seem to go on without end. On the other hand droughts are becoming more frequent and intense, so it might be a while before we see the kind of rain I remember.
The buses run 24/7 in S. F. but not BART. I walk a LOT in S.F. Agree with empty streets. I have seen that in N. Y. C. ; especially by Wall Street on the weekends where my daughter used to live
I was born & raised in SF for most of my life. I'm now living in Los Angeles County, Southern California. I do travel to SF on a yearly basis in June during the summer to get together with my special sister. We had a good time dining out I enjoyed the food (both Chinese & American foods) & the cooler weather (don't like the gusty winds). I usually stayed for about a week. When it was time to go back to Southern California, I personally felt I don't want to leave.☹ It's "I left my heart in San Francisco," LOL. Thanks for sharing your video. ❤🙂😸👍✌🦉
Thank you for this video and for sharing your experiences and taking us along with you on your journey Michael.😊
🙏🙏🙏!
NY streets and subways just got flooded with heavy down pour of rain. On 9/29/2023. Many train lines were shut down. The city workers can’t do much about the flood. They just waited out few days for the water to drain slowly back into the ground. Still want to move to. NY ?
I like the “you choose your crowd” comment… well said.
thanks! I think it's something that's definitely overlooked at times
NYC has many city parks and beaches in the city or nearby. Maine, NH, VT, CT, RI, NY, etc are the "other" places to go for nature that are a few hour Amtrak or plane ride away.
SF Muni does run 24/7 and there are some very frequent lines. Service is being restored since the Rona cuts 2 years ago.
SF usually rains about 20 inches in half the year but not this year since we are in a drought.
Muni is the best public transportation agency in all of California, 5-10 minute headways on most buses and the major routes run 24/7.
bruh we BEEN "in a drought" for the last 10 years at least 😳🤦🏽♂😭
Yes, New York City has one advantage and that is that three other states are less than an hour away from you: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Also, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are just three hours away.
In San Francisco, you need at least three and a half hours to actually leave the state, whether to Nevada or to Oregon. Arizona is too far to the south.
@@bayarea4153 to be fair, 20 inches is too little which is why a drought when you have 39 million people living there, and that’s excluding the tourists of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Many places get thirty inches and higher. New York City gets like 40-50 inches of rain a year and more than 20 inches of snow a year, though this season, our snow has been lower than expected.
He is wrong that it almost never rains in SF. It almost never rains from sometime in April until sometime in November. It can often rain a lot, as in a real lot in winter. The last few years have been mostly drought years, with the winters being dry, so someone who lived here only one year, with that year being 2021-2022 would experience little rain. In El Nino years it can rain, and rain, and rain. Summers are quite cool with the fog coming in most days. You never get a heat wave more than 3 days long in SF, as in never, ever. By the third day the fog comes back in. Spring and autumn have excellent weather, with most people thinking September to mid-November almost guaranteed to be nice weather.
This last winter November 2022-Febuary 2023 was the wettest I've experienced in SF. In saying that, it's not the norm.
Tahoe maybe 3-4 hours depending where in the bay area you are. But redwoods and Napa like 1 hour. Pacifica 20-30 minutes. Big sur 2 hours. Stinson beach 20 minutes. Russian river 45 minutes. Santa cruz 2-3 hours. Monterey 1.5 hours.
Santa Cruz is only around 1.5 hours via 280.
I have lived in SF since 1992. For the last 10 years, I have never worn long pants unless it is for a function or work. Cargo pants all the time. SF wins hands down.
Walkability. Love walking NYC and just soaking in the vibe but nothing compares to the hills in SF. You get the views and a workout combined, 2 for the price of 1. Try California Street from the Embarcadero to the top of Nob Hill or run the Lyon Street steps in Pacific Heights.
San Francisco has a ton of untapped potential, the tech industry will only become stronger, it’ll be much better if the building regulations weren’t so strict
I disagree with the transportation statement in sf I’ve lived here for 20 years and you can definitely get anywhere in the city on bus , it is a fairly small city everything is close literally everything is everywhere so I would have to disagree very strongly that having a car is crucial to have, besides the bus there’s many other options of transportation as well like the trains and yk e scooters
The coffee, the weather, the nature, the melting pot of people, the food…all better in SF. Lived in NYC for 4 years, born and raised in SF.
San Francisco wasn’t always like this. It was an amazing place to grow up in , in the 80s/90s. Very colorful and a lot of colorful ppl/local celebrities
The Bay Area priced out all the people that made it what it was. The artists, misfits, musicians, and weirdos, have all gone elsewhere. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
@@mjwbulich Believe me there are still many many weirdos here, mostly on drugs but here.
@@andrewfreeman88💀💀
@@andrewfreeman88💀💀💀
NYC Chinatown has not only expanded but many of the Asian residents have moved and created other chinatowns in the outer boroughs like Brooklyn and Queens. NYC has a huge influx of Asians from different regions of China.
For example the Chinatown in sunset Park Brooklyn is heavy mandarin and the Chinatown in flushing queens is majority Cantonese and other regions.
Never been to SF Chinatown, but heard nothing but great things!! 😎👊
Yeah they are ruining NYC our beautiful diverse culture is getting destroyed by Chinese culture!!
San Francisco has many Chinatowns, not just downtown Chinatown. There's the Clement street corridor in the Richmond plus Irving st and Taraval in the Sunset.
Chinatown in SF it's One Of My favorite in US . SF , Honolulu are my favorite so far . I didn't spend long time only visiting In NYC but I lived in both city SF & Honolulu . i know NYC Chinatown would be awesome !
Born in NY and I see it the opposite. Guandong Brooklyn and Queens Mainland the past decade.
@@ec6678 Yeah, same here. I heard more Mandarin being spoken on the 7 train to Flushing, Queens that in anywhere else in NYC. I've only briefly walked through Sunset Park in Brooklyn, but don't remember hearing much (if any) Mandarin there. It sounded mostly Cantonese to me. And in Manhattan Chinatown... Fujianese?
great video man! i love both cities in their own respective ways! i'm from Orange County, so i love going to San Francisco and NYC for the points that you made.
we wanted to know if they compared in experience enjoyment
I prefer sf minus those crimes and homeless
Ive lived many years in both. I love Manhattan for the clubs, but San Francisco is by far the better choice for general life in my opinion. The views, the pacific, the community, the opportunity. I really appreciate San Francisco and miss it dearly.
SF is only better for general life if you’re white, and I don’t mean that as an insult or anything! It’s just that NYC is objectively the most diverse city in the world, and most longtime NYers are immigrants or children of immigrants.
Did you never leave NYC to see all the nature around it? I lived in SF for 13 years, and NYC now for 12 years. I find the nature around NYC far better and cheaper once you get there (hotels in Napa can be $600 a night). It's easier to get to without a car (Subways, Metro North, Amtrak), and more varied by the seasons. Hudson River Valley, the Berkshires, Long Island Beaches, Adirondacks, Lake Placid, Vermont for skiing, the Cape... so much more variety in a closer proximity. No one really considers "hiking" in Central Park.
SF resident here (originally from east coast) who’s visited nyc a lot. This is accurate. Given COVID, I can say this is definitely an especially weird time in SF. I do love nature being so close, and you’re right about Publix transit. It’s pretty bad, and I get so aggravated with neighbors who don’t want to invest in it/don’t realize what we could have. The rain issue is because we’re ina drought. It’s convenient, but also scary.
I think both NYC and SF are great cities but both are really expensive!
It used to be rainy all the time. Around 2013ish when the drought hit, we still haven't returned to the way it "used" to be.
Also, your map didn't have any of the light rail muni lines. It only had BART which is merely to get to/from each of the larger parts of the bay area, whereas the light rail muni lines service SF specifically.
Great vid. I def miss NYC.
love this!! im thinking of moving out to the city from my small town and this really helped
def come to SF
Funny story: more people are actually moving out of these big cities for small towns.
I used to live in Fairfield 45 mins north and we would escape the heat and spend the day in sf because it was a always 30 degrees cooler.
Just left my family and kids in NY to start a new life in SF thanks to your insights 🙏🙏🙏
Welcome to the club. You'll love San Francisco. Much better in all parameters than New York.
my only HUGE gripe w/ this video is the "its only a 3/4 hour drive from SF" when speaking about nature activities. From NYC you can make it all the way up to maine and all the way down to VA or PA in 3/4 hours. East coast is so much more compact which is a huge plus.
SF is 3 sides surrounded by water and actual beaches. Cross a bridge and you're exposed to endless hiking with amazing shorelines or redwoods within 30minutes. Golden Gate Park is similarly situated in SF as Central Park in NY and GGP is bigger. We also have the Presidio. For water activity you do have to drive a few hours south because it's cold up here.
@@ruibai434NYC has all of New England at close distance, Montreal is 5-6 hours away, upstate has the Catskill mountains and Adirondacks, etc. Not to mention, NYC is literally an island surrounded by the Atlantic and has its own beaches (Coney, Rockaway, Jones, etc), and all of Long Island, especially the Hamptons.
The main diff is that NYC beaches are generally colder and more crowded, and you can’t really go all year round like you can in Cali.
In SF ,even when you wake and it's a sunny nice day, you still bring a sweater, it can cool down pretty fast. Golden Gate park is 1/3 bigger and much wilder then Central park and the neighborhoods surrounding it are pretty safe. By the way, you can surf at SF beaches.
while i agree that NYC's public transportation is unbeatable, i think SF's is pretty good considering how small the city is: only 850k residents and 49 square miles. i have been living in SF for almost 2 years now and i moved here because I knew I would not need a car for my daily commute.
My pick is San Francisco by a nose. Pretty equal, but there's a slight edge in more liberal clueless people walking around in yoga pants staring at their phones tracking their Uber rides in SF. That's the tiebreaker.
U said it never rains in sf but literally every time it says it’s not gonna rain that week it ends up pouring
Really enjoyed this comparison. NY has far better transit than SF ever will. I love both cities and was born in Queens. I agree with everything shared in this video except for the opinion that it's simply about "who you choose to surround yourself with." Lived in the Bay Area for 8 years. I'm not in tech and made friends with tons of people outside of tech. It still feels very much like a monolith. Ask anyone who's born and bred there. Also, drive 101 and just look at all the billboards.
Having lived in Brooklyn and Berkeley, I agree with all these points. Living in the Bay really dramatically showed me how NYC has no nature,
How difficult is it to find a group of friends that match your vibe in SF, for example? Planning on moving there and wondering what meeting people will be like.
I find it difficult making friends as an adult no matter what city you're in, but you should be able to find people that are into similar interests as you in SF. there's always something going on and the city's large enough to find your niche
I found SF to be very cliquey and I had a lot easier time to make friends when I visited NY. Also if you're straight male, you will love NYC more hands down, as SF tend to be a bit sausagy.
honestly lots of like-minded people make friends, especially at work and at common hangout places. but if you try to find a friend group, you will probably find one if you try hard enough and are open-minded. but if you're an independent thinker with opinions and not just a sheep...good luck lol
Its almost impossible to make friends here
Beautiful and informative video, thanks it brought back some good memories 🙏
Spent only 3 days in Manhattan and been living in bay area for 20 yrs. I guess I just got iffy with public transportation in NYC especially subways with big mickey and Minnie 🐁 . Sf has urine smell in some bart stations but I prefer cities surrounding sf ie alameda oakland and San leandro. Less hilly, more parking, good food
I lived in San Francisco for five years, Nob Hill and didn't really need a car. I had moved out from Greenwich Village and was used to walking and taking public transportation. Back in Manhattan these days, I find the city plagued with tourists. Certain downtown neighborhoods have been transformed by the newly established venues for the domestic and international tourists. Broadway shows also cater to the tourists who comprise a substantial part of the audiences at this point. There is a Vegas like atmosphere at shows I've seen recently. The audiences behave like they are at a taping of a television game show. The weather in San Francisco is probably the best in the country, lacking cold, a lot of rain and humidity. We do have decent beaches in New York City, accessible by subway or just outside via train and bus.
As a European, I must admit I loved SF because it feels rather 'European', in both style, way of living and the people are more relaxed. Must say I haven't been to SF since 2019 and I have understood some areas are now better to be avoided, more homeless people and more drugs than last decade.
For your nature activites point, would arue that ny has all the things you mentioned. You can travel to nj or ct or upstate to hike, surf, ski, swim, etc. technically it isnt nyc, but you mentioned for sf its a 3-4 hour car ride which is a huge distance and reaches nj, ct, etc from nyc. Its just that nyc really is tiny
Cool video, my guy. As a native New Yorker that has spent time in SF, I agree with the points you make. I'd say that your video is very accurate! Hopefully it will help some young folks pondering NYC vs. SF. God bless you.
great video! would you mind sharing those clubs for house music? Im visiting for a week next month!
Halcyon, Audio, Bergerac, Public Works
SF is the Edinburgh Scotland of America both are coastal cities both have hills everywhere and they both have a red bridge
i was raised in and around ny and lived there for a decade or two after college. We moved to the bay area 6 or 7 years ago. With all its problems, I would rather live in Oakland then SF. Oakland and Brooklyn are pretty comparable given the differences in climate etc. Oakland is a very interesting town, super challenged by housing and inequality. Like Brooklyn, it is a very large town, with many different nabes. Don't sleep on the east bay. Berkeley has a lot going for it too. I really don't care much for SF itself, though I love the beaches.
I wanna live in Oakland despite all the hate it gets
I know that SF public transit doesn't compare with a "real city," but I've lived here for over 50 years without owning a car. It may take longer, but you can get most anywhere in the city. Outside SF -- Oakland or Berkeley or San Jose or the Peninsula that is less true. But even then you can take BART or CalTrain or something else to the general area and then a taxi or Uber to your actual destination. We are still much better than almost anywhere else west of the Mississippi.
Interesting that Mr Gu mentioned our winters are milder. For me the big advantage is the summer which is almost never uncomfortably hot.
You gave SF a "3-4 hr" window for all the nature activities you listed... but then relegated NYC to only the 5 boroughs? Which realistically only takes 45 mins to get to the extreme edges of if starting from Midtown. If you were to apply the same "3-4 hr" driving window for NYC as well, you would find all the natural beaches and TONS of hiking trails in NJ and upstate NY or CT you could want. It's amazing the number of options you have in NY for nature lovers. Just get out of the city. Which I presume is exactly the same advice for SF -- get out of the city. It only takes 30 mins to leave NYC and be in Upstate or NJ. And an additional 45 mins will get you into actual mountains. With 4 actual hours you could reach the ski resorts of the Adirondacks or the Green Mountains. NY is great for nature lovers!
the video I didn't know I needed! Glad UA-cam suggested it! Thank you!! New sub
I lived in San Francisco for 26 years. I watched it go from a vibrant art city to a dirty hole... The politics and lawlessness chased all the unique artists out... it is a shell of what it use to be.
thank u for the vid, sick kirkland jacket
always gotta rep costco :)
Song??
How do they compare by cost of living?
I have lived in both and cost is comparable, but you get much more for your money in San Francisco. It's a much more livable city with a significantly higher quality of life.
Great video! But it's definitely not crucial to have a car in SF. Public transport in SF is far worse than NYC but it's good enough to not need a car. At least in the eastern half of the city. In the western half it's harder.
Pointing out a wrong comparison. You mentioned lots of activities are just 3-4 hour drive away from SF. But in comparison, you only mentioned some Brooklyn beaches, Central park hiking etc. There are amazing hiking, lakes, falls, water activities, beaches just 1-3 hour drive away from NYC too(upstate, Long Island, NJ, PA)
This video should have more views. Very comprehensive overview. Gonna be living in SF this summer and appreciated this
welcome to sf 🤟
San Francisco is a nice place but just be extra careful in some neighborhoods.
Additional comments. The architecture in SF is very unique. It is much more interesting than New York's IMO. Central Park is better than Golden Gate Park. SFO is better than JFK or LaGuardia.
Thing is, not to set up some kind of silly competition of places. I’m from SoCal but have lived several years now in SF. I could easily see the good in NYC or some other town. Most of us have financial and family constraints that keep us from wandering too much, but it’s a big world and life is short. If you want to try a new place and feel like you’re stagnating, go for it! 🍀
I’m moving to SF in a couple months, but from Sydney Australia. Nevertheless, this is really helpful. I was aware of the homelessness issues in SF, but I was a bit surprised to hear how poor the public transportation is. For such a famously progressive place with so many people, it seems weird that the government wouldn’t prioritise an equitable transportation system that negates the need to drive more.
Ok Boston guy here so I’m biased 😅 I love both cities for different reasons, but I share your concerns about the negatives, especially the homeless situation both places (and in Boston as well). Feel free to give Boston a try tho someday.
Boston is nice!!
I have lived in providence. Pittsburgh. Boston. DC. San Francisco and charlotte. All different vibes!
I really enjoy the well balanced view of both cities and squash the stereotypes of each of them. I grew up in Queens and relocated to SF for a job 3 years ago, which I must say the energy shift was a huge cultural difference for me. Then NYC is more of concrete jungle but SF def has more mature to offer in close proximity. Overall, it’s a great life experience before settling down.
i like how you dont hate and qualify. i hate people that come here and say a bunch of negative things
5:42 we used to go to that laundromat when I was a child before we moved to a different part of the city. Now we have washing machines at our apartment.
It never rains in SF? Wow. Learned something new.
also really random but your name looks familiar, are you part of any bay area fb groups by chance?