You're right about everything but the weather. It's only good for about 2 months of the year. 10 months out of the year it's either too hot or too cold. Air conditioning is a must. If you love Bay Area weather, you might want to stay in the west coast instead. Portland seems to be a good alternative.
I recently visited the college town where I studied with my wife, and I am considering moving there, because the bay area has become practically unaffordable. I know that the weather is really something to die for, but the financial situation of the state is dire -- that makes for a very bad long-term outlook.
Portland appears to be a very nice place, strikes the right balance between sprawl and compactness. If only it had better weather....
Portland, great weather?! But I agree for quality of life Portland is better.
Unless you're one of the very few that work trumps all. Other factors can be more important. I still live in my hometown (Sacramento) because family is here.
Personally San Diego is more tempting than the Bay. An uncle moved for school and never left...
I've lived in the bay area for 26 years. We have a couple/few at most weeks of hot weather in the spring and fall, the rest of the summer the fog is sucked off the ocean by inland hot weather, and winters get pretty chilly.
The idea that you need ac in SF is wrong IMO. East bay is a whole different climate and story....
Slight tangent, but my wife and I hated the weather in the Bay Area. The lack of seasons was disturbing on a subconscious level for someone who grew up with them. OTOH, if you like constant 70-80's with sunshine, you'll probably be fine.
I've had a coworker who used to work at Microsoft say the same thing. She liked Seattle, but when it came down to not seeing the sun from Nov-Mar in Seattle vs. not seeing a cloud in the sky from May-Oct in Silicon Valley, it was a pretty easy choice.
I'm curious how both compare to Portland, which has been a popular destination for burnt-out Bay Area hackers of late. I've heard it's somewhere in-between. The one time I visited it was nice and sunny, but then again, it was August.
I'm also wondering how they compare to the east coast. I was born & raised in the Boston area, which has a reputation for terrible weather. But Boston is highly seasonal: you get to May, when you have wonderful 70-degrees sunny days, and think "This is what I shoveled all winter for." I almost think that's nicer than the Bay Area, where you get inured to the nice weather after a while and start to take it for granted.
As someone who works in tech and enjoys the outdoors (mainly hiking and biking, meaning I'm looking for sunny/temperate weather year round) I haven't found many better options than the Bay Area. Visited Miami and Austin in the last year, but the Summer temperatures are stifling and there's not the same wealth of natural beauty on their doorstep - Portland is great, but the grey skies would eventually wear me down.
I'd love to find somewhere more affordable but San Francisco still checks a lot of boxes. Where else to consider?
On the scale of the whole country the entire west coast is "pretty good".
SF is definitely not the best out of the entire coast, and if you consider its cost of living, the weather is trash for the cost. It's notoriously cold and wet for a substantial part of the year.
I wonder if I am a minority that puts a high value on the California climate? All of the cities listed are great. I lived in Portland for 3 years and loved the city, Seattle was great too. Spent time in TX and Chicago, though not years. Great towns, but I feel like I'll keep coming back to CA for the weather.
Portland was far too dark and dreary for 9 months of the year. TX was too humid, and Chicago too cold/windy in the winter. Sure, each of those areas has a 'great ______ season', but coastal California weather is nice for 9 months of the year (give or take ) whereas the others are nice 3.
Not to say I won't leave again (Denver seems like some place I'd like to pitch a tent for a while), but I always miss the weather when I leave.
What are you talking about? The Bay Area has one of the greatest weather of the world, lot of job opportunities, beaches near by as as mountain. Lot to like also.
I wish I had your weather neutrality. I grew up in the bay (Los Gatos, Santa Clara, Tri-Valley) and spent a couple years in Portland, OR. I liked the city a lot and tried to get used to the weather but just couldn't. The rain wasn't the problem, the constant darkness was. I like the rain and loved how green everything was up there, but even when it wasn't raining, it was dark. Came back to CA and will put up with its faults in exchange for the climate and activities.
I grew up in Cupertino and live in Seattle now. I used to live in an apartment with very little natural light, that was awful. Now I live in a condo with tons of light and feel better. Also fly down to Bay Area once a month for work.
Seattle weather isn't that bad. During June through September it's the best in the country. Just gray in the winters, doesn't really rain much.
Some other cons. Negligible start up scene. The Indian and Chinese food stinks. Really homogenous for a coastal city. No NBA team.
The weather there is just about perfect as far as I'm concerned. It rarely goes much below 10C in the winter, and it's not exceedingly hot in the summer either, unless you go far inland. It depends a lot where you are - it's much colder in the summer in San Francisco than, say, Fremont in the east bay.
In any case, yeah, go check it out, meet people, see what you think, and have some fun before you commit 100%.
The truth is any west coast city is going to seem mild year round to a northeasterner. I used to live in Seattle and felt that way up there, despite the fact that Californians seem to think it's unbearably rainy and cold.
Denver has snow. It doesn't have a comparable food scene.
Portland, ME is small and has cold winters. Did you mean Portland, OR? Again, big climate difference.
Again, it's not whether one is better or not. That's personal preference. But the Bay Area has excellent cultural amenities and a pleasant climate. There are many people for whom that is important. There's a reason so many people say that they'd love to live in Chicago if it weren't for the winters.
If that doesn't apply to you, congratulations! You can save money! Personally, I like being in the Bay Area, and the things I like about it aren't available in Omaha or Denver.
Having grown up near Cleveland, I'll take the weather of San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, LA over that of Cleveland.
The weather is what keeps me in the SF Bay Area despite the traffic congestion and high cost of living. Being able to bike to work nearly every day of the year goes a long way toward making up for heavy traffic.
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