If money were no object, which major USA downtown would you pick to live?

[Trivers]

During the past three months, I've traveled to Manhattan, San Francisco, San Jose, Portland, Chicago, and Miami for biz/personal trips.

I've stayed in mid-priced hotels. (Actually, non were cheap as in staying at a Best Western in the 'burbs. )

Observations:
Manhatten: Used to love to go here. Now I find it crowded, dirty, and people are rude on the streets, but normal once inside. Least value per sq ft of hotel space of all the cities.
San Fran: Love the Wharf. Expensive, a homeless problem, past its prime?
Portland: Beautiful, had to fight off the homeless on every block as I walked. No sun the entire trip.
San Jose: Energy! Wonderful weather, expensive as hell. Traffic sucked.
Chicago: More I go, the more I fall in love. Clean, not crowded, people are friendly. Saw two panhandlers the entire weekend. Good hotel value.
Miami: Great food, the babes on South Beach were amazing eye candy. It would be too hot in summer. Condos expensive.

So if I had to move from middle of no-where Wisconsin where there are more cows that cars, I would pick downtown Chicago and try to find a condo overseeing a river or Lake Michigan.

What about you?

[BIG_DADDY]

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

SD

Or Austin. San Francisco has went straight to hell under Jerry Brown. It used to be amazing here.

[tooge]

I lived in Chicago for about a year. It was awesome. Of course, I was just married, we had no kids, and so we spent alot of time eating out, shopping, people watching, and hitting the young crowd bar/beer scene. Now, I live in the country, and no amount of money would get me back into living in a city. Having said that, we do go down to the city (KC) once in a while for dinner and to walk around and hit a beer joint, and it'd enjoyable, but not to live there, that time passed me by a long time ago.

[scho63]

Originally Posted by A8bil

Wasn't it Mark Twain who said: "The coldest winter I spent was a summer in SF?" Let me try to answer your embedded question... .

1. 90% of the year, the temperature is somewhere between 60 and 70 degrees with low humidity. If you work in the City, it is far better than the snow, subzero temps, incessant rain, 90% humidity or sweltering heat you get in most other big cities. Only San Diego has a more temperate climate.
2. When you visited, you encountered the summer fog. It comes in and cools off the city, but it comes in only part of the summer. If you check right now, I think it is 67 degrees, sunny and 54% humidity. A typical SF day.
3. Even when you get that summer fog, head 5 miles in any direction to get out of the fog belt and you'll be in temps often 20 degrees or more higher. Marin Headlands, Silicon Valley and East Bay are significantly warmer...spend a comfortable day at the office, then go home and sit by the pool.
4. If you are a food fan, some of the best restaurants in the world are in SF.
5. If you are a sports fan, SF has some of the top sport franchises in their respective league's histories.
6. If you are an arts fan, they attract most of the top exhibits shown internationally.
7. If you are a theater/ballet/symphony/opera fan, they have many of the top plays shown in NY or London and their arts are world class.
8. If you are a wine fan, they have world class wineries less than 1 hour away in Napa and Sonoma...each of which is beautiful and a great place to visit/vacation.
9. If you are ski/snowboarder, you have world class resorts 4 hours away in Squaw Valley, Heavenly...etc.
10. If you love the outdoors, you have marine sanctuaries, old growth redwood forests, and mountains for hiking all along the coast and in the Sierra's all within a half hour to 2 hours of the City, including Yosemite Valley (a bucket list destination).
11. If you're into paragliding or hang gliding, you have constant coastal on shore breezes that give you opportunities to get out 90% of the year.
12. If you are a water sports fan, you have abalone diving off the coast, sailing in the Bay, (cold) surfing on the Coast, scuba diving in kelp forests (the most unique diving I've ever done), water skiing on the Delta or on any number of lakes within 2 hours of SF, river rafting on the american and other rivers, and every type of fishing you can imagine.
13. If you're into golf, you have some of the top golf courses in the world all within 2 hours.
14. You have vibrant city life all over the City.
15. You have two of the greatest universities in the world within 20 miles, with world leading medical care and innovation.
16. If you want to start a business, there is more venture money circulating here than anywhere in the world.

Need I go on? the big problem with SF, is that it's attractions are no secret, so (1) it is crowded, and (2) it is expensive.

I lived in San Francisco for two years at 156 Telegraph and then in Mountain View for 3 years on High School Way. The Bay Area is an incredible place, probably the best area I've ever lived in.

Sadly it's gotten way too expensive, too crowded, too much traffic and SF has tilted too far left.

[Chief_For_Life58]

SF - big city appeal with alot of outdoor activities very close by. Best of both worlds really

[BIG_DADDY]

Originally Posted by tooge

I lived in Chicago for about a year. It was awesome. Of course, I was just married, we had no kids, and so we spent alot of time eating out, shopping, people watching, and hitting the young crowd bar/beer scene. Now, I live in the country, and no amount of money would get me back into living in a city. Having said that, we do go down to the city (KC) once in a while for dinner and to walk around and hit a beer joint, and it'd enjoyable, but not to live there, that time passed me by a long time ago.

I love it in the mountains away from everyone. Unfortunately when you have a kid you need to have access to a lot of different things so we just drive a lot.

[BIG_DADDY]

Originally Posted by scho63

I lived in San Francisco for two years at 156 Telegraph and then in Mountain View for 3 years on High School Way. The Bay Area is an incredible place, probably the best area I've ever lived in.

Sadly it's gotten way too expensive, too crowded, too much traffic and SF has tilted too far left.

Every one that works for me has been assaulted. They let the homeless run the streets even in the Financial District. The best places here are Lafayett, Mill Valley to the GG bridge and Woodside anywhere. Woodside is my favorite especially on the coastal side where you are in a rain forest and can do whatever you want. Mountain people there are a different lot too. You can pretty much do whatever you want. Gun range, motorcycles, hunting. SF is close, I work in SF but it is nice to get off the ant farm and back to the basics when you go home.

[Kiimo]

I look forward to the "which wilderness would you want to live in if money were no object" thread so I can pop in and pepper it with useless "nowhere! I'd live in a city!" posts like everybody is doing in this thread.

My answer: Brooklyn Heights, NY or San Francisco or Portland.

I'd never live in downtown LA even though it is being revitalized. Living in Manhattan sounds great but one visit to Brooklyn Heights and I was like this is the one.

[tooge]

I spent two summers living in SF off mission st., not too far from the GG bridge if I remember correctly. I was in college. I was dating a girl that lived in Santa Rosa. I remember that area being very nice, and she had friends in Walnut Creek. That entire area is awesome. Again, that is from memory of 30 years ago. I don't think I could handle the traffic now though

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Kiimosabi

I look forward to the "which wilderness would you want to live in if money were no object" thread so I can pop in and pepper it with useless "nowhere! I'd live in a city!" posts like everybody is doing in this thread.

My answer: Brooklyn Heights, NY or San Francisco or Portland.

I'd never live in downtown LA even though it is being revitalized. Living in Manhattan sounds great but one visit to Brooklyn Heights and I was like this is the one.

As an aside, I got bold and took the subway and bus to Laguardia the last time I was in New York. The subway goes from Manhattan to some random neighborhood in Queens, and then you find a bus to get to the airport.

Wowza. I got off that bus in Queens and it felt like I was in a different country. I don't know how to describe it properly, but I was on this street that was in perpetual shade because the subway was elevated over it, and it was full of tiny little storefronts that looked like something you'd see in a developing country, and I was not hearing much English in the conversations around me. It really had a bizarre feel to it.

One of the learning experiences of traveling around is that I realize how much of a Eurocentric bubble I live in in Denver. I realize that I'm supposed to like other cultures, but my shameful truth is that I like living in a place that is familiar to me in terms of experience and appearance. I like traveling to developing countries, but I don't want to live in one.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by A8bil

Wasn't it Mark Twain who said: "The coldest winter I spent was a summer in SF?" Let me try to answer your embedded question... .

1. 90% of the year, the temperature is somewhere between 60 and 70 degrees with low humidity. If you work in the City, it is far better than the snow, subzero temps, incessant rain, 90% humidity or sweltering heat you get in most other big cities. Only San Diego has a more temperate climate.
2. When you visited, you encountered the summer fog. It comes in and cools off the city, but it comes in only part of the summer. If you check right now, I think it is 67 degrees, sunny and 54% humidity. A typical SF day.
3. Even when you get that summer fog, head 5 miles in any direction to get out of the fog belt and you'll be in temps often 20 degrees or more higher. Marin Headlands, Silicon Valley and East Bay are significantly warmer...spend a comfortable day at the office, then go home and sit by the pool.
4. If you are a food fan, some of the best restaurants in the world are in SF.
5. If you are a sports fan, SF has some of the top sport franchises in their respective league's histories.
6. If you are an arts fan, they attract most of the top exhibits shown internationally.
7. If you are a theater/ballet/symphony/opera fan, they have many of the top plays shown in NY or London and their arts are world class.
8. If you are a wine fan, they have world class wineries less than 1 hour away in Napa and Sonoma...each of which is beautiful and a great place to visit/vacation.
9. If you are ski/snowboarder, you have world class resorts 4 hours away in Squaw Valley, Heavenly...etc.
10. If you love the outdoors, you have marine sanctuaries, old growth redwood forests, and mountains for hiking all along the coast and in the Sierra's all within a half hour to 2 hours of the City, including Yosemite Valley (a bucket list destination).
11. If you're into paragliding or hang gliding, you have constant coastal on shore breezes that give you opportunities to get out 90% of the year.
12. If you are a water sports fan, you have abalone diving off the coast, sailing in the Bay, (cold) surfing on the Coast, scuba diving in kelp forests (the most unique diving I've ever done), water skiing on the Delta or on any number of lakes within 2 hours of SF, river rafting on the american and other rivers, and every type of fishing you can imagine.
13. If you're into golf, you have some of the top golf courses in the world all within 2 hours.
14. You have vibrant city life all over the City.
15. You have two of the greatest universities in the world within 20 miles, with world leading medical care and innovation.
16. If you want to start a business, there is more venture money circulating here than anywhere in the world.

Need I go on? the big problem with SF, is that it's attractions are no secret, so (1) it is crowded, and (2) it is expensive.

Well, yeah, but you didn't address my earlier post about encountering the guy with his head half-wrapped in packing tape.

I also saw a guy in a street fight with a can of soda. I'm talking a real fight. Throwing punches at it and kicking it.

[BIG_DADDY]

Originally Posted by tooge

I spent two summers living in SF off mission st., not too far from the GG bridge if I remember correctly. I was in college. I was dating a girl that lived in Santa Rosa. I remember that area being very nice, and she had friends in Walnut Creek. That entire area is awesome. Again, that is from memory of 30 years ago. I don't think I could handle the traffic now though

Walnut Creek is still nice. Bart and Uber. I do hate Bart though.

[A8bil]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Well, yeah, but you didn't address my earlier post about encountering the guy with his head half-wrapped in packing tape.

I also saw a guy in a street fight with a can of soda. I'm talking a real fight. Throwing punches at it and kicking it.

LOL...yeah, SF has its fair share of crazies. Part of the problem with temperate year round weather is that it is an easy spot for homeless to settle down, and the City certainly supports that population with social services. The scuttlebutt is that cities like Salt Lake often will round up the homeless/drug addled offenders and give them a one way ticket to SF to make it SF's problem, not theirs.

That said, most of the crazies are confined to certain areas and if you avoid those areas you'll almost never encounter them. The Tenderloin, for example, is a transitional neighborhood that you mostly want to avoid. There are few speakeasy joints there that are fun, but your likelihood of running up against an unsavory character are exponentially higher there than in most neighborhoods in the City. Overall, it's violent crime rates are fairly low for a major city. The two major problems I see there are: (1) homeless people sleeping everywhere; and (2) property theft (the number of car breakins is ridiculous.

[A8bil]

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY

Every one that works for me has been assaulted. They let the homeless run the streets even in the Financial District. The best places here are Lafayett, Mill Valley to the GG bridge and Woodside anywhere. Woodside is my favorite especially on the coastal side where you are in a rain forest and can do whatever you want. Mountain people there are a different lot too. You can pretty much do whatever you want. Gun range, motorcycles, hunting. SF is close, I work in SF but it is nice to get off the ant farm and back to the basics when you go home.

Ah...to have purchased land in Woodside. The land of Larry Ellison and many other Silicon Valley titans. There was a time you could buy land there fairly cheap. Now every home there is made of unobtanium. It's a great area...a ride to Alice's on 84 and then down to the coast is one of my favorite drives in the convertible.

[BucEyedPea]

Originally Posted by Hydrae

I am a bit surprised Austin or San Antonio have not been brought up.

Personally, I would not mind living in NW Portland. I had a friend who lived there (about 11th and Gleason if memory serves) and it was a lot of fun just sitting out on the porch up a couple of stories and people watch. Also, having lived there for many years the weather would not really bother me any more than it did when I lived there.

I like San Antonio but wasn't impressed with Austin—though I didn't get to see much since I was working. Heard it has a great music and nightclub scene.

[Fat Elvis]

I think a really underrated downtown area is Cincinatti....

I was there for a conference a couple of years ago, and I really enjoyed the downtown area. It was really quaint and friendly. Not sure I would want to live there, but as a visit, it was a pleasant surprise.