DC vs SF

those places are in the metro area? i was deciding on which neighborhoods in each city proper i thought were cool, but you are talking suburbia. sounds like this is more a decision about which geographical region you prefer.

 

I have lived in both Bethesda (for 6 years) and Rockville. Bethesda is one of the nicest locations in the DC area, and the nicest inner suburb in Maryland. Since you're young, I would highly recommend it if you can afford it. It is a 20 minute metro ride to the heart of DC. I wish I could still live there, but it's just too expensive once you start a family and need more space.

Rockville is more of a traditional suburb. I would say for raising a family, it is the best of its type in Maryland. I don't know a lot about Silver Spring, but my impressions of it have not been too favorable. It's one of those places that is classified as "gentrifying."

 

I lived at 21st and Massachusetts in NW for a year for work and really liked it.

I would still vote SF, though. DC summers are almost as humid and hot as Houston's.

 

Certainly wasn't my experience in Baltimore, and I lived there for 5 years... finding fellow diversely-minded and talented musicians was like going on an Easter egg hunt in the Amazon...

I've never been to California, though I'm considering a move there.... and I've heard the opposite is true there... Have I been misinformed...?

 

As the previous poster pointed out, San Mateo and Daly City are not SF. If you move out here, then do it right and live in the city. Yes, it's expensive, but the lifestyle is pretty good - day drinking at the park, running along Crissy Field, dive bars, crabbing from the pier, Giants games at AT&T, etc.

Best neighborhoods in my opinion are:

Marina
Pac Heights
Russian Hill
North Beach
Noe Valley
Mission

 

you'll never be royals

 

How long have you been in Htown? like 20 years or more?

 

I've lived in both Silver Spring and Rockville. Both aren't too bad although Rockville is much further away from DC than both Silver Springs and Bethesda.
Silver Spring you can reach DC center in about 15 minutes via vehicle. From Rockville will take you at least double that time. I preferred Rockville at the time since it was newer and more value for the money. Upside with all three is you can take the red line (M) into DC from any of these areas.

 

I get where Baqui99 is coming from, but your assessment is basically correct, especially if you want to start a family. The weather is a hell of lot better in the peninsula than San Francisco too, FWIW, unless you like fog.

I would only want to live in the city, but you don't have to be like me clearly. There are also possibly better options in the peninsula, in the general area of the places you've listed.

 

donny, i grew up in alief. that scarred me enough that i have never since lived anywhere but right in the middle of things. for me, location trumps everything, but to each his own. as far as the two cities, i like SF better, but i like the grit of the people on the east coast more.

 

San Francisco.

You can go to all the places they went to in The Room.

 

You could probably rent a decent efficiency in the city for around $1800-$2000 per month. Have you checked craigslist?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/...sk=2500&bedrooms=&housing_type=&sort=priceasc

If you're in the Mission, the Muni train underground can get you to the Embarcadero in like 10 mins.

 

I had a similar choice to make earlier in the year between SF, DC, and NYC. One thing that was a big factor for me is the 24/7 MTA in New York made living in either Queens or Brooklyn more feasible (rent would be comparable to burbs for SF and DC). You said how it didn't matter living out of the city as long as it was a decent commute into it but AFAIK the BART only runs until midnight (this is SF but if I recall correctly DC has similar hours). If you are still single/enjoy going out a lot, be prepared for many a cab ride/lyft/uber if you don't live in the city in either of these places.

Also just FYI I ended up picking SF despite the cost. Not officially moving until the summer but have been doing a fair amount of research on neihborhoods. Have you considered the western part of the city such as sunset/the richmond area? I spent a few days at my buddy's apt there and it seemed more residential/affordable (street parking/homes with garages) as well as still being a 25-30 muni ride downtown.

 

Yeah DC metro closes at midnight on weeknights and 3 am on Friday/Saturday night. Real pain in the ass when you miss that last train home and have to hail a cab.

 

Bars close at 2 over there right? That still gives u a bit of leeway at least haha.

 

Bethesda is probably the nicest combo of suburbs and city living in the DC area. If you're a multimillionaire, it's a great place to raise a family.

Rockville is like Sugar Land in parts and Stafford in parts...it's definitely a suburb. Many people just commute to DC to work and spend the rest of their lives in Rockville; others can spend their whole lives in Rockville and never go to the city.

Silver Spring was ghetto for most of the 80's and 90's. Then in the early 2000's they remodeled downtown to give it a nice facade. Silver Spring has a lot of businesses during the day, but in general is ghetto during the night, just with a better facade.

With that said, I'd still rather like in Bethesda and Silver Spring over Rockville. You can just get so wrapped in your own life living in Rockville, that you forget about DC altogether bc you're just tired after work. Rockville is affordable and you get the better climate weather seasons than Houston, but if you really want DC proximity, go Bethesda, then Silver Spring. Then why don't you try living in DC itself? You don't have to live in SE DC for it to be affordable. There are up and coming places that are not too expensive and not too ghetto inside DC.

 

If you live in San Mateo, you'll be making the CalTrain to BART switch. Although both are reliable, you should account for riding two different transit systems per day.