| Background: Born in Russia, grew up in NC, live in SF currently, moving to NYC next week. Incredibly excited to leave SF, to say the least. The good: Innovation and energy everywhere. You can feel it in the air, especially since every billboard in SoMa is a tech startup. I've met some of the smartest people in my life here, and have been really lucky to work on some exciting projects. Neighborhoods are VERY divided and have their own feel, almost like separate cities. Decent amount of high quality restaurants. Availability to high paying jobs The bad: HBO's Silicon Valley no longer becomes funny, it's just a documentary at this point. The homeless - they're everywhere and feel empowered to be aggressive on a scale I've never seen. I live in Nob Hill, and have been in a few altercations (though very much not the case when I was in the Marina). Dating pool for a hetero male is meh at best. Most bars are filled with 75-90% guys, with few exceptions in the Marina. Tech is everywhere - at first this was a good thing, but now it's unbearable. Everyone seems to be incredibly sensitive and emotionally charged. Weather isn't as good as SoCal, and is pretty "eh" majority of the time. Expensive af. TLDR: Amazing career opportunity for young/mid-20's for a few years. You'll meet great people, work on exciting stuff, and raise your income level. Leave after a few years. Feel free to ask more |