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The question of whether I would live in Seattle or San Francisco is mostly a no-brainer for me. My background: I lived in Berkeley for six years, and in Bellevue for four years. Thus although I haven’t lived in either Seattle, or San Francisco, still if asked, I would compare Seattle to San Francisco as follows:

Climate
Seattle is mostly wet and cloudy throughout the year. It also gets very cold and sub-zero in the winters. San Francisco has a very pleasant climate throughout the year. Its mostly cool, never getting too hot or too cold. I have never seen temperatures getting sub-zero. The thing that sucks about Seattle climate, is the constant gray cloudy skies, and no sunshine. Believe me, it can get depressing. As I write this essay, I realize almost all the downsides of Seattle (when I compare it to San Francisco) arise because of its climate. Seattle has about three months of summer. Even then, the sunny days are numbered. But when its sunny, Seattle is a very beautiful place. The difference in seasons – Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer is something I experienced only in Seattle. It is in Seattle I experienced the Fall colors, and trees shedding their leaves in the fall. San Francisco is Spring/Summer like throughout the year.

Beauty
In my opinion San Francisco scores over Seattle. Both places are very beautiful, but because of the bad climate in Seattle, you rarely get to enjoy and appreciate its beauty. In fact, a more accurate statement would be that Seattle is only beautiful when its sunny and not raining. Seattle is situated close to Mt. Rainier, a very majestic snow-clad volcano. On sunny days, the sight of Mt. Rainier from Seattle is very picturesque. You can also see the Cascade mountains from Seattle on sunny days. The Cascade loop is one of America’s best roadtrips you can take. A visit to Hurricane ridge provides spectacular views – but only when the skies are devoid of clouds. Mt. Rainier is must-see place to visit if you are in Seattle.  Another beautiful spot near Seattle is the Deception Pass. The San Juan Islands near Seattle are also a must-see. In contrast to Seattle, San Francisco is beautiful throughout the year. You can even see snow-clad mountains if you go to the nearby Yosemite Valley. San Francisco has some of the world’s legendary architectural marvels such as the Golden Gate Bridge, and Palace of Fine Arts. North of San Francisco is the very beautiful Point Reyes National Seashore – perhaps my favorite haunt in San Francisco. San Francisco also has beautiful beaches such as the Stinson beach. Other beautiful areas include Muir Woods, Monterey Beach, Napa valley, etc.

Things to do
Seattle is a great place for skiing. But, whatever you can do in Seattle, I think you can do in San Francisco, and more. You can even do skiing in San Francisco at Yosemite Valley. There is no dearth of interesting places to go to in both cities, but in Seattle you get to enjoy only on the sunny days, whereas in San Francisco you can enjoy throughout the year. Seattle attractions that are at the top of my list include Woodland Park Zoo, Pacific Science Center, Space Needle, Ride the Ducks. San Francisco has a long list of attractions including Golden Gate Bridge and its associated recreational area, Palace of Fine Arts, Japanese Gardens, the Zoo, Koit Tower, Most Crooked Street in the world, the Exploratorium, Conservatory of Flowers, Pier 39 & Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, the list goes on.

Restaurants & Bars
Even here, SF is way better than Seattle I think. I have yet to find a good Mexican restaurant in Seattle.

Cost of Living
Aha – one area in which Seattle can boast to beat SF – but that’s because no one wants to live there.

Universities & Industry
SF bay area has two of the world’s top universities – UC Berkeley and Stanford. University of Washington Seattle is a decent school but not considered in Berkeley or Stanford’s league. SF bay area is home to the famous Silicon Valley. Seattle is tech hub of the Northwest, but again nowhere near Silicon Valley. Berkeley – neighboring San Francisco, is a very unique city in its own right, and a beautiful place to live in.

Traffic, Public Transportation
I think SF has better public transportation with its BART and MUNI. I will definitely say that Bellevue is one of the worst cities I have lived in when it comes to the number of traffic lights I have to cross.  

Conclusion
No matter how I look at it, San Francisco is way better place to live in than Seattle.

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Recent Comments

You have two misnomers in your essay. One is that it never gets cold in San Francisco. Remember what Mark Twain said about spending the summer in San Francisco. Secondly you said that no one wants to Seattle. Well I don't want to live in Seattle but when I peruse the Internet there are a lot of people that want to live in Seattle by tim.tliao on June 21, 2013