Best West Coast City to Live in (L.A., Seattle, San Fran)?

Question

Best overall quality of living, traffic conditions/commute, mass transit options, affordability of housing, good paying available jobs, good schools, safe to raise a family, etc etc.

Answer 1

San Francisco is where I left my heart.

Answer 2

Quality of life -- All three cities have high quality of life, with a wide variety of goods and services. L.A. and San Francisco are probably a little more "upscale" when it comes to shopping, but Seattle is no slouch either.

Traffic conditions -- According to the government, L.A. has the worse traffic conditions in America. San Francisco is a close second. So, Seattle wins this one.

http://www.forbes.com/business/2006/12/19/worst-commutes-america-biz-cx_ee_1219worstcommutes.html

Transit -- This is an easy one. San Francisco has a great subway system (BART), express commuter rail (Caltrain), commuter ferries, trams, and frequent bus service. It's a public transportation system worthy of an East Coast city. In contrast, L.A. and Seattle are far more car dependent and sporadic.

Affordability -- None of them are affordable. San Francisco is the worst, but L.A. is not far behind. And while Seattle is the "least expensive" of the three, that's not saying much (since most houses are still easily over $500,000).

Jobs -- Seattle has large aerospace, cargo transport, and software industries. San Francisco is geared towards banking, legal offices, and Silicon Valley (which is more hardware oriented than Seattle). Los Angeles is, of course, world famous for its creative industries (music, TV, media, design, art, and so forth).

Good Schools -- It's a trade-off. L.A. and San Francisco have great universities (USC, UCLA, Berkeley, Stanford, UCSF), but lousy and ineffective secondary schools. Seattle has far better secondary schools, but only one major institution of higher learning (UW).

Safe -- This is rather subjective. It depends on the neighborhood and surrounding communities.

All three metropolitan areas have ultra-rich enclaves:

L.A. has the Westside towns (Malibu, Beverly Hills, etc.)
San Francisco has Marin County
Seattle has Bellevue

Likewise, all three have high-crime trouble spots:

L.A. = Watts, Compton, East Los Angeles, parts of Long Beach.
San Francisco = Oakland, Richmond, Bayview/Hunter's Point, the Tenderloin.
Seattle = Rainer Valley, Columbia City, the Central District, Pioneer Square.

Answer 3

San Francisco by far! S.F. has 3 different forms of public transportation, BART, MUNI, and Sam Trans. These methods of public transportation are affordable and stop almost everywhere. Jobs are plenty here in S.F you just have to look in the right places. As of housing, there are many new apartment buildings going up around the city, and with enough research, you will find the right apartment for you. It is very safe to raise a family here as long as you avoid the tenderloin, Hunters Point, and 3rd Street areas. All major cities have their bad neighborhoods and those are just S.F.'s. Overall, S.F. is the place to be, lively, up beat, plenty of jobs, housing and everything you need. The temperature in S.F. fits well with the seasons, right now for example, it is hot, but in winter it would cool down. Very livable and adjustable to. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

I would say LA. I have lived in the LA area for 6 years . I love it here. There are parts of LA that are not the best as in every city, so as long as you stay in a good area, you will feel safe. I have felt safe everywhere that I have lived here, Seal Beach, Palos Verdes, Corona, Redondo Beach and Long Beach.. We have great diversity, varierty of things to do. The public transportation is not the best and the traffic is busy. But the weather is worth it all. San Fran is a great city as well, but it is much colder there. Seatlle is great as well, but it rains all the time. Irvine, California did win the safest city award, which is located in Orange County. It is a safe city, great schools, terrific for a family, good paying jobs, better traffic than in LA. The houseing is expensive, but it hits 6 out of your 7 requirements. Go for California!!!

Answer 5

All three are great cities. You would have a good living experience in each. I prefer LA because of the diversity of life there. How many places in the world can you go surfing in the morning, Ski-ing in the afternoon and to a great concert (one of many) in the evening. With great restaurants and hotels to go along with your day. you also have the LA/Hollywood celebrity scene which can be a kick. Moneys easy and housing is so varied that you can find anything that you want. It is expensive though!

Answer 6

Definatly bypass the west. The mountains are very fascinating! you may definatly bypass to Vancouver. that could be a fascinating city there is a lot to do! there are maximum of nice places to easily walk around like Stanley park,Chinatown and so on. bypass as much as the Vancouver lookout for spectacular perspectives of the city,mountains and waterfront. additionally bypass to the Metrotown mall in Burnaby. additionally ascertain you bypass to Victoria and bypass to the butchart gardens and likewise take the holiday as much as city of Whistler. in case you have time i could recommend renting a automobile and driving to the two Edmonton and Calgary besides. West Edmonton mall has alot to do it has an indoor amuesement park,water park and over 800 shops. the city of Edmonton has assorted good procuring no longer in undemanding terms on the mall yet around the city. in case you bypass to Calgary ascertain you bypass to the Calgary tower for perspectives of the city,surrounding plains besides because of the fact the mountains interior the area. additionally be beneficial to bypass to the Calgary zoo.

Answer 7

I have heard that Seattle is one of the better cities in the country to live.

Answer 8

They just released a survey on this, and the winner was....

IRVINE

Answer 9

none here