SF vs NY

It’s pretty funny just how many Californians and specifically people from the Bay Area are here in New York. I walk around my neighborhood in Brooklyn and I never have to go far to see a SF Giants hat or a Warriors T-shirt. Apparently a bunch of folks who have moved into my building are from San Francisco.

I have no actual data on this but I’d guess that there’s many more folks moving from SF to NY at this point than the other way around. At this point, NY is fully back. Things are looking even better than it was when I left in 2018. New buildings and restaurants are opening everywhere still. It feels like it’s even more lively than it was when I left.

San Francisco is just on it’s way of making it’s way back. I really love what the new Mayor is doing there working with businesses to come back and rebuild the city. But at this point, it’s a far cry from where New York is and likely going to be at least a few years until we start to see SF get back close to where it was pre-pandemic.

The energy in SF just has been dead the last few years with no one going into the office anymore. The FiDi and downtown area feels at best 25% of where it once was. It doesn’t feel like a ton of construction is happening and restaurants seem to be closing more than they are opening.

Of course, San Francisco will never be New York for better or worse. The beauty about San Francisco is that it is much more chill and relaxed than New York. But at this point, if I was in my 20s working my first job out of school, I would much rather be in New York than San Francisco.

I am excited for how the city changes in the next few years while we’re in New York though.