Moving to SF

April 18, 2007 6:24 AM

Is it difficult to relocate/adjust to San Francisco from New York, in terms of culture such as DJ (IDM, ambient) clubs/art/literary type things?

I really dislike Brooklyn and I need to leave Manhattan, although I really like noodles, KGB and David Mamet. Will there be a great shock in moving to the other coast?

posted by four panels to Travel & Transportation around San Francisco, CA (7 answers total)

I moved to SF from NY six years ago. It's different, certainly, but there are still noodles and bars with readings and playwrights. In trying to explain the cultural difference to a friend, I once said "You know how in New York there are about forty things you might choose from on any given night (shows, clubs, art stuff, readings, etc)? In San Francisco there are only eight to ten. But since you can only ever go to one or two anyway, you don't really notice the difference that much."
posted by judith at 8:09 AM on April 18, 2007

NYC and SF are dissimilar in many ways, but the #1 way they are the same is the sense of smug superiority its inhabitants have regarding every other city on Earth.

For an ardent NYC fan, I can easily imagine SF to be missing out on enough of what makes New York great to pale in comparison. However, the fact is, San Francisco is the greatest city in the world, so you should find enough to make it worth the move. It really depends what you like, and what kind of job/apartment you can manage for yourself.
posted by bluejayk at 8:14 AM on April 18, 2007

I can't help but be reminded of this:

"Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft."
-- Mary Schmich, "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young" [known popularly as Baz Luhrmann's "Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)"]
posted by joquarky at 8:43 AM on April 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

As an NYC partisan, I like many things about SF. But my sense is that it has a lot more smug liberal "bo-bo" (bourgeois bohemian) types. NYC has its share of these people, but they are mostly concentrated in a few pockets like Park Slope.

NYC has a certain cynicism and pragmatism, which has a lot to do with the intense competition here (no matter what field you are in) -- which tends to destroy one's pretentions about oneself -- as well as the high cost of living, and the presence of so many ultra-rich folk and corporate titans.

SF seems to go much further in the direction of "lifestyle politics" -- people getting ideologically hardcore about things like letting homeless people shit in city squares, defending the rights of sex workers, etc.

NYC has its lefty politics and its freak-flag-flyers (and I'm glad it does), but it also has lots of people who will make fun of their silly excesses. My sense is that in SF, all that stuff is much more serious, and if you mock it you are viewed as some kind of reactionary.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 10:26 AM on April 18, 2007 [2 favorites]

Well, we definitely have noodles, if that's one of your biggest concerns. Between the Italian heritage and the various Asian populations here, I think we've got the noodle bit covered!

We do in fact have bars, and also dj's. And fancy dj's come from NYC every now and again to show us what we're missing. There are even Mamet plays.

As with moving to any other place, you'll have to do some work to find the things and places that you want to be a part of, but there's a lot here, in terms of culture and art.
posted by gingerbeer at 12:26 PM on April 18, 2007

I know some dj's who have moved here (SF) from the East Coast. Most of them complain that the electronic music culture re: who plays out and where, is based more on "who you know" rather than actual talent. The Bay Area is a lot less critical in how it views artists of all types, and it's rather shocking for people to hear other people discuss anything with much of a critical sensibility (you're generally expected to put niceness over intelligent criticism). Burning Man, love it or hate it, is also a huge creativity sink, in terms of money and energy, though some of that creativity does make it's way back to San Francisco. Another significant difference is that the Bay Area is much smaller, hence much smaller scenes, fewer clubs and galleries, &c. However, that also means that there's a lot more opportunity for people to move in wider and more diverse circles. There's a lot less late night goings-on (including food options). Anticipate huge differences, and then be pleasantly surprised at the things you find that remind you of NYC.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:36 PM on April 18, 2007

Oneirodynia: That's interesting.

In NYC, people will call you on your bullshit (if it is bullshit... and sometimes even if it isn't). SF seems to have more of a peace-and-love it's-all-good hippie vibe.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 9:14 PM on April 18, 2007