RE: The Bay Area has an OK public transportation infrrastructure
Only if you live near a train line and work either in downtown SF or within walking distance of one of the trains. For the rest of us, you either drive or spend your whole life on buses - just like LA! ;)
"RE: The Bay Area has an OK public transportation infrrastructure
Only if you live near a train line and work either in downtown SF or within walking distance of one of the trains. For the rest of us, you either drive or spend your whole life on buses - just like LA! ;)"
Yep, the pennisula and the East Bay have it the best transportation-wise in the Bay Area (BART,CalTrans,Muni.) The North and South Bay have a lot to work to do. Ahem, that is what San Jose gets for not jumping on board with BART in the 1970s. We are becoming the little LA of the north. Okay, maybe not, but traffic is starting to back up at 4 pm.
Anyhow, I have lived in two parts of CA: the Bay Area and the Central Coast. I used to absolutely love living in the Bay Area, but between moving back, the election, and the absence of hockey (and a horrible sports year in general) this year, much of my love for the area has kinda worn off. The Central Coast is BEAUTIFUL, but there is hardly anything to really do out there, very little industry (other than education and defense), and is home to mostly college students and retired folks (at least in SB and SLO).
So I can't completely offer too much advice when it comes to the LA/SD debate. However, if I was EVER to move south (ie farther south than San Luis Obispo) I would move to Santa Barbara (extremely expensive) or San Diego (expensive, but more reasonable). The weather is some of the best in the state by and far. And this is a state in which the weather is the biggest selling point. If I were to move farther north, Sacramento would be great, but it is HOT.
Since you are an architect, you might also want to try San Luis Obispo. It's home to one of the best architecture colleges in the country and has a ton of firms in the area. If you are from a big city, you will have some culture shock, but if you love the beach and the art and culture surrounding university towns, I think you would love it. And it's less expensive.
Someone mentioned moving to Austin, Texas. For the last year and half, I have been considering a move there. I figure it would not be that much different than where I am now, just with a much better music scene, a university that would be a perfect grad school option, and severely hot and humid weather. Am I wrong?