When it rains it pours. I enjoy this column in the WSJ called Act One, which is written by Emily Meehan, a twentysomething writer who used to live in Alaska of all places. Act One is supposed to be about issues facing our age group, and she's written about things like dealing with income disparities among friends to deciding when to move back in with your parents. All with the sort of dryness you'd expect from the WSJ.
The most recent article is about the job situation in San Francisco. Emily recognizes that a lot of recent college grads are interested in moving here since it's so lovely and less crazy than New York, but due to its appeal and tight job market a lot of them end up working in a coffee shop while waiting for a more worthwhile offer. The comments in the forum are particularly interesting, SF inspires polarization -- to some it's the best place on earth and to others it's absolute hell. It's also interesting to read the comments from people who moved away from smaller cities like DC to San Francisco and are completely happy with their choice -- I wonder if there's an element of self-delusion to validate their choice, or if they're really getting enough value out of living here to put up with the cost of living and the insane local politics (and in case you haven't figured it out by now, I tend liberal).
I'm still trying to work out exactly how I feel about this city. Many of us have a tendency to find problems with what we have and idealize what we don't, so this is probably not a question I can answer objectively. I just keep telling people it feels so fake, but I'm not sure what that means.