Since you New Yorkers see everything in terms of your own city — okay, I’m from NY, and I do that all the time — here is a breakdown of the cultural equivalents for you.
San Francisco = Manhattan
- Nonresidents call it “the city”; residents simply refer to it as “here”
- Lots of transplants, because why settle for an “outer borough”?
- Best mass transit in the area (BART [Bay Area Rapid Transit] = subway; CalTrain = Metro North or Long Island Railroad; Muni = weird bus/PATH mishmash)
- Bridge tolls to enter (but not to leave)
- Centrally located (outer boroughs = East, North, and South Bay plus Peninsula)
- Main differences: Manhattan’s got lots more places to eat late (and 24-hour bodegas). New York was founded in 1624 (by the Dutch), and the Spanish founded San Francisco in 1776.
Winner (not that it’s a competition): Manhattan (a formidible opponent indeed — though you’d win too with a 150-year lead!)
Oakland = Brooklyn
- Hipsters and baby strollers
- More spread-out, with a lower skyline
- Old factories made into lofts
- Where artists priced out of “the city” moved, and now can’t afford it either
- Exclusive enclaves (Piedmont = Brooklyn Heights)
Main difference: Oakland lost a basketball team, and Brooklyn got one! Brooklyn’s got 5 times more people (2.5+M vs. 429K), but Oakland’s actually 8 square miles bigger. (I’m as surprised as you are!)
Winner: Brooklyn (Sorry, Oakland)
Alameda = Staten Island
- Islands (with bridges)
- Ferries to the “mainland”
- No train to the mainland (keeps out the riffraff)
- Former military base site
- Built on landfill
Winner: Alameda (and most New Yorkers would concur)
Emeryville = Queens
- Shorelines, marinas, and nice views of bridges
- Less expensive chain hotels
- Startup tech and priced-out artists
Main difference: Queens is 48 times bigger (108 to Emeryville’s 2.25 square miles) and 220 times more populous (2.2+ million to Emeryville’s puny 10K) Also airports: Emeryville = 0; Queens = 2
Winner: Gotta give it to Queens. (Sorry, Emeryville)
San Jose, CA = Newark, NJ
- Last-resort airport for those who live/work closer to other airports
- Substantial tech hub
- Portuguese neighborhood!
Main difference: San Jose is in the title of a Burt Bacharach song; Newark is not. (“Do You Know the Way to San Jose” — and no, the title has no question mark, and San Jose doesn’t have an acute accent over the e.)
Winner: San Jose by a technicality (Newark’s not in NYC)
Berkeley = ???
It’s called People’s Republic of Berkeley for a reason! No viable comparison even when combining:
· 3.5 portions Hastings-on-Hudson (suburbia!)
· 3 portions Upper West Side
· 2 portions Greenwich Village, and
· a dash of Riverdale
Note: UC Berkeley (43,000) = New York University (51,000+)
Winner: Berkeley (by default!)
Overall result: Hey, it’s a tie! (not that this was a competition)
I hope that you now understand the Bay Area and appreciate it for what it is — or at least how it relates to New York.
