Here's why some people think New York City is better than the San Francisco Bay Area

"Speaking of around the world: we have cuisine from everywhere you've been or dreamed of going, and many places you've never heard of. If you want it, we have it. We also have great options for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, raw-only, kosher, things-that-only-start-with-the-letter-Q." — Eunji Choi

"Unlike SF, you don't have to *plan* everything in NYC. You can just walk outside and find things to do. After the park, you can walk to the museum and then to dinner and then to the bar and then to the club. If you're going out late, you don't need to worry about having a designated driver or where you're going to park your car. You can get whatever you want whenever you want it without worrying about closing time." — Natasha Prasad

"Cheaper rent (you may not believe that, but it's true - Rent Battle: What You Can Get in San Francisco vs. New York, Rent For A 1-Bedroom Apartment Will Cost You More In San Francisco Than Anywhere Else In The US, etc)." — A.P.D.G. Everett

"Since high rent has pushed most tech firms to the periphery, SFers endure some awful commutes. If you told a NYer that they would have to commute by bus for an hour and a half to get to work while also paying Manhattan rent, they would justifiably laugh in your face. Yet that is exactly what tens of thousands of SFers do every day. It's madness.

Commuting in NYC is also no walk in the park, but at least people get to make a conscious choice about the tradeoffs. They can live within a walk to work or take the train in from Westchester if they value space more. In SF this calculation is inverted - you can live in the city, pay tons, and have an awful commute, or you can live in Mountain View, see your friends twice a month, and still pay a premium for the pleasure. I'll take Option (NY)C." — Brandon Larson

"Art openings, fashion shows, movie premieres, dressing up and not feeling out of place, an abundance of stylish restaurants, plenty of nightlife where you don’t feel too old over 30." — Dee Anna McPherson

"Bars and clubs are open until 4, and then there are after-hours parties if you're into that...Between the Soho boutiques, 5th avenue, meatpacking, and the outer boroughs there are hundreds of amazing designers and shops you've never heard of, and every single one you have. Every major designer has a flagship store here. Many designers you'll love in a year or five or ten are here right now." — Eunji Choi

Jonathan Franzen: "What draws me back [to New York], again and again, is safety. Nowhere else am I safe from the question: why here?"

John Updike: "The true New Yorker secretly believes that anyone living anywhere else must somehow, in a sense, be kidding."

Dave Vockell "I did 15 years in NYC, now on year 7 in SF, hope to return to the City."

"The easy answer is transportation. SF is still in its infancy with regards to getting people around and turning the city into a real city. Everything public transit shutting down around midnight except for that awful owl bus in SF makes it impossible to stay out late in other parts...If you miss the last Caltrain or BART out of the city, it's an awful bus ride." — David Mobley

"NY in general has much nicer architecture. Other than the great Victorian houses in San Francisco, architecture tends to be fairly bland (especially going out to the Sunset or Richmond districts). NY, however, has a lot of great buildings everywhere. The art deco skyscrapers of Manhattan are amazing, but there are a wide range of other things to look at. It's not exactly London, but I do like being able to walk around and appreciate the buildings." — Jun-Dai Bates-Kobashigawa

"Theatre, of course, and not Broadway but serious theatre! See Playwrights Horizons, Rattlestick Theater, Soho Rep, MCC Theater, Atlantic Theater Company, BAM, MTC, The New Group, Lincoln Center, The Public Theater, NYTW, The Amoralists, etc. San Francisco has some decent theaters as well (Magic Theatre, A.C.T.), but can't rival New York or Chicago." — Ersoy Bayramoglu

"Just because of the density of people here and it being a major city, New York City has a lot of events and activities scheduled.

There are a lot of tech/media/social meetups, many of which are free. If you know where to look (usually just joining an email list), there is something to do every night of the week, often several equally good, competing events especially during Internet Week, Social Media Week, Web 2.0 conference, etc. when a lot of people are in town." — Liz Pullen

"There is no comparison. Everyone has to live in New York at some point in their lives. It is still the world's capital." — Bruce Upbin