I have lived in the Chicago area and the San Francisco area. I live in the Chicago suburbs now. I hate Chicago and love San Francisco. Chicago is a grimy downtown, surrounded by a grimy city, surrounded by endless tacky suburbs, surrounded by endless cornfields. If you are into outdoor activities like hiking or camping then Chicago has practically nothing. In San Francisco, you are minutes away from wonderful places for any kind of outdoor activity you can imagine. Drive four hours east of San Francisco and you are in the most beautiful mountain scenery you can find anywhere. Drive four hours any direction from Chicago, and you are still in corn fields (if you are not still stuck in traffic). San Francisco itself is a beautiful city, which Chicago definitely is not!
San Francisco!!! San Francisco has Chicago beat in every way possible: attractions, weather, dining, entertainment, shopping, and the beautiful scenery. That is why so many people leave their hearts in San Francisco. Nobody leaves their heart in Chicago.
I ve been to both cities and San Francisco wins! You have beautiful scenery, hills, trolly cars, Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, friendlies people in a major city, and you can cover the entire city in a short a trip... Chicago is big, smelly, and basically just has the Sears tower and wind. San Francisco is far more exciting!
San Francisco by far. Too much corruption in Chicago. Right now too much snow there too. It snows in San Francisco like once every 100 years. San Francisco is one of the most diverse cities in the nation. Everyone LOVES San Francisco.
I prefer San Francisco