Emily, I have to say, that San Francisco did not seem like a Big City to me, in the way that New York and London seem to be so (to me). San Fran has that same sort of neighborhood big-city-but-small-town-vibe that Boston has. (in the one week I was there).

that if you like Boston

I'm not sure I do like Boston, though. Cambridge, yes. Boston? Eh. Unless you mean the small-big-cityness of it, in which case, gotcha.

I'm sitting right next to you, so I could just say this...but... Since living with you, you've talked mostly about wanting to live in Portland...the weather, the town, the, well, I don't remember what else. I think you've talked most about Portland, and well maybe Arizona, but that's not even on your list.

So about the first question: uh... Um. Lack of New England winters. General west-coasty-ness. I'm worried LA will be too hot for me, and also LARGE. I worry that both SF and LA are too big-city for me (this despite living on the outskirts of Boston for ten years -- don't expect me to be logical). But maybe I should try a big city, and this time a proper one, where everything doesn't close at 11 PM (this, of course, after I've entered a profession which requires going to bed at 9 PM). Then, of course, there's the problem that all my knowledge about the LA school system comes from movies which uniformly depict it as Gangland Hell with Pimples. Which seems unlikely to be an entirely accurate depiction, but there you have it.

The SF area will definitely be cooler. I think the big cityness of SF is easier to get away while still not being too far away from the city itself than is true in LA. I have a vague sense that the Oakland school system is roughly comparable to LAUSD in terms of student population socio-economic factors, but I don't know if that's really true.

I was just discussing big cities yesterday, and we agreed that LA totally isn't one. Oh, it's hella urban, but you don't really have the same city-centre feel that you get with other cities that qualified, like SF or NY. It's a weird urban/suburb mix that has its own high and low points.

I'm not sure I do like Boston, though. Cambridge, yes. Boston? Eh. Unless you mean the small-big-cityness of it, in which case, gotcha.

I might. It really is an unsupported prejudice. If someone said, "Quick! Pick a west coast city, because you have to move there now," I'd be picking SF (or Seattle, which isn't on your list), although I have an unsupported prejudice in favor of all things Oregon, too (and have no idea where it came from).

Are you going to have a car, Emily?

vw--I did that...with bills I was paying for the WORK. Mortifying.

Once, I wrote out all the checks for my bills, but I wasn't going to rip them out of the checkbook until I had everything all filled out (I can't remember why I did it that way). I filled out all the "Please remit with payment" forms, put it all in the envelopes, and mailed them off.

A few days later, I went to write a check for something, and found all the checks I had written for my bills, still in the checkbook. D'oh.

Oh, Steph. That's too freaking funny. And totally something I would do.

In theory, I will have a car. Must speak to the father again.

Not having been to Portland, I can't chime in with either pros or cons for it. Between SF and LA, I'd say go SF. Better public transport and more, I don't want to say cosmopolitan, but it feels more like a European city to me and I like that about it. Plus, as more than one person has attested, if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes.