different looks (e.g. architecture)...and 'Feels'. I grew up in Queens where there was plenty of green space, but my cousin lives in Chelsea (Manhattan) where the look and feel is very different...close knit with enjoyable enclaves that the locals are very comfortable with (also, not far from the clever 'High Line Park' and waterfront). Jim could speak much more to this, but every time I return to the "Big Apple" I get a visceral sense of the city's POWER...five different boroughs...multiple cultural neighborhoods within each...nothing like it in all the cities I've visited in Europe and Asia.
As for San Francisco, the vistas are incredible...from almost anywhere you can get to a spot that will allow you to view the entire Bay Area and the ocean...not as many 'enclaves' as NYC, but the 'Marina' is special...Nob Hill...Pacific Heights...Sea Cliff...Sunset District...Twin Peaks...Richmond...Chinatown...the Presidio........................I could go on about the City by the Bay...but what's also unique is the sense that SF is a hub for the whole 'Bay Area' environment...especially Sausalito, Tiburon, Berkeley and Oakland (the South Bay/Silicon Valley gets to enjoy those looks and feels at a moments notice ;-))
One more 'muse'...when I used to travel from NYC to SF on business, it always amazed me how instead of having my visual senses limited by buildings and trees... in the Bay Area, my vision extended for miles and miles...perhaps that inspires folks living there to think beyond their immediate environ.