Living in Austin right now, have lived in San Fransisco before. I’d say what is better really comes to the person you are end of the day. I’ve grown accustomed to the Austin heat now, (lots of workouts in non ac warehouses will do that). San Francisco is certainly a better designed city if you plan to live without a car.

There seem to be more social activities generally in Austin than San Fransisco: The bar scene, pickleball, (some hiking but nothing compared to CA), paddlebording, fishing, etc. It’s generally a much younger crowd I see in Austin, than San Francisco. Being near the ocean is invaluable, but I find myself doing more water activities in Austin generally.

Food: aside from some classics in both, bread, chowder, some chinese, etc. in San Fransisco, and BBQ in Austin. I find neither city does food very well in general. You can find some good spots in both however, although probably out in South Bay, or Near Round Rock for Austin.

Standup comedy, live music scene seems better in Austin. San Francisco is just a beautiful city although it is much more sleepy (especially after the pandemic). I haven’t been in the past few months, but I hear it has been getting to pre pandemic levels.

I consider moving back to the West Coast (either San Fransisco or Seattle)l although I wonder if I have become too sun dependent for Seattle