LA vs SF for IB

Depends on the bank and what your preferences are. BB's in SF have slightly larger offices and SF has a larger financial sector. But then again the weather is awful and cost of living is high.

LA Moelis

SF weather is awful?

id say SF for a better career trajectory and definitely if you want to enter the HC/Tech space . LA is growing, a lot of MM and a few BB offices. Do a search.

LA is known for media, SF for tech but i guess i'm asking which area is more active financially...within those respective industries. I know it's an awkward, cross-industry comparison but just trying to get a sense of what's better for finance (especially since I heard LA is a lot better than SF for post IBD opportunities - more hedge funds, capital management firms etc).

i hate that LA is so spread out which leads to a lot of driving after drinking :/

SF for banking unless you can get into some of the better LA offices - HL rest group, moelis, etc

SF weather is pretty bad tho...and it's at least $1000 for rent per person, and can easily go up to $1,500 if you want a nicer place

To make things clearer: SF is overloaded with startups that'll probably die before they'll ever be in a position of using investment banks. So that leaves SF with a few tech giants (yhoo, goog, fbook, adobe, ebay + a few more) buying a few startups?

Again, probably not a correct comparison for this discussion's purposes but LA's GDP alone is 3 times the size SF's. Bigger industry = more players = more deals?

sf's weather is awful?? maybe compared to southern california but not compared to any other finance hub in the country - nyc, chicago, etc.

as for op's question, sf's finance scene dominates la's

SF. City life is actually existent. LA is a completely different feel, especially for IBD.

if by "SF" you mean the actual city of San Francisco... it's sometimes cloudy and foggy, though not very cold, and a much nicer city than LA imo. keep in mind that the south bay/silicon valley offices in cities like Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View, etc will have LA-like weather.

oh, and SF is great for tech blah blah blah (i'm sure others can elaborate on this better than i can).

SF is probably a better career move, especially post-banking where you're at the hub of most of the West Coast action in HF, PE and VC. That said, LA is better in every other way (weather, cost of living, women, etc.). Personally, I think SF is one of the crappier major cities in the US -- just my opinion having been to all of them and having lived in the Bay for the last 3.5 years. And don't think you aren't going to get raped in traffic living in the Bay; it's probably better than LA, but I would hardly call it an advantage of any sort. You either way overpay for rent for a place that doesn't require a commute, or you're stuck with a nightmarish parking and city traffic situation -- forget about public transportation either, muni is a complete joke.

SF is more financially active. Along with Silicon Valley, (followed by Boston & NYC) it is the center of the tech industry in the US. And tech companies need a ton of banking services. IPOs, the high frequency of M&A, and the Venture Capital scene all make it a great place to set up shop as a bank.

LA doesn't have much by comparison. Hollywood does most of its financing through studios/private investors, and what is left? Some limited healthcare and industrials, maybe some Ag from CA's central valley. A small metals, mining, and energy sector too. But it doesn't remotely compare to SF. That's why the LA offices of most banks are tiny.

Just to be clear, SF is massively dependent on tech. If we ever have another tech bust, blood will run in the streets. They have some HC and miscellaneous groups, but not enough to sustain the banking sector there.

right on west coast rainmaker. from what i can see, another bust isn't too far away (at least the consumer focused tech in the bay). i'm all for tech though, so probably going to try to make my way out there either way.

On topspin's point on consumer-focused tech, consumer Internet will have a day of reckoning when Facebook takes ~$5-10 billion of cap out of every other stock... Though you could argue that it will present some interesting buying opportunities too (thinking of fund flows, you might get a nice crack at GOOG, etc.)

To your broader question, agree on SF vs. LA for finance and ease of commute - but LA for other reasons (women, weather). What you can also consider is, on women, when you're so close to Vegas (hour flight!), it doesn't really matter

there are plenty of attractive women in sf and you won't have to deal with the materialism and bullshit that women in la focus on. choosing where you work based on such a nugatory metric is also not the best idea.

That's true DaCarez. In fact, i'm heading to vegas next week.

Also, enterprise tech should be alright and at least provide some cushion during crunch time as it keeps moving steadily but we'll see. For now, I just need to get a hold of an opportunity haha.