Don't know about Seattle but have heard it has a very good quality of life. The Bay Area is a mixed bag. San Francisco is beautiful but can have many of the problems a city can have. I guess that could be true for Seattle too though. There are nice pockets all over the Bay Area but you may have a hard time beating Marin County, other side of the GG Bridge; Doesn't have that gnarly urban vibe that alot of the east bay, SF has and it has Mt. Tam, Marin Headlands and other great riding areas. Not the cheapest area to live but it's high just about everywhere. The weather, like someone mentioned, can be cool even in summer in SF itself but if you go jut 10 or 12 miles north into Marin it gets quite a bit warmer. It can be 59 in SF and 90 just 15 miles away because you get away from the fog...look on a map SF is essentially an island...best of both worlds may be somewhere like Corte Madera or San Anselmo; near the city but far enough away for better weather and little crime. (my apologies to people who live there trying to keep a low profile) As far as night life probably not so great in marin but then again I never thought SF was all that great either.