Well, most of Brooklyn probably wasn&#x27;t all that appealing (for certain values and types of appealing) 15 or 20 years ago either. [1] At any rate, it wasn&#x27;t gentrified. But Manhattan, in spite of doing a fair bit of development in at least sections of the city, was really expensive so young professionals started &quot;settling&quot; on Brooklyn. At the same time, some areas of Manhattan that were previously, shall we say, rather disreputable were also gentrifying.<p>So, yes, you&#x27;d prefer to live in SF than Oakland but 15 years or so ago, you&#x27;d probably have preferred to live in Manhattan than Brooklyn.<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wired.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;09&#x2F;photos-brooklyn-hipsters&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wired.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;09&#x2F;photos-brooklyn-hipsters&#x2F;</a>