German cities themselves are definitely much nicer than American cities. In fact, "much nicer" is an understatement, American cities usually feel like they were designed by people who hate cities and want everyone in them to suffer.

That said, US lifestyle/culture has its own set of advantages compared to Germany. German culture is surprisingly backwards for consumer software/internet stuff, for example.

You don't need to live in the valley. I make twice that much in Chicago which is very comparable to Berlin price wise.

And how does salaries (and work environment) in Chicago compare to SF/Berlin?

(Weather is probably comparable to Berlin though)