my choice

[maewest]

school A: funded minimally (SMALL stipend with LOTS of TAing), students take a long time to finish, higher ranked, significantly closer to friends/relationship, ok weather, not the best fit in terms of program requirements/coursework, didn't really click with other grad students I've met

school B: funded well (decent stipend with few TA duties), students tend to finish faster, lower ranking, far from all my friends, horrible weather, excellent program fit, haven't met the other grad students yet

Both schools are in cities I love and both of my PAs seem great.

[fuzzylogician]

Sounds like school B is the hands down winner. I understand the apprehension of leaving everyone you know behind, but trust me, you make new friends and it's not like the old ones disappear. You should visit the department to make sure that you click with the people, but better funding+shorter time to graduate+better fit are hard to beat.