Unbiased Review
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3/8/2015
Take some of these comments with a grain of salt. I've lived in Southern California for most of my life and have lived in San Diego for 15 years. To start, San Diego is ComicCon! it's Military! It's Sunshine! and It's Fun!. It's important to realize that San Diego is very large and very diverse. There is San Diego proper and then there's the County of SD. The city of San Diego is very different from its surrounding cities in the county. San Diego is progressive and diverse whereas San Diego county is mostly ultra conservative, monologic, and older. The city of San Diego is really a big town with a small town feel. We have a thriving arts scene (La Jolla playhouse, Shakespeare's theatre,San Diego Opera/Ballet, Countless Farmers Markets, Diversionary Theatre,etc etc) , a large craft beer community, the second largest LGBT pride event in the country, a progressive attitude, and a laid back feel. Anything East or North of San Diego proper, however, is another world entirely. Now, on to living here. San Diego proper is very expensive; everything from housing to transportation to recreation will cost you. San Diego is not cheap. San Diego also has the most beautiful beaches in the world; seriously, they are absolutely breathtaking (and you can camp overnight at some of them). San Diego is also very hot if you live anywhere further than half a mile from the beach. If you're not on the coast, it will feel like Palm Springs. The further east you get the hotter it gets (dry, smoggy, and hot every single day of your life). If you have the opportunity to live on or a block or so away from the water, do it. If you're a millionaire and love the beach, buy a house on the water and you'll be the happiest person in the world. Our beach towns have Great people. Great sand. Great surf and Great food. San Diego is possibly the most awesome location in the world. It's 15 minutes from Tijuana, an hour from Disneyland, 45 minutes from snow and skiing, 2 hours from Palm Springs, an hour and a half from LA, and 4 hours from Vegas. You could literally go surfing in the morning, skiing in the afternoon, then go live in up in LA for the night. San Diego also has some of the best educational opportunities anywhere. It is home to UCSD ( with its Scripps institute, UCSD Medical, state of the art stem cell research, and cutting edge biology research), SDSU (Go Aztecs), USD, and Point Loma Nazarene. The city is culturally diverse with some of the best authentic Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Mexican food, in the country. It is home to the second largest expatriate Iraqi community and the largest expatriate Somalian community. Vegan/Vegitarian food is everywhere, and North Park and Hillcrest have very large hipster communities. The city is home to the world famous San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, and Sea World. Qualcomm calls SD home as does most of the solar power and biotech industry. All that said, San Diego has some very impoverished neighborhoods. It has a relatively high unemployment rate. It has some pretty awful traffic, and the streets are probably the worst kept streets of any city of its size in the country. I hope this review is helpful! if your'e still curious, go ahead and google some cities in SD and see what they look like (Hillcrest, La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Point Loma, Downtown, South Park, Balboa Park, etc).
dana | San Diego, CA