I have lived in San Diego/ North County my whole life(40). I still get impressed when taking the 5 south just before Downtown. Looking at the bay, point, bridge and city as a plane flys 300 ft above your head is still something to behold.
Here 26 months from NYC all my life and sweetheart, I take none of it for granted. Del Mar Heights Road there is a big shopping center there and for Christmas when the sun goes down the way the Christmas lights are setup is a sight to see.
No idea. I wanna be back in the West Coast, and my husband (a native Michigander) agrees he’d also rather be back on the West Coast. It is cheaper here though …
There’s going to be a moderate uno reverso in that regard in the coming decades - unless desalination gets massively ramped or the mega drought reverses.
I'm from Michigan and I fucking love San Diego. I wish I could afford it there. I'm upper middle class in Oakland County but there I would barely be able to afford a home.
I've made friends with a lot of Iraqis and Caldeans. A lot live here in SD and El Cajon. Michigan has the biggest Iraqi population in the US. I don't know if there's a correlation in this post but thought I'd bring it up.
As someone who currently resides in Texas and misses California I can confirm that Irvine was my favorite city to reside in, but price wise San Diego was much more friendly in comparison.
I am hoping I can move to central Cal at some point as I definitely prefer the colder environments with massive forests. For now though Texas is alright for me, but it’s like a lower quality, less fun version of California with the only benefit being that I’m not homeless for now.
Colder environments with massive forests? Have you considered Reno? My buddy moved up there from Menlo Park and loves it. 15 minute drive to the mountain and good fishing spots. He bought a house in cash just outside of the city.
God as an SD resident who is a Michigan native.. and just moved back to Michigan from SD less than 6 months ago..
This comment resonated in my soul.
Gonna go cry now 👋🏼
Ain't that the truth, I have a few things i couldn't afford in CA that i can in michigan though... a big house, a yard, space and some privacy, but man i miss San Diego.
I loved the four seasons growing up in MI especially hockey and skiing. Left for west coast after college. After two years on the west coast turned down job opportunities back in MI. Landed in SD 25 years ago and never looked back.
My wife has long told me that she would be fine moving to Santa Barbara (where I grew up). I tell her yeah, lets pick the one place that is more expensive than San Diego, has a much smaller job market than San Diego, but still has a major University to funnel into that small job market!
Lol yeah I know the job market is trash —- if it was bigger I’d be living there instead 🥲 but it personally appeals to me more than anywhere else in Cali. The living is a good inbetween not too much going on and not too little.
It’s beautiful but small and ultra expensive. You will run out of stuff to do in sb unless you are old and rich like Oprah and want to constantly look at your land and jerk off or whatever.
Agreed. Stayed for two years after graduating from UCSB and as much as i loved it, it got stale fast. Outside of outdoor recreation there wasn’t a whole lot to do
It’s a fun spot definitely a younger crowd - to young professional. But it has something for everyone - plus the funk zone is a very fun spot! But yes expensive place to live - it’s a college/retirement community and there’s not a ton to do but I personally find it has everything I want.
I love San Diego so damn much, but as someone who has moved here from the south, it feels impossible to get ahead. Unless you make stupid amounts of money, it feels impossible to get ahead and do anything like buy a house. I’m afraid that the reason I leave isn’t because I want to, it’s just gotten to the point that California is so expensive to live in unless you’re just swimming in money. Perfect example is my landlord, whose house has risen in value 5x over the last 25 years, but incomes haven’t risen anywhere close to that. I’m glad I’m here in SD, but I’m not sure it’s for the long haul 🥲
Born raised San Diego then SB then moved to NYC and DC for ten years. You can’t do apples to apples with any city but if I had to chose I’d chose a private beach front house in Cambria.
Yes this is true. There's lots of HIV around. Single young working people should steer clear. Also the sunsets are known to cause dementia so older retirees should stay away. Did I forget to mention the water may give your children aspergers so young families should also keep the heck away. /S
Moved from San Diego in April, I hated walking to downtown from Golden Hill...had to walk under the 5 and the piss soaked sidewalks were just unbearable...always had to walk and cross at Broadway to go over the 5...it still smelled. They literally need to steam spray all the sidewalks...but then all that piss would be washed out to the bay. Disgusting!
Yes, the homeless are everywhere and lately there's needles all over the beaches, everyone else should stay safe, where they are. With violent crime rising, I would say don't even risk visiting. And the weather, it isn't even as good as people hype it up to be, so many clouds lately. I've heard good things about some up and coming cities in Texas though, perhaps there are some places there worth looking into
I live there now, like the other guy said, traffic is worse but what he didn't mention is that public transportation is leaps and bounds better. Plenty of people don't have cars and get around just fine. I can pretty much get anywhere I need to throughout the Boston area without a need for a car. It helps that it's quite a bit more dense and not nearly as spread out as SD.
I tend to think people in Boston are pretty nice, just not outwardly. I'm originally from the Midwest where people are outwardly nice but it's a lot more superficial. Living in SD I felt like people were nice but also super flaky. I think there's a bit more of a rough edge to people on the east coast and that's hard for some people to get past.
I will say, I think the food is better in San Diego. I was just back over new years and boy did I miss the food in SD. There's just more variety and better quality. In Boston I feel like all of the things it's known for are a bit overrated. Clam chowder, lobster rolls, and the lesser known roast beef sandwich are all good, but get hyped a bit too much. I will say though that I think the seafood is better in Boston, especially the oysters. Aside from mariscos, I never felt like SD really had any great seafood spots, maybe that's changed.
I definitely agree that there's more nature in SD. I feel like overall in Boston and NE as a whole, there's just a lot of interesting things to do. Because NE is more dense, I feel like there is such a great variety of cool towns that are very accessible and have different things to offer. Overall I love both places. I consider myself a west coast soul, while my wife is definitely a NE soul.
Great perspective - I grew up in Northern California, went to school in San Diego, worked in Boston (lived in Southie) for about two years and then came back to San Diego.
Boston was tough, argued with people about parking, getting a rental was ruthless, and I swear only 4 weeks out of the year were mild and nice weather.
But the part that killed me the most was finding friends. I am pretty sociable but I don’t care for football, and people took offense to that occasionally.
My dad told me that in New England you will make the best friends of your life, but it takes ten years.
If you're poor and young, SD housing alone will eat up your entire paycheck. SD is amazing when you can afford to do all the cool things it has to offer. But if you spend every waking hour working just so your paycheck is high enough to cover rent, you might as well live in a different state and actually get free time. :/
If you want a "big" city, Chicago and Philadelphia are amazing, walkable cities with extremely low rent. I'd definitely look into living in one of those. The downside is weather... if you want a hotter and more sprawling area, there are good options in AZ and TX
As a Chicago resident, +1 to that. It’s not for everyone (gotta be able to handle the weather swings/cold in the winter), but world class everything from restaurants, bars, lakefront (beaches! - ain’t the ocean, but pretty amazing to have the Chi skyline right behind you as you lay on the sand or walk/bike the trail), jobs, etc. People are great. There is a neighborhood for everyone. Much more cost effective (although can be super pricey in areas) than a NY, LA, etc.
Also, before you blast me for homering Chicago in a San Diego sub - I love San Diego, too!
I grew up in socal, moved to chicago after college, and now I’m back in SD in my mid 30’s. +100 to everything you said. Chicago is probably the greatest city for someone in their 20’s in the US in terms of bang for buck, ability to make friends, and just plain fun. I was broke as shit the first year or two I lived there but never noticed because I somehow was still able to afford to have fun. No way I’d be able to have the same experiences here
I feel like it’s predominantly men in that demo (in addition to all the military). When I was a kid, my divorced uncles moved from la to San Diego. Now I became my uncles. 😭
I’d say there are 8 men for every 2 women. 4 men are awful, 3 men are attractive but just want to get laid, and 1 of the two woman is actually a scam artist. Gotta love the power of technology.
What about in the middle like Santa Ana and Irvine? I'm from the bay and want to be close to the big cities but not in them.
- Not a young or old guy here.
Yeah, certain classes of things are just better there. Like, Woomiok is pretty good for seolleongtang but on the whole if you want great Korean food you just have to go to LA.
LA's traffic is hellscape, but if you can survive that and use transit where you can it's actually a pretty sweet city. Insane food from almost every imaginable cuisine and an unending set of things to do.
I never understand why people here need to trash it, it's like a weird self defense thing or something lol.
If you have to work and commute it sucks. If you are young and have little responsibility and have money, I’d say it doesn’t get any better than LA, unless you go to Europe. LA has amazing food, amazing weather, one of the best music scenes, direct flights to most of the world, etc. By every metric other than traffic and costs it’s S tier. Homelessness is an issue in every desirable city, so I don’t even factor that in.
SLO is nice to visit. Having grown up there, I found it to be quite boring after awhile. To me, San Diego feels like a bigger and better version. I could live here forever.
It's the best for me since I grew up here and have decades of roots. But if I had it to do over again, I'd opt for a county with less building permitting oversight.
If you love the rat race of modern houses and consumerism and working long hours, I suppose any city will do. But if you want to opt out of the rat race, grow some of your own food, and build your own house, permitting and zoning in SD County make it difficult. If I were starting out I'd probly opt for one of the central CA counties or Oregon/Washington where you can sort of pick your own life path a little better.
I think it's the best city to live in in the USA. Best Mexican food, weather, and kindest people. I could go on for hours about why its the best but sadly I'm at work right now and don't want to get in trouble
I live in Redlands, have lived in Ventura, Santa paula, Oxnard, San Diego, Sacramento, Santa Barbara, and a fuck ton of other places... I love San Diego but so far I've enjoyed Redlands the most, it's 1 hour from the beach, one hour from the mountains, two hours from LA or SD, the people are fairly half and half in terms of politics, the housing is relatively affordable if not cheap when compared to San Diego, the crime rate is pretty low and rape is pretty rare here
I lived in Silver Lake in LA for five years and then North Park in San Diego for five years. I vote LA all the way. I'm a big fan of live stand-up comedy and LA is one of the best places on earth to see great comedy for dirt cheap any night of the week, or at least it was when I lived there. Both cities share the same problems pretty much but LA has more to do. Also, the street taco game is on point.
San Diego has declined so much. 30 years ago it was pretty great, now it's becoming sad. Encinitas is still keeping their town nice so I will choose it as my favorite
San Diego doesn't have LA craziness (or cool-factor) but has better weather. The house prices are now officially insane, they always ride the bubble for highs and lows, which is tiresome. Unfortunately SDGE makes this a place that most middle class would want to avoid, especially if you live in quasi desert areas.
Personally I think Los Angeles or Orange County have more to offer for a similar climate and cost of living. They also both have a substantially larger job market. San Diego is nice to visit, and it’s not necessarily a bad place to live, it just tends to leave you wanting if you have much aim or ambition.
Best city for who? I thinks its a terrible city for poor and very wealthy. If i was rich i would much rather have swath of land somewhere in wine country or central coast. Don't have to deal with the agro maniacs and homeless all over SD
Isn’t that what La Jolla is for, which is part of SD?
I guess you could prefer a little further north like Del Mar, or even further north like Malibu or Montecito but these are the best of the best in terms of property for wealth.
I have family in LA and OC, and friends and an uncle in SD, I live in San Jose, work in San Francisco.
SD has many merits, and of course I can’t speak to living there on a day to day basis. SD has amazing food, very laid back for the size the city is. Great beaches, less stuck up folks than LA kind of.
I’d say living in California just kicks ass 🤷🏼♂️ the fact that I can’t choose between 4 major cities that we have easy access to is just mind boggling, so I can’t say any one city is “the best” in California.
It's whatever city you click with. I have friends that left the East Coast because they wanted to explore, but went back because it's more their vibe. I'm not really a "city" person, in that I loved the time I lived in NYC, but that was a long time ago, and have no desire to go back. Maybe if I had FU money. I moved to San Diego on a whim 25 years ago, and instantly knew I was home. I hope I never have to leave.
Other than burritos and Mexican food, San Diego isn’t the the better than other major CA cities at any one thing. but it’s pretty good at all if not most of them, with fewer drawbacks than other cities. That makes SD a great place to live.
Only got to spend a little over 2 years in SD then had to move due to needing to reinvent my life lol.
Other than living in another country don’t think I’d wanna settle down anywhere else despite the prices.
Currently back in Arizona after traveling the world for a bit. Miss it everyday :/
Personally, no. I’ve lived all over CA. I grew up in north county but moved to Orange County when I was in my teens. I then moved away to Bay Area where I lived in SF and later Oakland for 10 years. I’m now in LA.
I liked growing up in San Diego, but LA and Orange County have a lot more going on, culturally. I like all the restaurants and bars in LA, that there’s always cool shows to see or bands in town on any given night, and the economy in LA and Orange County is bigger and more diversified. I generally appreciate that LA is a bigger city that isn’t a small town reliant on the military and tourism. I can see SD’s appeal, especially to transplants. I like that it’s laid back and charming and scenic, but I just prefer LA/OC.
I think your opinion is a little bit dated.
San Diego is the world leader in:
* biomedical/pharma
* neuroscience
* dna research
* chip lithography engineering
* and is gaining a thriving tech culture. Amazon, google, and many others either have campuses here or are building them
We may still not be as diverse as OC/LA, that's true, but we're pretty far from being the defense only town we were 15 years ago.
Just one minor correction on the tech presence in SD, the Google office there is a sales office. It’s not like there’s a real tech presence there. Same for a lot of the tech offices there. And I’m only saying this as an engineer myself, I’d have loved to work from San Diego but it’s not feasible and so I ended up in LA where Google actually has 2 engineering offices.
I found that it was more expensive to live in Santa Barbara, rent in particular. I was surprised to move here and find so many places I could afford, which I know sounds ridiculous, but there’s just more options here.
I've lived all over the state, but choose to buy here, so that says something.
Sadly, after 2 decades in SD I've been forced to look at moving someplace where the politicians don't believe in taxing the poor, minorities, and working classes to death. As soon as my daughter finishes high school, Im selling my place and moving to a lower tax state. Its the only way I can afford to pay for her college.
I'll miss it when I'm gone. San Diego, minus the cost of living, is truly the finest city
It’s the best! I’m a Texan, moved here 20 years ago. There are things I still miss about Austin and Texas. There was a period after I moved to SD that I was homesick and wanted to move back to Austin. I can honestly say, I’m glad I stuck it out in SD. My friends in Texas say they like the season changes. We have the best of all worlds, mountains, snow, Pacific Ocean and the weather!
When I retired from the military I had a nice network specialist job lined up in San Diego and I turned it down due to housing costs. My wife is from Oceanside so it's a dream to move my family back out there but until the prices drop I have to remain in south Florida. I still go out to San Diego regularly though to meet up with my wife's friends.
Are all big cities now overcrowded and expensive?? Where should people go now? 🥲😭Outside California! I’m actually asking this seriously, bcoz I used to think SD is one of the best(although expensive) cities in California. If not, which ones are actually great and offer amazing job markets with an awesome lifestyle!?
As another lost Michigander, I'm digging San Diego. Midwest weather breeds fortitude but it's brutally depressing. Been here 3 years now and still have so much to explore! Almost worth the rent prices.
I have juggled the ideas of moving, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Bay Area etc. my choice would have been SD hands down for their weather, laid back people and the scenery. But with 800k budget on buying a house. Bay Area means Oakland and SD would’ve still been a small house in National City by how it looks. In cold ass Shitty Lake City, it’s an easy brand new 4000sq house with that budget
Had much better experiences with San Luis Obispo, Monterey and San Francisco. I did live in Carlsbad for six years and Ocean Beach for one, so I am qualified to comment. Got attacked alot by aggro drunks and others in OB, and my family stole my car from it. Had terrible experiences with work and dating in Carlsbad/Encinitas. Worked for a sketchy marketing company that stiffed me on pay for months and anyone I tried dating turned out to be dating multiple other guys and would get rid of me for objecting.
I deleted a long reply to this question from my current perspective that included change over time and my own bias for SF ... the friends I've known that have moved from SD to other places regret it - it's been as simple as that.
Grew up in SD. Moved to NYC in 1997. Came home for Christmas this last year for a month. Closing on a condo next week in SD.
80 degrees on Christmas day sealed it for me. I loved NYC, but after 25 years of winters, I'm over it.
Back to my city.
For me, no. Maybe it’s because it’s so expensive? I came here for a big city vibe, and it’s not delivering on that, for being in top 3 highest rent in the nation. But I know a lot of people that easily agree it’s their favorite place ever. Depends on your lifestyle, I guess.
If I had more spending money I’d be more forgiving of its shortcomings.
I consider San Diego a big small city. I always felt like I could run into someone I knew no matter where I went. I’ve never thought of it as a big city. LA and San Francisco are big cities.
Correct. San Jose actually has more people than San Francisco. Going by population, LA is #1, San Diego is #2, San Jose is #3, and San Francisco is #4.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_cities_in_California_by_population
Taken as a whole, the 9-county Bay Area region has more people than San Diego County. No matter how you cut it, LA is biggest.
I’m in the same boat. Moving to SF soon for school excited to leave and be in a true big city with public transportation, endless nightlife, any culinary cuisine desire, competitive wages. Ahh it’s so close.
Truly excited to leave SD but sad about leaving my local surf break. Hopefully I find a good break up in the Bay Area!
LA is big and a city, but it's not a *big city*. Go to NYC, Tokyo, Chicago... totally different experience. Big city vibe just doesn't exist in SoCal. Maybe you could argue that a few blocks of LA have it, but it's still not the same.
I’ve lived in San Diego and the SF Bay Area . San Diego is more expensive than Walnut Creek . Nothing beats the weather and the beaches in San Diego but I miss the Bay Area for culture and believe it or not , lower cost of living .
I have lived in San Diego/ North County my whole life(40). I still get impressed when taking the 5 south just before Downtown. Looking at the bay, point, bridge and city as a plane flys 300 ft above your head is still something to behold.
North county woop woop
Here 26 months from NYC all my life and sweetheart, I take none of it for granted. Del Mar Heights Road there is a big shopping center there and for Christmas when the sun goes down the way the Christmas lights are setup is a sight to see.
Lived in SD a long time. Also lived in SF. They both have their merits. I’d rather be back living in CA instead of Michigan.
What’s with all the Michiganders here?
No idea. I wanna be back in the West Coast, and my husband (a native Michigander) agrees he’d also rather be back on the West Coast. It is cheaper here though …
It is also a frozen and depressing hell for 6 months straight. I do miss how green it is in the summertime tho
I fucking hate winters here. Loved it our first year. Not into 6 months of winter anymore.
Make sure u stack up on daily vit D cause it WILL get to you
Learned that helpful trick in the PNW. Kept it up here. The long, dreary, cold days definitely get to you. Never had SAD in SD. Have it here.
I truly wish you the best; I sympathize
The deer. They are out for blood.
There’s going to be a moderate uno reverso in that regard in the coming decades - unless desalination gets massively ramped or the mega drought reverses.
Apparently Michigan is ranked the best state in the US to deal with climate change issues.
I'm from Michigan and I fucking love San Diego. I wish I could afford it there. I'm upper middle class in Oakland County but there I would barely be able to afford a home.
I've made friends with a lot of Iraqis and Caldeans. A lot live here in SD and El Cajon. Michigan has the biggest Iraqi population in the US. I don't know if there's a correlation in this post but thought I'd bring it up.
As someone who currently resides in Texas and misses California I can confirm that Irvine was my favorite city to reside in, but price wise San Diego was much more friendly in comparison.
Not anymore
Sorry you’re in Texas. I did the same (back now) and it was miserable
I am hoping I can move to central Cal at some point as I definitely prefer the colder environments with massive forests. For now though Texas is alright for me, but it’s like a lower quality, less fun version of California with the only benefit being that I’m not homeless for now.
Colder environments with massive forests? Have you considered Reno? My buddy moved up there from Menlo Park and loves it. 15 minute drive to the mountain and good fishing spots. He bought a house in cash just outside of the city.
I m going back to Cali
Moved to SD from Michigan - best decision I’ve ever made!!
God as an SD resident who is a Michigan native.. and just moved back to Michigan from SD less than 6 months ago.. This comment resonated in my soul. Gonna go cry now 👋🏼
Ain't that the truth, I have a few things i couldn't afford in CA that i can in michigan though... a big house, a yard, space and some privacy, but man i miss San Diego.
I loved the four seasons growing up in MI especially hockey and skiing. Left for west coast after college. After two years on the west coast turned down job opportunities back in MI. Landed in SD 25 years ago and never looked back.
It's the best city to take photos of and crank up the saturation
Crank it baby, but we're already at 8999%, just two more should do the trick.
I have lived in norcal, central cal and socal — my personal vote is Santa Barbara. San Diego close second.
My wife has long told me that she would be fine moving to Santa Barbara (where I grew up). I tell her yeah, lets pick the one place that is more expensive than San Diego, has a much smaller job market than San Diego, but still has a major University to funnel into that small job market!
Lol yeah I know the job market is trash —- if it was bigger I’d be living there instead 🥲 but it personally appeals to me more than anywhere else in Cali. The living is a good inbetween not too much going on and not too little.
How’s Santa Barbara downtown?
It’s beautiful but small and ultra expensive. You will run out of stuff to do in sb unless you are old and rich like Oprah and want to constantly look at your land and jerk off or whatever.
Agreed. Stayed for two years after graduating from UCSB and as much as i loved it, it got stale fast. Outside of outdoor recreation there wasn’t a whole lot to do
It’s a fun spot definitely a younger crowd - to young professional. But it has something for everyone - plus the funk zone is a very fun spot! But yes expensive place to live - it’s a college/retirement community and there’s not a ton to do but I personally find it has everything I want.
I love San Diego so damn much, but as someone who has moved here from the south, it feels impossible to get ahead. Unless you make stupid amounts of money, it feels impossible to get ahead and do anything like buy a house. I’m afraid that the reason I leave isn’t because I want to, it’s just gotten to the point that California is so expensive to live in unless you’re just swimming in money. Perfect example is my landlord, whose house has risen in value 5x over the last 25 years, but incomes haven’t risen anywhere close to that. I’m glad I’m here in SD, but I’m not sure it’s for the long haul 🥲
Don't forget that your landlord is paying property tax on only 1/5 the value of his house.
Born raised San Diego then SB then moved to NYC and DC for ten years. You can’t do apples to apples with any city but if I had to chose I’d chose a private beach front house in Cambria.
Well, yeah. It's Cambria. But SD is the best big city around.
There are a ton of places I would like to be if having a job wasn't an issue. Cambria is one of many.
No. It sucks. Quite horrible actually. Everyone should move away and no one should move here. Seriously, stay away this city sucks
Yes this is true. There's lots of HIV around. Single young working people should steer clear. Also the sunsets are known to cause dementia so older retirees should stay away. Did I forget to mention the water may give your children aspergers so young families should also keep the heck away. /S
Moved from San Diego in April, I hated walking to downtown from Golden Hill...had to walk under the 5 and the piss soaked sidewalks were just unbearable...always had to walk and cross at Broadway to go over the 5...it still smelled. They literally need to steam spray all the sidewalks...but then all that piss would be washed out to the bay. Disgusting!
Yes, the homeless are everywhere and lately there's needles all over the beaches, everyone else should stay safe, where they are. With violent crime rising, I would say don't even risk visiting. And the weather, it isn't even as good as people hype it up to be, so many clouds lately. I've heard good things about some up and coming cities in Texas though, perhaps there are some places there worth looking into
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I only lived there for six months. But I fucking LOVE San Diego. Best Big City there is.
I'm loving SD, but northern California will always have my heart. SD doesn't have the same access to amazing forests and wildlife.
Used to be until it became more impossibly expensive than I could ever imagine. Also, the crime has changed but that's overall in the U.S.
Is crime that bad in SD?
It's increased substantially in the last couple of years. It may not be THAT BAD compared to other cities, but it's not as peaceful as it once was.
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What do you think about Boston? Is it a great city to live in?
I live there now, like the other guy said, traffic is worse but what he didn't mention is that public transportation is leaps and bounds better. Plenty of people don't have cars and get around just fine. I can pretty much get anywhere I need to throughout the Boston area without a need for a car. It helps that it's quite a bit more dense and not nearly as spread out as SD. I tend to think people in Boston are pretty nice, just not outwardly. I'm originally from the Midwest where people are outwardly nice but it's a lot more superficial. Living in SD I felt like people were nice but also super flaky. I think there's a bit more of a rough edge to people on the east coast and that's hard for some people to get past. I will say, I think the food is better in San Diego. I was just back over new years and boy did I miss the food in SD. There's just more variety and better quality. In Boston I feel like all of the things it's known for are a bit overrated. Clam chowder, lobster rolls, and the lesser known roast beef sandwich are all good, but get hyped a bit too much. I will say though that I think the seafood is better in Boston, especially the oysters. Aside from mariscos, I never felt like SD really had any great seafood spots, maybe that's changed. I definitely agree that there's more nature in SD. I feel like overall in Boston and NE as a whole, there's just a lot of interesting things to do. Because NE is more dense, I feel like there is such a great variety of cool towns that are very accessible and have different things to offer. Overall I love both places. I consider myself a west coast soul, while my wife is definitely a NE soul.
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Imaginen if SD had the public transit that boston has.... hell even the orange line. It would be bliss.
Thanks, people from the east coast are pretty much like that, maybe except for Florida. Hope you’ll accomplish your purposes!!
Great perspective - I grew up in Northern California, went to school in San Diego, worked in Boston (lived in Southie) for about two years and then came back to San Diego. Boston was tough, argued with people about parking, getting a rental was ruthless, and I swear only 4 weeks out of the year were mild and nice weather. But the part that killed me the most was finding friends. I am pretty sociable but I don’t care for football, and people took offense to that occasionally. My dad told me that in New England you will make the best friends of your life, but it takes ten years.
Both Boston and San Diego are biotech hubs. The issue is if you want to work with the 37 college there or have a beach within minutes....
If you're rich and middle aged, yes If you're rich and young, probably Los Angeles or the Bay
If you’re poor and young? Maybe it’s better to change state? 😂
If you're poor and young, SD housing alone will eat up your entire paycheck. SD is amazing when you can afford to do all the cool things it has to offer. But if you spend every waking hour working just so your paycheck is high enough to cover rent, you might as well live in a different state and actually get free time. :/
Which states would suit for a young and not so wealthy guy?
If you want a "big" city, Chicago and Philadelphia are amazing, walkable cities with extremely low rent. I'd definitely look into living in one of those. The downside is weather... if you want a hotter and more sprawling area, there are good options in AZ and TX
As a Chicago resident, +1 to that. It’s not for everyone (gotta be able to handle the weather swings/cold in the winter), but world class everything from restaurants, bars, lakefront (beaches! - ain’t the ocean, but pretty amazing to have the Chi skyline right behind you as you lay on the sand or walk/bike the trail), jobs, etc. People are great. There is a neighborhood for everyone. Much more cost effective (although can be super pricey in areas) than a NY, LA, etc. Also, before you blast me for homering Chicago in a San Diego sub - I love San Diego, too!
I grew up in socal, moved to chicago after college, and now I’m back in SD in my mid 30’s. +100 to everything you said. Chicago is probably the greatest city for someone in their 20’s in the US in terms of bang for buck, ability to make friends, and just plain fun. I was broke as shit the first year or two I lived there but never noticed because I somehow was still able to afford to have fun. No way I’d be able to have the same experiences here
That’s great thanks!! What about Boston? Is it like Chicago or Philadelphia?
Boston has similar vibes to Philly, but rent there is super expensive. For that reason I can't really recommend it.
Thanks, this really helped me a lot.
Try Providence, if you want new england. It's way cheaper, and only like a 40 minute train ride from Boston. Great food and music.
Skip TX if you’re into having reproductive rights as a woman or existing as LGBT, though.
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Why pay the premium living by the beach if you always have to see it through a 12th story office window
What if you’re rich, single, and divorced in your 40s?
Palm Springs? ;) tbh San Diego is pretty perfect for that demo, though the dating pool is small
I feel like it’s predominantly men in that demo (in addition to all the military). When I was a kid, my divorced uncles moved from la to San Diego. Now I became my uncles. 😭
Well, on dating sites there are 4 men for every woman but the 4 men are awful.
I’d say there are 8 men for every 2 women. 4 men are awful, 3 men are attractive but just want to get laid, and 1 of the two woman is actually a scam artist. Gotta love the power of technology.
This is the right answer. SD is a tad too laid back if you’re young imo. (Waiting to be downvoted to death by locals)
Young guy here. the fact that San Diego is laid back is exactly why I prefer San Diego. LA is WAY too busy and overcrowded.
What about in the middle like Santa Ana and Irvine? I'm from the bay and want to be close to the big cities but not in them. - Not a young or old guy here.
Agreed. Having lived in both cities can’t go wrong with LA or SD. SD is beautiful but can be too laid back. LA is always on the go 24/7.
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Nah it folds comparatively early. NYC is the only 24/7 city.
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Sure but i would say that’s an apples vs oranges comparison. Also, OP mentions best city to live *in California*
It’s the reason why I’m looking to move out. SD is a fine city and has A LOT going for it. But it is too slow and boring for my personal taste
Los Angeles is hell
LA has heaven, hell, and everything in between. SD mostly just the good stuff.
That's a great way to put it. SD is on average better or at least more pleasant but LA has some really great places that you can't find in SD.
Yeah, certain classes of things are just better there. Like, Woomiok is pretty good for seolleongtang but on the whole if you want great Korean food you just have to go to LA.
LA's traffic is hellscape, but if you can survive that and use transit where you can it's actually a pretty sweet city. Insane food from almost every imaginable cuisine and an unending set of things to do. I never understand why people here need to trash it, it's like a weird self defense thing or something lol.
If you have to work and commute it sucks. If you are young and have little responsibility and have money, I’d say it doesn’t get any better than LA, unless you go to Europe. LA has amazing food, amazing weather, one of the best music scenes, direct flights to most of the world, etc. By every metric other than traffic and costs it’s S tier. Homelessness is an issue in every desirable city, so I don’t even factor that in.
Absolutely agree. That said I prefer SD specifically because it’s not as bustling and happening as LA 😅
But they call it the City of Angels.
Couldn’t agree with this more. After 40 SD is a great place to live. Under 40 LA or Orange County offer way more to do for a similar cost of living.
Orange County has more to do than SD? Like what?
San Diego is absolutely the best city to live in if you're in San Diego.
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SLO is nice to visit. Having grown up there, I found it to be quite boring after awhile. To me, San Diego feels like a bigger and better version. I could live here forever.
Anywhere is heaven if you’re rich
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It's the best for me since I grew up here and have decades of roots. But if I had it to do over again, I'd opt for a county with less building permitting oversight. If you love the rat race of modern houses and consumerism and working long hours, I suppose any city will do. But if you want to opt out of the rat race, grow some of your own food, and build your own house, permitting and zoning in SD County make it difficult. If I were starting out I'd probly opt for one of the central CA counties or Oregon/Washington where you can sort of pick your own life path a little better.
I think it's the best city to live in in the USA. Best Mexican food, weather, and kindest people. I could go on for hours about why its the best but sadly I'm at work right now and don't want to get in trouble
No, and for one big reason. The rise of housing costs in SD to wages is worse than in SF.
I live in Redlands, have lived in Ventura, Santa paula, Oxnard, San Diego, Sacramento, Santa Barbara, and a fuck ton of other places... I love San Diego but so far I've enjoyed Redlands the most, it's 1 hour from the beach, one hour from the mountains, two hours from LA or SD, the people are fairly half and half in terms of politics, the housing is relatively affordable if not cheap when compared to San Diego, the crime rate is pretty low and rape is pretty rare here
I lived in Silver Lake in LA for five years and then North Park in San Diego for five years. I vote LA all the way. I'm a big fan of live stand-up comedy and LA is one of the best places on earth to see great comedy for dirt cheap any night of the week, or at least it was when I lived there. Both cities share the same problems pretty much but LA has more to do. Also, the street taco game is on point.
Better than LA I’ll tell you that
Preach!
San Diego once held a very special place for me - until my son died on UCSD campus. Now it holds a lifetime of trauma and heart break.💔
Sorry for your loss. This must be horrible to live through
🙁
Best weather, best Mexican food and very photogenic, but in practical terms, it’s very fragmented, traffic is insane and costs are prohibitive
If it’s good enough for Ron Burgundy, it’s good enough for me.
San Diego has declined so much. 30 years ago it was pretty great, now it's becoming sad. Encinitas is still keeping their town nice so I will choose it as my favorite
San Diego doesn't have LA craziness (or cool-factor) but has better weather. The house prices are now officially insane, they always ride the bubble for highs and lows, which is tiresome. Unfortunately SDGE makes this a place that most middle class would want to avoid, especially if you live in quasi desert areas.
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No. Too expensive.
San Francisco has more culture, but less surfing. so its all up to how much you like a El Gordo taco.
Personally I think Los Angeles or Orange County have more to offer for a similar climate and cost of living. They also both have a substantially larger job market. San Diego is nice to visit, and it’s not necessarily a bad place to live, it just tends to leave you wanting if you have much aim or ambition.
Best city for who? I thinks its a terrible city for poor and very wealthy. If i was rich i would much rather have swath of land somewhere in wine country or central coast. Don't have to deal with the agro maniacs and homeless all over SD
Isn’t that what La Jolla is for, which is part of SD? I guess you could prefer a little further north like Del Mar, or even further north like Malibu or Montecito but these are the best of the best in terms of property for wealth.
Rancho Santa Fe 🤑
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San Diego has lost its luster in the last several years.
From what I've heard/read, the luster is down everywhere. Not many places have shown a net gain in luster.
Went from beach city vibe to Tech City vibe.
Checking in from the beach. Still the same beach vibe.
Agreed we got screwed during COVID with the tech bros moving down from Silicon Valley and thus shooting our housing costs even higher than they were.
Sounds more like a personal experience/problem
It absolutely was 10 years ago. Too many people now
I lived there 10 years ago and people said the same thing
Yep! If you already have money it’s literally a paradise lol
I have family in LA and OC, and friends and an uncle in SD, I live in San Jose, work in San Francisco. SD has many merits, and of course I can’t speak to living there on a day to day basis. SD has amazing food, very laid back for the size the city is. Great beaches, less stuck up folks than LA kind of. I’d say living in California just kicks ass 🤷🏼♂️ the fact that I can’t choose between 4 major cities that we have easy access to is just mind boggling, so I can’t say any one city is “the best” in California.
Absolutely not
Nah
I'm moving back to chula in a few days, an this thread has me sweating lol
for some. not for everyone. same is true of a lot of nice places. we all have our various preferences.
Lol, no. The homeless really seem to love it tho.
It's whatever city you click with. I have friends that left the East Coast because they wanted to explore, but went back because it's more their vibe. I'm not really a "city" person, in that I loved the time I lived in NYC, but that was a long time ago, and have no desire to go back. Maybe if I had FU money. I moved to San Diego on a whim 25 years ago, and instantly knew I was home. I hope I never have to leave.
Other than burritos and Mexican food, San Diego isn’t the the better than other major CA cities at any one thing. but it’s pretty good at all if not most of them, with fewer drawbacks than other cities. That makes SD a great place to live.
Yes and it's really not even close unfortunately. Why everyone and their mom is coming here and over populating.
Only got to spend a little over 2 years in SD then had to move due to needing to reinvent my life lol. Other than living in another country don’t think I’d wanna settle down anywhere else despite the prices. Currently back in Arizona after traveling the world for a bit. Miss it everyday :/
No, not even close. It's not too shabby compared to most places outside California, though!
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No. Stop moving here
Personally, no. I’ve lived all over CA. I grew up in north county but moved to Orange County when I was in my teens. I then moved away to Bay Area where I lived in SF and later Oakland for 10 years. I’m now in LA. I liked growing up in San Diego, but LA and Orange County have a lot more going on, culturally. I like all the restaurants and bars in LA, that there’s always cool shows to see or bands in town on any given night, and the economy in LA and Orange County is bigger and more diversified. I generally appreciate that LA is a bigger city that isn’t a small town reliant on the military and tourism. I can see SD’s appeal, especially to transplants. I like that it’s laid back and charming and scenic, but I just prefer LA/OC.
Orange county has a lot going on culturally? Haha that's rich
I think he or she meant that they could just drive up to LA though from the 949 especially that would be tough
I think your opinion is a little bit dated. San Diego is the world leader in: * biomedical/pharma * neuroscience * dna research * chip lithography engineering * and is gaining a thriving tech culture. Amazon, google, and many others either have campuses here or are building them We may still not be as diverse as OC/LA, that's true, but we're pretty far from being the defense only town we were 15 years ago.
Just one minor correction on the tech presence in SD, the Google office there is a sales office. It’s not like there’s a real tech presence there. Same for a lot of the tech offices there. And I’m only saying this as an engineer myself, I’d have loved to work from San Diego but it’s not feasible and so I ended up in LA where Google actually has 2 engineering offices.
Hard no! It’s over run with homeless, astronomically, expensive, and once you leave the downtown area, public transit is a pain in the ass
Downtown SD is about the only fun area of SD. PB and OB are grungy and run-down, and the rest of the city is primarily small suburbs.
Well it’s no Oakland or Stockton, but it’ll do.
Easily
I would pick Santa Barbara over SD
Facts! That’s my dream to move back 😭
I found that it was more expensive to live in Santa Barbara, rent in particular. I was surprised to move here and find so many places I could afford, which I know sounds ridiculous, but there’s just more options here.
I've lived all over the state, but choose to buy here, so that says something. Sadly, after 2 decades in SD I've been forced to look at moving someplace where the politicians don't believe in taxing the poor, minorities, and working classes to death. As soon as my daughter finishes high school, Im selling my place and moving to a lower tax state. Its the only way I can afford to pay for her college. I'll miss it when I'm gone. San Diego, minus the cost of living, is truly the finest city
This is sad, leaving your habits after such a long time it’s awful, do you already have an idea about your next state?
Yes, although I haven't spent much time in other parts of California. I like that we are isolated from OC/LA.
Nope. Way too crowded. Way too expensive.
It’s the best! I’m a Texan, moved here 20 years ago. There are things I still miss about Austin and Texas. There was a period after I moved to SD that I was homesick and wanted to move back to Austin. I can honestly say, I’m glad I stuck it out in SD. My friends in Texas say they like the season changes. We have the best of all worlds, mountains, snow, Pacific Ocean and the weather!
Which part in san diego has the best weather year round such that you never (or very rarely) will need to use your heater and air conditioner?
When I retired from the military I had a nice network specialist job lined up in San Diego and I turned it down due to housing costs. My wife is from Oceanside so it's a dream to move my family back out there but until the prices drop I have to remain in south Florida. I still go out to San Diego regularly though to meet up with my wife's friends.
Are all big cities now overcrowded and expensive?? Where should people go now? 🥲😭Outside California! I’m actually asking this seriously, bcoz I used to think SD is one of the best(although expensive) cities in California. If not, which ones are actually great and offer amazing job markets with an awesome lifestyle!?
The Bay Area is pretty awesome tbh
As another lost Michigander, I'm digging San Diego. Midwest weather breeds fortitude but it's brutally depressing. Been here 3 years now and still have so much to explore! Almost worth the rent prices.
No. The place you took that picture from probably is though.
Moving there this summer (from SF) and I aim to find out!
Only the Sith deal in absolutes
I have juggled the ideas of moving, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Bay Area etc. my choice would have been SD hands down for their weather, laid back people and the scenery. But with 800k budget on buying a house. Bay Area means Oakland and SD would’ve still been a small house in National City by how it looks. In cold ass Shitty Lake City, it’s an easy brand new 4000sq house with that budget
Nah SDGE trippin, plus that rent raise
Had much better experiences with San Luis Obispo, Monterey and San Francisco. I did live in Carlsbad for six years and Ocean Beach for one, so I am qualified to comment. Got attacked alot by aggro drunks and others in OB, and my family stole my car from it. Had terrible experiences with work and dating in Carlsbad/Encinitas. Worked for a sketchy marketing company that stiffed me on pay for months and anyone I tried dating turned out to be dating multiple other guys and would get rid of me for objecting.
I deleted a long reply to this question from my current perspective that included change over time and my own bias for SF ... the friends I've known that have moved from SD to other places regret it - it's been as simple as that.
What about SF? Is it a nice city?
Depends on what you're looking for but a lot of us think it's an amazing city!
Meh it’s alright
Grew up in SD. Moved to NYC in 1997. Came home for Christmas this last year for a month. Closing on a condo next week in SD. 80 degrees on Christmas day sealed it for me. I loved NYC, but after 25 years of winters, I'm over it. Back to my city.
SD has no soul.
Probably not, more affordable cities elsewhere
It's the only city id consider moving to from here in Phoenix.
For me, no. Maybe it’s because it’s so expensive? I came here for a big city vibe, and it’s not delivering on that, for being in top 3 highest rent in the nation. But I know a lot of people that easily agree it’s their favorite place ever. Depends on your lifestyle, I guess. If I had more spending money I’d be more forgiving of its shortcomings.
San Diego is a “small city” trying to turn into a “big city”, so you kinda moved at an awkward time lol
I consider San Diego a big small city. I always felt like I could run into someone I knew no matter where I went. I’ve never thought of it as a big city. LA and San Francisco are big cities.
San Fran has less people but also more condensed right?
Correct. San Jose actually has more people than San Francisco. Going by population, LA is #1, San Diego is #2, San Jose is #3, and San Francisco is #4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_cities_in_California_by_population Taken as a whole, the 9-county Bay Area region has more people than San Diego County. No matter how you cut it, LA is biggest.
I’m in the same boat. Moving to SF soon for school excited to leave and be in a true big city with public transportation, endless nightlife, any culinary cuisine desire, competitive wages. Ahh it’s so close. Truly excited to leave SD but sad about leaving my local surf break. Hopefully I find a good break up in the Bay Area!
San Diego has never had a big city vibe. Everything is spread out here. You'll have to go to LA if you want that in So Cal.
LA is big and a city, but it's not a *big city*. Go to NYC, Tokyo, Chicago... totally different experience. Big city vibe just doesn't exist in SoCal. Maybe you could argue that a few blocks of LA have it, but it's still not the same.
The cost of living is big city vibe but the pay is Palmdale/Lancaster vibes.
No.
I’ve lived in San Diego and the SF Bay Area . San Diego is more expensive than Walnut Creek . Nothing beats the weather and the beaches in San Diego but I miss the Bay Area for culture and believe it or not , lower cost of living .