The best city in California

[pacific2]

San Diego, but make sure to visit Laguna Beach in Orange County:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4quHcjgECk

[LoriBee62]

Originally Posted by tstieber

I agree there are a lot more nice beaches in Southern California then in the Bay Area, where options are limited, but I always find it perplexing but that people from the Bay Area get excited about the palm trees in Southern California, since there are so many palm trees in the Bay Area anyway. You can see them right in your own backyard, so they're not that novel to visit. and the Bay Area is statistically almost as sunny as Southern California, and certainly more sunny then most of the country, so that's not super exciting to go out of town for either. I'll give you one out of three! :-)

It's just the vibe. Rodeo Drive, Santa Monica Blvd, Hollywood, Venice Beach. It's a thing you feel that you won't glean from looking at weather and flora statistics. Sure, we've got palm trees lining the Embarcadero, but when they're in a perpetual fog bank, it's just not the same.

Don't be mistaken though. We don't visit LA to go see palm trees. Don't know many up here who do. We go to visit family or Disneyland. They are just part of what makes up the So Cal atmosphere that I especially appreciate when I happen to be down there.

[Blue Skies]

The most beautiful, livable city in California is Santa Barbara.

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by Blue Skies

The most beautiful, livable city in California is Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara is definitely a beautiful place and it would be one of my top choices to live in CA if money weren't an issue. I'd disagree that it's most livable though. It's too expensive and has a weak job market.

[lucas.aquino]

Nice but Santa Barbara is a small city, isn't? By the the things that were said, I'm preferring LA. Probably it´s the better combination between nice vibe, parties, beaches and weather, although I don´t like so much this Hollywood thing.

[chuckmann]

As a 20 year old, you might want to look into San Louis Obispo, on the central California coast. College town, so lots of young people. Liberal town, so there is that kind of cosmopolitan feel. Probably has a decent night scene.

[ltrrtl218]

SD or LA if you're looking for the quintessential California experience. SF if you want the NYC feel but keep in mind SF is far from what foreigners think when they think of California. I would personally say live in LA or SD and go visit SF for a week or so. Also LA can be really hit and miss depending on the area decide to live in. It's not all hot girls and palm trees so make sure if you move there you are moving to the right area.

I've spent half my life in San Diego and the other half in Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara is a great place if you are in college or if you are retired. It's the most gorgeous city/town out there but after college you'll run out of people who live there that are in their mid to late 20's. A vast majority of the ones that are in mid/late 20's either aren't ambitious and are going no where or grew up there and refuse to leave.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by LoriBee62

It's just the vibe. Rodeo Drive, Santa Monica Blvd, Hollywood, Venice Beach. It's a thing you feel that you won't glean from looking at weather and flora statistics. Sure, we've got palm trees lining the Embarcadero, but when they're in a perpetual fog bank, it's just not the same.

Don't be mistaken though. We don't visit LA to go see palm trees. Don't know many up here who do. We go to visit family or Disneyland. They are just part of what makes up the So Cal atmosphere that I especially appreciate when I happen to be down there.

That's definitely true. There's that extra energy and glitz that you get in LA. Not sure if you spend much time in SD, but that part of SoCal is very different and has a much more laid back, Santa Cruz sort of vibe that's familiar to us NorCal'ers. LA is its own beast: very urban, very flashy, very exciting, and really quintessentially "Southern Californian." San Diego, by comparison, really feels more like a hybrid of SoCal and the Bay Area in a lot of ways (more down to Earth, very East Bay/Oakland/Berkeley style urban neighborhoods, a bay, cooler and foggier compared to LA, wonderful nearby mountain excursions, more scenic coastline in spots (Sunset Cliffs, La Jolla tidepools and cliffs, Blacks Beach, etc). So for me, SD is the best of all worlds, plus access to LA for daytrips. All of CA wrapped into one place, without LA attitude or weirdness. :-)

[sfosyd]

Your synopsis of SD is perfect. The only issue is that the job market is really weak for professional level jobs. I think the salaries are higher in Omaha than SD and I'm not joking.