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Well as someone who lives in Phoenix, unless I can afford to live very, very close to the ocean I would never consider California in a million years. Phoenix and San Diego are pretty comparable at the end of the day, in terms of culture especially since it was southern Californians who have been invading Arizona for over 40 years continuously now and brought California culture with them.
Phoenix used to be a more comparable city to San Diego than Los Angeles but as Phoenix is entering yet another large and sudden influx of people that we experienced in the 90s it is starting to feel like we are more comparable to LA.
The San Diego "region" is truly much larger than PHX because of Tijuana (2 million) and it's proximity to LA.
San Diego's cultural amenities and quality of life is INFINITELY better than PHX.
(beaches, food, music scene, architecture, urbanity, natural beauty, weather)
San Diego's architecture and urbanity is INFINITELY better than PHX.
There's only one single thing PHX has over SD, a lower cost of living.
Other than that I'd choose SD over PHX everyday of the week and twice on Sundays.
PHX is probably the most miserably weak urban and cultural experience (for it's size) in the entire USA.
People are moving there because it's cheap. Everyone has an opinion, but I'm curious to know why you think Phoenix is more vibrant than SD. I have my reasons to say the opposite.
My response below from my original quote. I'm saying this as someone who grew up in San Diego and has visited the city several times over the past decades btw:
Quote:
Originally Posted by biscuit_head
I think San Diego got too comfortable in its status as the anti-LA alternative to Southern California living. Although it's a cosmopolitan city, a lot of people there can be quite provincial and hostile to anything that would make San Diego more "big-league" and attract more people. The great weather and the chill vibe make the city very complacent, and other cities have surpassed it in terms of growth, economy, and amenities. Someone once told me that living in San Diego was like living a permanent Sunday Afternoon, and that makes perfect sense. When you don't have to worry about weather extremes or becoming a desirable destination because you already are, there tends to be a sameness and a sense of complacency to the place. I grew up there in the 1980s and 1990s, and while there's a LOT that has changed (baseball stadium, development in Downtown, improvements in North Park and Hillcrest, etc.), a lot of people there still like to fantasize that San Diego is still the mid-sized town it was in the 1970s rather than a city of 1.3 Million people and all the good and bad that comes with that.
San Diego and Phoenix were roughly the same size back in 1980, and its quite obvious who "won" the growth war.
To me, San Diego has a much more vibrant downtown than Phoenix (although Phoenix is making strides in that department), and the inner core neighborhoods like Hillcrest/North Park can go toe-to-toe with Roosevelt and the Central Corridor, but overall, Phoenix is a more dynamic city and has evolved a lot more than San Diego due to its growth and people who have moved there for the last 30 years. It's a metro area of 4.5 Million People (and growing), as opposed to SD County's 3 million people (and has been a lot more steady in its growth since the 1990s). I'm factoring in that the cities are both pretty sprawling and they're not setup the way cities and metros here on the East Coast are, so I don't necessarily think what's lacking in Downtown Phoenix would be as detrimental to the city overall since there are multipolar nodes of activity there, just like San Diego.
Keep in mind, I don't think either of them are that vibrant, since these are some of the more laid-back metros in the country. However, I can see compelling arguments for why someone would find SD more vibrant than Phoenix, especially if they're factoring in its Downtown area and the beaches, and even proximity to other parts of the Southern California megaregion
San Diego vibrant downtown???
Phoenix has a lot better downtown with a lot more to.do in the area of entertainment.
I wanted to stay out of this conversation but I have to be honest...residents of San Diego don't even go downtown for anything.
The place is dead.
PB is far more vibrant than downtown San Diego.
Phoenix downtown the synergy is real. I actually love going down there.
I'll put it this way......has anyone and I mean ANYONE ever heard someone say...lets go downtown San Diego to party ?
San Diego vibrant downtown???
Phoenix has a lot better downtown with a lot more to.do in the area of entertainment.
I wanted to stay out of this conversation but I have to be honest...residents of San Diego don't even go downtown for anything.
The place is dead.
PB is far more vibrant than downtown San Diego.
Phoenix downtown the synergy is real. I actually love going down there.
I'll put it this way......has anyone and I mean ANYONE ever heard someone say...lets go downtown San Diego to party ?
How disingenuous does this sound. The Gaslamp Quarter in Downtown SD is well known for its nightlife.
San Diego vibrant downtown???
Phoenix has a lot better downtown with a lot more to.do in the area of entertainment.
I wanted to stay out of this conversation but I have to be honest...residents of San Diego don't even go downtown for anything.
The place is dead.
PB is far more vibrant than downtown San Diego.
Phoenix downtown the synergy is real. I actually love going down there.
I'll put it this way......has anyone and I mean ANYONE ever heard someone say...lets go downtown San Diego to party ?
San Diego vibrant downtown???
Phoenix has a lot better downtown with a lot more to.do in the area of entertainment.
I wanted to stay out of this conversation but I have to be honest...residents of San Diego don't even go downtown for anything.
The place is dead.
PB is far more vibrant than downtown San Diego.
Phoenix downtown the synergy is real. I actually love going down there.
I'll put it this way......has anyone and I mean ANYONE ever heard someone say...lets go downtown San Diego to party ?
Dude, cmon. You can be a Phoenix boaster, but you should watch what you say. Ive been to downtown San Diego, and its far livelier than PHX. It just is. That's ok, there's no need to be mad about it, but it just is. Downtown PHX is waking up and growing, which is good, but San Diego's downtown is nicer, bigger, and livelier than ours. Don't make such outlandish claims. Please. It makes us Phoenicians look bad. And ignorant.
Downtown SD vibrant? You read the funniest **** on city data.
Downtown SD is like all the bad things of OC, Sac, and DTLA rolled up in one.
Dominated by tourists from fly over country, filled with homeless, and dominated by federal/state/local government work force. At least Portland and SF have some merit. SD is the most played out city west of the Mississippi River, by far.
Cuisine in SD is horrible. Not as innovative as LA or fancy as SF. You pay top dollar for mediocre food that costs more than it would in PHX.
Fewer and less prominent museums and arts than PHX. Fewer sports venues than PHX.
The only thing really working against PHX is it's location in the desert.
Last edited by WizardOfRadical; 05-08-2017 at 11:10 AM..
Downtown SD vibrant? You read the funniest **** on city data.
Its no Chicago, but we're comparing it to PHX. So yes, SD is more vibrant than PHX.
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