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Thought I'd post another thread here in the vs forum - this time, solely to hear the opinions of others. Below is a list of criteria to compare each city with, but feel free to elaborate further if you wish!
- Overall level of vibrancy
- Access to nature/nearby natural attractions
- Creative/cultural/entertainment amenities (Art galleries, music scene, events, etc.)
- Food scene
- Beer scene (These are two major players, thought it'd be fun to compare!)
- Social scene
- Dating scene
- Job market
- Public transit options
- Anything else worth noting.
Last edited by JMT; 09-01-2017 at 02:32 PM..
Reason: Skyline discussions are not allowed.
I'm not going through a item by item comparison, but overall I think they are actually, (and probably surprisingly to many people) very similar. Each with compact, vibrant downtowns with lots of formerly scruffy areas now populated with new Mid-Rise developments including trendy condos, each having a very distinct water connection, Portland more working, river based, but don't count San Diego's port for its commercial activity. Also each very much defined by their dynamic geography/topography and mix of wild and urban areas right through the city with great Historic village neighborhoods defining much of the city core surrounding downtown. Also each has a great (top 5 or better) beer scene and emerging foodie scene- Portland probably a little more established that SD, but San Diego quickly catching up.
I was born in Vancouver, WA, my brother lives in Sellwood (I live in San Diego's version of it), my SO's uncle and Aunt live in landmark 12k sf Georgian mansion adjacent Washington Park on the top of the hill. I love and am very familiar with both cities, but, even in Portland I couldn't recreate what I have here in SD for less than $2M, and even then I would have to deal with 7 months of drizzle and couldn't swim with the Leopard sharks in La Jolla shores.
Thought I'd post another thread here in the vs forum - this time, solely to hear the opinions of others. Below is a list of criteria to compare each city with, but feel free to elaborate further if you wish!
- Overall level of vibrancy
- Access to nature/nearby natural attractions
- Creative/cultural/entertainment amenities (Art galleries, music scene, events, etc.)
- Food scene
- Beer scene (These are two major players, thought it'd be fun to compare!)
- Social scene
- Dating scene
- Job market
- Public transit options
- Anything else worth noting.
-Overall level of vibrancy: San Diego. The weather encourages people to go out and about, and people going out is what makes a place vibrant. Plus Portland can be pretty gloomy at times.
-Access to nature: San Diego. Easily. Year round outdoor activities and miles of beach.
-Creative cultural entertainment: Portland. Definitely. Hipsters may be douche bags, but they have good taste, and Portland is full of hipsters.
-Food Scene: Portland. Same reason as above.
-Beer Scene: Portland. No contest.
-Dating Scene: Portland. San Diego is full of single dudes. Way too much extra testosterone makes any dating scene lame.
-Job Market: This is probably industry specific. I'm going to score this one a tie.
-Public Transit: Portland. Clear winner here.
-Anything else worth noting: based on these criteria, Portland wins. However, I still prefer San Diego because of items 1 and 2.
Without federal spending (military), SD's economy would look like Tampa. Sorry, can't hold a candle to Portland, which has carried itself on it's own.
Sorry, but SD is the midwest by the sea
This is hardly true in current times. In the post-war era, San Diego was heavily military, maritime and aerospace but much has changed as SD has evolved.
The explosion of biomedical research on Torrey Pines mesa starting in the 1960s and the resultant biotech industry has made San Diego a world leader in the biomedical field. Torrey Pines mesa houses what is likely the largest concentration of biomedical research in the world. And within a 5 mile radius are about 1000 biotech companies. SD is one of the big three biotech clusters (whereas Portland doesn't register as a blip).
Similarly, the rise of Qualcomm has made SD the mecca for the telecommunications and wireless technology industry. SD is even more dominant in telecom than Seattle is for software.
Lesser known, SD is a leader in software development though focused on telecom and research.
SD is a leader in the cleantech space (even ahead of enviro-wacky Portland).
SD pulls in about $1.5B per year in venture capital (versus about $0.2B in Portland).
Manufacturing (primarily complex manufacturing like chips, med devices, etc) is now the leading sector in the SD economy.
So while SD is still the largest concentration of military in the world, the innovation economy greatly exceeds the military supported economy.
And of course with a huge convention center, attractive weather, beautiful setting SD has a very large tourism and hospitality component.
This is hardly true in current times. In the post-war era, San Diego was heavily military, maritime and aerospace but much has changed as SD has evolved.
The explosion of biomedical research on Torrey Pines mesa starting in the 1960s and the resultant biotech industry has made San Diego a world leader in the biomedical field. Torrey Pines mesa houses what is likely the largest concentration of biomedical research in the world. And within a 5 mile radius are about 1000 biotech companies. SD is one of the big three biotech clusters (whereas Portland doesn't register as a blip).
Similarly, the rise of Qualcomm has made SD the mecca for the telecommunications and wireless technology industry. SD is even more dominant in telecom than Seattle is for software.
Lesser known, SD is a leader in software development though focused on telecom and research.
SD is a leader in the cleantech space (even ahead of enviro-wacky Portland).
SD pulls in about $1.5B per year in venture capital (versus about $0.2B in Portland).
Manufacturing (primarily complex manufacturing like chips, med devices, etc) is now the leading sector in the SD economy.
So while SD is still the largest concentration of military in the world, the innovation economy greatly exceeds the military supported economy.
And of course with a huge convention center, attractive weather, beautiful setting SD has a very large tourism and hospitality component.
And finally, we make better beer here in SD!!!!!
LOL just stop.
Tourism and Military make up the largest employment sectors of SD.
Conventiom center? You mean the convention centee they can't expand? To the point that comic con is thinking of moving to Anahiem?
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