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It is often repeated here that San Diego is a big city with a without the big city feel you would get in sunbelt cities like Atlanta, Miami, Houston and Dallas. That said, Would you classify the feeling of SD with
Tier A:
(True mid-sized metros with small city feels)
Charlotte, Orlando, Pitt, Cleveland
Tier B:
(Not huge cities, but places that are universally considered big cities)
Seattle, Tampa, Detroit, Denver
Tough thread. My overall impression is that San Diego slides into the Tier B category based on population, economics, and its overall regional influence which extends into another country.
Skyline: Not bad, but like Tampa it resembles cities under 2 million rather than its peer group.
Cosmopolitan: Tier B
Flashiness: Tier B
Agressive/ indifferent personality types: San Diego feels moderate and not too controversial like some cities. San Diego is certainly not aggressive.
Strong bustling urban core: Tier B. San Diego has improved greatly in the last 20 years. Downtown is active and full of new business activity.
Varied and vibrant nightlife: Tier B
Transit: Tier A. The city is in need of infrastructure upgrades and light rail expansion.
I'd say that San Diego, for a metro of three million, has a larger than average transit system in the form of the San Diego Trolley.
Now San Diego is in one of the, if not the, most pro density, anti sprawl, and pro transit states in the country (NYC was forced to be dense, not a matter of policy but a matter of history). But ironically, all that political will and push for density and transit isn't super effective, because San Diego Airport is right next to Downtown SD, so there's a five hundred foot height restriction. As such, the skyline is actually pretty underwhelming even compared to smaller, Southern cities that are in far more conservative, pro sprawl, anti transit states. Places like Austin, Charlotte, or Nashville have smaller metro areas yet taller skylines and at least as many high rises as San Diego. Of course, San Diego also has to deal with earthquakes, which limit high rise construction.
One can only imagine how massive the San Diego skyline would be if California didn't have earthquakes and the airport was further from Downtown. San Diego has a big rail transit system for a city of its size and the system would just be incredibly packed if only it were cheaper and easier to build high rises. With some of the most expensive real estate in the country, high rise development would be extremely profitable in San Diego, were it not for expensive seismic codes and height restrictions.
All that said, San Diego does have a pretty darn dense urban core, lots of high rise condos and pedestrians. Very walkable.
San Diego definitely has some very ritzy parts like La Jolla, Black Mountain Ranch, Pacific Highlands, Carmel Mountain, and Torrey Pines that could compete with Newport, Laguna Beach, and Dana Point in terms of wealth.
I’ve been to all and all of those feel pretty similar to me except Detroit feels a bit bigger. Denver punches above its weight being a regional center. Orlando and Tampa probably the opposite because they are so near to each other. Absent tiers, which I think are off, I’d have it:
I’ve been to all and all of those feel pretty similar to me except Detroit feels a bit bigger. Denver punches above its weight being a regional center. Orlando and Tampa probably the opposite because they are so near to each other. Absent tiers, which I think are off, I’d have it:
I’ve been to all and all of those feel pretty similar to me except Detroit feels a bit bigger. Denver punches above its weight being a regional center. Orlando and Tampa probably the opposite because they are so near to each other. Absent tiers, which I think are off, I’d have it:
Detroit
Seattle/Denver
San Diego
Cleveland
Pittsburgh
Tampa
Orlando
Charlotte
Seattle feels similar to Charlotte and Orlando in feel?
It is often repeated here that San Diego is a big city with a without the big city feel you would get in sunbelt cities like Atlanta, Miami, Houston and Dallas. That said, Would you classify the feeling of SD with
Tier A:
(True mid-sized metros with small city feels)
Charlotte, Orlando, Pitt, Cleveland
Tier B:
(Not huge cities, but places that are universally considered big cities)
Seattle, Tampa, Detroit, Denver
None of those cities in Tier A feel small at all. They all feel their appropriate size..
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