Should L.A. be threatened by San Diego??? (Los Angeles, Pasadena: transplants, house)

[erin_elise_]

Hey everyone!! As you have seen in my other posts, I am a 28 year old L.A. native. I have only ever lived in L.A. Now as a child, I would visit S.D. because my great aunt and uncle lived there. BUT we would just go to their house and that's it. I would never see the actual city. They are deceased now, so I have no reason to really go now. Until this summer, I had never actually seen the city. I had to down there for a seminar and stayed in Downtown. I loved the atmosphere in DT. It kind of reminded me of a bigger and better Old Town Pasadena, which i actually love. Since I was there for work and not play, I only visited one beach, coronado, which was very pretty. Well the reason why im bringing up this topic is that in being in LA my whole life, I NEVER would hear ppl here talking about SD. I would never hear friends saying they wanted to go to SD or anything like that, not like vegas, NY, or miami. So not hearing those things just made me not EVEN think of SD. but after my trip, It makes me wonder, do we in LA take them for granted or are tales of SD being "better" than LA just "hogwash." (sorry to use such an ancient word lol). I dunno, maybe i have been living under a rock lol but it seems like JUST recently where I see ppl I know going down to visit and stuff whereas before i did not. And it seems like EVERYONE u talk to about SD says they love it and they love living there.....makes me wonder....BUT im such an LA lover tho...but i wonder if I could ever see myself living there....thats the thing, I always thought LA was the end all be all...........it is its own universe lol but maybe SD might have something going on.....what do u guys think???

[ccm123]

San Diego is a smaller version of LA, but will never surpass it. LA has far too many things to do and is one of the world class cities. (Not knocking SD at all.)

[KerrTown]

I would rather live in Orange County than to go next door to San Diego County. L.A. County is the tops though!

[Sydney123]

I like San Diego. I live in Santa Monica, 3 blocks from the ocean s it's pretty close climate wise... Things to do, LA has it!

[rachyruru]

I think it totally depends on the person. Personally, I found San Diego a fantastic place to vacation, but after a while, a really dull place to live. I think it's unbelievably beautiful (nothing beats Torrey Pines beach), but I love a faster pace, and there just wasn't enough culture for me to stay long term. From what I've experienced, Los Angeles feels like a big, international city, while San Diego feels like a huge suburb with beautiful beaches and a whole lot of bars. (For better or for worse! Haha)

[8to32characters]

Compared to Greater Los Angeles, Greater San Diego tends to attract a lot more transplants from AZ, TX, the Midwest, and the South -- you know, the type of transplant that would rather live in SD because it's "more conservative," less cosmopolitan and sophisticated, "friendlier" and "more laid-back," has more of a bar scene than a club scene, and isn't nearly as diverse or "foreign" as the LA area -- Moderator cut: see note

[Tulemutt]

Whew! Is all I can say right now. When I read the thread title I thought maybe San Diego had taken sides with the DPRK and was saber-rattling about attacking Hollywood or something!

I am sooo relieved. Time for a bowl to unwind.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by 8to32characters

Compared to Greater Los Angeles, Greater San Diego tends to attract a lot more transplants from AZ, TX, the Midwest, and the South -- you know, the type of transplant that would rather live in SD because it's "more conservative," less cosmopolitan and sophisticated, "friendlier" and "more laid-back," has more of a bar scene than a club scene, and isn't nearly as diverse or "foreign" as the LA area -- Moderator cut: see note

I wish I could rate this and your other comments 100 times over. You nailed it. I would just add that San Diego overall is a great place, but let's get serious. LA is where it's at.

[Tex?Il?]

I like San Diego, as I like all parts of California for their own unique qualities.

The one thing that San Diego EXCELS in as far as things to do there that you can not do in all cities are zoos and aquariums. Having the San Diego zoo, wild animal park, the Scripps Birch aquarium, (not a big fan of sea world as its more entertainment rather than education, but it is there). This is absolutely a category of institutions that LA and most other cities don't have and are worth going to San Diego just for this. Theres also other things like Comecon, Legoland that are not found in LA.

The beach towns in North San Diego county are less overdeveloped than the ones in Orange County (maybe like what OC used to be like?), I like the Balboa Park area, the Gaslamp quarter is probably more attractive and revitalized and than any similar sized area in DTLA, and of course love La Jolla. You can still find some agriculture not that far beyond the city limits to the east.

However, I really don't think that San Diego and surrounding county really has anything I can't find in LA County, (I live in Pasadena, so LA county) Personally I am more of a "laid back" person that only like "big city excitement and craziness" in small doses. To me, theres tons of laid back communities, and plenty of outdoor pursuits and natural beauty in LA County (the San Gabriel mtns are higher than anything east of SD.

I've mentioned this before, and people always claim otherwise, but I really would feel the heavy military presence and sector of the economy would impact my dating opportunities. I've been in social situations where the guy girl ratio is skewed to be more men, and the opposite where there is a little more women. Yes, being in places where the ratio is skewed to more women and that a higher % of the men are not interested in women, does play a role in where I prefer to have my homebase.

[UB50]

I like San Diego. People already mentioned the zoo and museums but I also like the close proximity to Mexico (love to go to Tijuana shopping!)

Overall though, Los Angeles has the better shopping scene, so that's why I like LA better.