Miami vs San Diego ??!! (real estate, condos, houses)

[Catana]

Would love to hear your opinions especially from people that have lived in both cities. Please compare beauty of the cities, people, walkability, housing, cost of living, hipness.
Can't decide where to live

Miami has so many areas near the water, you can own a house a have a boat or jet ski "parked" in your backyard, and with the real estate $ going down, those homes are quite affordable, and the tropical feel is gorgeous. But people in Miami seem "difficult" at times, although interesting. San Diego coast is gorgeous but I don't think it has those "bays" with houses along them, so owning a place near water is more difficult, it doesn't have the bridges and condos and as many "manmade" structures, maybe more impressive in nature but less impressive urban wise? People on the other hand seem more "normal" for the lack of a better word.

Which one is more beautiful and impressive at the first glance, and how about after a month of living there?
Your opinions?

[HowGoesIt]

Both are good cities. I'm partial to Miami for obvious reasons. However, I would move to where I got a better job. In this economy, I would focus on getting a job first, then consider location.

[305guy]

You should search past forums for answers to your questions in the San Diego Room as well as this one. There are at least 2 or 3 forums that I can recall that asked similar questions about the same 2 cities.

[intelfan11315]

Miami has expensive housing and a not so bad cost of living, San Diego has ridiculously expensive housing and a high cost of living. Miami has better weather, I believe it would also be better if you are interested in learning Spanish. Job market, not too sure. I was only in San Diego for a week, and thought it was really nice, but I'd choose Miami any day.

[dadeguy]

I lived in san diego for one year wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy back in 1975. I was stationed there for my welding courses while serving in the US Navy. I got to know san diego real well. I have lived in miami my whole life except for the four year period between 1975 and 1979 where I lived in different places during my military service.

what I liked about san diego:

climate: great weather and usually cooler than miami

hills: provided a great place to spend weekends hang gliding

the pacific ocean: ocean beach was a great place to surf for an east coast surfer

culinary delights: I love mexican food

ladies: I love mexican girls

miami: it is home, home trumped san diego but had it not been for the pull of extended family and my girlfriend who would not leave miami for the same reasons of extended family ties I would today be a resident of the land of fruits and nuts.


I think that at the time cost of living was comparable to here and I suspect the same is true today.

[planetsurf]

Lived in SD for 6 years, been back in Miami for a year now.
I just reread my post here:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/miami...iego-ca-3.html
Pretty much sums it up still.

If you're looking to be close to the ocean, a dock behind you kind of thing, then yeah, it's Miami. Doesn't really exist in SD. You could live in a condo or house (for no less than $4m) overlooking the gorgeous ocean or bay, but no docks.
Here, there are ocean, bay or canal views EVERYWHERE.

1 thing I'd add ... we've met lots of people who either A. look at us like we have 2 heads b/c we moved back to Miami from San Diego or B. agreed wholeheartedly with our reasons for moving back.
To each their own, right? I'd STILL LOVE LOVE LOVE to work out my life to live in SD for the summer and spend the school years here in Miami.

But personally, I'll take Miami to live and work in if I had to choose. (Family all being here or East Coast makes it a no brainer.)

If you have specific questions, PM me.

Good luck.

[Jarndyce]

As basically a San Diego native--I think PlanetSurf wrote a very fair and realistic "piece" back in the thread he linked to. San Diego, today, is much better than when I grew up there in the 80s/90s. It was fine, but it's much better today because of the downtown/gaslamp expansion. It is now reasonable and not laughable to go to downtown San Diego and have an actual city scene. It's a better city scene when the Padres have a home game, but the city planners of San Diego have done a nice job of *developing* things. Granted there have been money/corruption issues recently, but the fact remains that it is a nice place and actually better.

However, the big concern for me as a visiter to San Diego are the fire threats. I wonder if it's because of all the East County development through the past couple of years which may have removed *natural* fire barriers like rocks, cactus, brush, etc. So, I wonder if instead of earthquakes (which are not a serious threat to San Diego) if Santa Ana Fires are the main hazard to living in San Diego. I was back there visiting in the Oct'07 fires and it was scary, sad and horrific to experience.

I do think that outside of hanging out downtown during baseball season, that PlanetSurf's main point in his earlier post is accurate--San Diego might be more quiet and boring than advertised...

[EnjoyTheSilence]

S a n d i e g o

[zango]

San Diego is nice. But the proximity to Mexico is problematic. TJ. is an arm pit and getting worse every day. Murders, kidnappings, drugs. Its all there just 40 miles from SD. Plus SD. housing is way over priced. Also the schools in SD are not great. Unless you can afford a house in a decent area(500k). And you will never live near the water in SD. Ocean views go for millions here. In spite of all its problems, i like Miami more.

[Mcsmith0210]

California is terrible because of the people- the fact that alot of them are illegal.

Florida- is terrible because of the poeple- the fact that alot of them are illegal.

The LEGAL people of california suffer from that delightful brain hemmorhage called "californication"- a disease which allows a foreign born action movie hero famous for 3 word sentances to be governor- and allows weed to be legal in a single county but not in the state or the country the couty happens to be a member of.

MEANWHILE- LEGAL people here suffer from that delusional state between cockiness and pure mental retardation- which produces the gucci sunglass, flowered shirt, white linen pants, yuppies that walk the streets here. People are expected to speak 35 languages fluently in order to survive, and the rules of this country do not apply to those who cant read them in english.

So the answer- you will be happy nowhere near either of these cities. Try Atlanta or Charlotte.