Do you consider San Diego "the Big City" or Small city? Do you think San Diego is a fast paced city or slow paced city? (Los Angeles: houses, neighborhoods)
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My friends from Dallas-Fort Worth came to visit this weekend, and while that loved San Diego and thought it was pretty, they keep saying that San Diego is just too slow for them, it was not fast paced enough.
The felt that was too small and too slow when compared to Dallas Fort Worth.
Do you consider San Diego "the Big City" or Small city? Do you think San Diego is a fast paced city or slow paced city?
Why or why not?
Last edited by RockhetHD; 03-08-2011 at 04:41 PM..
My friends from Dallas-Fort Worth came to visit this weekend, and while that loved San Diego and thought it was pretty, they keep saying that San Diego is just too slow for them, it was not fast paced enough.
The felt that was too small and too slow when compared to Dallas Fort Worth.
Do you consider San Diego "the Big City" or Small city? Do you think San Diego is a fast paced city or slow paced city?
Why or why not?
Yeah I would say so. I have been there less for play but more for work. I think comparing Dallas to SD is apples and oranges. It would be one thing if there were comparable tangibles to go toe to toe on, but there just arent.
From an industry perspective, we dont have much, but Dallas on the other hand is an industry powerhouse on multiple levels. This in turn will draw ambitious people. There is money to be made there as well as any other industry powerhouse City whether its New York or Washington DC. Ambitious people want a piece of the pie, thus can create more dynamic within a community and draw lines in the sand for social norms in the given area.
In SD, going to the beach, spending time with family or enjoying the weather is about as ambitious as you can get with the highest return. Career driven + living in SD is just not what we are wired for here.
In my experience, friends that have visted in the past that had very important jobs in fast paced environments said, SD is a chill place. For as much as they liked it, they didnt draw anything from it, because "chilling" was not really in their vocabularies. There was no power or influence for them to further their careers so that quickly became a dead end. Anything outside of the crazy world they were in at the time didnt challenge them, thus not challenging = slow.
I found this happened more when I was in my 20s, when I got into my 30s many of those friends started changing their attitudes pretty quickly what what was important. SD doesnt look like such a bad place after all is said and done. lol
Yeah I would say so. I have been there less for play but more for work. I think comparing Dallas to SD is apples and oranges. It would be one thing if there were comparable tangibles to go toe to toe on, but there just arent.
From an industry perspective, we dont have much, but Dallas on the other hand is an industry powerhouse on multiple levels. This in turn will draw ambitious people. There is money to be made there as well as any other industry powerhouse City whether its New York or Washington DC. Ambitious people want a piece of the pie, thus can create more dynamic within a community and draw lines in the sand for social norms in the given area.
In SD, going to the beach, spending time with family or enjoying the weather is about as ambitious as you can get with the highest return. Career driven + living in SD is just not what we are wired for here.
In my experience, friends that have visted in the past that had very important jobs in fast paced environments said, SD is a chill place. For as much as they liked it, they didnt draw anything from it, because "chilling" was not really in their vocabularies. There was no power or influence for them to further their careers so that quickly became a dead end. Anything outside of the crazy world they were in at the time didnt challenge them, thus not challenging = slow.
I found this happened more when I was in my 20s, when I got into my 30s many of those friends started changing their attitudes pretty quickly what what was important. SD doesnt look like such a bad place after all is said and done. lol
Shmoov, as usual is spot on target with his assessment. I know Dallas fairly well as I lived there for 8 years after I graduated University. Trying to compare the two is like apples and bananas. Totally different.
San Diego is really really laid back. Dallas is by no means any mecca for activity but as Shmoov mentioned, there is a TON of business activity there. Many large companies are based there in the DFW area. Many billionaire families live in the DFW area.
I wouldn't say there is so much to do in Dallas besides spend money. Either in shopping malls, sporting events, restaurants. There are MANY high end shopping malls like Northpark, Galleria, StoneBriar and several others. People do a whole lot of shopping there. Also, there are so MANY restaurants there. Everywhere you go. Also lots and lots of bars and clubs there.
In that respect it might feel slow paced in San Diego. But really when you look at it realistically, besides the shopping, sporting events, as many dining options, there aren't so many great things to do in Dallas. The people there are really friendly, super safe and lots of money there but I found it to really lacking in natural beauty. Super flat, no ocean, no mountains. Just bland. Plus in the summer, it's hotter than hell in Dallas so there isn't so much you can do outdoors... so again, people find themselves indoors spending money in shopping malls and the like.
Traffic is worse each time I go back (I go there about twice a year as I still have friends there). Traffic on 75 is horrific. Same as 635 there. Every time I go back I do a ton of shopping there as I admit the shopping there is probably as good as it gets anywhere in the USA.
Shmoov made a good point about stages in your life. There are super ambitious people there all trying to climb the corporate ladder. People that are super focused on their careers. I'm not sure if your friends meant that it was slower paced just with the environment or also the work environment. I would say that San Diego would be way too slow paced for those that are looking to climb the corporate ladder.
When I moved there out of University in 1995 it was a GREAT place to climb up the ladder and do business. A GREAT place to do business and I worked with some of the wealthiest families in the DFW area. (Perot, Hunt, Bass, Perot, Jr.). All great people that were really humble people.
San Diego I think is the perfect environment for family oriented people. People that might not want to "conquer the business world" and really raise their families in a great environment that is naturally beautiful. An environment where the weather is gorgeous, the ocean is gorgeous, in good neighborhoods the houses are beautiful and the schools are great. They realize that there aren't as many high paying jobs but quality of life is more important to them.
Although the quality of life is pretty darn good in the DFW area if you have a good job. You can live like a king for not a lot of money. Even nice custom type homes are dirt cheap compared to the SD area. Except in the University or Highland Park areas in Dallas....the northern suburbs are cheap.
I'm a good example in Shmoov's description. When I graduated college and was in my early 20's I really loved San Diego and loved the weather but I just knew I'd probably never get big exposure to business or the corporate world and I was hungry to do business. All I really wanted to do was make money. Now that I'm in my late 30's and have 2 kids.... my focus has totally changed and I'd much rather raise my kids in San Diego than the Dallas area.
But don't be mistaken...there isn't a whole heck of a lot to do in Dallas besides the whole spending money thing.
My friends from Dallas-Fort Worth came to visit this weekend, and while that loved San Diego and thought it was pretty, they keep saying that San Diego is just too slow for them, it was not fast paced enough.
The felt that was too small and too slow when compared to Dallas Fort Worth.
Do you consider San Diego "the Big City" or Small city? Do you think San Diego is a fast paced city or slow paced city?
Why or why not?
I just spent a month visiting my relative who moved near Dallas and she also lived in San Diego...
My opinion: San Diego has A LOT MORE GOING ON! Dallas was sooo quiet...besides traffic there are hardly any pedestrians. We'd go to downtown around dinner time, EMPTY. There was a cool club at the top of the W, but the city felt dead every weekend....which can be a good or bad thing depending on your preference. Dallas feels like a bigger city in terms of traffic and size, but San Diego is so much more alive in my opinion. My relative also feels the same, Dallas is a quiet big city.
Be grateful you live in San Diego and not Dallas haha, it's boring as .... there!
I just spent a month visiting my relative who moved near Dallas and she also lived in San Diego...
My opinion: San Diego has A LOT MORE GOING ON! Dallas was sooo quiet...besides traffic there are hardly any pedestrians. We'd go to downtown around dinner time, EMPTY. There was a cool club at the top of the W, but the city felt dead every weekend....which can be a good or bad thing depending on your preference. Dallas feels like a bigger city in terms of traffic and size, but San Diego is so much more alive in my opinion. My relative also feels the same, Dallas is a quiet big city.
Be grateful you live in San Diego and not Dallas haha, it's boring as .... there!
Well downtown is NOT a place that people hang out at night. Heck, not even the day except for work. Downtown Dallas is mostly focused only on businesses. I know people that have lived in Dallas many years and never gone downtown. I never went down in that area unless I was visiting a client. There are areas close to downtown like you mentioned close to the W, but that really isn't downtown. That's what they call Victory Park which is mainly stuff built around the American Airlines center.
That area near the Area is a newer area and although there are some good restaurants and clubs in that area...it's also dead at night unless there is a basketball game or sporting event.
Dallas can be lively if you know where to go but downtown Dallas and that entire area is not really a happening place.
I do agree that San Diego is a much more desirable place to live. With money/work not being a factor, I think the vast majority of people would select it vs. Dallas any day of the week. Dallas is an ugly city compared to San Diego. Very few cities in the USA can compare with the natural beauty of San Diego. In fact, I'm trying to think of what the most scenic places in Dallas would be and it's sad to say but I can't think of many. The most beautiful area to me is the Park Cities area but even then it's just beautiful homes. The city has very few things that I'd say are beautiful.
For kicks and giggles, compare the San Diego photo section with the Dallas photo section on this website. You might fall asleep in the Dallas photo section. There are actually some photos someone took of some guy holding a big sparkler!!! And even the skyline is pretty pathetic there. Nothing to write home about. Some photos of buildings but even the buildings aren't anything special.
Last edited by earlyretirement; 03-08-2011 at 06:31 PM..
Downtown San Diego has a population of maybe 30k if you're lucky. I would say that's the exact opposite of "Big City". However, downtown Dallas has a very similar population. San Diego is more of a large town that happens to have some "taller" buildings. I put taller in quotes, because they can't build over 500'.
Friends from the East Coast always call San Diego slow. Compared to the East Coast or L.A. it is slower, especially if you don't know the spots or like the outdoors.
I lived back east and nothing is "slower" than waking up, shoveling snow, throwing salt on your steps, scraping ice off the windshield, warming up the car, slipping and sliding periodically driving to work/school, slipping and sliding walking into work...and so on, on and off for 4 months a year, every year.
We still have L.A. and Vegas close enough to get a taste of fast every once in a while...
Friends from the East Coast always call San Diego slow. Compared to the East Coast or L.A. it is slower, especially if you don't know the spots or like the outdoors.
I lived back east and nothing is "slower" than waking up, shoveling snow, throwing salt on your steps, scraping ice off the windshield, warming up the car, slipping and sliding periodically driving to work/school, slipping and sliding walking into work...and so on, on and off for 4 months a year, every year.
We still have L.A. and Vegas close enough to get a taste of fast every once in a while...
well put, madegood, for 2 posts
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