Will San Diego become a 4th tier city if Chargers move? (San Jose: home, live in)

[sav858]

What would Miami be without it's location? NYC wouldn't be what it is without it's location either. SF would probably be more like Philly if it wasn't for its location. Seattle? Honolulu? I don't understand why some of you rag on SD's location and climate making the city what it is when a lot of cities are like that. If you take away some of the best attributes of any city, yeah it will make it look less appealing but what is the point of that? Those cities are what they are.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by sav858

What would Miami be without it's location? NYC wouldn't be what it is without it's location either. SF would probably be more like Philly if it wasn't for its location. Seattle? Honolulu? I don't understand why some of you rag on SD's location and climate making the city what it is when a lot of cities are like that. If you take away some of the best attributes of any city, yeah it will make it look less appealing but what is the point of that? Those cities are what they are.

Agree... location is a huge element of context that allow a city to be what it is. You can't "remove" elements. I think the argument is that from a socio-economic importance perspective, San Diego ranks poorly, i.e. primarily as a vacation, retirement destination, I think there is some truth to that. I think it's interesting how many people leave WDC off their lists, it is a much more 'important city' than certainly Phila PA.

Also most US cities are "world-class" - as long as you look beyond the typical London, Paris, Hong Kong, etc. There are many large cities in the developing world that are hardly world class yet as many or more "world-class" amenities than San Diego.

[hitman619]

A sports team does not make a city,but it can sure break one IMO!
What makes San Diego a 3/4 Tier city is
1.The Crappy Job Market
2.The Crappy people(Too many people from other places that could care less about this city or its sports teams.)
3.Transportation( although it's getting better,it's light years away compared to other city's)
4. California's Crappy Laws.
5. Poor city infrastructure and a crappy city council to boot.

IMO if you were not born or rasied in San Diego your Opinion really doesn't matter!

My roots can be traced all the way back to Memorial hospital

[odannyboi]

Originally Posted by bloom

Centrist Democrat (left-leaning on social issues; right-leaning on others).

Meant not neo-conservative in the wacky mold of William Krystal, Wolfowitz et al, but a new conservative/gop in the mold of when I was young without money & kids, I was liberal, and when I was older with money & family, I am more conservative. Either belief evolution or not beholden to core values.

"If you're not a liberal at 20, you have no heart, and if you're not a conservative at 40, you have no brain." -Winston Churchill

Sorry, I always wanted to use that quote..

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by Losfrisco

Ask yourself this question, "What would San Diego have going for it if not for its coastal location?"

The answer, I think, leaves little doubt as to where SD stands.

For someone who lives in El Centro, you sure do a lot of jawing about San Diego. I guess if I couldn't fulfill my dream of making it all the way to the coast, I'd be upset, too. As they say, so close and yet so far.

[DaCounselor]

I finally caught my breath after laughing at the guy who compared SD to Omaha or Okie City, and then I get hit by the guy talking about San Jose's world class downtown. World Class! Thanks guys, I am assuming there is alot of sarcasm on this thread, good for a few laughs anyway.

SD has its pros and cons like anywhere else, but if you want to live in a relatively larger city with a mild year round climate, on the coast, your options are extremely limited and arguably non-existent other than SD. I would invite you to live in JAX or Tampa for a few years and let me know how that works out for you. Or MIA. Not that those cities have mild weather in any way shape or form from May-Sept when it is brutal.

SD real estate prices are not sky-high because people don't want to live here. SD conventions and tourism are not huge business because people don't like to visit here. But if you want to live in Omaha and vacation in Okie City, I wish you well as I do all mankind.

[UrbanDecay]

I agree that San Diego is what it is, and in that way, it's unfair to compare it to any other city. But... while we are on the topic. For San Diego to move up to a 2nd/3rd tier city, these are some of the things that I think would need to happen:

San Diego secures the Chargers for 20+ years along with a new downtown stadium. Yes, I agree that a team alone can NOT determine what level tier you are in, but I do think it can it can be some kind of indicator. If the Chargers leave, San Diego is obviously taking a step in the wrong direction in moving to a lower tier.

Trolley - The trolley needs to be able to go to the simplest of places, such as the Airport, or any of our main attractions: Zoo, Sea World, Safari Park, Legoland, Beaches, etc... Sure you can take the bus, but it's just not the same. Moving along a pre-determined track at a pre-determined speed with no traffic is a BIG difference. Maybe by 2050 we will be there, and perhaps then we will be in a higher tier.

Airport - It's just too small. We know, the city knows it, but what is the solution? It's not gonna go to Miramar, and it can't expand the runway where it is. There was once talk of a floating airport, but it doesn't seem feasible. You might be saying the airport is just fine, but let's be realistic. It's international, but only flies to a couple of places in Mexico and Canada. In a couple of months, British Airways will begin nonstop flights to the UK. This is huge!!! But as it is now, our airport can't even handle a 747 or any of the larger planes.

500' building limit - I know this is entirely because of the proximity to the airport. Nothing we can do about that right now. However, maybe by 2050 the plan will be to move the airport out to the desert and link it by High Speed Rail to the city? Who knows, but this could lift the 500' limit and San Diego would be able to grow further into the sky.

[bloom]

Originally Posted by odannyboi

"If you're not a liberal at 20, you have no heart, and if you're not a conservative at 40, you have no brain." -Winston Churchill

Sorry, I always wanted to use that quote..

I was thinking of something like that, but I recall another version.

[Losfrisco]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

Or Denver, or Portland, or NY or.........insert City here.

Denver is not located near a coast, last time I checked....unless they moved it.

[04kL4nD]

IMO if you were not born or rasied in San Diego your Opinion really doesn't matter!

My roots can be traced all the way back to Memorial hospital

Oh the provincial native San Diegan mentality I grew to know so well when I lived there...
yawn

get over yourself, you're not that special