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What do I care about the Chargers and Padres? Because I'm from San Diego, I'm automatically supposed to support them? I'm not into sports, and I never was. It's modern tribalism, and it's primitive and stupid. I'll play a game of soccer or basketball for fun but I don't really care about sports.
And I didn't say that the media was "East Coast", oddly enough a lot of what I'm referring to comes straight out of Hollywood. One example that comes to mind is fairly recent: You've heard of the popular show American Horror Story? In the first season, our main characters (a family) move from Boston to an extravagant mansion in L.A. because the father wanted their family to "start over". Upon driving into L.A., while in their car, they go off about how the sun is noticeably "dimmer" in L.A. (due to smog). The most examples come from their annoying daughter (Taissa Farmiga), who's dialogue in each episode of the season appears to mostly contain California-bashing comments, supported by her mother, and also supported by her psychopathic love-interest (Evan Peters) who is also originally from Boston. They all clearly hate California. The obvious, predictable wisecracks about the weather in Southern California are made as well. I don't even dislike the series - but that's the kind of crap I'm talking about. Even some of my favorite comedians (ones who are from the East Coast) frequently exhibit this anti-California behavior, constantly. Especially if they are from New York. I don't care if you hate California but quit letting everybody else know just how much you hate it. If you hate it so much, just stay away and shut up. You'll find many more examples in media, like Mad Men (a show that I actually like), ALL late-night talk shows/political satires and their dimwitted hosts, and commercials.
Wow, that is high and mighty of you and kind of hypocritical. It is OK not to care about sports but to say they are primitive and stupid puts down the majority of the population. You sound like one those people that point out they don't own a TV and then call it an idiot box.[/quote]
Ugh, I remember that girl from AHS. Love the show, but hated all that CA hatred they spewed. Well, it's just a show, and that girl was miserable and never trying to fit in or like anything anyways.
As a Bay Area native and current part-time Bay Area resident, I totally agree. SD is like a more manageable Bay Area, with a mix of cool urban neighorhoods and family suburbs, with lots of outdoor recreation.
Having moved from L.A. to North County about six months ago, I agree, with the caveat that my experience of the Bay Area is limited to a half-dozen short visits to San Francisco itself, with one or two excursions to Napa. I don't dislike L.A., really. I enjoyed living there. Yet in a strange way, greater San Diego does remind me of the Bay Area in a way that L.A. doesn't. Like most places these days we have a lot of suburban sprawl down here, but there is still a lot of open country, and many of the towns retain their own character, rather than always being submerged in a vast sea of developed property that stretches from horizon to horizon. And whether I drive or take transit, I find it easier to get around than I did in L.A. The traffic I had become accustomed to in West L.A. simply doesn't seem to be here. Yes, traffic on the 78 does get a bit thick on weekday afternoons, but it's nothing like the 405 in L.A.
I only wish the water didn't taste so horrible. We all drank bottled water when I was at UCSD, and we're drinking it now.
We are well aware that the the food scene/wine country in Baja has garnered worldwide attention. Hopefully, if things get back to "Normal", people will start heading down there in droves like they use to for lobster, bullfights, nightlife, etc.
Sadly, I don't think things will ever be normal in this regard. Mexico may get a handle on its crime problems, it's true. But it'll still take hours of creeping, idling traffic to get back into the United States--the more so if conditions south of the border improve, attracting more visitors from the States. I like the wine, lobster, and Rosarito Beach as much as anyone, but none of it's worth that grinding wait at the border checkpoint.
If only they could put in a rail line from SD to Ensenada. Really, there are times when I hate the car culture. Amtrak couldn't even keep passenger service between L.A. and Las Vegas.
Sadly, I don't think things will ever be normal in this regard. Mexico may get a handle on its crime problems, it's true. But it'll still take hours of creeping, idling traffic to get back into the United States--the more so if conditions south of the border improve, attracting more visitors from the States. I like the wine, lobster, and Rosarito Beach as much as anyone, but none of it's worth that grinding wait at the border checkpoint.
If only they could put in a rail line from SD to Ensenada. Really, there are times when I hate the car culture. Amtrak couldn't even keep passenger service between L.A. and Las Vegas.
Isn't that the truth! I have had some great times down in Baja the past few years but every time I'm back in that border line to come back I tell myself "never again!", and I haven't for quite a while.
I realize that many of you will disagree with this post, and I'm not looking really to convince you. I'm writing from the perspective of a single, early 30s educated professional.
I moved to San Diego about 19 months ago. I can't argue that the weather isn't spectacular or that there aren't plenty of very pretty views. In fact, when people ask me how I like living here, I always reply that San Diego is lovely. It really is.
But almost 2 years into living here, I am ready to leave. Culturally San Diego is a world apart even from Los Angeles and Orange County. Though there are islands of professional communities mostly in and around La Jolla, and plenty of idle rich in Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe, most of San Diego is decidedly lower middle class. You can see it in the proliferation of Ford F150s, the very strong military element (as a % of the population, no U.S. urban area has more military connected people than San Diego-- and that's including D.C. Metro), the local obsession with dive bars, and the general lack of sophistication. You will find few people here who are interested in the world and who emphasize the values of education and hard work. They call this "laid back", which I thought meant relaxed, but really means uninterested. You will not find much in the way of cultural organizations around politics, art and culture and when you do you will find they cater to a much, much older crowd. You will meet a lot of locals who've rarely left California. For those coming from bigger cities, this will be a big culture shock.
Not to put too fine a point on it: San Diego totally lacks the sophistication of Los Angeles and other larger cities, but its prices are just as high. Take restaurants for example. I continue to be very surprised at the consistency with which San Diego restaurants offer below average food, below average service and high prices. In all sincerity, I am floored that so many San Diego restaurants can charge $30-40 for entrees-- in San Francisco and New York this means you're probably getting an excellent meal and being treated like a valued guest. With just a few exceptions, in San Diego it means average food and indifferent service. It's not that I need to be eating fancy meals all the time, but when I spend $140 for dinner for 2, I really hate feeling like I've been ripped off. I travel frequently for work-- East Coast, Chicago, Atlanta, SF, Nashville, Seattle-- and I've never experienced so many servers who feel that they are entitled to 20% gratuities or better just for showing up and restaurants that really don't give a damn whether you liked your meal or not.
Nightlife is a huge weakness if you're single. The under 25 set will find Pacific Beach and the Gaslamp to be all they hoped and dreamed, full of drunk, barely clothed hardbodies. There is about a 90% chance of witnessing a bar fight on a weekend night in either of these neighborhoods and I am not exaggerating. People here call it the "bro" element. I'm sure you can find bar fights in almost any city, but frankly I am stunned how often I see it here. There really aren't any good after work bars or lounges. Forget entirely about the self-consciously trendy places that are playing out fads that bigger cities found and digested 4-5 years ago (i.e. the speakeasy craze... hello San Diego, you're 5 years late to the party, so you can't be all that cool.) Because the human geography here is not very urban-- lots of 6 lane arterials, condominiums and strip malls-- it's not like you're meeting people on the street, either.
I'm not asking for anyone to agree with me. I'm writing this maybe to help out some others who might be on the fence about coming here from the East, L.A. or Northern California. I wish I had been able to know all of this; I would not have come here in the first place.
I agree with much you say, but I do enjoy visiting San Diego. I use to live there in the 70's & 80's and I visited in August. In many ways it's still the same, though it felt much more crowded now. It can be frustrating when you can't really adjust to the personality of a locale. There isn't much you can do about it. San Diego has its good and bad traits, and it may not be for you for the long haul. Enjoy your time there, but if you continue to feel it's not really what you need in a locale. Then you owe yourself to start making plans to leave. Look at it this way what you described is pretty much the same here in Tucson but a lot worse. Maybe its a Southwest thing.
I realize that many of you will disagree with this post, and I'm not looking really to convince you. I'm writing from the perspective of a single, early 30s educated professional.
I moved to San Diego about 19 months ago. I can't argue that the weather isn't spectacular or that there aren't plenty of very pretty views. In fact, when people ask me how I like living here, I always reply that San Diego is lovely. It really is.
But almost 2 years into living here, I am ready to leave. Culturally San Diego is a world apart even from Los Angeles and Orange County. Though there are islands of professional communities mostly in and around La Jolla, and plenty of idle rich in Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe, most of San Diego is decidedly lower middle class. You can see it in the proliferation of Ford F150s, the very strong military element (as a % of the population, no U.S. urban area has more military connected people than San Diego-- and that's including D.C. Metro), the local obsession with dive bars, and the general lack of sophistication. You will find few people here who are interested in the world and who emphasize the values of education and hard work. They call this "laid back", which I thought meant relaxed, but really means uninterested. You will not find much in the way of cultural organizations around politics, art and culture and when you do you will find they cater to a much, much older crowd. You will meet a lot of locals who've rarely left California. For those coming from bigger cities, this will be a big culture shock.
Not to put too fine a point on it: San Diego totally lacks the sophistication of Los Angeles and other larger cities, but its prices are just as high. Take restaurants for example. I continue to be very surprised at the consistency with which San Diego restaurants offer below average food, below average service and high prices. In all sincerity, I am floored that so many San Diego restaurants can charge $30-40 for entrees-- in San Francisco and New York this means you're probably getting an excellent meal and being treated like a valued guest. With just a few exceptions, in San Diego it means average food and indifferent service. It's not that I need to be eating fancy meals all the time, but when I spend $140 for dinner for 2, I really hate feeling like I've been ripped off. I travel frequently for work-- East Coast, Chicago, Atlanta, SF, Nashville, Seattle-- and I've never experienced so many servers who feel that they are entitled to 20% gratuities or better just for showing up and restaurants that really don't give a damn whether you liked your meal or not.
Nightlife is a huge weakness if you're single. The under 25 set will find Pacific Beach and the Gaslamp to be all they hoped and dreamed, full of drunk, barely clothed hardbodies. There is about a 90% chance of witnessing a bar fight on a weekend night in either of these neighborhoods and I am not exaggerating. People here call it the "bro" element. I'm sure you can find bar fights in almost any city, but frankly I am stunned how often I see it here. There really aren't any good after work bars or lounges. Forget entirely about the self-consciously trendy places that are playing out fads that bigger cities found and digested 4-5 years ago (i.e. the speakeasy craze... hello San Diego, you're 5 years late to the party, so you can't be all that cool.) Because the human geography here is not very urban-- lots of 6 lane arterials, condominiums and strip malls-- it's not like you're meeting people on the street, either.
I'm not asking for anyone to agree with me. I'm writing this maybe to help out some others who might be on the fence about coming here from the East, L.A. or Northern California. I wish I had been able to know all of this; I would not have come here in the first place.
I'm an early-30s educated professional, as well as a San Diego native. All I'm gonna say about your post is: Meh. While you're listing all of the things you think is wrong about SD compared to NY, I'm gonna go surf.
I'd write more, but I mostly just don't care enough. I'll just leave it with this:
P.S.: Real locals don't really hang out in the Gaslamp, either.
Any 8yo kid w/common sense and Net access can figure out in <5mins online that SD is all about QCOM, which has more mkt cap and smarter engineers than any tech co. in Bos; is far behind IBM in exurban Armonk (not in Manhattan interestingly) in mkt cap but likely superior in engineering talent...and what other tech mkt cap exists in Eastern US (or Austin or Boulder or Chic) again???
And same 8yo kid can figure out that, aside from a few 1000 ultra-wealthy engineers in PaloAlto area and a few 1000 ultra-wealthy hedge fund execs in Manhattan, not a lot of economic/intellectual accomplishments of note exist among the other ~6MM in SF region or ~18MM in NYC region...all regions become "lower middle class" or slums real fast outside a few elite, rather circumscribed epicenters even in the wealthiest urban regions in world...real mystery is why overeducated Bos and MIT have produced so little tech wealth or innovation for Bos region, despite the crappy weather and food
And interesting that entire PaloAlto region, which has world's smartest engineers, is classic suburban sprawl, not unlike N County or Irvine/NwptBch....and PaloAlto (like suburban NYC or Bos or Chic) arguably has inferior grub vs Newport/LagunaBch or BH/SM...but food nuts simply reside in SF and drive the ~35mis/35mins daily to offices in Cupertino/MV/PA/MP, etc
Reality is most of world's smartest and wealthiest today (in CA or Seattle or anywhere else) are engineers who rarely ever wear a tie (only Luddites in NYC, Chic, Bos, etc wear ties)....many are college dropouts and look down upon lib arts/non-quants and quants w/multiple degrees...and others are (ghast) libertarians who drive to their suburban offices in some Mercedes V12; have never ridden a train (and have no interest in such commie transport modalities)...and fly around in a gas-guzzling private plane as nearly anyone with money hates flying commercial (incl any commie politician)
Lol....50% of the people that live in SF have a bachelor's degree. It's also the ventute capital hub of California. It's a highly competitive and creative city. It's pretty much the polar opposite of SD in these respects.
That's one of the reasons why I rarely, if ever, befriend transplants, especially those from the Northeast, Pacific Northwest, or Texas. In my experience, transplants from those areas tend to be the most cynical about Southern California and its shortcomings. Typically, those are the transplants that eventually return to wherever they came from originally.
It seems like transplants from other areas like Arizona or the Midwest rarely, if ever, leave. Those people are just so unbelievably thrilled to be out of the heat and/or cold, they could care less about anything else.
Although I don't live in San Diego, I do live in Southern California (Long Beach). One of the reasons why I enjoy living in the Long Beach/South Bay area is that there relatively few transplants compared to, say, the Westside of Los Angeles or South Orange County. Transplants in California, especially those in the LA/OC area, are really a breed of their own, and thankfully, they tend to live, travel, and hunt in packs.
That said, I usually only associate with native Californians. They tend to be more positive, upbeat, and easygoing and less pretentious than transplants. I never, ever make wisecracks about Southern California or California in general -- I love it way, way to much -- so I don't condone that behavior. I'm from the school of thought where if you hate it so much, don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.
I also assimilate and socialize incredibly well here, and I think that's where the disconnect occurs between myself and other transplants. After all, I may not have been born in California, but California was born in me.
If I didn't associate with transplants I'd have something like 4 friends.
Isn't that the truth! I have had some great times down in Baja the past few years but every time I'm back in that border line to come back I tell myself "never again!", and I haven't for quite a while.
Have to agree with this. Going to Baja was a big part of our lives in San Diego. When that became so very difficult to do, it left a real hole in the texture of our lifestyle.
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