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Sorry, native Detroiter here, and I have to defend my hometown a bit...........no, Detroit is not an attractive, posh town with great weather like some of the others mentioned in here, but the city has always had a strong soul to it, and I'm not just talking about the music scene. The food and entertainment (especially the sports) in Detroit are first rate all the way, and the suburbs are very nice.There is some great art deco architecture downtown, which I would rather look at any day over another mundane glass structure. I also love that Detroit is on the Canadian border, and that there is easy access to a foriegn country if you get a taste for something international, yet relatively inexspensive. Unfortunately, the economy and the crime (which is only really bad in certain sections) have given us such a bad reputation the past 30 years that few people realize what a great city Detroit was once upon a time. Hopefully we'll get back there one day, although it probably won't be in my lifetime with the clowns we have running the city and the state of Michigan. I guess if there is a bright side, it's that we'll never have to worry about the droves of people descending on the latest "in" place to live, like SD, Atlanta, Phoenix or Seattle, which, while good for the local economy, brings with it a whole new set of negative issues, many of which have been discussed in this particular blog. The thing I've always loved most about Detroit is, well, Detroiters! I can't imagine it ever being a city comprised of people who are from somewhere else, like all those I listed above, and I'm sure I won't have to worry about it. Sorry, I know this is a SD board, but a lot of people were dumping on my town, and I always feel the need to defend it.
Location: Proud home of the Parkview Little Leaguers
489 posts, read 1,956,467 times
Reputation: 259
I apologize, Northman - I did not mean to "dump" on Detroit. I know people there who would not live anywhere else, including San Diego, Phoenix, and other cities you mentioned, and you're right about Detroiters--there is a salt-of-the-earthedness about them. The point I was trying to get across is that there are many many there right now who do not have jobs and can't find one. Some of the "negative" issues brought up about San Diego seem benign compared to what Detroiters are now having to face--my post didn't come across right.
Weather is just weather. If you move to any city just because of the weather and don't really like the place (there are many in San Diego like that), you are not going to be happy. On the other hand, if you really love Detroit, you'll put up with its weather. Life is way too short to live anywhere you are not happy, and "weather" alone is not enough to keep you happy in any city. Even if San Diego had a mediocre climate, I'd still want to live here.
I have lived in a lot of places, Florida, California, Ohio, and Michigan. I have been fortunate enough to visit many places and I have had extended stays. I think there is good and bad everywhere. The Economy and People in the USA, I beleive are the same everywhere. There will always be the have and have not's etc.. There unfortunatley is no way to fix that, and there is a fading middle class.
The nice part is there is the choice to choose where we all want to live, and even the poorest americans can migrate if they choose. It may take awhile to save money or in some people's cases who are care free and they do still exisit, hop a freight train and go, or hitch hike, This is not safe nor reccomended but we all have that freedom.
San Diego and everywhere else has plastic people, real people, nice people, mean people etc.. that's just a part of life.
I have been told on this site SD has deteriorated since I was last there, most major cities in the U.S. have done the same thing.
Therefore, I guess if people are the same and large cities continue to deteriorate you just have to choose the best place to live you can. I will always love SD, it may have changed and not be the beautiful city I remember. Which I want to believe not to be the case. But I am an absolute realist, I won't be that same person I was when I lived there and I do not know of any city that is the same anywhere.
Home truly is where your heart is! My heart aches at times for San Diego!
My guess is that many people who say they don't like San Diego probably didn't pick a neighborhood which was suitable for their own lifestyle.
San Diego is comprised of many of different types of neighborhoods.
La Jolla and Coronado are suited for more affluent living. High-society, tennis, golf, etc.
Point Loma is great for people who like boating, yachts, etc.
Mission/Fashion Valley is great for it's proximity to nice upscale shopping malls.
Pacific Beach is good for surfers, partying, etc.
Hillcrest is more artsy.
Northpark is good for people who like a quiet cultured lifestyle. It's close to Balboa Park and its many museums.
In some sections south and east of downtown, like Chula Vista, National City, Imperial Beach, and areas close to the Mexican border, you may find poorer sections, with potential gang-related activity.
Further east (La Mesa, El Cajon, Santee, etc) are less expensive, but the trade-off is you are living in hotter climates, and much further from the beaches.
My personal favorite is Clairemont. It's a middle-class suburban neighborhood which is close to Mission Bay and Mission/Pacific Beach. It's great for people who like to bike ride, rollerblade, jog, kayak, go to the beach, and do other outdoors stuff. A nice thing I like about Clairemont is it isn't right "at" the beach, but it's very close. There's no beach-like partying, or heavy tourist traffic to deal with. Also Clairemont has lots of shopping centers, grocery stores, restaurants, and just about anything else you might need to live.
So I would say that before you criticize San Diego, ask yourself if you picked a suitable section for yourself to live?
To me, San Diego is probably the nicest city in the entire country to live in. Yes, the cost of living is a bit higher (mostly for housing) ... but you are paying for the unbelievably great year-round weather !!!
My guess is that many people who say they don't like San Diego probably didn't pick a neighborhood which was suitable for their own lifestyle.
San Diego is comprised of many of different types of neighborhoods.
La Jolla and Coronado are suited for more affluent living. High-society, tennis, golf, etc.
Point Loma is great for people who like boating, yachts, etc.
Mission/Fashion Valley is great for it's proximity to nice upscale shopping malls.
Pacific Beach is good for surfers, partying, etc.
Hillcrest is more artsy.
Northpark is good for people who like a quiet cultured lifestyle. It's close to Balboa Park and its many museums.
In some sections south and east of downtown, like Chula Vista, National City, Imperial Beach, and areas close to the Mexican border, you may find poorer sections, with potential gang-related activity.
Further east (La Mesa, El Cajon, Santee, etc) are less expensive, but the trade-off is you are living in hotter climates, and much further from the beaches.
My personal favorite is Clairemont. It's a middle-class suburban neighborhood which is close to Mission Bay and Mission/Pacific Beach. It's great for people who like to bike ride, rollerblade, jog, kayak, go to the beach, and do other outdoors stuff. A nice thing I like about Clairemont is it isn't right "at" the beach, but it's very close. There's no beach-like partying, or heavy tourist traffic to deal with. Also Clairemont has lots of shopping centers, grocery stores, restaurants, and just about anything else you might need to live.
So I would say that before you criticize San Diego, ask yourself if you picked a suitable section for yourself to live?
To me, San Diego is probably the nicest city in the entire country to live in. Yes, the cost of living is a bit higher (mostly for housing) ... but you are paying for the unbelievably great year-round weather !!!
Great thread, but I wouldn't waste too much time trying to justify what makes San Diego great. Most of these haters have since moved on to more exotic locales such as Pensacola, Birmingham and Houston. I mean, how can San Diego even compete with those places?
I don't even think the original poster is out of high school or lives in San Diego.
Location: Originally Fayetteville, Arkansas/ now Seattle, Washington!
1,047 posts, read 3,946,658 times
Reputation: 382
lol
Hehe silly people on these posts. Complaining about "plastic people" and how they are "fake". Man i lived in miami for a while, and i wish those people had been fake. I am white and was CONSTANTLY racially discriminated against. People that would tear you down in public and laugh about it with each other. I could go on about the feeling that gave me for hours....the most depressing feeling in the world, being discriminated against in your own country. I'll tell yea, "fake" people just trying to have fun together and being like others just means they have friends. Being an individual and having no friends can get kinda old. That happens up here to me in Seattle. I'm a metalhead lol can't deny it, Leather pants, Leather Jacket, Hair to my belt and sometimes i find myself with a lack of friends. But I still know people who are nice, and believe it or not, people in seattle can be "plastic" too sometimes, so many rich people here. Either way, i'll take that any day over being discriminated against. Any day.
Hehe silly people on these posts. Complaining about "plastic people" and how they are "fake". Man i lived in miami for a while, and i wish those people had been fake. I am white and was CONSTANTLY racially discriminated against. People that would tear you down in public and laugh about it with each other. I could go on about the feeling that gave me for hours....the most depressing feeling in the world, being discriminated against in your own country. I'll tell yea, "fake" people just trying to have fun together and being like others just means they have friends. Being an individual and having no friends can get kinda old. That happens up here to me in Seattle. I'm a metalhead lol can't deny it, Leather pants, Leather Jacket, Hair to my belt and sometimes i find myself with a lack of friends. But I still know people who are nice, and believe it or not, people in seattle can be "plastic" too sometimes, so many rich people here. Either way, i'll take that any day over being discriminated against. Any day.
Yea...I got that same bit in Miami too!
No fun....especially when you are out LOOKING for fun!
LOL
In my experience, when I hear complaints on this site about "traffic", "drivers", "people", or that a city is "overrated", it's often a code word for "I can't afford to live here" or "I live with my parents"
I really have to laugh about the traffic issue references, the plastic people, how overrated SD is, etc...and wonder if those that use these arguments have lived in other cities where traffic is truly bad (how about sitting in 1.5 hrs of traffic in NYC to go 11 miles - EVERY DAY?) and where plastic people really look down on you (Miami, LA?), etc...
I've found that in every city - no matter how small or large, you're going to find these types of situations to some degree and really - in my mind, it's how you choose to deal with the different situations that make or break your experiences. As I've written before, I don't know how/where/why so many continue to put themselves in situations where they are around people they don't like.
Quote:
In my experience, when I hear complaints on this site about "traffic", "drivers", "people", or that a city is "overrated", it's often a code word for "I can't afford to live here" or "I live with my parents"
In my experience, when I hear complaints on this site about "traffic", "drivers", "people", or that a city is "overrated", it's often a code word for "I can't afford to live here" or "I live with my parents"
That pretty much sums it up. While I really like my new home and surroundings just north of Austin, I would gladly move back to Carlsbad if I could buy a 2400 square foot house for $200K. The weather and the beaches really make San Diego County the best place to live anywhere if you're into the outdoors.
However, I also understand why people from really big cities like New York or Chicago might not like San Diego. I did find myself driving up to Los Angeles on a regular basis to see concerts and such when I lived there. I saw those drives as another plus though, as I could then get away from the "big" city of Los Angeles and go back to quiet North County in just 2 hours.
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lol
