San Diego vs. Philadelphia

[boyd]

I went to school in Philadephia and would consider myself an East Coasts person but I now live in San Diego. There are many positives such as the weather and outdoor activities beach, mountains etc...and few negatives. The one negative about San Diego especially coming from the East Coast is the lack of Artistic and Intellectual bent and stimulus. Its a second tier city even compared to Philadelphia. Its also hard to "break in" so to speak. These in my opinion are the only negatives. There is a distinct and subtle difference in West Coast culture. I was suprised to find this but its something you should be aware of. But I must say living here is like one never ending dream (except the fires though). Good Luck!!

[Police]

145 in Philly will go much further than 160k in San Diego. Which city do you like better? I assume you've visited both.

[limaman]

I was faced with the same choice in 2000. I moved to SD, lived there for 5 years. Loved the weather, loved the beach. Back on the East Coast.
What I did not like?
Too far to travel to Europe. It is also a very transient city.
So it depends what you like. If you are thinking about having kids, the school systems are pretty comparable. I don't find SD or Phillie that different cost wise.
Sure housing might be a bit more in SD but think how much less it costs to heat the house.
160K is a very comfortable salary in SD.
As far as the outdoors?
It is hard to surf in Phillie.
You can ski in SD in the winter.

[Police]

Originally Posted by limaman

I was faced with the same choice in 2000. I moved to SD, lived there for 5 years. Loved the weather, loved the beach. Back on the East Coast.
What I did not like?
Too far to travel to Europe. It is also a very transient city.
So it depends what you like. If you have kids, the school systems are pretty comparable. I don't find SD or Phillie that different cost wise.
Sure housing might be a bit more in SD but think how much less it costs to heat the house.
160K is a very comfortable salary in SD.

Were the distance to Europe and transiency of the city the only reasons you left San Diego?

[NYSD1995]

Philly suburbs are *much* cheaper than San Diego's and have better schools (except some of the Main Line towns). City of Philly has a crime problem and high taxes, but there are popular and safe neighborhoods where condo prices are higher than downtown SD's. Philly is a similar size city to San Diego but in generally has a more favorable pay / housing spread. There's a tradeoff... it's nickname is Filthadelphia for a reason!

[limaman]

Imho, at that income level, it is a matter of lifestyle preference.
The schools in CV, RB, RSD, Carlsbad are equal to most east coast schools if not superior.
In any case, it is nice to have a choice.
Good luck to Time is running out.

[RD5050]

Philadelphia has a mixture of many different types of neighborhoods. Some are more dangerous, and have high crime, such as the inner city neighborhoods in North Philly and parts of West Philly. Other Philly neighborhoods, such as the far Northeast are mostly middle class, and are reasonably safe. Some Philly neighborhoods (and Philly suburbs) are more upscale such as Jenkintown, Bala Cynwyd, Huntington Valley, Richboro, and Southampton.

So my point is that you can't simply judge Philly as a whole. You need to judge it based on the area of Philly you choose to live.

San Diego is somewhat similar. There are less desirable areas such as Lemon Grove and National City, and more desirable areas such as La Jolla and Coronado.

But for someone who likes being outdoors, I would recommend SD over Philly in a heartbeat. As I stated in my earlier post, living in SD is like being on vacation 365 days a year.

[wenzit420]

Great post's RD. If I had the choice I would pick SD in a second. But, Ive been to Philly like 10-20 times and SD like 3 times. I think Philly has a great thing going for itself. that being lots of pride. People from Philly are proud and very in your face. My bro lives in philly and doesnt like it very much. but his pay is great and his housing is low so hes happy for now. SD has a lot to offer with 145K id go to Cali....

[mossomo]

Originally Posted by Time Is Running Out

two offers...160k in San Diego or 145k in Philly.

If you like relatively laid back, typically mellow, outdoor minded people and a whole ton of sunshine, then San Diego it is.

Seriously, when I lived in Philly, it was typical to have a murder a day. Thats depressing, generates lots of negative energy. That negative energy might by why they have that philly attitude.

The following is typical of the philly mindset: TBO.com - News From AP (broken link)

I moved to SD and it was almost four months before a homocide. So yeah, I moved here for the PMA - positive mental attitude!!! God bless! Love it here.

[RD5050]

Once again ... Philly is a huge city with lots of different types of neighborhoods.

Some sections are more dangerous ... others are completely safe. It just depends on where you live.

So you shouldn't stereotype the people of Philly as a whole. They each act differently depending on the section of Philly they live in.

North Philly is a very poor inner city area, somewhat like a ghetto. There are gang fights, murders, graffiti, robberies all common in this area.

South Philly is the section of Philly commonly depicted in the Rocky movies, with the "Yo ... Adrian" type of accents. There are lots of people from Italy that live in South Philly, and I think the "Yo ..." type of accents comes more from their Italian roots than Philly roots. Most Philadelphians do not talk or sound anything like Sylvestor Stallone.

Far Northeast Philly is a middle-class area with very few problems. I would have no problem recommending this section to anyone to live in. Sylvestor Stallone actually grew up in Northeast Philly in a middle-class neighborhood.

And most of the Philly suburbs are safe to live as well.

The only real problem areas of Philly are in the poorer inner-city neighborhoods.