Is San Francisco better than San Diego for what I'm looking for? (Berkeley: buy, theatre)

[jaynetarzana]

LOL! mini_cute, you are on the right track.

[KFK]

I think that you should head back to the East Coast, and check out Boston. Cambridge might be a great match for you.
You can't find another city in the U.S more densely packed with academics and intellectuals (Boston must have more universities per square foot than any other city in the country! Harvard, Radcliffe, MIT, Lesley College, Tufts University, Boston University, Boston College, etc, etc, etc). As a younger person seeking that cerebral buzz and energy, you'll find it here.
You'll find liberals, you'll find conservatives, you'll find independents. There's a mix.
You can drive 20 minutes west of the city, and find woods, lakes, fields, and peace and quiet. Drive an hour north or south and you'll be at the ocean.
The weather here is similar to DC ( a good mix of both sunny days and cloudy/rainy days), without the oppressive heat factor in the summer. (Well, there are a few weeks in summer when it can get oppressive, but its over soon enough!).
Can't beat the beauty of the seasons, and the gorgeous fall colors of New England.
You can always go back to CA later!

[Imabaythizz]

U wanted laid back... Well laid back people aren't Albert einstiens.

U ****ing idiots from east coast all think your so smart. Everytime I go there it's like people are battling thier brains. It's hella retarted. Here we all thnk were cool rather than smart. We do alllot of drugs. If you have a kid don't raise him in the city city or berkley or Oakland. If you want hot weather and 30 minutes to the city. Walnut creek. Very expensive but I live right to the west and it's 102 yesterday in late spetember.

Best weather. Sd is my second favorite place on earth . True californias love the thugs and homies, we love the Hispanics and we loovvve to smoke pot.


Simply put, all you smart ass ppl on right coast have no idea what true Cali is about. You think it's just like dc but hott???? Ur ****ing retarted.

It's hellllla different. That's rite

Hella

[AddieJane]

Originally Posted by sav858

Honestly you seem pretty close minded yourself being so judgmental about a place that is obviously very different from DC but don't seem to realize it. Over 40% of San Diegan's have a college degree so I'm not sure how you can't find educated people unless you work some blue collar job. Myself and my friends are all mid 20's and college educated and don't have any trouble finding people like that.

Stereotypes are also gross generalizations and tend not to be true many times so maybe that's part of your problem there too. Honestly it just seems like you want some DC/East Coast 'light' type place with better weather.
Just b/c someone smokes weed doesn't mean they aren't living a relatively healthy lifestyle or is frying their brains out at all. This is just another example of how I think you can somewhat close minded about some things; being liberal doesn't automatically make someone "open minded" btw.

I'd agree with this post. I only know college educated people in SD, because that's who I hang out with. Then again, when I lived there, I never hung out at bars all night or at MB or PB (except to run in a race).

You sound like you already know your answer and it is: San Francisco. I'll admit SF is my favorite city in CA for many reasons, but none of them being "open-mindedness" "diversity" or "drug-use" like so many others. It's just an awesome city. I got married there. Have tons of family there. Love to visit.

I'm guesing you'll be back on the east coast soon. I think people come to CA with a vision in their mind and when it doesn't live up to that vision, they are disappointed.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by summertime25

I am a single female in my upper 20s who relocated from DC to San Diego earlier this year. I was so excited about moving to CA. I grew up on the east coast my entire life and was ready for a change. I wanted warm and sunny weather, more outdoor activities, laid back, friendly, and down to earth people, and beaches. I thought San Diego would be a good fit because I was able keep my job and maintain my DC salary.

Now I'm starting to wish I had considered other cities along the west coast. San Diego seems to really lack in diversity, liberalism and open-mindedness, culture, and educated/young professionals (or educated people period). When I say diverse, I am referring to diverse, educated, liberal people, regardless of race, color of skin, ethnic background, etc.

The city feels very blue-collared. I've come across a lot of grungy people covered in tattoos, homies and thugs (especially near the beaches), some racist/rednecks. Don’t get me wrong, I welcome country western types and African Americans. It's the racist or uneducated meat-headed people (pb, mission beach, and east county are great examples of the types that I am referring to).

San Diego has very little diversity. The only diversity that's worth mentioning here is the Hispanic culture. But that's it. And unfortunately, a lot of the Hispanics in San Diego are also make up the poor and uneducated population. You don't see different races from different parts of the world who are all educated and intelligent. The one positive is that mostly anyone can fit in socially in San Diego because people are so carefree, so you might find the "appreciating cultural diversity" aspect. But it's almost a too carefree attitude, if that makes any sense.

People in San Diego seem to be really into illegal drug use or drinking their faces off. Many people are into smoking lots of pot. I know you can fine people who use drugs anywhere, but it seems to be much more prevalent here than in DC.

The quantity of good job opportunities seem to be lacking. Even the university/school options aren't that great (the only good school IMO is UCSD).

San Diego is just not what I thought it would be :-( Don't get me wrong, I love the weather, the scenery is beautiful, there is tons to do outdoors, and traffic is a breeze compared to back east. But what's up with the people and lack of opportunity?

I guess I'm wondering if San Francisco would be a better fit for the things that I am looking for. I really don't want to deal with cold and rainy weather and rat races but guess I can make the trade off if other benefits out way these things.

This is what I am really after: Cosmopolitan, culture, liberal minded educated people, diversity, urban environment (I don't want to move to a small town) that I found in DC but with the great weather, outdoor/active/healthy lifestyle that California has to offer. A place with good job/career or advanced education opportunities without the rat race, work your butt off mentality that exists back east. Does this environment exist in the San Francisco bay area? If so, what part of the area?

Finally, someone who's sees this city's true colors!

I've lived in San Diego half my life and the San Francisco Bay Area half my life. I can tell you from personal experience that for what you're looking for, you need to be in the bay area. Your exact experience will depend on where you go as the BA is a very diverse place.

This statement of yours:

This is what I am really after: Cosmopolitan, culture, liberal minded educated people, diversity, urban environment (I don't want to move to a small town) that I found in DC but with the great weather, outdoor/active/healthy lifestyle that California has to offer.

Pretty much describes the Bay Area to the letter! It seriously has all that and then more! I go home several times a year and see the stark contrast between San Diego (where I am now) and the bay. I'm currently looking for jobs out of SD. I will either end up in Seattle of back to the BA. Take a trip up there sometime, trust me you will fall in love with it.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by summertime25

I can't imagine it be any worse than Seattle, the midwest, or the east coast...Is it really that cloudy, cold, or rainy?

Great feedback, keep it coming!

City % Sunshine Clear Days Phoenix, Arizona 85 211 Las Vegas, Nevada 85 210 Tucson, Arizona 85 193 El Paso, Texas 84 193 Fresno, California 79 194 Sacramento, California 78 188 Albuquerque, New Mexico 76 186 Los Angeles, California 73 167 Denver, Colorado 69 115 San Diego, California 68 146 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 68 139 San Francisco, California 66 160
Sunniest US Cities - Current Results

[Gentoo]

And to the person who talked about the music scene in SF, the fact that there is a hip/hop scene is actually inviting to me. You can hardly find any african americans in SD. It's actually kind of sad.

Oh no, we're here...we're just ignored lol

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by trover

Well, you will find most of what you're looking for here. The thing that I find interesting is the insistance on the "health scene." You will find a lot of people into fitness, natural or vegan foods, yoga, etc... here. You will also find people who smoke like chimneys and drink like fish. As one poster said, lots of the latter. There are still many jobs in SF where drinking lunches are perfectly accepted. And people here love their wine. God how they do.

I guess I've always viewed it as a personal choice. If you're saying you're looking for a place that has more healthy living resources, SF might be it. I do see a lot of it here. (then again, I've never gone looking for anything like that in San Diego, so I wouldn't be able to compare). Now, if you are simply bothered by being around people who aren't into a health-oriented lifestyle, you may have a tough time wherever you move.

I generally bag on San Diego but I will say this; the health concious attitude is here too. People run, go to the gym and exercise a lot just like they do in the Bay Area.

[Gentoo]

Just b/c someone smokes weed doesn't mean they aren't living a relatively healthy lifestyle or is frying their brains out at all.

Can't believe I'm agreeing with a San Diegan but I have to say this is true.

Also, I'd have to say that if drugs are really a turn off, California as a whole may be a problem. I'm not saying that we are all pot heads and drunks, however we do have a much healthier attitude when it comes to these things. Meaning that, there are worse things to worry about. And yes Bay Area people do like to drink as well and we (I still consider myself a bay area person) do love our wine! lol

Basically what I'm saying is rather it be SD, LA or SF, despite my ragging on SD all the time, Ca. as a whole doesn't stress over the hyped up media about pot and drinking. Like others have said, no letting this get to you is truly open mindedness. I don't do any drugs at all myself but as someone said before, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone it's no big deal. Live and let live and this tolerance for these alternative lifestyles is something you will see in all of California major cities. It's what we out here were founded on and beleive to our very core. It's only a matter of time before we legalize pot.

If this is ok with you then yes, SF is a better fit like I said previously.

[Gentoo]

As for higher education, no one ever claimed there were a bunch of Ivy League schools in San Diego, but even San Diego State has some wonderful programs. What would make you say something like that? What are you judging your opinions on?

Maybe not Ivy league but to be fair I do have to say that UCSD is one of the best schools anywhere. It's actually harder to get into than UC Berkeley.