San Diego, California vs. Providence, Rhode Island (living, state, better)

[CrockettandTubbs]

San Diego or Providence? Which of these 2 cities would you rather live in and why? Here is some criteria....

Which has the better restaurants?
Which has the better location?
Which has the better economy?
Which is more affordable?
Which is more laid back?
Which has the more friendly people?
Which is more racially diverse?
Which is cleaner?
Which has more crime?
Which has more transplants?
Which is better for younger people?
Which is more Liberal?
Which is more walkable?
Four Seasons of weather or year-round warm sunshine?
New England Patriots or San Diego Chargers?

[Hawaii4evr]

San Diego, temperature-wise, has better weather. But Providence gets more rain. San Diego is too dry. But San Diego has better beaches and nature.

Otherwise, Providence is probably a better choice.

[ImaCritic]

Providence. I lived in San Diego for about a year and a half and you couldn't pay me or give me a house to make me live there again.

[DavidMichael]

Restaurants- San Diego
Location- Subjective. San Diego is closer to the Mexican border and Providence is closer to the Canadian border. It depends, if you would prefer a southwest lifestyle, go for San Diego. If you would prefer a northeastern, New England lifestyle go for Providence.
Economy- Providence has a higher unemployment rate than San Diego. San Diego has more job prospects but the state of Rhode Island is doing all that they can to get Providence up and running again.
Affordable- Providence gets this one. Beach living and near perfect weather year round definitely comes at a price!
Laid-back- San Diego seems a lot more laid back than Providence! During the winter, people are on the beach while in Providence, they are shoveling snow.
People- Don't quite know on this one. From what I've heard, people in Providence like things very old fashioned and are reserved but that could just be stereotyping. In San Diego, the people all seem very nice, relaxed and progressive.
Diverse- Being closer to the Mexican border and closer to Asia than the East Coast, San Diego is a lot more diverse than Providence.
Cleaner- San Diego takes this one. A lot of neighborhoods in Providence are very dirty and there are a lot of people below the poverty line.
Crime- Although San Diego does have more crime, it has a larger population. Providence has a large amount of crime covering a small area of people.
Transplants- Both cities are welcoming but I think San Diego is more welcoming than Providence.
Younger people- San Diego is a more up and coming city than Providence is so there are more younger people and families.
Liberal- San Diego is A LOT more liberal than Providence. Though Providence is a pretty liberal city, San Diego thinkers seem to be a bit more open minded. Both cities are equally artsy lol
Walkable-I would have to give this one to San Diego. The beaches are so nice to walk on and Imperial Beach boasts a lot of opportunities for walking.
Four seasons or year round sunshine- Living in a place that gets a lot of snow, I would have to say year round sunshine!
New England Patriots or San Diego Chargers- I'm a giants fan so LET'S GO CHARGERS!!!!!

[ctr88]

Two very different places. I grew up in New England and lived in CA for 26 years and SD for 7 of those years. I used to really want to be on the West Coast. Lately I've been really missing the history, historic houses, small towns and whole vibe of New England. I just really miss the old houses and pre WW II neighborhoods of the East Coast. The west coast just has just shoddy looking architecture with little character. Because it is so much newer and after WW II they started mass producing cookie cutter houses which makes for ugly neighborhoods. I'm am much less pro West Coast after living out here for 27 years.

But that being said, Providence is a very tough run down town. There are a lot of other nicer New England towns.