Which city has a better downtown? San Diego or Portland (live, best)

[the topper]

Which city has better downtown? San Diego or Portland

Criteria:

Vibrancy
size
amenity
cleanliness
safety
nightlife
shopping

[the topper]

Wow, San Diego is winning!

[USDefault]

I've lived near both. Portland's downtown is arguably "better." Food is vastly superior (not debatable). Lots of art and music going on all the time in Portland. A much bigger book and movie atmosphere in Portland; if you love to read Portland is second only to New York. And the nighttime scene is much more laid back, not the pseudo-Vegas garbage you get in San Diego. Cannabis clubs too, if that's your thing.

San Diego has a nice downtown, and the waterfront locale is great. San Diego winter weather cannot be beat, whereas it's rainy in Portland from Novemberish through the end of February.

Shopping, Portland has tons of eclectic stores and shops, and that's because the business rents haven't yet hit the stratosphere (but this is changing as developers are buying up everything to put in luxury residences, because tons of people are moving here from the Bay Area and LA).

Although Portland may not have an oceanfront, Portland does have lots of homes, businesses, and places to go and see all along the mighty Columbia River, and it is really beautiful as you see all the bridges and places that overlook the Columbia and Willamette rivers. Water and waterways abounds, as does green and trees and flowers; this place is rich in natural resources and healthy habitat.


If you're looking for a place to get excellent breakfast, lunch, dinner all year long, at a price that won't destroy your wallet; the ability to jet about to all kinds of things; head out to clubs without paying $40 cover charges; go out drinking where the people and the vibe is totally laid back, it's Portland. No question.

[the topper]

Downtown Portland got this one over San Diego: more lively, more thriving retail/restaurant businesses and cleaner/safer.

Downtown San Diego doesn't measure up to Downtown Portland.

[the topper]

Portland finally wins in the downtown department!!

[OhTheUrbanity]

San Diego just lost one of only two downtown department stores, so that's a big blow right there. Portland used to have three downtown dept. stores and is now down to two.

[MovingFromALX]

I didn't even realize SD had a downtown. SD has lots of great things, but a traditional urban core is not one of them.

[TheseGoTo11]

PDX is probably the best downtown outside a top 15 MSA. Narrow streets, walkable, great bars & restaurants.

[shunketsu]

Originally Posted by MovingFromALX

I didn't even realize SD had a downtown. SD has lots of great things, but a traditional urban core is not one of them.

San Diego has one of the largest urban cores for a metro of its size in the USA. Whether it's a high quality one or not is definitely debatable, but it does exist, and it isn't small. Of course, American urban cores tend to be amongst the weakest in the world relative to metro area populations, so San Diego's urban core isn't impressive from an international perspective, but from a U.S. perspective, to believe that San Diego doesn't have a downtown is overdoing it.

[MovingFromALX]

Originally Posted by shunketsu

San Diego has one of the largest urban cores for a metro of its size in the USA. Whether it's a high quality one or not is definitely debatable, but it does exist, and it isn't small. Of course, American urban cores tend to be amongst the weakest in the world relative to metro area populations, so San Diego's urban core isn't impressive from an international perspective, but from a U.S. perspective, to believe that San Diego doesn't have a downtown is overdoing it.

San Diego's urban core is basically a bunch of moderately dense neighborhoods of single family homes linked by freeways and some very recent residential high rises near the waterfront.