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Yes I can definitely agree with this. San Diego is a very cool city. Best city in California by a mile, nothing comes close. Downtown LA and downtown SD are too totally different neighborhoods. LA is far too fractured and also very dirty. For a city of its size, LA’s downtown is so disappointing. Miami’s downtown is also disappointing.
Miami's downtown is just too small for a city of its size. It kind of suffers from the same ill fate as Tampa does, in that there is a more robust, more interesting, more urban place across the bay (Miami Beach/St-Pete.)
That being said, anyone who tries to claim that Miami is more "urban" than SD needs to be thrown into a mental asylum.
That being said, anyone who tries to claim that Miami is more "urban" than SD needs to be thrown into a mental asylum.
Well, regionally they are somewhat similar. Their urban footprint and overall densities are comparable (obviously noting that Miami is a more populous region).
I'd imagine that some urban areas are comparable based on actual census numbers, although I think the look and feel are different.
The more amusing claim is that Miami is more "fun" than San Diego. Both cities are fun to different types of visitors, so it's obviously very subjective and personal. I will say that San Diego has a bit more diversity in terms of options for "fun".
Well, regionally they are somewhat similar. Their urban footprint and overall densities are comparable (obviously noting that Miami is a more populous region).
I'd imagine that some urban areas are comparable based on actual census numbers, although I think the look and feel are different.
The more amusing claim is that Miami is more "fun" than San Diego. Both cities are fun to different types of visitors, so it's obviously very subjective and personal. I will say that San Diego has a bit more diversity in terms of options for "fun".
I'd say "fun" has to do with the components of their leisure and entertainment sectors geared towards adults that would include things like nightlife, professional sports, music scene, concerts/special events, fashion, art, etc. In this regard, it would appear as though Miami is more Vegas and SD is more Orlando.
I'd say "fun" has to do with the components of their leisure and entertainment sectors geared towards adults that would include things like nightlife, professional sports, music scene, concerts/special events, fashion, art, etc. In this regard, it would appear as though Miami is more Vegas and SD is more Orlando.
Yes, I'd agree with that. I do think that San Diego is a bit more balanced between the family and non-family, young and old, etc. markets though, compared to Miami, Orlando, and Vegas. I think it can offer a solid "fun" experience for a larger variety of tourist groups, even if it isn't a stand-out in, say, professional sports, art, or fashion.
LA does an even better job at catering to a diverse range of visitor interests. Basically everything that SD can offer, except generally higher quality and more options. If only it wasn't so stressful getting around the city!
The traffic hampers it some, but I don't think any metro area beats LA in that, not even NYC.
But I do think SD is more visitor friendly, for sure. And for whatever reason, LA doesn't cater to tourists like other cities. It's weird. One example is they're FINALLY going to make Hollywood Blvd more tourist friendly, after decades of not giving a damn. It's going to be interesting to see what they do.
I do think downtown San Diego belongs on one of these downtown lists. Not top 10, but it should be in the top 15 somewhere.
The traffic hampers it some, but I don't think any metro area beats LA in that, not even NYC.
But I do think SD is more visitor friendly, for sure. And for whatever reason, LA doesn't cater to tourists like other cities. It's weird. One example is they're FINALLY going to make Hollywood Blvd more tourist friendly, after decades of not giving a damn. It's going to be interesting to see what they do.
I do think downtown San Diego belongs on one of these downtown lists. Not top 10, but it should be in the top 15 somewhere.
LA #1 in traffic I agree. However if you break it down to different types of traffic, I think NYC is hands down #1 for city/street/urban traffic. But overall I'd say LA is the worst. Probably followed by DC, Chicago, Boston in some order. NYC Metro is probably #5 and that's with the area having so many alternate routes in the 5 boroughs, NJ, LI, Westchester. It's a never ending maze of roadways everywhere.
This is going to be very bias, so feel free to take everything I'm about to state with an enormous grain of salt!
F Rankings:
Albany, Buffalo Albuquerque, Dayton, El Paso, Fresno, Grand Rapids, Greensboro, Hartford, OKC, Rochester
D Rankings: Asheville, Baltimore, Bham, Cape Coral/ Fort Myers, Charlotte, Chatt, Cincinnati,
Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Greenville, Harrisburg, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, KC, Knoxville, Louisville, Milwak, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, SLC, SA, VA Beach, Sarasota, Savannah, Tampa, Tucson, Tulsa
Borderline D/C: Austin, Denver, Memphis, Charleston, Pitt, STL, San Juan, PHX, Santa Fe
C Ranks: Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Minn, Nash, NOLA, Philly,Seattle, SD
B Ranks: Chi, Honolulu, Vegas, Miami, Orlando, SF,
Borderline A: Boston, LA, DC
A Rank: NYC
Honestly, I feel like many in my Borderline D/C rank on down to my F are all negotiable- obviously, none of these are hard and fast rules. I think if you are visiting you can get the feel for even gargantuan cities in 4-7 days and do all the necessary things a tourist ought to do.
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