What do you love/hate about San diego?

[oping00]

Originally Posted by EclecticEars

Love/like:
- Pure Burger in Carlsbad
- Walking along the coast near sunset
- Views in La Jolla or Del Mar
- Petco Park
- Taking a drive out the 8 or the 78 to the desert areas
- Proximity to Mexico
- Imperial Beach is a hidden gem
- The area's geared toward our men and women in uniform!

Quite dislike:
- Rude drivers...waaaaaaay ruder than L.A. or Bay Area drivers
- Surly customer service. I expect it in L.A. or San Francisco, or especially Chicago or the urban Northeast. But, San Diego?!
- Unimpressive food scene for a city of its size, stature and wealth. Even L.A. and the Bay have better Mexican food!
- The general "vibe" of the San Diego region--cliquish and defensive for being such a transplant city, and very superficial and shallow for being so "down to Earth" and "anti-L.A."
- It felt strangely "un-Californian" to me--not like L.A., O.C., Santa Barbara, S.F., Oakland, Sacramento, Fresno, Palm Springs, etc. This sensation is the most difficult for me to articulate, I admit.
- My landlord was the worst I've ever had. This, after the process of securing housing in S.D. was the worst of any place I've lived in the world.
- Depressed wages in the job market, especially compared to nearby O.C. and L.A. which also have a comparable cost of living
- Job interviewers seemingly made it a point to be rude, condescending, abrupt, and unprofessional. Experienced this much less often in L.A. and the Bay.
- Coronado is waaaaaay overrated.

Five months living there was enough for me. I made a couple of good friends, enjoyed trips out to Anza-Borrego, and was glad to have a passport so I could visit Tijuana. I get why S.D. appeals to soooooo many, but it wasn't for me.

So what city would best fit your needs if not San Diego.

[EclecticEars]

Originally Posted by oping00

So what city would best fit your needs if not San Diego.

Well, I no longer live in S.D. anyway. That said, I actually, honestly like L.A., and, God willing, am moving back there soon. I'm still young, single, and L.A. has many of the career opportunities I'm looking for, so why not?

I live in Northern California (Modesto/Merced area) at the moment (I chose this job offer over another one near L.A., long story behind that). I like it up here as a whole, but there's no way I could live here longer term.

L.A. would seem so "unlike" me to you if you met me, but the energy and cosmopolitanism of the place is alluring. I lived in L.A. and O.C. in grad school, thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the area, and got to meet and know some really cool people there (found them friendlier and more engaging than the folks in S.D., too). I admit that I really like Long Beach, smack dab between downtown L.A. and O.C., yet with some of the "beachy" vibe that draws people to San Diego.

[mixxalot]

San Diego was way more awesome when I lived here 10 years ago before the crowds ruined it. People are rude now here and horrible drivers with grid lock traffic that makes LA and SF look tame. Wages suck too I get tech recruiters wanting me to take a 40k pay cut to work in a San Diego cube farm. I can see why you wanted to leave.

[oping00]

Originally Posted by mixxalot

San Diego was way more awesome when I lived here 10 years ago before the crowds ruined it. People are rude now here and horrible drivers with grid lock traffic that makes LA and SF look tame. Wages suck too I get tech recruiters wanting me to take a 40k pay cut to work in a San Diego cube farm. I can see why you wanted to leave.

Didn't realize SD isn't all that it appears to be. I work in Tech also so are the salaries for tech workers in SD on average less than L.A. or Orange county?

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by oping00

Didn't realize SD isn't all that it appears to be. I work in Tech also so are the salaries for tech workers in SD on average less than L.A. or Orange county?

Salaries for similar jobs aren't that different, there are just fewer jobs and for lesser companies. Google, Facebook, Amazon are all in both LA and Irvine now. On average a software career will pay less and have less advancement opportunity in SD.

[sdlife619]

The crowds of people and street traffic non stop all day has been one of the biggest issues. Although SD has grown and become a much bigger metro compared to 15 years ago, if you go to downtown during the day, or anywhere for that matter, we still feel like a resort town, it's either people are chillin and relaxing at the beach, or shopping somewhere. Not a real hustle and bustle city with a lot of important things going on. Just people going to doctors appointments or to the store, nowhere of significance like in L.A. or the Bay Area. Maybe this is why when people outside of CA think of CA, the first things that come to their minds is L.A for the entertainment and Hollywood,or the Bay Area for Tech and also SF being an amazing bustling city for it's size. And San Diego? What about us? What makes us so important to businessman and outsiders that's better than the other 2 metros? Weather and beaches don't count either.

I would even say OC has much more going on, and more job opportunities than here.