San Diego people, attitudes, lifestyle, pace, friendliness...??? (Sacramento, Oakland: crime, house)

[Imperial1904]

Originally Posted by Osuzzanna

Hi Tim. The answer to your thread topic is: conservative, behind-the-times, boring, slow. I was raised in San Diego. Left in 1996 Couldn't wait to leave. That place is indescribable. I can't begin to tell you. I dread it when I have to go visit family or friends. Just to give you an idea of the thinking process of most of the citizens- the city decided to name a section of downtown after a Nobel peace prize winner - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. When the people heard about this they were in an uproar, they had petitions going out everywhere to defeat it , and they won. So they appeased the black people and named a ghetto section of hwy 94 after him.
The weather is boring, the cost of living is expensive, salaries are low and housing is high. The only good thing about San Diego is the beaches, but beaches are everywhere.

Exactly how long were you "raised" in San Diego?


I was also raised in San Diego, and yes, when I was a kid I thought it was a little boring at times because I never went out of the county until I was in my late teens (other than going to Tijuana when I was younger).

Behind the times? Obviously you have never been to Oregon.

In my opinion, San Diego is right where it should be in terms of being modern. It's still a growing city.

I don't think you can generalize a whole population, especially one with over 1 million residents because of a protest over a street name.

After living in Oregon and in Denver, CO, I can't tell you how much I miss San Diego.

[Lizardlips]

My advice is;
Look on this city forum, under some of the towns you are thinking of, you will see the difference in personalitys like crazy. I am moving to North Carolina in a month. It is so stressful here, listen to the angry voices on this site. I am not saying that is bad, awesome that everyone has an opinion, but I am ready to chill, and sit on a front porch and have people wave to me, not look down when you walk by so they don't have to make eye contact with you. Try Austin, it is a great city and very vibrant for a person your age. The people are great, get on their forum, see what they are talking about. Just my opinion. Go for the gusto, whadda ya got to lose???

[silverslc]

I agree with the fact you can’t generalize an attitude with such a diverse group. However if I had to, my general feeling would be complacency. In my experience many San Diegans are polite and friendly but after leaving and coming back I get a sense of arrogance due to the complacency. I always heard growing up "what beautiful weather we have", and aren’t we lucky to live in such a beautiful city". The weather anchors would make wise cracks about the horrible weather everyone else is having while we enjoyed mild conditions. In a nutshell I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the above statements but I cant help to think that over time that comments like that subconsciencely effect general attitudes toward ones self. I mean if you tell someone that they are good looking all the time, they began to loose that humility and began to expect that everyone perceives them as beautiful. As more people from places like the mid west come into Diego. That arrogance begins to grow. They flaunt the fact of their new residency. Some will argue what’s wrong with being proud of where you’re from. Well when that pride shrouds or demeans other people it doesn’t make for a balanced individual. I think its more a national attitude really. People are always looking to be the best. This obsession with Hollywood and high standard of living has gotten people generally selfish. You add that to a city that is known for its diverse economy beautiful weather and high cost of living you have what some consider a breeding ground of fake wanna- be’s who try so hard to impress others with their lifestyle.

Just an Opinion

[jcp123]

Interesting thread. I grew up in the Bay Area, but never heard hide nor hair from San Diego; not even much from LA. I had always thought San Diego to be a smoggy Mexican gangland that resembled LA in miniature with maybe 200k residents, but it's interesting to see how it has its own rather nice identity and is indeed a major metro area. Having moved out of the state and wanting now to move back to CA, I find myself looking more and more at San Diego and less at Chico, Sac, and the Bay Area where I'd previously wanted to be.

I mentioned above that I heard virtually nothing about San Diego during my days there; it was kind of forgotten about by many Bay Areans except as a nice place within the state to vacation. Do San Diegans more or less keep to themselves?

[tande1n5]

I agree.... being born in SF and having lived in Sacramento too, San Diego isn't really thought of by Northern Californians... people tend to either forget that San Diego exists, or else they think of it as part of LA... as far as a lot of Northern Californians are concerned, LA is everything below the grapevine... period.

I personally think San Diegans like that (to some degree), to answer your question. Not that they like being grouped into LA or forgotten about, but with so many people moving to SD as is, and since San Diegans on the whole really want to preserve the small-town vibe, the fewer outsiders that move here, the better. I think the last thing San Diegans would want is to merge with LA.

As a result, some LA die-hards like to marginalize SD also, seeing it as that little po-dunk town down the road... yet many want to move here... similar to the Bay Area/Sacramento, I think.

[Imperial1904]

Originally Posted by jcp123

I had always thought San Diego to be a smoggy Mexican gangland

That would be Tijuana. Though San Diego and Tijuana are sometimes thought of as a metro just because of how close they are to each other. Crime sometimes jumps the border also. It's funny how San Diego has one of the lowest crime rates in the country (for major U.S. cities) yet it is sandwiched between 2 violent cities.

[dsmolinski]

Yep, we love it here! We lived in N. CA (Bay area), Central Coast (SLO County), Ventura County and now San Diego for the past few years! This is a GREAT place to live! We had a vacation home here for many years before making it our primary place to live. There is definitely a melting pot of all kinds here, some folks are terrific and others, I want to avoid. I don't think you can move to a mid size city without running into all kinds. You just need to seek out places to meet the kind of people you enjoy being around. When we moved to a small country town in San Luis Obispo County, we found it was difficult to find a good mix of people. Everyone seemed to think in the same box and quite frankly it got old quick. When we lived in Ventura County (Westlake Village), we felt it was too much of a bedroom community, even though it was a beautiful area. It seemed everyone was always trying to keep up with the Jones's.

San Diego is a little more lay back and San Diegans tend to be active, friendly people who love the outdoors and beach lifestyle. It has everyone from the surfer dudes to the CEOs and everything in between. It offers something for the young, middle aged and elderly too. I think it's one of the greatest places on earth to raise kids... Legoland, Sea World, Zoo, beaches, and the list goes on and on! If you are single, you will find all kinds of places to meet all kinds of single adults and you should never be bored. Downtown is becoming more and more attractive for singles and young married couples. The city is full of life and it's beautiful! North County Coastal area is probably the best place to live if you don't want to be too close to downtown and want nice coastal weather and beaches. But if you think you are going to get away from all the things that you say you hate, it probablywon't happen. I don't think there's a perfect place on Earth, but San Diego at least offers a little slice of heaven!

[castof1]

Everyone has there own opinion but the one fact I have found is that 99 out of 100 people living in San Diego will tell you they don't want to live anywhere else. Also the few people I have meet that once lived here and moved away for one reason or another will talk about Diego in glowing terms and most will tell you they wish to move back someday. No place on Earth is perfect but you have to think there is something good about this area for so many to feel so strongly about it.

[andtm66]

I lived in San Diego for three years, from 1994-1997. I LOVED It! ... I'm actually trying to move back sometime this year.

I found the people incredibly open and friendly ... the pace laid back ... and the weather awesome! ... There is a LOT of diversity ... which I love. And, as has been mentioned by others, SD is primarily a city of transplants.

I mostly lived near the city center and didn't have issues with traffic. Even when I lived in El Cajon for three months, I took Hwy 94 ... and was downtown in 20 minutes or less w/no traffic. I'm sure things have changed in the past 10 years.

I prefer the central city area to the suburbs ... but that is my preference. In my experience, I didn't find people to be snobbish or rude like people assume everyone from So Cal is. The feel is much different than OC. I'm sure there are areas where you will find that ... but it was not my experience while I was there.

[xdecayx]

I would agree that this is kind of a brutal city. If you are young (15-30) it is a VERY intimidating city. You cannot go out without someone staring you down like they want to beat the daylights out of you (most common in south and east counties). Also keep in mind that the cost of living here is ridiculous. There was an article on yahoo recently showing that only 5% of the population in san diego today can afford to buy a house at the current median price.... just some food for thought.