San Diego vs. Portland?
I don’t live in San Diego but used to live in SoCal and have some knowledge of the city. San Diego has changed quite a lot in the last decade or so, for the better, I’d say, except that the housing market has gone through the roof (it has finally started to cool but only slightly). The city had a reputation for being very white and Republican but it’s really diversified a lot. Also there has been a downtown building boom that have made it feel more urban. It’s always had a wonderful downtown park and of course the famous zoo, and the beaches. Also, the air is much better than in LA and the climate is nicer, too. So there are good things to say about San Diego, but it is unaffordable to most people, and much more expensive than Portland. Also the traffic sucks. i wouldn’t say that San Diego has tons of character — but I certainly wouldn’t go so far as to call it faceless. And if it ever seems too sterile, you’re just minutes away from Tijuana!
I have this notion of San Diego being sort of a “faceless” city with not a whole lot of identity or sense of place that I’m aware of. Am I wrong? No, you’re not really wrong. As someone who has lived in both the NW and SoCal, I see the main difference between the NW and SoCal is the extreme “Balkanization” of SoCal. There’s no there there. You get 1000 different “theres” instead of a single “identity” that makes things cool and interesting. There’s no one single San Diego vibe. It’s 1000 different vibes. Although, you may like that, of course. I am interested in what condition the San Diego schools are in. That’s the deal-breaker right there. Unless you’re wealthy enough to live in a place like La Jolla or Point Loma, the public school system in San Diego and SoCal just can’t hold a candle to the NW. Realize that in many places in San Diego, you’ll see 30-40 percent of the kids will be classified as English-as-a-second-language, so a huge bulk of funding goes to deal with just that. On
Having done more or less the opposite of what you are describing (lived in SD, moved to OR), here are some thoughts: Weather: “Warm weather” is certainly in the eye of the beholder, but do be aware that if you are away from the beaches, the San Diego area can get very hot (100+) in the summer, and fairly cool (30’s) in the winter. Also, it’s a lot cloudier than the brochures suggest. heh. The micro-climates make weather tricky down there, as it can be 95 in one town, go over the hill and it’s a pleasant 75. Identity: The individual cities inside the San Diego area do have identities: Hillcrest being hip and gay, La Jolla being rich and old, PB being young and “bar-ish”, etc. I always describe San Diego as a mid-western town that got lost. It’s not at all stereotypical Southern Californian as far as politics, lifestyle, etc. There are pretty people, but nothing like L.A. Living: The affordable communities (unless you have an income significantly above the national average) are cookie-cu
I can’t tell you what it’s like to live there, but I just got back from a California road trip and if I were given a choice of any US city to live in San Diego would be near the top. By California standards it’s certainly not faceless. It has neighbrohoods and distinct communities. Even though it’s in California, I did not find the traffic unholy as I did in nearly every other part of California. Of course Portland, OR is also near the top of my list, so take this with a grain of salt. I say go, spend some time there and see what you really think of it.
Don’t move here. There’s a reason dozens of my friends have made a mass-exodus to the northwest in the last few years. Actually, there’s a number of reasons: -exorbitant housing costs. Expect to pay $500k+ for an average sized home in an average neighborhood. -no public transportation -ungodly traffic/commutes -urban sprawl, making it nearly impossible to live without a car -lack of jobs outside of the tech/engineering sector -hot hot HOT weather and frequent droughts -concentrated Republican community -dense military population Of course, there are good things about it here, but I think people have covered them enough. Certain neighborhoods have far more personality than others. The good schools are mainly concentrated in rich neighborhoods, but there are excellent charter schools available. It really comes down to how much money you have– if it’s not a lot, you won’t have a comparable lifestyle to what you have in Portland. If you plan to raise your kid in San Diego, don’t expect th
