San Diego is a great city, and I say this as someone who judiciously seeks out the non-tourist areas. The food is good, the weather is fair, and if the plethora of just unbelievably attractive asian-american and mexican-american women is what a multi-cultural society means, then SIGN. ME. UP.
I have been a lot of places. Almost every country in Europe. Every state east of the Miss. and most of the ones on the west, and many major cities, and this is the best. San Diego is the best place I have ever been.
The best food. The best climate. The best public transportation. The best sidewalks. The best brewed beer. The best looking people. And what I love the most is the laid-back atmosphere, the kind of subtle “whatever” atmosphere. The people are just cool and fun and at the same time, smart.
These are my people.
I love this place. I do not want to leave. I am moving here the first chance I get, and I love West Virginia. But this is just where I am supposed to be, and I can feel it. What a hidden gem this place is. At some point, and you can mark my words, this will be my home.
Joshua Norton
You’re there at a very good time of year. We have offices there and I have to go down from San Francisco several times a year. In the summer you absolutely die – at least I do. I’m originally a winter baby (born in Feb.) from New England and I don’t do heat well at all. Sometimes it feels like it’s about 1/2 a mile from the sun.
max
Well, San Diego is prob a little more conservative than it appears at first glance, but it’s a really nice place anyway.
Move here. Call it temporary if you want.
scarshapedstar
Hmm. Do they have a good med school there?
gwangung
Wait till you see some of the hapa kids…
(Yeah, southern and northern California pretty much formed my ideas of multi-cultural society. Never understood why anyone WOULDN’T want that….)
tbogg
Welcome and thanks.
Hodads in Ocean Beach. Bacon burger. Don’t ask questions, just Go!
Jeff
That’s what every tourist says until they find out how much it costs to live here.
BTW, best tapas with generous pitchers of San Gria, Tapas Picaso in Hilllcrest. My favorite restaurant in San Diego.
Objective Scrutator
San Diego also votes Republican. Now I can see why you like San Diego so much, John. Democrat cities, like Los Angeles, contain nothing other than curse-word spewing teenagers and dilapidated flea markets.
toolshed
Just to warn you, every west coast city has the same slogan: "Welcome… Now go the fuck back home! "
Ok, maybe its just Seattle
Sifu Tweety
San Diego is deeply boring. There is very good beer here, though. If you get a chance while you’re in town, check out Torrey Pines. Unbelievably beautiful.
Crusty Dem
I just knew this post would result in a tbogg sighting. I was a semi-regular (at least as regular as I get) at his old place, but his new digs are Crusty-proof. Damn FDL login issues (I think).
And move to the left coast, when you get an opportunity that makes it affordable. It’s expensive, but worth it..
Studly Pantload
That’s just the cilantro speaking, John. Break the nefarious spell! Get thee to a KFC PDQ!
@ toolshed: The only tourists I want here in Seattle are from Canada; much as they may admire it, here, they’re rarely tempted to remain somewhere in which they could go broke if they broke their leg.
Phoebe
Dr. Seuss liked it a lot.
Joshua Norton
We used to call it Bland Diego. But it is a nice city to visit. Expensive as hell to buy a house. Housing prices are over the moon. Something that would cost 150,000 someplace else would be about 850,000 there. Almost as bad as San Francisco where fixer-uppers still go for a million and a half.
Ned R.
I grew up in Coronado in the bay itself, and I do love San Diego despite its noted flaws. But the city’s had some time to improve on a few things; last time I was down was in July. Enjoy yer time there, John! There’s a slew of reasons I live in southern California and you’ll nailed quite a number of them. (Including, yes, the noted attractiveness of certain folks.)
Susan Kitchens
The new computer blog game:
Where in the world is John Cole San Diego?
Hope this restaurant is still in bidness; I ate there (and wrote on its ceiling! True! SRSLY) the night before San Diego burned up. The first time.
Pomegranite.
(from my Palm’s notes)
I-8 east to Texas Exit. Right onto Texas. Up steep hill.
@ top. ~3 lights to El Cajon Blvd. RIght.
1 block.
Pomegranite is on your right.
It’s Georgian food. It was delicious. Hope they’re still in business, and thriving.
Ned R.
I seem to remember Pokez as being the place for some good eats as well, been a few years since I was there, though…
Vincent
You do realize John’s frame of reference is West Virginia, right? And is it possible for John Cole to do anything half-way?
Martin
UCSD is a quite good med school (top 20, IIRC).
And if you’re moving out here, bring a pile of money for a downpayment. Yes, still.
Shabbazz
And the best part is — we even have Steelers Bars if you look hard enough! I moved here (Northern San Diego County) back in July and it is where I am supposed to be as well. Which makes sense, JC, ’cause you seem like my kind of people!
Chuck Butcher
San Diego is a secret? Maybe in W VA. But it’s not the place for me, not even a little bit, but if someone likes SD they’d hate here and that’s alright, also.
bago
Here in seattle we have the rain to keep tourists out. The secret of the rain is that it makes for some record setting snow.
ninerdave
John, that’s California Coastal people period. Up and down the state.
From Mendicino, to the Bay Area, to Monterey, to San Deigo. That’s the CA vibe you’re feelin’ :)
…but you have to lock your car.:)
xyzzy
John, is the wind blowing off or onto the water right now in SD? Because it matters.
Nancy Irving
What about all the Republicans?
Ken Lovell
Santa Barbara is better.
AnotherBruce
I used to live there, and true to what the first commenter said. You are there at the perfect time of year. The "Zonies" and most tourists are gone. The weather is still great, even the ocean is still warm (by Pacific Ocean standards.)
Nevahtheless, I moved to Seattle from there, because the beer was better up here and I’m more of a hiker/scrambler than a beach bum. And the no autumn thing really kinda sucked. But to each its own.
AnotherBruce
What about all the Republicans?
Actually, I think it’s much less of a republican town than when I lived there. They closed a couple of bases so I think the military is less of a presence, though still very much influential.
Batocchio
I’ve only been there a few times. Good restaurants, some nice areas, good zoo. Politically conservative. But some people really love it there.
paul in kirkland
Everyone I’ve ever known that’s been there has loved the place. Of course I’m from Seattle, so I’d guess the climate has something to do with it.
The one weird thing I noticed was that SD is the only place I’ve ever been that is not an island but has somewhat of an island mentality. Very laid back.
And John, if you want to see hot Asian women the west coast is the place to be. It’s just teh awesome all the way up the coast, including Vancouver B.C.
Pacific Rim FTW!!1!one!!
bago
Yeah, it’s a small coast. I got peeps from Vancouver BC to San Francisco. Hell, just tonight I ran into a few people from Valve. And not the ones I knew already.
mey
No. San Diego is a pithole. You do NOT want to move to San Diego. *shoo, shoo, go away* (And make sure to spread the word about how lowkey-perfect-weather-home-of-the-Comic-con-craptastic San Diego is, if you’re really thinking of living here someday.)
Re: housing prices. They are still insane in SD. I continued to rent during the insanity of the last 6-7 years (and had to listen to multiple people tell me I was "throwing my money away" renting and that I’d "better buy now before I’m priced out forever"). I’m hoping that by 2011 prices will have come back down to normal (normal being ~3x the median income).
Evan
John, I love your blog, but if you think that San f’n Diego has the best brewed beer, you need to come to Portland. Seriously, I’ll take you on a tour of the brewpubs, and you’ll definitely reconsider that bullshit you just wrote.
I can’t say anything about SD the city, but I am familiar with NorCal beer, and I know there’s no way in hell that SoCal is better. PDX beer shits on Sierra Nevada and all that.
I am 100% serious. If you will come visit Portland, I will blow your mind with amazing brew.
Atanarjuat
Ah, yes… I see that the transformation of a good ol’ Southern boy into a snobbish coastal elite is still underway. It’s sad, but utterly predictable, given current, anti-conservative political fashion.
I just hope, Mr. Cole, that you’ll still able to sing all these hosannas to San Diego after one of these sweet chicas makes off with the contents of your wallet. Hopefully her vato won’t be around to finish the job and kick your gullible ass to the curb.
Enjoy your visit!
– Country First.
WestVirginiaRebel
One of the things I do miss about San Diego is the weather (fire season, not so much).
When I lived there as a teenager in the Eighties it was regarded as one of the stoner capitols of Southern California. Nice neighborhoods with bored upper-middle-class kids, basically.
I lived in Tierrasanta, where those kids got blown up by unexploded ordinance left over from when Tierrasanta was part of Camp Elliot during WW2.
smiley
Just wait until you wake up, turn over, and see San Diego laying on your arm. She might not be as hot as you thought she was at 2:19 a.m.
PaulW
San Diego is a great place to visit (I would love to go there for the Comic Con some day), but still, you gotta remember it’s California:
1) expensive to live there
2) brushfires and mudslides
3) earthquakes
4) lousy local sports teams
5) alien and demonic invasions every sweeps week on the tv shows that define your reality
‘Tis better to visit San Diego from time to time, to stretch one’s legs, travel coast-to-coast, head up the road to the City of St. Francis to pay respects to the Emperor Norton, drive through L.A. to look for Lindsay Lohan’s latest car wreck, then head back to a more familiar, and perhaps not as harsh as you believe, clime.
Conservatively Liberal
Now that is one way to put it. ;)
John, the whole left coast is pretty damn cool. I have traveled up and down it, and it beats just about everywhere in the country for me. I like living in the middle of the Pacific coastline because I can travel it when the opportunity presents itself.
Never tiring, especially on a motorcycle and in good weather.
jon
San Diego, like all of California, is wonderful to visit. Short visits are no time to figure out if paradise is a great place to live. Try waking up on Monday in an "affordable" neighborhood and driving to wherever it is you’re likely to work. Then try the afternoon commute. Then realize most of that beautiful daytime is going to be spent at work. And then calculate extra hours to live closer to the parts you like most.
I love California, but I wouldn’t want to live there. I’ll stick to Tucson.
By the way: it’s awful here. We have horrible traffic, idiots in the county and city governments, our cops are all crooks, our restaurants are bland, our homes are overpriced, the University is filled with ugly women and thuggish men, the weather sucks, the Air Force sends its planes to die here, and half the population can quote Fargo verbatim without conscious effort. Go to Mesa if you want some culture, since they have room.
Indylib
John, I loved living in San Diego except for 2 things. The above mentioned cost of living and the damned traffic.
If you are impressed with the public transportation you obviously haven’t left downtown, cuz that’s the only place it exists. You can’t even get to the airport on the trolley. There is a bus system, but it is expensive and slow.
@Objective Scrutator: My congresswoman was a Dem and I lived in military housing, it’s not as Republican as it’s reputation, San Diego county went to Obama and the local paper supported voting no on prop. 8.
Krista
Oh, stop pissing on John’s cornflakes, everybody. He’s having fun.
I felt the same way when I visited New York — that I’d found my spiritual home and that I could quite happily live out the rest of my years there. Of course, the reality of my own personal situation was always there, and I always knew at the back of my mind that at the most, NYC will just have to be a semi-frequent visiting spot….but it’s still not fun when other people try to burst your bubble.
RSA
You can’t have balloon juice unless you’re willing to burst a few bubbles…
kommrade reproductive vigor
O noes! The DFHs have taken John’s brain!
I felt the same way about Sin Francisco, mainly because it reminds me of D.C. circa 1985.
patrick
That’s how I feel about Savannah and Austin except they’re in GA and TX.
Jamey the plumber -- an American hero
It’s in Cali, so you can’t get gay married there.
FAIL.
Dennis - SGMM
The west is the best
The west is the best
Get here, we’ll do the rest…
The End – Jim Morrison
On a practical note, you may have to be patient. The CSU and UC systems here in California are suffering budget cuts. We are going to be turning away qualified students for the first time ever. Shouldn’t affect recruiting for tenured positions (Yet) but the two UC’s I know something about aren’t hiring lecturers at all.
Svensker
Yup, that’s how I felt the first time I went to California. How I ended up in a NJ suburb instead is still a puzzlement.
Mike in NC
Was stationed in San Diego (at NAB Coronado) for several months in 1980-81 and loved it. Would have stayed in SoCal after I got out of the Navy but all my friends and family were on the East Coast. Went back to SD for a reserve class in ’88 and it was already obviously changing for the worse: more pollution, more crime, more traffic and congestion, and more illegals/homeless. But my wife has been back there a couple of times on business in recent years and says it’s still a great city.
demimondian
@Nancy Irving: He’s from West Virginia, remember? There are the same proportion of Republicans in WVa — in San Diego, though, they don’t lie about it.
dr. bloor
Shallow, John. It’s 21 degrees with a wind chill of 6 degrees this morning in New England. You have no idea what you’re missing.
P.S. Please send pictures of the always va-va-voomish Mrs. Tbogg.
John T.
San Diego is a nice city, but it’s not cheap here. We have a fair number of people who think that city/county services are free – so they don’t have to pay any taxes. It just stuns me that we couldn’t get a small tax added to help to pay for better fire protection.
Tymannosourus
What’s the name of it again? San Dego?
Never heard of it.
Tymannosourus
@Atanarjuat:
Ahhh, I come for the tourism ideas, and stay for the racism.
Brick Oven Bill
It is possible that you are seeing what you hope to see John, perhaps after a conversation with a nice female last night. Something similar happened to me with the whole Sarah Palin thing, right after the convention. Give it some time.
In your travels, you might want to check out National City. The train stops there on the way back from Tijuana.
dan robinson
OMBAC OTL – I played in the tournament several years. Big fun.
Dennis - SGMM
There are two wars unwon and now running longer than WWII, the economy is in shambles, the national debt has doubled in eight years, 1.2 million jobs lost this year alone, the world despises us.
Anti-conservatism isn’t a fashion, it’s the body politic rejecting what has become a pernicious disease.
Will Hunting
Austin rocks. Best place I have ever lived (NYC and SF are the others and I live in Houston now).
John – go up to La Jolla. The waterfront area is really beautiful.
Elroy's Lunch
John,
Follow TBogg’s advice. Take a vanity license plate.
And if your in OB, don’t forget to get some fish tacos. Teh best.
Steve
@Dennis – SGMM:
I can confirm the not hiring lecturers part, and also confirm that it’s the reason I’m freezing my ass off in Baltimore instead of sipping a Stone beer on the beach in Southern California.
Steve
@dan robinson:
Holy shit is that a good time.
DougJ
San Diego sucks. You’d hate it after about a month. You won’t believe how vapid and shallow everyone is there, once you’ve spoken with them for more than a few minutes.
If you’re going to move to CA, don’t live anywhere south of about San Luis Obispo. That’s the dividing line between real California and LaLaLand.
MattF
Oddly enough, I’m in Encinitas right now (Leucadia, actually)– and yeah, San Diego’s a great place. Tho a little small for my taste… Leucadia is an old surfer-dude community. Too expensive now for actual surfer-dudes, but that’s the way of the world.
And great food– particularly asian and Mexican.
Bill H
Not all of it. My district has been sending Susan Davis to the House since 2000. And, of course, the county went for Obama 54/46 this year although that’s a first since 1944.
DougJ
I felt the same way when I visited New York—that I’d found my spiritual home and that I could quite happily live out the rest of my years there.
How can you possibly compare New York to San Diego. New York is the cultural capital of the world, the product of hundreds of years of immigrant striving. San Diego is a prefab real estate development.
I fucking hate everywhere south of Los Angeles in California. LA’s bad enough but San Diego and the OC…
Dave in ME
I’ve been to 2 conferences in San Diego and got the exact same vibe. No wonder TBogg loves it there so much. I’d go run along the shoreline before meetings, ogling all the hot women, and then go out for fish tacos after meetings and continue to ogle the women. Scenery, food, beer, infrastrcuture and climate just make it a hell of a place to live, although I asked around about the cost of living and holy shit, paradise ain’t cheap!!
DanJoaquinOz
John, ignore the naysayers. San Diego is paradisial, not nearly as Republican as it was, sensational weather all year round, great surf, wild nightlife for those intrepid enough to find it, excellent food, beautiful multi-hued people and tantalizingly close to so many wickedly wondrous things. The whole jaw-dropping, mega-city experience of Los Angeles is just a few hours away. The bizarro weirdness, sheer exotic awesomeness of Baja California is a few hours in the other direction. In between you have exquisite La Jolla which is my favourite suburb in America.
If I didn’t live in Sydney (the most beautiful city on earth) and couldn’t live in Hawaii, I’d definitely live in San Diego, which is considerably cheaper than either. Follow your heart, groin, stomach and soul John, San Diego’s got your name all over it…
dan robinson
@Steve
Our team name was "Wanted: Nymphomaniac with liquor store"
We had some superstitious routines. We always started with a breakfast of beer and donuts.
Watching the black gunk of Fiesta Island wash off in the shower was interesting. That is the dirtiest sand ever.
PK
Atanartwit
You are one seriously stupid person!
Krista
Lord love a duck, DougJ — you might want to look into Reading Comprehension 101. I was empathizing with John’s feeling of loving a place and wanting to move there, and was using my own NYC experience as an example. I wasn’t comparing San Diego to NYC.
Bob In Pacifica
I grew up on the Jersey Shore, and when I was done with the army and college I headed out west to visit my army buddy in L.A. Got there on the 4th of July weekend and couldn’t breathe the air. That was back in ’74. The guy I was traveling with said, "Well, what about San Francisco? The Summer of Love and all." We missed the Summer of Love by close to a decade but I’ve stayed in the Bay Area since. I’m retired now. If I moved away from here I’d probably go up to Mendocino or someplace up in the forest along the coast, buy a rusty trailer and sit on the porch with a shotgun and guard my marijuana plantation. Or go to Portland.
This may be the wrong time to think of moving anywhere, especially if you plan on teaching. Jobs is tight. Glad you’re having a good time in San Diego, though.
DougJ
Lord love a duck, DougJ—you might want to look into Reading Comprehension 101. I was empathizing with John’s feeling of loving a place and wanting to move there, and was using my own NYC experience as an example.
You were comparing John’s love of an overdeveloped, Republican hell hole (albeit one with nice weather, good beer, and attractive women) to your love of a legitimately interesting place.
TheHatOnMyCat
Wow. John is drunk, apparently.
Background: Im a CA native, lived in SD for several years.
First, SD is grindingly backward politically, conservative to a fault, driven by a mix of lazy minded rich people, retired Navy, and good old SoCal rightwingers.
Second, SD has some of the worst traffic on earth. Getting around requires a car, and the car requires the freeways, and the freeways are just nasty.
Third, tourism. Especially in the summer, all the fun things are choked with tourists.
Fourth, the cost of living. SoCal in general and SD in particular are part of the CA coastal property bubble-rollercoaster that sucks the life out of your wallet. Between housing and transportation, ordinary people can just barely afford food in that town, and Im not exaggerating much. Or you can live 40 miles away from your job and spend your life on the freeway. Which many hundreds of thousands literally do.
Fifth, the Navy and the Marine Corps. You gotta love a military town to love SD. I don’t. The military culture is part of what fucks up the politics.
Sixth, earthquakes and brush fires. Those are hard to love, but you can certainly try it. You are an odd guy, so maybe you’d dig those features.
I’ve done a lot of years in SoCal, Orange County and SD, and I would never go back there. Visit, sometimes, but never to live. Northern CA, yes, love it. Southern? No way.
Just giving you a different perspective, John. Two days as a tourist is not a realistic picture of what it is like to live there, trust me.
Dennis - SGMM
OT: A fantasy but a tantalizing one. Gail Collins in today’s NYT:
Time for Him to Go
edub
Grew up there. I try to visit a couple of times per year, usually around two weeks every summer and a week in January.
During my summer stays, during the first week I inevitably swear I’m moving back. But after reading the local right-wing rag, getting caught in two or three massive traffic jams (usually on the I-15 going north to visit my brother), and looking at the incredibly high cost of living, I inevitably swear I’ll never call it home again.
As a struggling San Diegan once said to me, "You can’t eat the weather."
Having said all that, I’m glad you’re having a good time. After you’ve done Hodads, head across the street to South Beach and have some awesome and relatively cheap fish tacos.
Galen West
I love San Diego because of the only annual feature that EVERYONE attends: San Diego ComiCon. It is the biggest, and baddest convention of the year.
Genine
No.
tom.a
The best brewed beer? I might put it in the top 5 cities though I’ve only visited a handful of times. I’d put Portland, OR in the #1 spot.
SD is nice, but the lack of seasons there is hard to get through imo.
DougJ
@Dennis: Isn’t it a bit childish for Gail Collins to write an entire column about some nutty idea that will never come to fruition? It reminds me of Tom Friedman’s "let’s all surge" column and Joe Klein’s idea that Scooter Libby be sentenced to emptying bed pans at Walter Reed.
The self-indulgence of our media elites never ceases to amaze me.
kerryinalaska
I live in Alaska and some years ago endeavored to sail a large motorsailer from here to San Diego. My family and I made it a three year journey and lived on the bay for many months. It was indeed a wonderful place and I too will retire there, soon. We used bicycles as transportation and found the bike systems there as useful as can be, even taking them onto the rail setup and riding out to Santee. Nothing but great memories from there for us, and we were even robbed at one point, another story for another time. Maybe we’ll see each other there someday.
Dennis - SGMM
@DougJ:
Don’t know about childish but, I did preface with the word "fantasy." Yeah, the idea that Bush would do something for the good of the nation is just too far-fetched.
DougJ
My family and I made it a three year journey and lived on the bay for many months. It was indeed a wonderful place and I too will retire there, soon. We used bicycles as transportation and found the bike systems there as useful as can be, even taking them onto the rail setup and riding out to Santee.
That is a cool story. Would that there were more people like you in San Diego.
AnnM
San Diego County is really purple – Obama secured 54% of the vote; two Democratic reps in Congress; a City Council dominated by Democrats/DINOs. Even in Cunningham’s former district (the 50th), the Democratic candidate secured almost 47% of the vote this month. This place is a tech/university city if you get off the beaches. And yes – the beer is great here. Pizza Port and Stone rule.
ksmiami
My grandparents helped raise me and they lived in San Diego cause their big ag farm in el centro was too hot. Great city, great universities, but if you live their stick to the coastal areas… Plus there is a bar on Mission Beach where the margaritas are huge and .75
slammin' sammy
what’s with the people saying SD is a festering bed of republicans? Didn’t it go Obama by over half?
TheHatOnMyCat
Oh yeah, a hundred thousand more boat people is just what SD needs, Doug. More people clogging the beaches and the beach communities in the summertime.
I especially loved the "ride out to Santee" part of the story.
Have ya been to Santee? I can only think of one thing to do there, and that would be to get back on the train and get the hell out of there. It’s basically San Bernardino with cooler weather. If you like miles of lookalike houses and suburban Sarah Palin lovin’ politics, it’s a paradise.
John should love it there. Traditional family values are his cup of tea.
lonesomerobot
you should try sydney, australia sometime…
Joe Max
John Cole succumbs to California-itis!
John, I know how you feel. I came here from western New York, and I’d always lived on the east coast. But when my cousin got me to come to San Francisco for a visit, I absolutely fell in love. Delicious food, fine drink, gorgeous scenery, lovely weather, and smart, energetic, happy people.
And yes, for me, as a hetero male, there’s the ladies. As Mark Twain said, San Francisco "is a mad city – inhabited for the most part by perfectly insane people whose women are of remarkable beauty." I’ve been here for 30 years and I still fall in love at first sight on a daily basis.
The heat of southern California is oppressive in the summer, but it also makes for people with very few clothes on. (Sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes not.) On the northern end of the state, the weather is almost perfect year ’round.
But if it’s fun in the sun you like, stick to San Diego. As much as I love California, I’m not a big fan of Los Angeles (sorry Angelenos!) It’s a fun place to visit, but I don’t want to live there. SD or SF is the way to go.
We welcome you to the Left Coast, John! West Virginia is indeed a lovely place – I lived in North Carolina for a time and I just loved the Smokey Mountains, and often drove through WV – all the "heavy" people tend to roll to the left end of the continent.
TheHatOnMyCat
Yeah, let’s all ride out to Santee. Wonderful place.
BlueDog
John, go for a 2nd home in SD then you can leave whenever you’re fed up with wasting your life away in traffic on I-5 or I-15 and that lobster-red tourist has gotten on your last nerve after they ran by your chair, kicking up sand, and ruining your open container. Grew up in Carlsbad, still have family there and return for most of the summer and throughout the year. We get our Cali fix but then return "home" and go through the process of missing it all over again. Hope you found some Hawaiian food to enjoy–kalua pig and poi!–SD county is like a mini Hawaii with locals who have settled in the area since way back.
Tim in SF
Unbeatable weather (for those of you freaks who like the sun). August through October are be miserable for gingers like me.
San Diego is a great place to visit, but it’s a bush-league town. No appreciation of history or culture. The architecture sucks (everything is boxy with 8-foot ceilings, no exception). The crowd at the beaches (IB, OB, MB, PB, etc.) are gorgeous and drunk. The inland population is generally stupid and right-wing or retirees (or both). Every public transportation initiative for the past 20 years has been fought tooth-and-nail and now the 5, the 805, the 163, the 15 and the 8 are parking lots every morning and evening, but you can wait it out at one of the many sports bars or restaurants owned by a former Charger. It’s Orange County South.
Be sure to visit Hillcrest, which is still pretty nice.
If I were to move back, I’d move to south Ocean Beach, which is the most like my current neighborhood of Haight and Ashbury, but without all the dog poo, trash and homeless on the sidewalks. It’s a beach town so you have all the half-naked college kids walking around constantly. A couple big international youth hostels, so it has an international feel. It’s on the water so it never gets too hot. There’s not a lot to do but sit at the coffeehouse or at a bar and perv on all the pretty people, but that’s something I would never tire of. I think it’s the best San Diego has to offer.
ksmiami
One last comment about diversity and I think this is the key point – Diversity enriches a community and the US in general and I think this is why it was so strange to witness the RNC this year. It was like their reality is much different than what the MAJORITY of Americans deal with and accept on a day to day basis. And that for me was the appeal of Obama – he really is like us (but much smarter than me) My kids go to really diverse, but top quality schools in Miami, spent a lot of years in CA and I can only hope that they garner the math, science and language skills that will help them deal with the next century of global villagism… I think this is why too the GOP is doomed for at least a generation – just ask Pete Wilson.
jeff
Then there’s the earthquakes, wild fires and mud slides to deal with as well.
myiq2xu
Just south of SD is TJ with some of the best entertainment on earth.
Just ask for the "donkey show" and you’ll get pointed in the right direction.
Steve
@Tim in SF:
Which Ocean Beach did you go to?
Art
Apologies to Neil Simon:
When it’s 110 in NY, it’s 78 in San Diego.
When it’s 10 below in NY, it’s 78 in San Diego.
There are a million interesting people to talk to in NY, there are 78 in San Diego.
But they are very good looking.
TheHatOnMyCat
Okay now that we have sufficiently bashed the crap out of the insane idea of John moving to San Diego, something important, this blurb stolen from the DKos diary "Why the GOP Fears Tom Daschle:"
Obama faces tremendous problems right off the bat, but if he can get this country general and secure access to healthcare, he just might be the end of the legacy Republican party and its phony "conservative movement" forever.
TheHatOnMyCat
Ah, now I remember where I saw a jackass that reminded me of you ………..
Mnemosyne
When we went down to SD a few years ago, we stayed in Little Italy — we didn’t even know they had a Little Italy. The food was, of course, amazing — definitely worth a side trip.
demimondian
@myiq2xu: I wonder. You do know that the Spanish word for "donkey" isn’t the same as the Spanish word for "goat", right?
Really, NoIQ, hot goat sex isn’t a big turn on for most of us.
RS
I lived in San Diego (Ocean Beach) in the 70s. It was OK. The best part was the climate and the proximity to sand and snow, in the same day if one wanted to prove they could do it. The city still had somewhat of a small town feel to it then, and, like others have noted, it was (is?) politically conservative. Even the freaks (and especially the surfers) seemed to track to the right. I also spent a year living in Santa Rosa, north of San Francisco. I personally feel much more at home in that part of the state.
The "would I want to live here?" test is one I apply whenever I travel. The most recent resounding "yes" to that question was Portland, Ore., while visiting my son.
JimPortlandOR
San Diego is nice, very nice. But even after the housing crash, housing costs are way too high. And there are lots, LOTS, of older retired military that are certfied wingnut conservatives. Did I mention the summer broil?
Before you decide to move to SD, I’d suggest a few days in Portland (or Seattle) to soak in the local culture of laid back, but highly progressive, living. Best time to visit: Late Spring, Early Summer. But anytime works if some moisture isn’t a problem.
Hyperion
San Diego?
ultimately, not enough water.
just like most of the rest of the state.
hot women?
don’t they sell playboy in WVa?
DougJ
There’s not a lot to do but sit at the coffeehouse or at a bar and perv on all the pretty people, but that’s something I would never tire of. I think it’s the best San Diego has to offer.
Genius.
demimondian
@JimPortlandOR: [demi looks out window, notices color of sky] Um…yeah. Listen, Jim? I happen to love Western Washington, but most people find our winters a…trifle…um…grim, doncha know?
JimPortlandOR
I forgot to mention Oregon Beer!. Coffee too! And local food! Ocean 1.5 hrs to west, skiing 1.5 hrs east. Columbia and WIllamette Rivers.
Tim in SF
Oh, yeah, Mnemosyne@91: Little Italy is the place to go for a cheesesteak sammich. Mmmmmmm.
My favorite restaurant in San Diego is Ortegas on Newport. Hella good Mexican seafood. Great mahi mahi fish tacos. KILLER seafood fajitas.
Steve@88: When I go, I stay here t my friend’s spot on the beach: http://tinyurl.com/6evxx8 And during the day, I hang out on Newport near here and watch teh hot passersby: http://tinyurl.com/6efgfp
John, ignore the advice and skip the TJ donkey show unless you have a strong stomach. Skip TJ altogether – the place smells like piss and the cops are the most corrupt you’ll ever find on Earth. A friend of mine got sent to a Mexican prison for five years for "possession" — he had a bag of ginseng powder and a supply of acupuncture needles. The cops at the time were being paid bounties for drug busts (thank you, Bill Clinton) so it wasn’t safe down there. It still isn’t. Generally speaking, I avoid third world countries with Napoleonic laws, but TJ is an especially loathsome sewer in an otherwise pleasant country. No reason to go there.
The Moar You Know
@TheHatOnMyCat: I worked in Santee for three years. There are few places in America I’d cheer if they burned to the ground, but Santee is one of them.
Get some money, John. I’ve lived in California (NorCal 15 years, Encinitas 24 years and counting) for all but three years of my life, and you and I are about the same age. Growing up with was AWESOME. Seriously. Living here as an adult has been harder – money really, truly is an issue.
However, in all honesty I must admit this; I have been to most of the rest of the country. Quite a bit of it is nice. But I tear up everytime I fly back into a California airport from someplace else – it really is that awesome.
@Atanarjuat: I usually find you amusing, but not this time. Mexicans are some of the most awesome, decent people on the planet, if you treat them like everyone else, show them respect, and don’t assume that they are there to clean your house and do your yardwork. They are family-oriented, deeply conservative, and if the Republicans hadn’t thrown them into the "all other brown people" bucket with Pete Wilson’s Prop 187 and their continuing racist bullshit (Mexicans aren’t/weren’t stupid, they all knew what Prop 187 was really about), the Dems would be a permanent minority for real, not just in Tom DeLay’s pipe dreams.
So keep it up, Atanarjuat – you, instead, will be the permanent minority. Mexicans are my next-door neighbors, my coworkers, and my friends – and they are good people.
The Moar You Know
@Steve: There are two! The one in San Diego and the one in San Francisco. Having lived in both places, I always found that pretty amusing.
Tim
Why is John, having just come out of the closet and confirmed his membership in the Gay Leather Sports-Loving Community, now pretending to be straight by pretending to ogle mixed-race women in California?
The closet is such a confusing place.
JimPortlandOR
Downloadable Portland propaganda from Travel folks (pretty pictures and enticing text) [PDF]
tammanycall
Jeebus, people! He admits he likes the pretty, and you all attack him or my bee-yoo-ti-ful Golden State. Wherever you live is nice, too, okay? Now let John sing "California Girls" in peace.
D-Chance.
if the plethora of just unbelievably attractive asian-american and mexican-american women is what a multi-cultural society means, then SIGN. ME. UP.
It only matters if they put out… and I doubt you got any, Cole.
The Moar You Know
@myiq2xu: Fuck you, too, you racist sack of crap. Tijuana is not the stereotype that it has been made out to be – and if you ask to go to the donkey show, you’re going to get beaten or worse. And you’ll deserve it. Mexicans are largely both protective of and respectful towards their women.
I still go down there, in spite of the cartel trouble they’ve been having recently. I like TJ, but you gotta keep in mind that you’re not in America and you are working under a completely different set of rules. The food – especially the candies/cookies/sweets – are simply incredible.
And they use real sugar in their Coke, not corn syrup!
Church Lady
We were in LA on business in 1990 and took a sidetrip to San Diego for a few days to visit my cousin. The zoo was great and we had a good day on the beach at Coronado. Other than that, the only thing about SD I remember was the insane cost of housing. My cousin, who was in nursing school, and her husband were renting a tiny old shotgun style house that her landlord was trying to sell. When I say tiny, I mean tiny – that place couldn’t have been more than 800 SF. The asking price (remember, this was 1990) was $350K. Talk about jaw dropping. I can’t imagine what real estate must cost there now.
Needless to say, after graduation, she and her husband relocated, because they couldn’t afford to live there.
myiq2xu
demi:
Goat = chivo
donkey = burro
you = payaso
Capelza Gradenko
Nah, it’s the whole NW. Tom McCall, as governor of OR some 35 plus years ago said pretty much that. Come and visit, but don’t stay.
That didn’t work out so well I guess. It’s still the nicest place to live all around. But I’m on the coast, so I’m extra blessed. And I actually love rainy and overcast days….you can tell the locals, we’re the ones who are wilting when it hits 80.
I’m glad John Cole is having a good time.
tammanycall
@JimPortlandOR:
Portland is a wonderful city with a ton of personality. It reminded me a little of Providence or Boston. I admit that I like all of the west coast cities, though. (And this is coming from someone who was raised in New Orleans and educated in NYC.)
Terri
Gosh, SD sounds a lot like Tampa. Hot as hell, military base, which draws retired wingnuts like shit draws flies, but instead of mudslides we have hurricanes. Oh yeah, and snowbirds.
Krista, I know how you feel. That’s how I felt about Boulder, Co when I first visited there 11 years ago. I would probably pick a smaller town in Co at this point. Subsequent visits have uncovered a unsettling transformation, due to the influx of rich, conservative, California yuppies.
burnspbesq
@Svensker:
Count yourself lucky. I grew up in Jersey, have lived in SoCal for 23 of the last 29 years (first in LA for law school, and more recently in OC), and would go back to Jersey tomorrow if I could sell the idea to the spouse and the kid.
Russ
San Diego is a great place, but the best looking people are in Nebraska.
Hyperion
i believe the humidity is lower in CA.
demimondian
@Capelza Gradenko:
Ha! Oh, my heavens, that is *so* true.
Krista
Mind you, I also felt the same way about Arras, France. Lovely, lovely town — walking through it, I kept thinking, "I could live here and be really, really happy". Fortunately for me, the husband feels the same way as I do, about both NYC and Arras, so I think that if we’re ever in a financial position to do extended traveling, we’ll be spending more time in both of those places. (Besides, when we have kids, I want to bring them to big cities to expand their horizons a bit, and I want to bring them places where only French is spoken, to immerse them in their grandfather’s language.)
Getting back to San Diego for a second…despite all of you harshing on it, it does sound like a lovely spot to be. Especially right now (looks out window at several inches of snow.)
Russ
One can have a delicious spam sandwich in S.D. Actually, I gave it a pass, but it sounded intriguing.
bago
@demimondian: See, that’s what I’m talking about. Rain in our cities is like manna from heaven if you are a snowsports kind of person. I get reverse SAD, where I has a sad because the sun melted all my snow.
Svensker
@burnspbesq:
Grew up in Seattle, lived in LA for 10 years. NJ has a lot going for it, but the ocean is still on the wrong side and I miss the mountains sumpin fierce. And the general "let’s live outdoors" west coast thing.
minstrel boy
san diego also has a thriving theatre, and music scene.
one of my faves? point loma seafood. they rock.
pfeifwife
John – before you go I have an imperative for you. Head down Rosecrans, going toward the ocean from the 5 freeway, go left at the Winchell’s donuts and pull into the Fisherman’s Landing parking lot. All the way to your right (follow the crowds) you’ll find Point Loma Seafoods. Please, please, please, order yourself a fried squid sandwich and a cold Anchor Steam on tap, sit outside at one of the tables and try not to pass out. I drive down from Orange County just to eat a sandwich, then drive back.
joe from Lowell
Do it. Absolutely do it. If you find the place that calls to you, where you fit, move there
I found Lowell, MA one day, and it was the same thing, and every day I think about how glad I am to be here.
Tim in SF
@minstrel boy@120: Point Loma Seafood! I ate there when I went down last. That place is great! Also good (and pretty cheap) is Bay Park Fish Co just off Morena. http://tinyurl.com/5f8w5q
Good fresh fish is available all over San Diego. And you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a great Mexican food place – you can’t go wrong at your *average* Mexican drive through (Robertos, Alibertos, Roybertos, anything with a "bertos" on the end). The first thing I do when I land in San Diego (after the Valium wears off) is to hit a Mexican spot for some grub.
BTW, when you LEAVE San Diego, if you are flying out, eat at Martin Yan’s hole-in-the-wall Chinese joint, Yan Can. http://tinyurl.com/6ltw8r It’s in the airport by the Southwest terminal. This is the only airport food that I would recommend from any airport anywhere on Earth.
Steve
Man! I hear you. I got to live there for six years while in the Navy. My all time favorite place is Balboa Park and the world class San Diego Zoo. I would be living there now if I had not have transferred to Seattle. It’s the San Diego of the Pacific NW except for the sunshine. Beautiful people and right next door to BC, in our case British Columbia and down in SoCal it’s Baha California.
Atanarjuat
Sorry if I upset the fragile sensibilities of some of you multicultural religionists, but there’s a reason why California’s prisons are packed to capacity with vatos, cholos, and pandilleros.
Hint: it’s not because these fine, upstanding members of La Raza have been railroaded by all those awful gringos (who just happen to pay better wages than the feudal lords south of the border). And it’s not because they’re a bunch of Jean Valjeans who’ve been caught stealing bread to feed their starving families.
The reason is staring at you in the face, but rather than acknowledge the truth of all these latino ladrones and asesinos, you’d rather keep chewing your bowlful of cilantro while spouting egalitarian platitudes about how magnificent these pillos really are.
And yeah, in a crowd full of chicanas calientes, you’d better hold on to your wallet. Baby formula ain’t cheap, you know.
– Country First.
Gindy
One good quake and you’ll wonder why you left the stable ground of WV.
r€nato
is there ANY topic you can’t use as an excuse for a racist rant?
r€nato
you do know that "San Diego" means "whale’s vagina" in German, right?
Joel
San Diego has good public transit?
When I was a UCSD student, the bus system was the subject of widespread mockery. The last time I was in San Diego, the trolley extended from the useful areas of Gaslamp to Qualcomm Stadium. Good for tourists going to the Chargers, I guess.
I like San Diego for a lot of reasons (the natural beauty of La Jolla and Del Mar for starters) but there are a lot of things to recommend against it. Reading through the thread, a lot of those issues have been visited. Beauty is, after all, only skin deep. I did love myself the wide variety of seafood and mexican food options.
UCSD is a boring campus, though.
For what it’s worth, San Diego (as a military town) is traditionally conservative, but the city embraces social liberalism (like most of California) and its pretty rapidly turning blue.
r€nato
I worked in Del Mar for 6 months. In an office building on the hill right behind the Arco just off the 5 and Via de la Valle.
My lodging was paid for, I had a condo in Del Mar at the other end of the racetrack.
God, I never wanted to leave. I biked nearly every day up and down the coast highway, from Encinitas or Leucadia to Torrey Pines and back.
I don’t care for the LA/OC area at all, but I would move to north SD county in a heartbeat.
Cain
@toolshed:
You’re thinking of Oregon. Gov. Tom McCall (now that’s what you call a real Republican governor) had a sign up welcoming Californians to Oregon, but told them to make sure they went back. :-)
cain
Juan del Llano
The "where to live" thing is always a wonderment. For most of my 63 years, it’s been a huge & constant preoccupation of mine. Having grown up as an Air Force brat and moving more than 40 times before I graduated from high school, I’ve seen a lot of territory…
[Etc. etc., blah-blah-blah. Decided to make this a blog post instead of taking up more space here. If you’re interested, click on my handle to visit FarrFeed.]
Anyway, I know just what John C. is experiencing. More power to ya, guy.
Cain
John,
They must have cleaned up San Diego, because about 10 years ago I had gone there for a conference and jeezus it left a bad first impression. In *one* day, I saw a knifing, a fist fight, shop lifting, and finally when I got back to my car, someone had tried to get in through the driver’s side with a screw driver, and for the rest of the trip i had to enter through the passenger side. I was not pleased. All this within 3 blocks of hard rock cafe. However, the other parts were pretty nice, but downtown San Diego? No way..
cain
Cain
@Chuck Butcher:
Word. DIdn’t californians already ruin the Bend area? It’s getting too expensive for the locals to live there!
cain
J.
But San Diego is full of… CALIFORNIANS, John. And do you really want to be the resident of a state run by Ah-nuld (even if his wife is a Dem)?
Get out while you still can! Do not be fooled by the warm weather, excellent food and drink, comfortable lifestyle, and professional sports teams. It is all a MIRAGE.
And smart? Do know what Californians name their children?! Just sayin’…
zzzz
Encinitas resident here, former UCSD student, same thing happened to me first time I came here John, and I never left. By the way, make sure to get to Stone Brewery before leaving, the new restaurant and gardens are awesome!
Polish the Guillotines
@The Moar You Know:
Seriously. This is no joke. I’d have to be a millionaire to by the house I grew up in in the Berkeley hills.
California is an amazing place, but it’s goddamned expensive. I’m one of those poor bastards that got priced out into the hinterlands during the housing bubble. 60 miles from work.
Well, John, there’s always the Sierra-Nevada foothills. Placer, Amador, and Calaveras counties are all deeply conservative "property rights" types of places.
It’s truly beautiful in Gold Country, but it ain’t the coast politically speaking.
The fires and mudslides are serious business. The earthquakes are occasional thrill rides (I rode out the Loma Prieta on the top level of a parking garage. Did you know that under the right circumstances, concrete behaves exactly like a trampoline?). But I’ll take my chances on the infrequent "Big One" over the annual destruction in hurricane country or Tornado Alley.
Damn near anywhere on the California coast will put you in reach of the best Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese food EVAH. (And I’m sure I’m leaving out many others).
Oh, and the Terminator is our governor.
Have fun in SD.
Cain
@AnotherBruce:
I never really enjoyed autumn in the northwest. The rains tend to make the leaves go down a lot faster and then tehy clog up everything. It particularly pisses me off because in my small lot I have 7 oak trees, and I have 7 oak trees (and we’re talking about old ones) worth of lives. One time I bagged 32 bags of the stuff.
cain
cyntax
@Atanarjuat:
Yeah, it’s called the 3 Strikes Law. Look no further than California to see the utter failure of conservative demagoguery as it’s enacted into policy. Between Prop 13 and 3 Strikes you idiots have nearly destroyed my home state. If we’re lucky we’ll be able to undo some of the damage and get back to an adequate funding base for worthwhile things like education.
Tymannosourus
@Atanarjuat:
By "packed to capacity with vatos," do you mean that they constitute 38% of CAs prison population? Which… what’s this? Coincidentally is basically representative of their proportion of the population in California.
Facts are awesome.
http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/jtf/JTF_PrisonsJTF.pdf
Jon Karak
"The convictions in San Diego’s biggest political corruption case in 30 years come in a city already under a cloud of massive financial problems."
San Diego is nice if you don’t mind the corruption
San Diego Union Tribune
Cain
@Evan:
Tymannosourus
You sure you don’t want to try Minnesota in November before you make up your mind? We will have ice fishing soon….!
Tymannosourus
Oops, try this one if you care that much… apparently PDFs don’t link?
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2006/08/whos_in_prison.html –
Indylib
@Hyperion:
Plenty of water – desalination is already up and running in Carlesbad.
Cain
@Conservatively Liberal:
Somehow seeing John cruising the highways and byways on a motorbike with a bandanna and an american flag makes me laugh out loud. Maybe he’ll be dressed up as Ernest Hemingway as well! :-)
cain
Polish the Guillotines
@cyntax:
You didn’t ask for it, but you’re getting an AMEN from me. That and the fact that somewhere during either Deukmejian or Wilson’s administration, the mission of the state prison system changed from "rehabilitation" to "punishment." Which essentially turned the system into a career criminal university with an astonishingly high graduation rate.
Tim in SF
@Atanarjuat@124:
Dude, Mexicans are nice people. I knew a lot when living in San Diego. I "dated" quite a few, too, and for the most part, they’re dynamite in the sack.
Indylib
@Steve: @Steve:
Which ship were you on? My husband was on the USS Tarawa from 2003-2007.
cyntax
@Polish the Guillotines:
I’m happy to take that "amen," and you’re right about the emphasis changing from rehabilitation to punishment, but that’s not just in CA–it’s all over the country. Direct result of the repubs fear-mongering over crime.
It’s fascinating to read de Tocqueville’s take on the US prison system back in the 19th century when everyone saw the purpose of prisons as rehabilitative. Now? Not so much. But I think the drawbacks of "warehousing" people is starting to become clearer, so maybe we can return some balance to how we deal with the problem of crime.
Tsulagi
Yeah, your snark seriously crossed the line into unfunny there. Kinda like saying all blacks are lazy and on welfare, or all whites are spastically retarded and morally bankrupt like Bush. Strange as it may seem, I know some all-white people who put the lie to that stereotype.
Since you may be able to see Mexico from your window and would now be an expert, if you have time cross the border. One of the better times I’ve had was when 18 went down to Ensenada (not far from TJ) with a crazy uncle who lived in San Diego then. Real party town. Sorta like a poor man’s Cancun, and not nearly as plastic as that place. Good times.
Zuzu's Petals
@TheHatOnMyCat:
I grew up in Newport Beach. Moved to Northern Cal. when I was 18 and never looked back.
When I’d go down and visit I could appreciate the niceness of the neighborhood and the balmy weather over Christmas, but Orange County/So Cal mindset, not so much.
Granted, it may be less homogeneous than when I was there, but …. nope, I like the northern part best.
John Cole
A couple things I think you all are forgetting. First, I am from WV. I just left 30 degrees and snow, and the last time I saw real sun, I dunno, maybe August.
Second, I don’t think you all realize how very white West Virginia is.
Third, there is something very distinctly casual about the folks here, and it is not just in the touristy areas. It is very obvious for someone from the East Coast.
John Cole
Also- have you ever has sushi in West Virginia? Or Mexican?
Cain
@demimondian:
It keeps the riff raff out. Thank god for the rain. I personally find the weather fine. The only thing I hate is the april weather where you invariably get a couple of days of warm summer like weather and then it’s like cold rain and what not from april to june end. But all you remember in that entire time frame was the warm weather you had a taste of in april. It also hurts when you know that most of the nation is wearing shorts and short sleeves while you’re still walking around in light coats.
But hey, you can’t have everything.
cain
Polish the Guillotines
@cyntax:
I sure hope so. The problem is complex: Correctional Officer’s Union is a powerhouse politically, and they typically hate the rehab approach; economy is tanking, which simultaneously causes an upswing in crime as it reduces the ability (and willingness) of the pols and people to invest in alternatives.
At this point, I’m totally in favor of a state constitutional convention.
ninerdave
This is true, and since there is a sizable amount of gay men, in the city, the number ratio of single men to single women favors the guys. haha.
San Francisco is indeed the best city in the world.
Cain
@bago:
It also fills up the aquafirs and all that good stuff. Our water source needs that rain. God help us if we don’t get our yearly mana.
cain
Jeromy
John, come hang out! I migrated from Iowa to San Diego and I’m here for the foreseeable future. Everywhere has its problems, but San Diego has fewer of them. Plus west coast rightwingers are a trip….all my cousins out here and my future in-laws are Republicans. And they like to have a good time!
Polish the Guillotines
@ninerdave:
Fixed.
ninerdave
Isn’t mexican called Taco Bell in WV?
cyntax
Boy, do they! And they have all the CA Pols in their backpocket, as evidenced on the opposition to Prop 5 and its subsequent failure. The state Dem party here really blows in my opinion, but I really think that with there being such a cost-crunch, we have an opportunity to swing more towards the rehab side cause most studies I’ve seen show rehab as more cost-effective than prisons with all their ancillary costs.
But we’ll see.
Cain
@John Cole:
Best mexican I’ve ever had was in some mall in nocal. I haven’t been able to find decent mexican since and I live in Portland. There are probably good places, but I haven’t found it yet and I’m lazy to drive from my small town into downtown portland. Out in the ‘burbs we have nothing out.
Of course, with all this talk of mexican, I’m now tempted to cook some enchiladas and tacos.. Yum. My mom used to make the best tacos for us kids. (hey I grew up cosmo, baby)
cain
ninerdave
@Polish the Guillotines:
Daly City is a shit hole. Stay away.
ninerdave
@Cain:
I couldn’t live in a place without decent Mexican food.
Wini
@Tymannosourus: This might sound completely crazy, but the least favorite part of MN weather for me is a typical July/August (2008 was not typical, and I really enjoyed it).
Polish the Guillotines
@ninerdave:
Just when I think I’m out, they drag me back in.
Daly City. Shit. Still in Daly City.
I could go on and on and on. By the way, it’s actually beautiful out here today. The Killer Fog is nowhere to be seen.
TheHatOnMyCat
No, that’s Gourmet Mexican.
TheHatOnMyCat
OMG, that is funny. No, that never ocurred to us. Nor how provincial and backward. No offense, of course. I mean, there is always Alaska and Tennessee.
65% for John McCain? Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?
Atanarjuat
I must apologize once again for highlighting issues that offend those who are compelled to defend the Cucaracha Corps. However, truth is often not polite or politically correct, so please grow thicker skins (or simply avert your tearfully delicate eyes).
The danger facing out nation by the massive influx of illegal aliens across the border continues unabated, and rather than recognizing how American society is crippled by this invasion of "undocument workers" (as spineless liberals would rather call illegal aliens), you multiculturalists respond to the threat by instead embracing it as just a wonderful and harmless example of "diversity."
Naturally, you leftists fail to realize that crime has increased to frighteningly high levels wherever these oh-so-huggable Chicanos feather their nests with free medical care, state-subsidized housing and endless welfare. To point this out would somehow "oppress" these surly ingrates, so instead you blame all the consequences of high crime and low high school graduation rates in Hispanic neighborhoods on Republicans, conservatives, and anyone else who doesn’t have the Liberal Seal of Approval.
How typical.
Meanwhile, should Mr. Cole get beaten and robbed by a gang of violent but "misunderstood" members of La Raza (after being lured into a trap by a chica linda), I’m sure all of you will find a way to blame Newt Ginrich, Sarah Palin, Saxby Chambliss, or any of your other favorite Republican boogeymen.
– Country First.
cyntax
Where is that confounded seal? I think it’s my turn to feed him today.
Evan
@Cain
The Green Dragon was just bought by Rogue, and apparently is going through some odd changes (employees wearing uniforms, etc.). I hope they manage to keep it as awesome as it is.
Comrade Stuck
I live in a place where the paleface is relatively scarce, otherwise it’s kind of like the Mayberry of the High Desert. And when asked where they abide, the Funhousers always break into song
We all live in a Yellow submarine
A Yellow Submarine
A Yellow Submarine
Tonight at the Funhouse Arcade and Roadhouse Cafe’ a Special Deelight is on the menu.
Sarah Palin’s Home Made Bloodworm Pie. No bloodworms, but substituted with Cone of Death Rino Plasma and a sprinkling of Karl Rove Pixie Dust. This is fattening, so no Dessert for you rascals.
Mrs. Peel
I’d be more worried about being attacked by the white trash sexist bigot who drones on here than being in any multi-cultural situation. You can literally smell the stench of his sociopathology through the monitor.
zzyzx
The rain in Seattle gets old but the culture (and amazing food) makes it worthwhile.
Tim in SF
@Atanarjuat@178: Since when does San Diego have roving bands of La Raza gangsters? I lived there from 1985 to 2000 and I never saw any such thing. Of my many, many friends of Mexican descent, none were in the U.S. illegally. The only illegals I ever saw were out in front of the Home Depot, and they were almost exclusively polite, often middle-aged men. Not a single "surly" one among the bunch.
I don’t know if you’ve ever lived in San Diego proper, but what you are describing is not the San Diego I know. It really is one of the nicest places in the country.
And what does "Country First" tacked on to the end of your stupid, ignorant, racist rant supposed to mean?
bago
@John Cole:
I guess in comparison things are relatively casual out here. One theory it would be that the makeup of the place encourages the combination of capitalism and creativity. Like the west coast being home to an abundance of movie studios and video game companies. Where technology and art combine. A nexus of geeks, where being geeky and knowing your stuff is admired.
To paraphrase Marilyn Manson: We’re all stars now, on the Internets!
Atanarjuat
Tim in SF said:
It means that, like Senator John McCain, I place the survival and prosperity of this country ahead of all other concerns, as any American patriot would do. As I’ve repeatedly seen here on BJ, liberals struggle to understand this basic concept because their own ideological beliefs are rooted in self-gratification and unbridled selfishness. Put another way, liberals do indeed ask — and even demand — what their country can do for them, never the other way around.
Also, there was nothing stupid, ignorant, or racist about my prior message. Facts are facts, and trying to dispute or dismiss them out of hand won’t make them go away. San Diego and other cities and towns in California with a heavy Hispanic population are indeed cesspits of crime and hazardous to one’s well-being.
– Country First.
Tim in SF
@Atanarjuat@186: "Facts are facts, and trying to dispute or dismiss them out of hand won’t make them go away. San Diego and other cities and towns in California with a heavy Hispanic population are indeed cesspits of crime and hazardous to one’s well-being."
Ah, so then you haven’t been there.
I sure didn’t want to mistake you for someone who knew what they were talking about.
smiley
@Tim in SF:
That’s what we call irony, my friend. It was John McCain’s campaign slogan. You know, the John McCain who was loathed by the right wing, before he became the nominee, partly because of his pro immigration positions.
Tim in SF
Does the "I like pie" script work with the new Balloon Juice site? I want to start filtering Atanarjuat. If it works, can someone please post the link? Thanks in advance.
Cain
@Evan:
No way?! Serious? I didn’t think people wore uniforms even at Rogue Brewery. Weird. That’s not a place where "corporate" culture fits. I’ll have to talk my buddy who drinks there all the time.
cain
Will Danz
If you’re still in San Diego, here’s a seriously good bar in a remarkably (for San Diego) bland strip mall:
http://www.obrienspub.net/
They have all the great local beers. Hoppy heaven.
Atanarjuat
Tim in SF said:
Spoken like a true coward and a liberal, but then I’m repeating myself.
Please continue to coddle the criminal percentage of San Diego, which are nearly all Hispanic in their over-represented 30% glory.
-Country First.
Joshua Norton
There’s one listed here. I haven’t tried it yet. Maybe someone can supply updated info.
Dr. Loveless
Wow. This thread really did bring out the SD hate.
I’ve lived here for 12 years and I love it here. Its days as a right-wing Navy berg peaked in the early ’90s; the city proper is now solidly blue (a Dem majority on the city council, two progressive Dems in Congress) and the county is heading that direction as well. Yes, housing is expensive, government corruption is chronic, and our sports teams are an embarrassment, but everything John says about the place is true, and then some. (John, if you have any free time tonight, or are still here on Tuesday, stop by the Bar Pink in North Park and have the bartender fix you a Mai Tai; she makes the best Mai Tais east of Hilo.
Oh, and Atanarjuat can chupa mi verga.
ksmiami
Pure bred people and pure bred dogs are known for their tendencies to go a little bit nuts// Sounds like Atanjurat fer sure
cyntax
@Atanarjuat:
Hm. How about those prison population stats that you’re ignoring then?
We know, we know: facts have a liberal bias. So frustrating for little Atanarjuat…
Tim in SF
@Atanarjuat@192: "Spoken like a true coward and a liberal, but then I’m repeating myself. Please continue to coddle the criminal percentage of San Diego, which are nearly all Hispanic in their over-represented 30% glory."
It’s not an issue of cowardice to filter you. It is an issue of efficiency. I have only so much time during the day and I have to scan the comments as it is. Whenever there is an easy step to take to raise the signal to noise ratio, I will take it.
Since you’ve proven in this thread that you are willing to run off at the mouth about things of which you know absolutely nothing, I can safely assume you don’t know shit about shit. Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus. I will lose nothing by filtering you out. Nothing. Your words have no value. There is no truth to what you say. You are a waste of time.
SatanicPanic
Come by a condo! We’ve got lots for sale!
oh really
Going back to your Republican roots, John?
It’s a bad idea to decide to move someplace on the basis of a short visit.
Joshua Norton
I like pie seems to work. I added it to Grease Monkey and now Atan-hole is saying:
I’d just like to say that I agree with all the positive comments made about pie. It’s a pleasure being around commenters who have their heads on straight and really know what pie is all about.
Kewl.
Tymannosourus
I’ve asked you before, and I’ll ask again, when was your enlistment date again?
As a veteran and a democrat, I’m getting kind of tired of your convenient patriotism and categorical liberal bashing. Some of us walk the walk, and some of us spend two bucks on yellow ribbon magnet stickers.
I totally respect your opinion, just try to holster some of your hate, friend-o.
Bob In Pacifica
I was stationed at Fort Devens in Mass years ago. I loved Massachusetts. Great place, and I liked the people. My lifetime best friend spent time in Lowell.
I’ve visited Portland a few times. My girlfriend talks about moving there when she retires.
Here on the Cali coast is nice. I run hot so I don’t mind the temp being a little cool. Sometimes the fog is a little dreary, but you save on sunscreen and the sun is only a few miles away.
Tim in SF
@Joshua Norton: Thanks Josh! It’s working well now. Atan-hole is saying things such as:
"Your comment reminds me, I could really use some pie!"
and
"I just ate some pie, and darned if I don’t want some more already."
…which, though useless, are just as meaningful and valuable as his original comments.
Three cheers for the pie filter!
cyntax
Word.
At the absolute minimum, you’re giving to a veterans’ charity, right Atanarjuat?
Zuzu's Petals
@Cain:
We discovered a pretty good one on my last trip up there:
Mitla
Okay, it was Beaverton, but if you’re on that side of the river anyway…
My son and his wife found one they like even better after I left, will let you know when I find out.
Dave C
I moved to San Diego 5 years ago, and I agree with everything John said!
Atanarjuat
Tim in SF said:
Of course you won’t lose anything. Principles like honor, truth, integrity, and self-discipline are conservative values, which liberals strongly oppose.
Anyway, quit your bellyaching and install whatever cowardly script you’re begging your fellow cowards for. It was already obvious that you were desperate to change the subject from the parasitical, criminally-inclined Hispanic masses that plague California to a personal attack on me.
How pathetic.
-Country First.
Atanarjuat
cyntax said:
Soldiers’ Angels, Marine Corps team, for one. But the issue of charities for military organizations has nothing to do with the topic of San Diego or the swarthy "diversity" besieging the place.
And Tymannosourus, I respect and honor your service. However, dissent is still an American principle, so all these suggestions to "holster" my "hate" are just attempts to sideline my own strong dissent. Sorry, friend-o, no can do-o.
– Country First.
Mrs. Peel
Atan-hole said:
With an ass the size of yours I’d cut back on that pie fat boy.
Viva la pie filter.
Tim in SF
Atanarjuat@206: said:
What kind of pie do you like?
Comrade Stuck
They said that about The Village People too, and they became teh household name.
Tim Fuller
You’d hate it here in Jackson Mississippi. It costs practically nothing to live and the weather is sweet. Far enough north that hurricanes are irritants and far enough south that the snow seldom reaches us. What we lack in cute Asians is offset by an extremely large number of ebony princesses.
I don’t care if you know that the city golf course membership is $40 per MONTH or that you could get a nice house down here for the closing costs on one of those SD houses! There’s even some decent beer around here. No matter the reality of how great is really is to be here, it really won’t resonate with most folks. Mississippi doesn’t exactly have the best historical record on race relations and the national image of Mississippi has been the brunt of comic jokes for years. Thankfully, we have Louisiana and Alabama to help balance out the bad publicity.
I know I’m safe from an invasion of Yankee liberals (I’m almost the only one here!) making Mississippi their home and despoiling my paradise, because we have a lot of Black folks here and whatever else decent White folks say, history shows a deep reluctance (especially strong in the Northern cities where I grew up) of segregation. Informal as it is, there’s a main road somewhere in most cities, likely labeled Martin Luther King Blvd that separates the living space between Black and White neighborhoods.
Believe it or not, that is NOT the norm around here. There are still areas of deep rural poverty (most often associated with Blacks), but in urban areas like Jackson, with a population nearly 50% Black, most folks can’t afford to move to a racially pure neighborhood. Sure they still exist here, but in number they are few. The average citizen here lives and works with members of the opposite race on a much more frequent and personal basis than anywhere up North where the black population is a true minority.
That said, our country is looking like it is going to slide into a redepression of epic proportion. Bush seems poised to give away and hock whatever isn’t bolted down in a mad rush to made sure that millionaire bankers still have enough money to party hardy. I’d be glad to act as a guide and liaison to anyone interested in moving here. We have a HUGE advantage here when times are tough. We’re so used to bad economic conditions (they’re like second nature here!) that it’ll probably be hard to notice as the rest of the country goes down the tubes. We could sit here in the ‘hood on my back deck and watch the troubles of those ‘far away places’ on my 8×16 foot outdoor theater.
Enjoy.
cyntax
You’re the one who keeps dropping the "liberal=not patriot" fallacy into your various rants; if you don’t want to be called out on it, don’t mention it.
As to facts, how about the ones that you keep ignoring? Like you know, that adult Hipanics make up ~38% of the prison population and ~the same amount of the adult pop? That relevant enough for you?
By the bye, thanks for helping look after some of the veterans who weren’t as lucky as the rest of us.
Jeromy
Oh, yes, btw, it’s true about the women here. The average chick in San Diego would have been the hottest girl in my school back in rural Iowa.
KLG
San Diego? Atlanta with palm trees and the ocean. I do agree though that the ocean is perhaps a clincher.
Chuck Butcher
Funny how these hate filled rants get all tangled up with cowardice and honor. Since I work in construction you’ll get no argument from me that every employer who hires illegally ought to get to spend some time in the house of many bars – but that’s not what you mean, is it? Your house is full of dishonor, the most strident anti-illegals hire them for crap wages, it serves their purpose to have an illegal population to victimize.
How odd it is that I work a dirty, hard, dangerous occupation, have worked much more seriously dangerous and dirty ones – say 20 man Hotshot, and if you were to break into my home would blow a hole in you sufficient for cat throwing, and yet I don’t like political/economic wars or the death penalty. In fact I pretty much loath people like Atanjerk, but I’m glad they’re free to speak their stupidity.
But then I don’t hide behind the name of a movie… speaking of nerve and all.
BlueDog
A-hole says
ROFLMFAO. Johnny and faux VP Sarah were both dishonorable, liars, lacked any integrity, and were so undisciplined they self-imploded–yet you’re so proud to have supported them. Yeah, that’s country first!
Chuck Butcher
@Cain:
Bend turned into the very thing they all tried to run away from, they forgot they brought themselves. This housing market has really hit Bend hard. Not so good for me either. I’m about 3 hrs hard driving from Bend & pretty much so much in the middle of nowhere that a "Benditis" shouldn’t be a problem.
Retirees move here, find out there is winter and that the stuff they left behind isn’t here and either love it or get out. There is a Walmart 45 mi north and Target and that stuff 60 mi south, but the shopping type are faced with a Boise or Portland decision, 3hr & 5hr both freeway. At 3500ft and clear dry air this place will take your skin off unless you’re an easy tan and then you still have risks. Yesterday it was 50+F and tonight will be 16F, so far snow only on mountains. We get 14 inches precipitation annually and average 7% humidity much of the year.
Unless you like to do what there is here, you’d hate it, though the place is pretty laid back and pretty friendly. I’m married and not allowed to have opinions on women… Hard to say if there are more Chinese or Hispanics, darn few blacks. Pretty white.
John would wonder why the hell he was here.
I find Portland noisy, smelly, crowded and rushed with soup like air; though I know a lot of Portlanders I like. I have to be there 12/7, most likely Fri-Sun. Portland is better than Bend, though Bend has nicer weather.
Comrade Stuck
I was visiting a friend in Oregon many years ago, about a month after Mt St Helen’s blew her stack. We went camping in the Bend area and climbed to the top of South Sister (of the three sisters Volcanos). I got to the Caldera rim first and when I peaked over I thought I must have been hallucinating from the altitude. Just down below in the bowl was a group of people all dressed up in Tuxedos and a woman in a wedding dress. About thirty folks had climbed the peak to have a wedding. Next door was the seeming shorter Mt. Bachelor/ Not appropriate for weddings , I reckon.
From Comrade Stuck’s believe it or not file.
Xenos
@Tim Fuller:
Sounds like Western Mass. We have towns here that never recovered from the Panic of ’73.
Cain
@Zuzu’s Petals:
Oh! Thank you! Beaverton is perfect, I’d love to try it out. Maybe later this week while I’m on vacation :)
cain
Cain
@Chuck Butcher:
Yeah, I feel bad for the Bend folks. I’m sure they’ve probably over developed that area. Beautiful place though, especially with all that volcanic red rock they got and the lovely mountains. I was over that way when we stayed the night at Crater Lake. It took me 12 years to finally come and visit from Portland!
I am definitely coming back for the camping. I found a place that I’m staking out by a large lake!
cain
roalca
Lived in SD for six years and would go back in a second, if work permitted. I especially relate to the point about the beer.
Jeff
Comment one time I was in Oregon for work:
And if you don’t get it, you’ve never had real Mexican food.
Geoffrey Blake
One word: Hillcrest.
San Francisco culture, San Diego climate.
Liberal and sunny.
For my wife and me, it’s paradise.
dianne
John, ignore the naysayers. We came from a deep red southern state to Ca over 20 years ago and after coming here, I felt I could finally breathe. No more worship of family trees, no more over bearing religious numbnuts and best of all, no humidity, lightning storms, tornados and hurricanes!!!
I felt the same way you do. That I had finally come home.
Good luck.
Jugular
Fair enough, so let’s trade… I’m an Asian-American guy who has been scheming to move to West Virginia for some time to find a nice plump Caucasian woman to look after me ;)
rickrocket
I agree. I am going to move to Pacific Beach as soon as I can afford it. I love it there.
RMofR
San Diego is the height of mediocrity. It’s great to visit, and the fish tacos are awesome, but it isn’t worth the price to live there everyday.
Traffic is pretty bad, and the lack on intellectual curiosity and culture is incredible. Also, they want public services with out paying for them. Funny, but it doesn’t seem to work that way.
The beaches are beautiful, but the water is freezing.
The Gas Lamp is fun to hang out in, until you realize the food is OK, and the prices are too high.
It just has no character, other than it’s not LA. That is San Diego’s claim to fame.
FYI, I am from the northeast originally, and lived there for 2 years.
SanDiegoDem
You are a smart man :-)
Marcabian
I’m a third generation San Diego Native, family moved here in the teens.
The transit system is epicly bad. Well designed for tourists hoping from the Zoo to Sea World, worse than useless for getting back and forth to work or school.
When I was in college, I could actually walk seven miles to school faster than I could get there on the bus…and it was literally impossible to make a seven a.m. class on public transit because the buses didn’t start running early enough.
Yes, you can get world-class ethnic food of any kind, from Afghani to Tai to Mexican to Italian (our Little Italy, btw, is the real deal, left over from the Tuna Fleet). Balboa Park (although now vastly over-priced for working class locals) is great. There are fine women every where you look of all ethnicities and all possible mixes thereof.
On the other hand, it’s not nearly what it used to be, when Balboa Park was full of amazing (truly world-class)magicians and jugglers every sunday working for tips. When kids got into all the museums for free and the zoo for four bucks. When the ocean was clean enough to swim in 365 days a year.
Still, when you stay out of East County, you’ll find that despite the Republican Majority, most of those Republican voters aren’t "Culture Warrior" nut jobs. The Mayor of San Diego (R) gave one of the most impassioned pleas in defence of marriage equality I’ve ever seen. They’re "law and order" "tough on crime" R’s. San Diego County voted 54% in favor of Prop 8, 46% opposed. Barely above the State results, 52-48. I’m willing to bet it failed to pass in the actual City of San Diego. The County voted 3 to 1 for more prisons though.
The Tuna fleet is gone, the defense industry is almost gone, the tech industy is mostly gone, manufacuring has disapeared, the expected "bio-boom" has mostly failed to materialize…all that’s left is a Tourist Economy, a Service Economy, and boom and bust real estate and construction.
It’s become an extremely class stratafied city, with several of the top 100 public high schools in the nation in wealthy areas and some of the worst in it’s poorer areas. Public transit massively limits job opportunity – without a car, service sector is all you can really do. The rents are insane and absolutely preclude any hope of saving a down payment on a home for most people.
It’s become a giant disney-fied version of it’s self, and it’s no wonder that tourists love it. The whole city is designed for their benefit. A sensible person might wonder why, though, when I went to my 10 year high school reunion in 2003….out of some 300 people who attended only about 40 of us were still living in San Diego.
Nicholas
Given that you led by noting the plethora of beautiful women in San Diego, as a native I can tell you that it has a well-earned nickname–Man Diego. As in, it’s about as easy for a guy to find a date there as in Alaska.
So, for single women, the place is great. For men, the anecdotal record is worth examining.
But if you’re just talking about overall beauty, people included, I can’t argue.
-N
hephaestus
I have lived in SF, NYC, New Orleans, traveled for months and months in South America and Europe, and I always end up back in Dago. Grew up here, hated it, couldn’t get out fast enough, and now here I am again.
The city of San Diego itself is way less conservative than people think…it’s the suburbs – Esco,La Mesa, Poway, O’side, etc – where the real wingnuts live (using the term "live" loosely here).
This is FLAT OUT WRONG though. The public transportation here is the worst. The worst ever. In history. And it is unfixable, as the design and layout of the city itself is totally inhospitable to mass transit.
Were you part of that communications conference at the convention center? I was having breakfast at the Brickyard by the trolley tracks on Saturday, and there were a bunch of communications people with badges around their neck communicating with one another at the table next to ours, hyping the weather and the girls.
DavisDem
San Diego = Atlanta????
Not if you like Mexican food and Trader Joe’s.
DarkStar
I know how you feel. I came to San Diego in 1977 to visit my old college roommate and ended up staying.
Carl
While I agree in general, I have to say that despite its obvious benefits, San Diego has its down side, too.
Having lived here most of my 50+ years, I’ve seen republican administrations come often, and go less, and have seen them cook the books to ensure they win elections, and to ensure that corruption remains strongly entrenched in government. We are the county that is home to Duncan Hunter, Brin Bilbray, "Duke" Cunningham, Tom Metzger, and a bunch of other people too slimy to mention.
But we also have top-rate location, weather, residents, entertainment, food, and other inducements. The music scene here is made up of a lot of people who tried L.A. and Hollywood and didn’t like it there, the theatre scene is people taking time off from filom and TV, and we have Comic-Con if that’s your bag. Numerous independent bookstores and watering holes and lots and lots of excellent restaurants are here, and if you want variety, almost anything you want is available within 100 miles.
Jeff in NorCal
@ninerdave: If West Virginia is anything like southwestern Pennsylvania, where I grew up, (and believe me, it is, politically, demographically, epicurially and otherwise), there may be no such thing as a Taco Bell. I only ever saw a fast-food taco place in TV shows before I moved to northern California 27 years ago.
Similar to John, I went to the airport in January in a 13-degree blowing snowstorm, and I got off the plane in San Francisco in balmy 60-degree weather. As soon as I graduated from college, I came here and have never left.
Jeff in NorCal
@ninerdave: If West Virginia is anything like southwestern Pennsylvania, where I grew up, (and believe me, it is, politically, demographically, epicurially and otherwise), not only could there be no Mexican restaurants, there may be no such thing as a Taco Bell. Before I moved to northern California 27 years ago, I only ever saw a fast-food taco place in TV shows.
Similar to John, I went to the airport in January in a 13-degree blowing snowstorm, and I got off the plane in San Francisco in balmy 60-degree weather. As soon as I graduated from college, I came here and have never left.
pdxmike
I grew up in SD and left in ’81 to go to med school. I live in Portland now, but still have family in SD and visit at least once a year.
I’ll always consider SD to be my home. It has a totally unique vibe. Politically, it’s become much more liberal, as the city has grown and become less provincial.
I do agree that the public tranportation system in the city is only so-so. Portland’s is better. San Diego is blessed with the best city park I’ve ever seen. Balboa Park is an absolute treasure.
ryan
Hehe, its interesting that almost every mention of restaraunts has listed a place in Ocean Beach. For those not in the know, this is pretty much the most liberal town in all of San Diego county. There is vegitarian co-op, most of the restraunts have vegan/vegitarian options, many of the citizens sport dreadlocks, and there is often the smell of burning shrubs wafting through the air.
I grew up in Orange County and have to say that SD is a night and day difference from OC/LA. Anybody that complains about the traffic in San Diego obviously has never spent any significant amount of time in LA or OC. The traffic is 10 times better here. Quit whining.
Oh and to the bloke that said Portland has better beer, he needs to lay off the hooch. Stone, Alesmith, and Port Brewing. All regularly find their way into top 10 lists in national and international competitions. Plus we have over 30 micro and craft-breweries in the area as well as a strong home-brew culture here as well. Plus Beer Fest. Suck it.
Matt in Eugene
San Diego is absolutely beautiful. But it is just too much of a hassle to live there any more.
About the traffic….an hour-long commute is normal in San Diego. I lived there for 15 years and just couldn’t take it any more. Everywhere you go is busy…restaurants always have a wait, etc.
The beach is beautiful, but the city just outlawed booze at all beaches instead of cracking down on the crimes committed by obnoxious drunks. So no more pleasant beers at the beach. The crime rate in the whole city seems to be going up…basically the city is becoming thug central.
And just wait for the trouble from Tijuana’s drug wars to start spilling over the border big time.
donna
Hey, SD County went Democratic this year in voter registrations. We’re making progress!
But hey, it’s getting way too crowded here….