SAN DIEGO (part one)

[sandiego_urban]

Great photo thread! Looking forward to seeing Part 2

[LFRENCH]

Originally Posted by destroycreate

You know, relooking through this thread again, it's shocking to me that downtown SD hasn't boomed even more. While it has made huge strides, it's far from Vancouver levels--and there's no reason I can think of why it couldn't be. It has transit, subjectively perfect weather, tons of nightlife/dining opportunities, a great waterfront (that admittedly needs more revamping), is way cleaner than LA/SF--not to mention safer, and lots of people living the high rise condo life. I'm surprised more rich Chinese don't buy there en masse like they do other places.

What do you think it is about SD that keeps it from really taking off the same way? Is it the airport being way too small? As a San Diego native, it's always frustrated me a bit seeing the city not really live up to its fullest urban potential.

That being said, I guess what makes the city so great is that it's kind of a secret--people go to San Diego for beaches and the zoo (snooze), but it's got a ton of fantastic streetcar quasi-urban neighborhoods a la North Park, Hillcrest, Kensington, and South Park, not to mention the many dense beach cities that are all fairly walkable and interesting.

I don't think Vancouver is the model you want to replicate there, what makes San Diego unique is not being Vancouver or SF or even LA. I'm thinking of moving to San Diego after I complete my masters degree in april, I grew up in Vancouver Region and my father is from the Bay Area so I have a bit of a sense of those two regions.