Advantages & Disadvantages of Moving to San Diego

You consider moving to San Diego?

While San Diego is a great city and has a lot to offer, there are also some drawbacks to living in this region.

Hence, make sure to check out all the pros and cons of living in San Diego in this article to avoid common mistakes in this regard!

Living in San Diego – Overview

Advantages of Living in San Diego

1. Great weather and climate in San Diego
2. San Diego is directly located at the beach
3. Many good schools to choose from
4. Renowned universities in San Diego
5. San Diego has a solid economy
6. Many good jobs in San Diego
7. People in San Diego are friendly
8. San Diego is a tolerant city
9. You can experience many different cultures in San Diego
10. San Diego is one of the biggest cities in California
11. It is easy to make new friends in San Diego
12. More than enough places to socialize in San Diego
13. You can enjoy surfing in the morning or even during lunch break
14. You can live where other people spend their vacation
15. San Diego has excellent public infrastructure
16. It is relatively easy to get around in San Diego
17. It will not take you that much time to get from one end to the other
18. San Diego will stay an important city for many decades to come
19. San Diego is well-known by tourists
20. You can meet people from all over the world
21. Every age group will find something to do in San Diego
22. San Diego offers beautiful nature
23. San Diego is well-known all over the US and even the world
24. People live a relatively healthy lifestyle in San Diego
25. San Diego offers pretty high quality of life
26. You can make good money while still having solid work-life balance
27. Many different neighborhoods to choose from in San Diego
28. San Diego attracts many highly-qualified people
29. You will find many nice museums
30. San Diego has a famous zoo
31. San Diego has an international airport
32. You can reach other major cities on the West Coast within hours
33. You can spend your leisure in national parks
34. San Diego offers many different restaurants
35. Nice bars and clubs to choose from in San Diego
36. San Diego has a decent art scene
37. Nice golf courses in San Diego
38. San Diego is a great place for families
39. Good doctor’s offices and hospitals in San Diego
40. Nice craft beer scene in San Diego
41. You will find things for daily life on almost every corner
42. San Diego is a nice place for going shopping
43. Lower crime rates compared to other major cities in the US
44. You can go by bike in an efficient manner
45. San Diego offers major sports events
46. Better air quality compared to L.A.
47. Many parks and recreational spaces in San Diego
48. You will find everything you need to live a happy life in general

Great weather and climate in San Diego

One advantage of moving to San Diego is that the city offers excellent weather and climate.

You will be able to enjoy many sunny summers while you will not have to deal with strong winters and can even go outside with a shirt during the colder month of the year while people living in Chicago often have to wear heavy coats.

Hence, San Diego is a great city for summer lovers who want to spend lots of time outdoors in the sun and the heat.

San Diego is directly located at the beach

It will also only take you a few minutes by car to get to your favorite beach if you live in San Diego.

This is great since you can go swimming or just relax on the beach from your stressful life and you will feel like a completely different person after just spending an hour in one of those beautiful locations.

Many good schools to choose from

San Diego also offers many good schools and you can be sure that your kids get the best education possible, at least if you have the money and are also willing to spend a lot of it on private schools.

However, even public schools are fairly decent in San Diego and you will also find solid education if you don’t want to spend that much money on education.

Renowned universities in San Diego

The city not only offers good schools for school kids, but it is also known for its good universities.

While colleges in San Diego don’t have the same high reputation as in Los Angeles or in other major cities in the US, they are still fairly decent and you can find a decent job after getting a degree from one of those colleges.

San Diego has a solid economy

Another reason why you might want to move to San Diego is that this region has a pretty solid economy.

In fact, there are many different companies located in San Diego and there will be many different jobs in various niches.

Many good jobs in San Diego

In fact, due to the presence of many big corporations, you will also find many good jobs in San Diego that pay really well compared to national average, at least if you are highly-qualified and have the skills needed in the job market right now.

People in San Diego are friendly

Thanks to the good weather and the relaxed lifestyle, people in San Diego are really friendly and open.

In turn, you will get in touch with other people pretty easily and if you put some effort into it, you will find many new social contacts within weeks or even days.

Thus, moving to San Diego can also make sense if you are an outgoing person who loves getting in touch with others and is always open to new things.

San Diego is a tolerant city

Another benefit of living in San Diego is that people are pretty tolerant and will not blame you for your beliefs, religion, attitudes, etc.

Instead, they will be open to talk with you about those things and even though they might have a different opinion, they will still accept your opinion as well and will not try to bring you down as would be the case in many other cities and regions.

You can experience many different cultures in San Diego

Since San Diego is such an open and tolerant city, it is attractive to people from all over the world.

Consequently, you can meet people from many different cultural backgrounds and this can really help you grow in character since you will realize how relative life really is and it will also help you become more tolerant in general since you will see what you have taken for granted is actually not real for people from different cultures.

San Diego is one of the biggest cities in California

San Diego is also one of the biggest cities in California and it is therefore a pretty important region for the state.

It is also optimally located at the sea and San Diego will therefore stay an important city for many years to come and will also offer many amenities of daily life to its inhabitants for the foreseeable future.

It is easy to make new friends in San Diego

Since people in San Diego are pretty friendly and outgoing, it will not take you long to find new friends once you move to San Diego.

In fact, even though you might be shy yourself, you will still find many people who will start conversations with you and within a rather short period of time, you will have many buddies who will help you out during difficult times and can make your life really great in general.

More than enough places to socialize in San Diego

Since San Diego is such a big city, you will also find more than enough places to socialize.

In fact, San Diego offers many cinemas, book stores and other places where you can just hang out with other people and connect with foreigners pretty soon.

You can enjoy surfing in the morning or even during lunch break

Due to its proximity to the beach, San Diego is also a great place if you want to live the surfer lifestyle.

You can just go surfing in the morning or even during lunch break and this can really motivate you for work and can also help you relax quite a lot since you will just feel like a completely different person when you get out of the water and will be full of energy for the rest of the day.

You can live where other people spend their vacation

Many of your friends will also envy you for your lifestyle since San Diego is a pretty popular city in the US and many people wish to live there.

Your buddies from all over the US will also visit you on a regular basis to enjoy the nice lifestyle themselves and chances are that you will never run out of social contacts in this beautiful city.

San Diego has excellent public infrastructure

San Diego also offers pretty decent public infrastructure.

In fact, you will find everything you need in this city without having to commute to other cities like it would be the case if you lived in a smaller village with far fewer amenities.

It is relatively easy to get around in San Diego

It is also relatively easy to get around in San Diego, at least in the inner city where public transport is decent and you will reach most of the things within a few minutes.

You might not even need a car if you live in the center since you will have many things you need just a few minutes by foot away.

It will not take you that much time to get from one end to the other

While San Diego is a big city, it is still much smaller than Los Angeles and while it will take you quite a lot of time to get from one end to the other in one of those big metropolitan cities like L.A., it will not take you that long in San Diego and it will therefore be easier for you to visit your friends in other neighborhoods.

San Diego will stay an important city for many decades to come

Since San Diego is among the biggest cities in California, it will also have a bright future since it is a pretty important city for the California economy and the state will do everything that San Diego will stay attractive to people for many years to come.

San Diego is well-known by tourists

San Diego is also pretty popular among tourists.

While they have just been visiting Los Angeles just a few decades ago, San Diego has now become an important destination for many tourists and this means that you will be able to meet many of them when you live at this place.

Moreover, if you plan to buy a big home, you might also want to rent out one of your rooms to tourists to make good money on the side.

You can meet people from all over the world

Since San Diego is pretty popular among tourists, you can meet people from all over the world on a regular basis and this can be really interesting since you will hear many exciting stories and will also be able to grow in character.

Moreover, by making contact with those people, you can also stay in touch with them once they move back to their home countries and will have connections to people in those countries you might want to visit yourself in the future.

Every age group will find something to do in San Diego

Thanks to its diverse nature, people will find more than enough things to do in San Diego.

In fact, there will be something for every age group and you can therefore move to San Diego at a rather young age and stay happy in this place for the rest of your life.

San Diego offers beautiful nature

Not only does San Diego have beautiful beaches, but it is also surrounded by beautiful nature in general and you will therefore have more than enough opportunities to spend your leisure.

This mix of great income prospects combined with the proximity to nature makes San Diego such attractive to many people from all over the world.

San Diego is well-known all over the US and even the world

Since San Diego has become such a popular city and population has been growing substantially over the past decades, it has become one of the most important cities on the West Coast and will attract nice and highly-qualified people from all over the world for many years to come.

People live a relatively healthy lifestyle in San Diego

Similar to other states in California, people in San Diego also live a pretty healthy lifestyle compared to the rest of the US.

In turn, people are less likely to suffer from serious health problems and your overall life expectancy as a San Diego resident may also be above average, at least if you are fine with living this healthy lifestyle yourself.

San Diego offers pretty high quality of life

Due to the nice nature and good income prospects, San Diego offers are pretty high quality of life to its inhabitants.

This city is just great since you will find most things you are used to from a big metropolitan city while you still don’t have to deal with many downsides that often come along with it.

In fact, people in San Diego are pretty happy on average and many of them plan to spend the rest of their lives in this beautiful city.

You can make good money while still having solid work-life balance

While you will often have to work long hours in Los Angeles, people in San Diego usually don’t work that much overtime and rather live a pretty relaxed lifestyle.

Sure, you will have to work long hours from time to time.

However, you will be able to make decent money while you will not have to work long hours for the majority of the year, at least if you choose the right industry and company to work for.

Many different neighborhoods to choose from in San Diego

Since San Diego is a pretty big city, you will also have many different neighborhoods to choose from.

This can be great since you will find many different cultural influences and can choose your neighborhood according to your personal preferences.

San Diego attracts many highly-qualified people

Since San Diego attracts many highly-qualified people, it is also a great place to live since you can have many interesting conversations and you will often realize that you will not be the smartest person in the room and can learn a lot from your conversation partners.

In turn, you can build a really strong network of highly-qualified people over time and this can really help you succeed in the job market in the long run.

You will find many nice museums

San Diego also has many cultural events to offer and also provides you with many different museums where art lovers can really enjoy their time and have many different exhibitions to choose from.

San Diego has a famous zoo

San Diego is also a great place to live if you are an animal lover since it has a famous zoo where you can see animals from all over the world.

Thus, going to the zoo can also be great if you have kids since you can educate them about who our world works and can just also spend nice hours watching those interesting animals.

San Diego has an international airport

Another upside to moving to San Diego is that the city also has an international airport and this can be really important in case you love traveling and want to visit many foreign countries.

In such a case, you don’t necessarily have to rely on Los Angeles International Airport but will be able to fly directly from San Diego to various parts of the world.

You can reach other major cities on the West Coast within hours

San Diego is also optimally located on the West Coast. Consequently, you can reach many big cities on the coast within a few hours.

While you can reach Los Angeles pretty soon, it will take you a little bit longer to get to the Bay Area, even though this will also be possible within one day.

You can spend your leisure in national parks

San Diego does not only offer great beaches where you can enjoy your leisure, but it is also surrounded by nice national parks and therefore provides more than enough hiking opportunities and other things to do in nature so that you can unplug from your stressful daily life and reload your batteries for the demanding tasks yet to come.

San Diego offers many different restaurants

Since San Diego is influenced by many different cultures, it also has many different restaurants to offer and you can just try many different foods and will often be surprised by how well those food taste.

In turn, you can also get many ideas regarding what to cook at home yourself and can greatly improve your cooking skills and your culinary knowledge in the long run.

Nice bars and clubs to choose from in San Diego

While San Diego does not have as many clubs and bars as Los Angeles or New York, it still has a decent variety to choose from and offers great nightlife.

In fact, there will be something for every taste and you will find all types of locations to choose from without getting bored.

San Diego has a decent art scene

San Diego is a pretty relaxed place and also has a solid art scene.

You will find many people who try to make a living with art and San Diego can therefore be a great place if you plan to become an artist yourself or you just want to spend your leisure doing some art.

Nice golf courses in San Diego

Another reason to move to San Diego is that the city offers great golf courses surrounded by beautiful nature and with sea view.

Thus, you can enjoy playing your favorite hobby while still enjoying the astonishing nature around you.

San Diego is a great place for families

Since San Diego offers so many amenities that come along with a big city and also offers beautiful landscape, it is a great place to move to with your family since your loved ones will find everything they need and can live a relaxed life at the same time.

Good doctor’s offices and hospitals in San Diego

Another advantage of living in San Diego is that the city offers great hospitals and doctor’s offices and if you have the money, you can really find the best possible treatment for your issues and don’t have to commute to a different city in this regard.

Nice craft beer scene in San Diego

Moving to San Diego can also make sense for you if you are a beer lover since there is a solid craft beer scene in this region and you will find many like-minded people to hang out and discuss with in this regard.

You will find things for daily life on almost every corner

Since San Diego is such a big city, you will find almost everything you need on every corner within walking distance, especially if you live in the inner cities since there are often more than enough shops to choose from and you will never run out of things.

San Diego is a nice place for going shopping

San Diego is also a nice city if shopping is really important to you.

You will just find many nice designer boutiques in San Diego, even though you will not find as many as in Los Angeles.

Lower crime rates compared to other major cities in the US

San Diego is also a great place to live since it has lower crime rates compared to L.A. or other major cities in the US and this can be a huge plus, especially if you have a family and want to make sure that your kids grow up in a relatively safe place.

You can go by bike in an efficient manner

Another benefit to moving to San Diego is that it is a bike-friendly city and you can get around by bike without having to rely on your car that much, especially if you spend most of your time in the inner city where distances to get from A to B are rather short.

San Diego offers major sports events

San Diego is also an interesting city if you love to watch sports events.

Even though you will not have that many teams to choose from compared to L.A., you will still be able to enjoy baseball at the highest level and many other sports you might like.

Better air quality compared to L.A.

Since San Diego is not that crowded, it also has much better air quality compared to Los Angeles or many other big cities out there and this can be quite important for your long-term health since the better air quality is, the less likely it will be that you suffer from pulmonary problems or cardiovascular diseases in the long run.

Many parks and recreational spaces in San Diego

Apart from beautiful national parks surrounding the city, San Diego also has many parks and other recreational spaces to offer within the city and you can be sure to find one of those locations within walking distance to spend your lunch break in one of those recreational spaces to reload your batteries.

You will find everything you need to live a happy life in general

San Diego is also just a beautiful place to spend a happy life in general since you will find everything you need in this place without even having to leave the city.

As you can see, moving to San Diego can have many important advantages.

However, it is still not all upside and we should also talk about the challenges that come along with it to give you a more realistic picture of reality so that you are better able to decide whether you still want to move to San Diego or rather want to go for a different city instead.

Disadvantages of Living in San Diego

1. Living costs in San Diego are pretty high
2. Property prices have skyrocketed over the past decade
3. Average person struggle to pay rent or to afford a home
4. Housing shortage may become even worse in the future
5. Level of inequality increases in San Diego
6. Homelessness has become a serious problem in San Diego
7. Beaches become increasingly polluted
8. Water scarcity may become a serious problem in the near future
9. Earthquakes may wipe out San Diego
10. Wildfires may burn down your home in San Diego
11. San Diego is still not a big metropolitan city
12. Public transport is rather poor in the suburbs
13. Traffic jams are rather common
14. You may have trouble finding a parking lot
15. Average person has serious trouble making a living from his or her job
16. Fierce job market in San Diego
17. High taxes in San Diego
18. San Diego has not that much history
19. Lack of seasons may become annoying

Living costs in San Diego are pretty high

One downside to living in San Diego is that living costs are pretty high.

In fact, you will have to spend more money on food and many other things of daily life compared to people living in Columbus or other cities with lower living costs and this can really stress your finances unless you make really good money from your job.

Property prices have skyrocketed over the past decade

San Diego has also experienced a vast increase in property prices over the past decade and this is pretty hard for many people since they have to spend a high fraction of their disposable income on housing and don’t have enough money left to afford a decent lifestyle.

Average person struggle to pay rent or to afford a home

While few people make enough money to still afford to rent or buy a nice home, the vast majority of people in San Diego really struggle with it and if this trend continues, many people will no longer be able to pay rent and may have to leave the city.

In turn, important infrastructure and many shops may close down and the city may become less attractive in the future.

Housing shortage may become even worse in the future

Since San Diego is such an attractive place to live, housing shortage may become even worse just a few years from now and only very wealthy people may be able to live in San Diego while the average person may lose his or her home.

Consequently, before moving to San Diego, make sure that your job pays enough or that you have enough financial reserves to stay out of financial trouble in the long run.

Level of inequality increases in San Diego

Due to the vast increase in housing prices, landlords greatly benefit from this development while tenants often have a hard time paying for rent anymore and this development leads to an overall increase in inequality which may translate into higher crime rates in the future since people become increasingly desperate and may need to engage in unlawful behavior to survive.

Homelessness has become a serious problem in San Diego

Another problem with living in San Diego is that homelessness has become a serious problem and will likely become an even bigger problem in the future since an increasing number of people are no longer able to afford rent and get evicted from their properties sooner or later.

Consequently, you may no longer feel safe walking through the streets, especially at nighttime when many dodgy people may be on their way.

Beaches become increasingly polluted

While San Diego has many beautiful beaches, those beaches become increasingly polluted.

In fact, you see plastics all over the place and also oil leakages have become a serious problem.

In turn, this may lead to the endangerment and extinction of many species in the near future and will also make San Diego a less attractive place to live.

Water scarcity may become a serious problem in the near future

Due to climate change and global warming, water scarcity may become a serious problem in the future.

While it is already kind of a problem now and people are often not allowed to water their lawns during hot summer months, this will become even worse just a few years from now since average air temperatures increase.

In turn, less drinking water will be available and inhabitants of San Diego will really have to spend lots of time saving water on various occasions.

Earthquakes may wipe out San Diego

San Diego is also located in a region where people are really afraid of a big earthquake.

In fact, once this earthquake hits, it will likely wipe out most of the infrastructure along the West Coast and will cause tremendous damage.

Thus, if you are afraid of those predictions, you might not want to move to San Diego and also avoid other cities along the West Coast.

Wildfires may burn down your home in San Diego

Another disadvantage of living in San Diego is that wildfires may also become a serious problem.

If you are unlucky, wildfires may just burn down your home and in case you are not insured, you may lose everything you have and may be financially ruined.

Moreover, you may even lose your life due to those wildfires sooner or later and this makes San Diego a relatively risky place in this regard, especially if you live in the suburbs and rather rural areas of San Diego that are especially vulnerable to wildfires.

San Diego is still not a big metropolitan city

While San Diego is a big and important city, it is still not a metropolitan city and far less important than Los Angeles or other major cities in the US.

Consequently, there will be fewer world-class events and you will also see fewer celebrities compared to bigger and more prestigious cities out there.

Public transport is rather poor in the suburbs

While you will have decent public transport in the inner city of San Diego, public transport will be rather poor in the suburbs and should therefore not rely on public transport to get to important meetings on time but rather need to rely on your car.

Traffic jams are rather common

Since San Diego has grown rapidly over the past decade, it has become increasingly crowded and traffic jams are quite common.

While traffic in San Diego may still not be as worse as in the L.A. area, you will still lose lots of time commuting to work and back and may therefore be pretty stressed and in a pretty poor mood once you get to work or back home.

You may have trouble finding a parking lot

Another problem with moving to San Diego is that the city has become increasingly crowded and traffic has increased substantially.

Consequently, you may also lose lots of time and also have to pay lots of money for parking.

Average person has serious trouble making a living from his or her job

While San Diego is a great place for highly-qualified people to make a living from what they are doing, it is still not a good place for the average person since most people who don’t have fancy skills don’t make good money from their jobs and have a hard time paying for extremely high rents and other living costs.

Fierce job market in San Diego

While San Diego has many nice jobs for highly-qualified people, competition for those jobs is pretty fierce and if you are not among the lucky guys who are able to find a job at one of the big prestigious companies out there, you will often struggle to make a decent living from what you are doing.

High taxes in San Diego

If you want to live in San Diego, you should also be fine with paying pretty high taxes and you will just not have as much money to spend and will not be able to afford as many nices things as people who live in states where taxes are lower.

San Diego has not that much history

Since San Diego is a relatively new city, it also doesn’t have lots of history and if you are a historian or just interested in those things, you may be disappointed since you will not find many old and ancient buildings or other historic artifacts.

Lack of seasons may become annoying

While many people like the sunny climate in San Diego, some people also complain about a lack of seasons.

In fact, San Diego barely experiences strong winters and if you are the type of person who loves skiing and doing other winter sports, San Diego may just not be a great place to live for you.

Top 10 Moving To San Diego Pros & Cons – Summary List

Should You Move To San Diego?

As you can see, San Diego is a great city and has many things to offer to its inhabitants.

However, it is also a pretty expensive city and you should make sure that you make enough money to afford a decent lifestyle in this region.

Alternative Cities To Live In

If you don’t want to move to San Diego anymore, you should also have a look at the following articles:

Advantages and disadvantages of living in Los Angeles

Advantages and disadvantages of living in San Francisco

Advantages and disadvantages of living in San José

Advantages and disadvantages of living in Sacramento

Advantages and disadvantages of living in Fresno

Sources

https://www.sandiego.gov/economic-development/sandiego/facts

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/sandiegocitycalifornia/PST045221

About the author

This site is about living, moving and traveling to various parts of our fascinating planet.

My name is Andreas and when I was younger, I traveled the world and learned a lot about different cultures and countries.

Thus, I want to share my experiences with you so that you can benefit from them and avoid common mistakes in this regard.

In my articles, you will find everything you need to find the best location for a happy and successful life.