Advantages & Disadvantages of Retiring in San Diego

You think about retiring in San Diego but want to get additional information on overall quality of life, public infrastructure, medical support, living costs, housing situation, entertainment and much more before making your final decision in this regard?

Great! Stick with me since I will show you the pros and cons of retiring in San Diego in this article.

Retire in San Diego – Overview

Reasons to Retire in San Diego

1. Great summers in San Diego
2. Mild winters are attractive to many pensioners
3. San Diego is located at the coast
4. San Diego is a bicycle-friendly place
5. Pensioners will find most things they need within walking distance
6. You can stay fit in San Diego
7. You can spend lots of time outdoors
8. Retirees can enjoy beautiful nature in and around San Diego
9. San Diego has many good restaurants
10. Many nice bars to hang out with other retirees in San Diego
11. You will find good senior centers in San Diego
12. Many opportunities to socialize with other retirees
13. Good doctors and hospitals in the San Diego region
14. San Diego is a pretty relaxed place to retire
15. San Diego is well-connected to the world
16. Good internet connection in San Diego
17. San Diego has decent air quality
18. San Diego is a pretty tolerant place
19. Retiring in San Diego is attractive to people from all over the US
20. High overall quality of life for pensioners in San Diego
21. Many people will envy you for your plans of retiring in San Diego

Great summers in San Diego

One advantage of retiring in San Diego is that you can enjoy really great summers in this region.

In fact, you will not have to deal with rain much and can enjoy many hours of sun and many people retiring in Chicago or other colder places may really envy you in this regard.

Mild winters are attractive to many pensioners

Not only summers are great in San Diego, but also winters are relatively mild so you can get outdoors without having to wear a heavy coat.

Instead, you can just wear a shirt and still feel comfortable most of the time and can feel like there is summer all year long in this beautiful region.

San Diego is located at the coast

Since San Diego is directly located at the coast, you can go swimming or just relax at the beach and this can be great for you as a retiree since the beach is for free and you can still spend your time in a nice manner and can really enjoy your retirement life in San Diego.

San Diego is a bicycle-friendly place

You should also know that San Diego is a bicycle-friendly city where you can get around by bike in a pretty efficient manner.

Hence, if you are still in good physical condition, you can just use your bicycle to get around since you will find most things you need pretty close to your home.

Pensioners will find most things they need within walking distance

Even if you don’t want to get around by bicycle, you can still walk many small distances and can stay fit while you will get everything you need to live a happy and convenient life at almost every corner and don’t have to worry that you will run out of important material things anytime soon in the San Diego region.

You can stay fit in San Diego

Since you can get around by bicycle or walk around quite a lot in this region, retiring in San Diego can also be great for you since you can stay fit and vital and can also get lots of fresh air which may lower your risk of suffering from serious health problems.

You can spend lots of time outdoors

Since the weather is great and San Diego is located at the coast, you can also spend lots of time outdoors and this enables you to stay in a pretty good mood compared to people living in Detroit or other colder places where people may be more likely to get depressed in the long run.

Retirees can enjoy beautiful nature in and around San Diego

Another upside to retiring in San Diego is that there are many national parks and other nature reserves around San Diego and you can therefore make many nice day trips with your fellow pensioners.

San Diego has many good restaurants

You should also know that San Diego has many great restaurants and if you have the money, you can have many really good culinary experiences which can improve your overall quality of life as a pensioner quite a lot since eating out will be one of the key things you will do since you will often be rather limited when it comes to physical activities since pensioners often suffer from health problems and are often not as fit as people in their 30s or 40s.

Many nice bars to hang out with other retirees in San Diego

There are also good bars where you can hang out with like-minded people of your age in the San Diego region and can discuss what is going on in the world so you will never run out of conversation partners and chances are that you will also not feel lonely since you will have more than enough people around you and can have a great time together.

You will find good senior centers in San Diego

Another benefit of retiring in San Diego is that you will also have good senior centers where you can meet up with other pensioners, play parlor games and make many new social contacts in general so you can hang out with other like-minded people and can also find support in case you need help with certain tasks of daily life.

Many opportunities to socialize with other retirees

In general, people in San Diego are open and friendly and this gives you the opportunity to find many new friends rather soon and you will not only get friends with other retirees but with people of various different ages and can have a great time in this region.

Good doctors and hospitals in the San Diego region

Also in case you get sick, you can be sure to find really good doctors and hospitals in San Diego who can treat your health condition in the best possible manner so you will hopefully recover as quickly as possible.

San Diego is a pretty relaxed place to retire

Compared to other major cities in the US, San Diego is also a rather relaxed place to retire since people are pretty laid-back, helpful and are not as career-focused as people living in Los Angeles or other bigger cities in the US they will often be much more willing to start conversations with you on various occasions of daily life.

San Diego is well-connected to the world

Since San Diego has a big international airport, you can get from and to this city in a pretty efficient manner and chances are that you will have your family members and friends visiting you quite often so you will never get lonely in San Diego in the long run.

Good internet connection in San Diego

Thanks to the great internet connection you will have in San Diego, you can also make many video calls with your loved ones and can also stay connected to the world and what’s happening out there in general and can adjust your actions and decisions accordingly.

San Diego has decent air quality

You should also note that San Diego has pretty decent air quality compared to other big cities in the US and this can be great for retirees who already suffer from pulmonary problems and don’t want their health conditions to get worth due to bad air quality.

San Diego is a pretty tolerant place

San Diego is also a pretty tolerant city and retirees and all sorts of other people are welcome from all over the world.

Consequently, no matter where you come from, you don’t have to worry about getting socially isolated in San Diego as long as you are friendly and tolerant yourself and also know how to behave.

Retiring in San Diego is attractive to people from all over the US

San Diego is also well-known all over the US as a pretty attractive place to retire and this means that you can meet many pensioners from all over the US and even the world in this region and can have a great time together.

High overall quality of life for pensioners in San Diego

In general, pensioners in San Diego find everything to live a happy and convenient life and many of them will not miss a thing.

Consequently, overall quality of life is pretty high in the San Diego region and there are not many other places where you can retire in such a great manner.

Many people will envy you for your plans of retiring in San Diego

Since San Diego is a pretty popular city, many of your loved ones will also secretly envy and admire you for your plans of retiring in San Diego and you will therefore have a pretty high social standing among your family members and friends.

As you can see, there are various reasons for retiring in San Diego.

Yet, it is still not all sunshine and we also have to talk about the drawbacks of retiring in San Diego in the following so you can better decide whether you still want to retire in San Diego or rather want to spend the last chapter of your life in a different location instead.

Disadvantages of Retiring in San Diego

1. Rents in San Diego are barely affordable for many pensioners
2. Living costs are really high in San Diego
3. You need a really good pension to make a decent living in San Diego
4. Pensioners often struggle to find a decent place to stay in San Diego
5. Many pensioners in the San Diego region become increasingly desperate
6. Some pensioners even have to work at retirement age to pay their bills
7. Increasing level of inequality in San Diego
8. Social problems are about to get worse in this region
9. Pensioners often have to live in rather dodgy neighborhoods in San Diego
10. San Diego is a crowded city
11. Public transport in San Diego is not great

Rents in San Diego are barely affordable for many pensioners

One problem with retiring in San Diego is that it is a pretty expensive place and rents are barely affordable for many retirees.

In fact, rents have skyrocketed over the past decade and if this trend continues even further, many pensioners will no longer be able to pay rent in a reliable manner and may get evicted sooner or later.

Living costs are really high in San Diego

Not only rents are pretty high, but also living costs are pretty expensive in the San Diego region and you will have to spend lots of money on drinks and many other things of daily life while people living in Indianapolis and many other less popular places often have to spend less money in this regard.

You need a really good pension to make a decent living in San Diego

Since living and housing costs are really high in the San Diego region, you also need a really good pension to make a decent living in this region and most pensioners just don’t have enough money to afford a comfortable life in San Diego.

Pensioners often struggle to find a decent place to stay in San Diego

Another downside to retiring in San Diego is that housing shortage is a big problem and many pensioners really struggle to find an affordable place to stay within a reasonable amount of time and may have to settle with really poor housing conditions in the end.

Many pensioners in the San Diego region become increasingly desperate

Since everything is so expensive and prices tend to increase even further, many pensioners become increasingly desperate since they no longer know how to pay their bills and worrying about financial problems greatly adversely affects overall quality of life and may also lead to serious mental health issues sooner or later.

Some pensioners even have to work at retirement age to pay their bills

Due to high living and housing costs, many pensioners still have to work at retirement age in the San Diego region since their pension is often not high enough to even only cover basic expenses and they therefore have to make additional money on the side which will take away a high fraction of their leisure.

Increasing level of inequality in San Diego

Another disadvantage of retiring in San Diego is that the city experiences an increasing level of inequality.

Due to skyrocketing property prices and rents, landlords get richer while tenants really struggle to make a living and this development may lead to increasing crime rates and other problems in the long run.

Social problems are about to get worse in this region

Since many retirees in the San Diego region no longer know how to pay their bills in a reliable manner, chances are that social inequality will become even worse just a few years from now and all sorts of social problems may get worse as well which may lower overall quality of life quite a lot.

Pensioners often have to live in rather dodgy neighborhoods in San Diego

Since many retirees can’t afford to live in good neighborhoods in San Diego since rents are simply far too high, many of them have to live in rather dodgy districts and often don’t feel welcome and may also be afraid to leave their homes during nighttime.

San Diego is a crowded city

You should also know that San Diego is a pretty crowded city and if you don’t like big city life and everything that comes along with it, you may be better off moving to Santa Ana or other smaller towns.

Public transport in San Diego is not great

You should also keep in mind that public transport is not great in the San Diego region and you may therefore need a car to get around which may be bad news for you as a pensioner since the older you get, the less likely it will be that you will be able to operate a car in a safe manner and may therefore have real problems getting around.

Top 10 Retiring in San Diego Pros & Cons – Summary List

Is San Diego A Good Place To Retire?

While retiring in San Diego can make quite a lot of sense since the weather is great and you will find everything you need to live a happy and comfortable life, you should still know that living and housing costs in San Diego are really high and many retirees really struggle to pay their bills in this region.

Alternative Cities To Retire

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

Advantages and disadvantages of retiring in New York City

Advantages and disadvantages of retiring in San Antonio

Advantages and disadvantages of retiring in Phoenix

Sources

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

Own research.

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 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.