AdamS
AdamS

San Francisco VS San Diego

Seems like we have a lot of people here from both SF and San Diego so I thought I would put it to the community to respond about which they think it better and why...San Francisco or San Diego. I've never been to San Diego but from what I hear it has a lot in common with San Francisco.

What are your thoughts? Is San Francisco better or is San Diego?

(Foor for thought - SF is rated a 64.97 while San Diego is rated a 63.31)
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
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13 Comments

lanzedom
lanzedom 2yrs+
I'll take san deigo's weather with san fransisco's culture and location.. sd's climate is perfect... san fransisco's location form casino's, ski resorts, the ocean is driving distance... the san fransisco culture has beened shaped by many different kinds of people and over alot of time (SF was the first major metropolitan area in the west)... another thing I don't like about SD is all the military people.. you always run into some jarhead at a bar who want to prove the marines are the baddest...
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AdamS
AdamS 2yrs+
Time for a ranking update I think:

As at March 13th:

Sand Francisco is #60 (City Score of 60.85) in all of California - http://www.streetadvisor.com/california/san_francisco/overview
San Diego is #34 (City Score of 71.93) in all of California - http://www.streetadvisor.com/california/san_diego/overview

Perhaps weather plays a big part in this? I've never been to San Diego, so I don't know, but interested to see the gap widening in the rankings.

Very interesting indeed!!!

AJ
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priestess
priestess 2yrs+
Hi there,
I'm going to meet my company clients next week in San Diego and neither they nor I know the city. What would you recommend should we sightsee? I mustn't be controvertial etc (these is a business trip anyway and it's goning to be very official). Please, let me know if you can think of some proper destinations. Will be very grateful!
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AdamS
AdamS 2yrs+
Hi priestess,

The San Diego Zoo is an obvious choice. It's world famous and is one of the most visited attractions in San Diego. Being park of Balboa Park (which is very beautiful in itself), you can't go wrong here, especially if you havent been to San Diego. It's most people's first stop.

You could also try the Gaslamp Quarter (south of the city), which is a historical district with heaps of restaurants and shops.

The USS Midway Center is also great, especially if you are entertaining a lot of males. We like big boats and jets!

AJ
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priestess
priestess 2yrs+
Hi AJ,
Thanks a lot. I think I'll make use of the boats which seem to be a great topic for a conversation and plan the rest with a map. Many thanks for your help!
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FlowerGirl
FlowerGirl 2yrs+
Culturally, I think NorCal and SoCal are really different. I must say that my initial reaction is to say that SF doesn't even compare with San Diego but that is probably just my SF bias. Other than go to the beach and hang out at the bars with the guys from Camp Pendleton, what is there to do in San Diego anyway?
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FlowerGirl
FlowerGirl 2yrs+
I also don't agree about the weather. I understand that it is sunnier in San Diego, but the cooler, less predictable weather is what a lot of people like about SF.
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
As far as beaches go though, San Diego and the SoCal area got us beat. No way you'll be getting a tan at Stinson Beach. You definitely don't get much bikini weather up here.
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IpanemaGirlSF
IpanemaGirlSF 2yrs+
@NightOwl: You are right on about the beaches. Huntington Beach is one of my favorites beaches in the world--and I've seen more than one.
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StephSF
StephSF 2yrs+
Obviously weather is a strong factor for San Diego, which is probably SoCal's coolest large city (although, to be fair, its only true competitor is LA). Overall, San Francisco seems like it is culturally more exciting. It seems like it is almost a college town for grownups, with movies in Dolores Park, Stern Grove concerts, Bay to Breakers, the Big Wheels race...etc. There also seem to be quite a few East Coast transplants in the area.

If you can stand the consistently cool weather, the microclimates, the fog, and the unpredictable factor, then SF is hands-down the place to be.
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kalkoala
kalkoala 2yrs+
I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area; specifically the south bay. I now live in downtown San Diego and I would choose San Diego over San Francisco by the slimmest of margins. The two big advantages of living in San Diego over San Francisco is the weather and the cost of living. You can get much more for your money in San Diego. If you took the same amount of money and went to both cities you would live a lot more comfortably in San Diego that in San Francisco. Some of those people who like living in San Francisco are willing to put up with the uncomfortableness of the living conditions just to live in a city they ove so much; it's very reminiscent to Manhattan. So San Diego and specifically where I live in downtown San Diego is great.
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EclecticEars
EclecticEars 2yrs+
San Diego probably has friendlier people than the Bay Area. Of course, that's no stretch as Bay Areans are honestly some of the biggest a**holes in the United States (and I've been all over country)!

Now, with the issue of people notwithstanding, the Bay Area is a better and more interesting place to live in terms of quality of life. However, the people in the Bay are so generally annoying that, if I weren't living in the Bay for work and had only visited either place, I would have a difficult time choosing whether to live in the Bay or down in SD.
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KikiK
KikiK 2yrs+
im from an other country and lived a little every where , i first love SF , compare to san diego , you dont need a car in san francisco and i think that the only good point
now here its riduculously expansive.....even sleep in a closet will rip your pocket off , you live in the fog...look you will always find someone sick around you , the weather is warm then cold then rainning then warm then foggy, sometimes in one day or just a block from an other...you will meet a ton of religious veggies super healthy peoples ,im vegetarian too but please wtf if you are not its fine no? they do there grocery at whole food with a big SUV with a bumper sticker saying " save the planet"..
last day STAN LEE him self told me , he created a new super hero " organicman" from san francisco
san francisco is the place where people know how eat and drink ( wine )better than everyone in the us

i know every time people talk about south CA , there are ass hole ,conservator , attitude etc etc etc.. here was my answer of what kind of attitude you can find here in sf


now san diego , more space between people ( believe its a deal that ), real beach ( summer time you can swim in it ), warm warm warm , the next hour or day still warm ,
you can have a real summer ,
house/room ect less expansive you can get bigger for less ,
more lay back, you may need more time or drive more to find a place where you like to eat

now if your weekends are a lot about partying.... you make like better sf
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