And there is a great coffee shop, the way coffee shops use to be, called Harry's in La Jolla. Harry's is one of my favorite places.

possibly the greatest weather in the USA, not as conservative as it used to be, lots of military bases. Pretty good football and baseball teams with nice stadiums, if you like sports.

With the exception of downtown San Francisco, you will need a car pretty much anywhere in California. The key to happiness in living in any of the heavily populated places in our state is to live very close to work. Don't work somewhere that you cant afford to live within 30-50 miles of. You will be miserable. Living within 10 miles of work is ideal.

when I lived there and is still the case even though they've constructed new Interstate highways since then. There was a trolley system that I liked, was halfway built by the time I left, that was pretty good and got you to downtown from east county in about 22 minutes - as opposed to three hours on the roadways. The bus service was a joke and took much longer. Last time I went to visit the trolley was still a good deal but I suspect the driving is still awful. PS. I also drove fuel tankers around there and that was the worst experience!

It does have high rates for housing so it's kind of a toss up.

they're in the middle of an election campaign to replace Filner the perv.

There is light rail transit, plus a commuter train called the Coaster.

http://sdcommute.com/

And beaches, beaches, beaches! I'd say it's SoCal done right.

The city has a decent trolley system, and there's light rail from the coast to the Escondido area. Rush hour traffic can be brutal, but you will probably need -- and want -- a car.

SD is great if you like the outdoors -- there are beaches, bays, mountains, and deserts all in the same county. Lots of healthy lifestyle hikers and bike riders out and about on the weekends. Lots of horse riders in the back country on the weekends too. There are always dozens of hang gliders launching from Torrey Pines.

Stays pretty temperate and dry throughout the year (which is why wildfires are such a concern in the fall). Marine layer fog is pretty common along the coast (keeps the temperature cool until it burns off), while East County basks in sunshine (and tends to be a bit warmer overall).

SD has a lower cost of living compared to either LA or the SF Bay area. Home prices on average are lower than either of those 2 areas, as are average salaries -- but are still pretty high compared to most of the country. Plenty of cheap fresh fruit and vegetables year round (lots are grown locally or in the Imperial Valley/Mexico, so transportation costs are lower).

Downtown SD seems relatively cleaner than most large cities. It also seems more "intimate" -- city blocks were platted a bit smaller than typical. Although it's the second largest city in California, it doesn't seem that large because the terrain is broken up by all the mesas around town. There are some funky neighborhoods (Gaslamp Quarter, Ocean Beach, Hillcrest -- home of the GayMart).

Close to Mexico (day trips to TJ for shopping can be fun, although it's not as lively as it was 10 years ago).

Horse racing at Del Mar, and Indian casinos abound around the county.

SF has Golden Gate Park, and SD has Balboa Park. Both are great, but you don't need a windbreaker (or parka) when visiting Balboa Park. The SD Zoo and Wild Animal Park are deservedly well-known.

School quality depends on your neighborhood. Lots of outstanding school districts, and some less so.

The city is trending Democratic, while the suburbs and county are more Republican.

I've lived and worked in the Bay Area, the LA area, and the SD area. I love all 3, but I prefer San Diego. YMMV.

The outlying county and the smaller cities around San Diego are still Republican. The cost of living here is high. The weather is great. Lots of beaches, of course. It has Comicon, if you are lucky enough to get a ticket.