Guide for Moving to San Diego in 2021
What memorable locations will come to your mind when we say California? Most probably, your thoughts would be about San Francisco Golden Gates or Los Angeles Hollywood. There’s much more than that in the California state. Don’t forget about the second biggest city in the California located in the southern part, beautiful San Diego. You might say, well, what can San Diego offer you? Just read this article till the end to find out. You would definitely want to visit San Diego at least once. Most people fall in love with the city once visiting it and they want to come back again and again. Others get so impressed that they even fully move here. San Diego is a beautiful city on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the southwest part of the US close to the Mexican border. It is the second biggest city in California with rich history, architecture, beautiful beach views, cultural life.
What is the City Known for?
San Diego is famous for its:
- Perfect location with mixed landscape
- Ideal year-round warm and sunny climate
- 70 miles of picturesque beaches with natural deep-water harbor
- Laidback lifestyle
- Best craft beer and cuisine
- Top notch attractions and rich cultural heritage
Landscape
San Diego is such a diverse city encompassing variety of different landscapes appealing to guests of all ages. The city can be proud of its farms, state parks and forests, deserts, mountains and miles of stunning Pacific beaches all in one county. East part of the San Diego County is covered by foothills and mountains offering nature lovers terrain for hiking, camping, fishing and observing the wildlife. The Laguna Mountains and Cuyamaca Mountains rise on the east, and beyond we have deserts. On the other hand, the north part is known for their agricultural products including flowers, fruits and famous wine-producing grapes. The south part of the city borders with Mexico so the community here features the Mexican cultural heritage. Finally, the most beloved west part of the San Diego features 70 miles of beaches with waves coming right from Pacific Ocean. Thanks to these beautiful and fascinating beaches that make outdoor recreation like swimming, sailing, surfing, fishing and boating so much lovable. The architecture of the city in the center is characterized by an eclectic mix of modern buildings Spanish colonial style to Neo-Gothic and Moorish buildings.
Climate
San Diego has the best climate for outdoor leisure and living. It is never too cold or too hot here. Coastal breeze saves San Diego from getting too hot. Summers are dry and warm, and winters are mild. The temperature on the coast is on average +22 °С all year round. Most days are sunny with rains coming for December to March. The humidity here is low, the city has a little number of rainfalls and it snows very rarely.
Beaches
San Diego beaches play a vital role in lives of the local people and they are the top attractions for tourists from around the world. San Diego has around 33 beach locations and they span around 70 miles across the coast showing off their beautiful views all around. Each one of them has its own soul and atmosphere. Below we will go through the most attractive ones. The first three of them are the main beaches of the Mission Bay.
Pacific Beach
It is the most popular beach amongst young people and students. Huge area where you can take a sunbath, try surfing, play beach volleyball and make new connections. The Boardwalk connects Pacific Beach with Belmont Park where one of the oldest wooden roller-coasters still lives today. You can walk to the park on foot in 30 minutes, or rent a bike, roller skates or Segway. This beach is famous for its Taco Tuesday when local restaurants offer taco and alcohol cocktails for reasonable prices. Taco Tuesday is held throughout San Diego but only here, fun continues till sunrise. Most bars and restaurants are really busy this day.
Ocean Beach
This is a real California beach view that is portrayed in so many famous movies. The location is full of hippies, tanned surfers, skaters, weird herb and powder shops, and two-story vegan supermarkets. There is also the famous dog’s beach, where you can bring your four-legged friends for a walk, and a large number of volleyball courts. Ocean beach waves are higher than Pacific Beach’s that is why there are lots of surfers in this location. You can rent a surf and a suit in one of the many surf shops next to the beach. Ocean Beach is also home to the famous Sunset Cliffs. A beautiful place with cliffs and great views, as well as a couple of small, secluded beaches. On the main street of Newport Ave, there are countless antique shops with very interesting things. Vintage jewelry and household goods, dishes and furniture can take a couple of hours to visit. Keep in mind that they work until 5pm.
Mission Beach
At Mission Beach you can rent a jet ski, and if you have a boat, you can take it out to the bay, as this place is equipped with a special boat ramp. Mission Bay Park or Mission Beach is ideal for swimming as the beach is located on the bay and the water is much warmer than on the ocean coast. The bays are not so deep, so the water in them warms up faster. Another plus of this beach is that there are almost no algae here. The disadvantages include a large number of people, parking difficulties and the water may seem a little dirtier compared to the rest of the beaches.
Coronado Beach
One of the best beaches in the world is located on the ocean side from Coronado Island. The Coronado beach is much wider than the rest (about 150 meters of sand separates the stone rampart from the ocean). There are quite strong waves and cold water here, and in comparison with other beaches, tanning here lays down much faster. It can get really crowded here on weekend but most people congregate closer to the Del Coronado hotel. In search of solitude, you can move to the north or move 30 meters away from the ocean onto clean sand. The disadvantage of Coronado beach is the large number of algae. Hotel del Coronado is well-known since it was the place where worldwide famous “Some Like It Hot” starring Marilyn Monroe was filmed at in 1958.
La Jolla Beach
In the prestigious district of La Jolla, there is a rather cozy La Jolla Cove with no waves and many colorful fishes. If the weather is good and the waves are not strong, you can clearly see their beauty through the water. This beach is good for snorkeling, diving and enjoying the water sports. The world-famous dive spot is located in the same area. You can also watch sea lions sunbathing here.
Torrey Pines Beach
Torrey Pines Beach is fairly clean with minimal algae on the shore and in the water. The water can be slightly colder here than on the Coronado or La Jolla Beaches. There are no shops or attractions nearby. Most people come here for picturesque views. Torrey Pines State Preserve is located nearby, which itself is very beautiful with its canyons on the inside and towering cliffs above the ocean on the outside. There is Del Mar State Beach next to Torrey Pines. There is not much difference between them, except that there are a lot of pine trees on the Torrey Pines.
Laidback Lifestyle
The culture in San Diego is overall laid back, it can be described as the place where beach meets business lifestyle. You will feel it once you arrive to this location. People are just more relaxed, they work less, they dress casually, they don’t hurry anywhere and it all makes sense. Imagine living in a beautiful city where you have all the resources you might wish. You can freely swim in the ocean in the morning or go for a run on the coast with your favorite dog, go for skating, surfing, sunbathing, snorkeling, diving, boating, hiking or just enjoying a meal in the favorite location. Most people like to build relationships here through relaxed conversations. If you are one of such personalities then the city will become your favorite home. Casual outfit such as flip-flops and tank tops are the top attire in the wardrobe here. Even the top tier restaurants and bars here are unpretentious and you can get away wearing causal outfit without anyone looking at you with caution.
Cuisine and Craft Beer Scene
San Diego is the famous craft beer scene and home of the delicious cuisine. Craft beer here is known to be one of the best in the world actually and you can enjoy any type of the craft beer here, especially, well-known hoppy IPAs of San Diego. You can enjoy the drink at beer gardens of Stone Brewing Co or breweries in garage type tasting rooms of Lost Abbey and Stumblefoot Brewing Co. What comes to the cuisine in San Diego, people here prefer going to local restaurants rather than well-known restaurant chains. People have their own local restaurants they visit regularly. Highest rated ones are the Mamma Mia, The Patio and Alexander’s on 30th among others. The city is famous for its finger-licking fist tacos.
Attractions
San Diego houses a lot of attractions which are famous on the world level due to their uniqueness and beauty. Here we will go over just some of them. Our article would get unusually long if we mention all of the top attractions of San Diego.
Balboa Park
Balboa Park is famous throughout the whole USA. The park spans over 1000 acres of land full of beautiful green oasis, walking paths and gardens. You can enjoy the free ride at the carousel and brass ring here. Also, Balboa Park is the home of our next attraction – San Diego Zoo.
San Diego Zoo
San Diego is recognized to be one of the top zoos in the world active since foundation in 1916 with more than 12000 animals of more than 650 species. Animals here feel themselves like in their natural habitat thanks to the natural oasis and botanical garden environment. You will see that animals here are treated well. San Diego zoo is home to rare and fascinating animals such as koalas, Galapagos tortoises, tigers, gorillas, roaming peacocks, Asian leopards, weaver birds and mysterious fossa.
Sea World San Diego
Sea World is the perfect spot to view the life of our marine friends. You can find sharks, dolphins, whales, orcas, sea lions and even penguins here. You will be able to watch the short documentary style presentation showcasing natural behavior of SeaWorld’s famous killer whales. You also get to see the shows involving sea mammals in action. We would definitely recommend not to miss an amazing show – Orca’s show. There is also an opportunity to directly interact with these sea mammals through diving. You will be able to touch sharks and see different species of fishes.
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
You might think, well, so what is the difference between this attraction and San Diego Zoo? San Diego Zoo Safari Park literally lets you live with animals and watch their action in their most natural habitat. You can choose to ride the trams, carts, to have a wildlife safari or flight line safari, camp here and even stay overnight just to experience the real wildlife you see on TVs. As the name suggests, this zoo is more towards conducting safaris to let you dive into the wildlife experience. With the territory of 1800 acres it is one of the larges attractions in the San Diego County housing over 2600 animals.
Cruise Tour
This might not be related to a specific location but you can truly appreciate the beauty of San Diego only from the sea. Take a cruise over the Bay (trip starts on Port Street at the end of Broadway) along the artificial islands of Harbor and Shelter past Point Loma and go out to the Pacific Ocean. If you are lucky enough you will get to compete in a fishing competition where you can win a good amount of money for catching the biggest fish while cruising.
Mission Beach
I know that we mentioned this beach already but we can’t let it go without highlighting its features. All the mentioned beaches in San Diego are top attractions but we think this white sand beach is the heart of the Pacific coastline. You can do and find just anything here. You get to love the beach for its relaxed and outgoing atmosphere. From the beautiful picturesque sunsets, long boardwalk for walking, biking or rollerblading, plenty of beach volleyball courts to restaurants, surf shops and shopping outlets right on the beach, Mission Beach clearly showcases you how great your life can be. The atmosphere here gets even more lovely at nights with night bonfire camping.
Botanical Building and Lily Pond
This site has more than 1200 varieties of plants of tropical and flower variants so it is a real finding for botanists from around the world. The location is functional since 1917 and has the richest collection of rare and beautiful plants. When you are lucky enough to visit this location during the full bloom, you get to enjoy all beautiful colors the nature has to offer and freshest air. What would surprise you is that there is no entrance fee here.
USS Midway Museum
This museum is a historical naval aircraft carrier gem in the heart of the downtown San Diego. The museum is set floating on the Midway carrier and you get to see the longest serving aircraft during 20th century here with more than 200,000 people who served the Midway.
Old Town San Diego
If you are after old age architecture you would definitely appreciate Old Town San Diego. This is the first place where settlements happened so there are plenty of nostalgic old houses and historical buildings and establishments, shops and hotels featuring old San Diego. Imagine the location built as early as in 1820 and you would know what type of building you would expect to see here. You will also be able to see original adobes made of sun-dried earth and straws.
What are you waiting for? You live once on this planet and this is your chance to either come to view the city one time to have a wonderful experience or to move here long-term to change your life completely. In any case, this is your life and you get to decide what you would want to do with it. We just want you to know that we are the top San Diego County movers who can help you with your relocation needs if you ever need to move. Just call us or fill out the moving quote form if you need help with moving.
