Stay Classy.

i love san diego.

now that the final details are getting wrapped up with my new job (another post sometime soon) and things are becoming official, i am so excited to say i love this city. my city. home. i am 'from' here. i have lived in a few other places, but i am from here. this is my home. this is not a dig on your town, i hope you love where you are at as much as i do. but for me, san diego has my heart. so as i sit outside my favorite mexican restaurant enjoying a carne asada burrito, looking in between palm trees at the view of downtown and the ocean on a perfect afternoon, i think this is a good time to put some thoughts down on why i love this city so much.

i am sitting outside my favorite mexican restaurant enjoying a carne asada burrito, looking in between palm trees at the view of downtown and the ocean on a perfect afternoon.

the beach culture here is absorbed miles inland. even people that live thirty miles inland still have a laid-back, beach attitude. things may be fast paced here, but people for the most part are pretty relaxed. you're more likely to walk into a an office and see guys in hawaiian shirts than a tie. sandals are considered the shoes of choice. you don't even have to be a beach-going person to be a part of this culture, i think it's the default setting.

every neighborhood has it's own unique flavor. if you're up north, you're in a track home. normal heights has adams avenue. the college area is flooded with people walking around all the time. downtown is the ultimate urban reclamation project. mission and fashion valley have the friars rd corridor that has everything you could ever imagine. el cajon is hot as blazes but affordable, oceanside is the beach town that blew up big. la jolla has the glitz and glamour when it comes to scenery, but the money spot is still coronado.

every tuesday one of the museums in balboa park is free. so on any given tuesday you can hang out in one of the nicest parks in the city and cruise around some great museums, that is if you feel like going inside.

the mix of people. you will literally see people of every nationality imaginable here. it's a great constant reminder to be not just open, but excited to explore new cultures.

outdoor eating. you'll be hard pressed to find a decent place to eat that doesn't have a patio area. the weather is nice enough here that you really can eat outside pretty much all year long. which leads to;

the weather here is perfect. a little june gloom and the dog days of august are just long enough to make you appreciate the mid 70s to 80s the rest of the year mixed in with the occasional showers.

sports here are a blast, even if they're not watching championship teams. petco park is by far my favorite new-school stadium in the west. the view from anywhere in the park is amazing, there's a field behind center where you can picnic with your family during games, and nothing tops off the ballgame experience like hopping on the trolly with a bunch of pads fans. then there's the classic concrete of qualcomm aka jack murphy stadium. right in the heart of san diego, the constant fireworks shows, charger games, aztec games, and car racing make it a welcome neighbor. and that's just the major sports. san diegans have a local game called over-the-line, that is essentially stickball at the beach, skating, surfing, you name it. great sports town.

when it comes to staying active, san diego has enough touristy stuff to keep the masses entertained; there's the largest zoo in the world, sea world, the wild animal park, legoland, and a bunch of well known beaches to visit. for the more discerning tourist, or interested locals, there's old town, several missions, world class museums, the gaslamp district, miramar, point loma, mission bay, coronado, and quite a few off the beaten path beaches. and for the long-time locals, there are even more beaches. oh yeah, we're also right next to mexico (dangerous) and not too far from the desert, or mountains for the moto-x and snowboarders.

and lastly, as i previously mentioned, the beaches here are awesome. from the hippie scene at ocean beach, to the busyness of mission beach, the scenery at la jolla, the nudists at black's beach, and the awesome break up at swami's. absolutely unreal.

one love, one heart.