If San Diego feels half empty, that's because it is. At any given time, swarms of residents moved a few miles south to Mexico or a few miles north to upscale resort towns. Also, the Navy is the area's largest employer, so a big chunk is floating around on aircraft carriers somewhere. Is it any wonder, then, that the town leans so heavily on big tourist attractions (Shamu, the zoo)? A deeper look, however, will reveal more personality than you think. A necklace of quirky, sun-kissed neighborhoods rings downtown, from surfer hangouts like Pacific Beach to cool neighborhoods like University Heights. Restaurants are cool too. There is even an history which for Southern California, is a headline in itself.
San Francisco
For much of the 1990s, San Francisco’s Mission District maintained a good balance between its colorful Latino roots and a subculture. Rising real estate prices not only threatened the Mission’s working-class enclave, but also its status as the city’s center of all things edgy and artsy. Boutique knick-knack shops came in alongside dollar stores. But prosperity did not sap the district of its cultural eclecticism. With a population that is about half Latino, a third white and an estimated 11 percent Asian, the Mission still remains a wonderful mishmash. Where else can you find epicurean vegan cafes, feisty nonprofits and a Central American butcher shop that, for a memorable time.
Venice (to the south) has its charms, and Malibu (up north) is celebrity central, but only Santa Monica feels homey. Residents enjoy cultural institutions, athletic facilities, and stores and restaurants of the highest order. In August, Santa Monica Place, an awesome indoor-outdoor mall a few blocks from the beach, reopened, with offerings both high and low (a food court with priceless sunset-over-the-ocean views). The local art scene heated up this fall with the arrival of L&M Arts, Los Angeles (660 Venice Boulevard), a branch of the blue-chip New York gallery. The space in a former power station in Venice near the Santa Monica border was inaugurated with new works by the Los Angeles-based conceptual artist Paul McCarthy, on view through November 6.
I would most likely want to visit San Diego. It looks so cool. I would love to go see Shamu in a different state. It would be fun to learn history there too. I think it would be cool to eat some of there culutural food. It looks like a very fun place to go.
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