What's better New York City or San Diego?

I lived in New York City for 7 years and have lived in San Diego for 9 and both have their pros and cons.

New York has great culture, very diverse people, has a great night life (clubs go till 4am, many restaurants open all night), has fantastic food, you can't beat the theatre, a great music scene, you literally can get everything delivered, is a very easy city to get around, you don't need a car therefore avoid insurance and gas costs, has Central Park, fantastic shopping, plenty of museums,opportunities everywhere and a constant energy about it.

However it also has very cold winters and very hot and humid summers. If you don't mind those extremes that won't be a problem. It is dirty, noisy, intense, (however you can find places around the city to get away from most of that to some degree), it is expensive!! Rent, food, even coffee is way up there. It is crowded so you need to get used to sharing your space with strangers all the time. And you will get not much bang for your buck home wise. I lived in a very tiny, falling apart apt in Midtown West and felt lucky even though we had mice, roaches, and the bathroom ceiling was caving in. But our rent was cheap in comparison and we thought we were blessed.

San Diego has near perfect weather (however the last couple years the summers are getting warmer and the winters colder) there are endless beaches, decent culture ( some good theatre companies), museums, music venues, etc), it is near to mountains and the dessert so you can explore both at ease, palm trees everywhere, great Mexican food (of course...we are spitting distance from the border), Balboa Park, rent is not cheap but you get a bit more for your money, there are many hospitals, even a few teaching hospitals so medical care is plentiful, and it has a youthful energy about it.

However....the mentality is quite conservative. It is a military town and while you will meet laid back democrats, overall you will meet a ton of republicans. It can be difficult to meet people here. People spend so much time in their cars and their own worlds it can be hard to break through. You MUST own a car. It is near impossible to find an area where everything you need is walking distance and public transportation here is not great. There are decent restaurants but compared to San Francisco ( where I have also lived) and New York the food is not always up to par.

Both cities are great to experience. I would say if you are younger then 30 give New York a try and older do San Diego. Pretty much all of my friends left New York when they hit 30 because they didn't want to struggle any more. It is an intense way of life but a perfect place to experience in your 20's. San Diego feels more like living in a vacation and anyone over 35 can attest to not feeling up for struggling anymore.

I think you can't lose with either city.

Both are extremely expensive. Both have a good amount of diversity and things to do. If you're used to the cold weather, then go to New York. If you would like to live somewhere where the weather is mild most of the time, go to San Diego. San Diego also tends to be a little bit more on the conservative side given its a military city, whereas, I've always pictured NYC being a bit more liberal.

both are great but if you are into the cold weather New york is for you or simply if you like the really warm summers San Diego is the place to live .. Plus the Hot people :)

San Diego is in California. California has the mountains, beach and the desert all within an an hour of each other. Live in California, its much cooler. If you ever want to escape the country, its about an hour drive from San Diego to TJ.

Oh yeah, and did I mention the San Diego Chargers? Yeah the Chargers are pretty fricken awesome.

it depends what lifestyle you prefer. i like san diego because the weather is usually great, it is pretty laid back, it is diverse, and if you want to get out of the country for a bit just head on down to mexico. the bad part about living in california is earthquakes. we actually just had a small one yesterday but the "big one" is supposed to be on its way. i predict it will happen within the next 5 years. in new york it can get really humid in the summer. i suggest you visit both cities for a week and see which one you like more.

You may not like San Diego as a Raiders fan. Try Oakland.

San Diego its not as crazy

new york