Touristy San Diego Summer
 

This past summer I was in San Diego for several days. It was my second trip there, but it's been about a decade since the first trip. Here are pics:

Let's start in Little Italy, where I was staying:


























Mission Beach:


















La Jolla:


















Balboa Park:




























The Gaslamp:












Transit stuff:





























That's all!

Great set!! Love all the transit photos too!

Looks good!

What did you think of the transit? Better, worse, or about the same as what you expected?

Nice photos.

One interesting discussion would be why San Diego is so much more urban than Orange County, even though these two counties have nearly the same population, have similar demographics, and both, until recently, were conservative.

Orange County is more suburban than San Diego because it is functionally a suburban extension of Los Angeles. San Diego started out as its own metropolitan region with its focal point in Downtown San Diego. That being said, the City of San Diego as a whole is fairly suburban. Most of the city north of Mission Valley wouldn't look out of place in Orange County. And that's also true of San Diego's suburbs, though a large part of San Diego suburbia is less wealthy than Orange County. Most of these pictures were taken in Downtown neighborhoods, as well as Mission Beach and La Jolla. These were all areas that got laid out no later than the early 20th century and still reflect the urban qualities of that era.

San Diego definitely does a better job on rail transit than Orange County though. The San Diego Trolley system has continued to grow, with the most recent extension opening from Old Town to the UCSD area late last year. Orange County has avoided building light rail. Most of its voter approved transit sales tax goes to widening freeways. A street car in Santa Ana is under construction, but that's it. That's not much for a county with more than 3 million residents. Orange County is fairly wealthy, suburban and conservative, so rail transit has never been a priority there.

Beautiful!

Nice pictures! I have not been in San Diego since 2009. I recognize that hillside north of Mission Beach.

So the light rail goes to the international border? I will have to remember that if I ever make it back. I have been wanting to go to Tijuana.

Isn't Little Italy so fantastic? It's now my favorite place to be in SD. Incredibly vibrant, heaps of sidewalk and pedestrian activity/dining alfresco, and beautiful public spaces (i.e. the food arcade and public square you photographed). You wouldn't recognize the place 20 years ago given how much density and development have come through today...and it's in many ways replaced the Gaslamp District among locals who want downtown nightlife/eats. If I could afford a cute townhome there, I'd strongly consider relocating from LA, but it's just so damn expensive.

Also, North Park has really become one SD's best urban neighborhoods. I was just there last Friday night and University Ave/30th were popping with nightlife and restuarant goers. Again, 20 years ago most of the storefronts were derelict and the area was run down, now it is very hip and desirable. Did you happen to go to the Thai restaurant Kin Len Street Eats? I actually ate there and was blown away by how good it was.

You should be sure to check out other urban neighborhood gems such as Normal Heights, University Heights, Hillcrest and Kensington on your next visit. I really think SD is underrated from an urbanist perspective. It has some really high quality streetcar suburbia bones.

Great set! SD is looking better than ever.

Great set. Thank you for sharing.

In my opinion, San Diego is the least architecturally interesting of the 6 west coast metropolises, but it's probably the most livable out of all of them. It's so incredibly vibrant and has such a great outdoor culture thanks to the absolutely perfect weather. I'd move there in a heartbeat if I could afford it, and it's on my short list for retirement (if Millennial retirment is even a thing 30 years from now) along with some spots in the OC and up the Central Coast.

Thanks for the Mission Beach coverage, I have never explored that area on my visits!