San Diego does have a lot going for it: a balmy climate, many beaches, forested mountains an hour away, desert 2 hours away, world-class zoo, plenty of things to see and do, year-round tourist destination. Fairly gay-friendly except for some religious pockets in the eastern areas. San Diego does have many drawbacks: crowded, lots of traffic, poor public transit, very expensive housing, very high cost of living, high utility bills, high price for gasoline, horribly managed city and county governments all deep in debt, entrenched good-ol-boys power structure, the public interest invariably loses out to the entrenched big-money interests, ruled by greed and corruption, very white-bread and unsophisticated. U.S. military still has a major presence and influence. Still a cultural backwater compared to Los Angeles. As far as "beautiful city" I think San Francisco tops San Diego in that respect, though San Diego has a warmer and better climate, people sometimes refer to San Diego as "San Francisco on training wheels." People go to San Diego for relaxation, vacation, the beaches, the laid-back lifestyle. Definitely not for the culture or "scene" or anything sophisticated or cutting-edge, and definitely not because it's a good deal by any stretch of the imagination. As far as scenic beauty that only applies to the beaches, mountains and deserts. The city itself is very generic. There are many poor areas that are downright ugly - but at least they have the glorious weather.
