After a few days in San Diego, visitors and newcomers inevitably reach the same conclusion—San Diego is really just a big collection of small towns. Even with a population of over 3.1 million countywide, San Diego has somehow managed to hold on to its small-town flavor while enjoying the advantages of a major metropolitan city. Most everything you would look for in New York or San Francisco is here: theater, opera, museums, first-class restaurants, and vibrant nightlife. But the sense of community that you find in smaller cities is here, too. And nowhere is that sense of community stronger than in its varied neighborhoods.
San Diegans appreciate and enjoy all the cultural and entertainment opportunities available to them, but they place even more value on life within their neighborhoods. Many, if not most, have founded their own Main Street organizations. Community pride is fierce. Almost without exception, neighborhoods within both the city and county limits have planning groups to monitor growth and plan activities. Residents care very much about what happens down the street and around the block.
Over the decades each neighborhood within San Diego County has developed its own unique characteristics. Take Poway and Rancho Bernardo, for example. Both are located in North County Inland; in fact, they’re very close to one another. But they could hardly be more different. Rancho Bernardo is an interesting combination of high-tech industry, golf courses, and family and retirement communities. Poway, on the other hand, has a strong working-class population that focuses its energy on local festivals, politics, horses, and public-school issues. Poway boasts one of the finest school districts in California.
Farther south, in Central San Diego, is the neighborhood of Mission Hills. With its stately mansions and high-ticket real estate values, it makes a strangely genteel neighbor for adjacent Hillcrest, a buzzing, active neighborhood with a highly concentrated gay population.
Then there are the neighborhoods that have cute quirks. For example, Burlingame, a tiny area in North Park, is distinguished by its red concrete sidewalks—the only community in the entire county to sport such a feature. Birdland has a quirk of a different sort. Tucked away between Linda Vista and Serra Mesa, all its streets are named after birds: Hummingbird Lane, Peacock Drive, and Nightingale Way, to name a few.
We’ll take you through the individual neighborhoods, region by region, so you can get an idea of the variety of lifestyles, architectural styles, and just plain old standout features—and there are many. You’ll surely find something that appeals to you. Just keep in mind that in the city of San Diego alone there are more than 100 separate, identifiable neighborhoods. So we’ll group many of them together and give you an idea of the characteristics of the general area.
One of the best ways to get a good idea of what an individual neighborhood is like is to attend one of its annual festivals or celebrations. Check out the listings in our Annual Events chapter or pick up a community newspaper in a neighborhood library, coffeehouse, or convenience store. You’ll undoubtedly find a parade, block party, or arts festival that will give you the feel for what the area is like. Chat with the locals—you’re sure to get an earful.