Just want to thank everyone for their replies so far.
Hope to hear more.

I want my friends who would like to move here soon to hear both sides of this historical saga before making their decision.

The greatest thing about most of your comments is that I hear a general consensus that everyone who has been fortunate enough to live in San Diego for any length of time at all, especially during the really good years (I’m almost 40, so I remember them well)–a time with far less traffic–clean and almost empty beaches–etc., etc., etc., feels they have already lived a life that’s priceless, and in the end, that’s really what it’s all about.

What the future holds for San Diego is in question, but also having lived off and on many other places in the world, it will still always be “home.”