I grew up in San Diego, lived 3 years in Bellingham WA, and close to 12 in suburban Philly.
All have good points and less ideal points.
I loved Bellingham – it’s close to Vancouver BC and Seattle. It’s a university town. It’s GORGEOUS. It snows 1-2 times a year, but not bad. It drizzles the rest of the year, except for the 2 glorious months in the summer. The culture is similar to CA in that it’s ethnically diverse, tolerant of different ethnicities, and a lot of “crunchy” eco aware types.
Suburban PA – great colleges – too many to name. Affordable housing. Great public schools for your kids. (Not so much within Philly on that last one.) I agree with a previous post that the Jersey shore is over-rated compared to San Diego beaches… but it has more “carnival” type stuff on the boardwalk. Culturally it’s very different than CA – people are less overtly friendly and stick in their clans. There is more overt racism with people not really reacting if someone says something offensive…
San Diego. Expensive, but the best weather and beaches. I moved out of here because there is a lot of superficialness here: (you’re no one till you have the 3 B’s: Beach home, Beemer, Blonde trophy wife/date). But the superficialness is countered with great beaches, a year round outdoor lifestyle, and a friendly attitude among most of those you meet.
I was happy in all 3 places. I moved back to San Diego for family reasons, but would have been happy staying in metro Philly or Bellingham, WA.
