but most of them have the climate divided into “zones.”
The reality is that (with some exceptions due to local topography) for every mile you go inland (especially for the first 15 miles or so), you’ll have higher summer temperatures and less cloudy days. Although I think the change in temperature is more pronounced than the change in the number of cloudy days.
There are lots of days when it’s sunny everywhere and the temperature is 69 in Del Mar and 82 in Scripps Ranch. And lots of days the marine-layer clouds go all the way to the mountains. (On those days the temperature difference is much less pronounced.) There are some days when the marine layer only goes to, say, Del Mar or to Carmel Valley or to RSF or to Penasquitos or to Scripps Ranch. It’s those days that account for having more sunny days the farther inland you go. But usually the marine layer is pretty thin on those days, and frequently on those types of days it burns off by the afternoon.
As I mentioned in those other threads you probably read, I’ve found that Carmel Valley is actually a bit cool for my taste in the summer. 72 every day sounds great. And it is compared to a lot of places. But that means that, even in the summer, it’s in the 60’s for some of the day with a bit of a breeze. If you’re in the sun, it’s definitely warm enough. In the shade, it’s a bit chilly.
It’s great inside, though. You almost never have to use your a/c. (Or your furnace, for that matter.) You might want a/c during the occasional monsoon moisture times in August (when the cooling effect of the ocean is greatly reduced), and maybe during the hotter Santa Anas. But very rarely.
So obviously it comes down to what you like. The beauty is that you can find it just by moving a bit closer to or farther from the coast.
I don’t know where you’re moving from, but if it’s anywhere where it’s humid in the summer, one great thing you’ll find about San Diego is the sleeping weather. At least 350 days a year the sleeping weather is fantastic. The flip side of that is that you’ll need a jacket outside most nights.
