People don’t usually move unless they absolutely have to… Or desperately need to… When talking about moving to California it is becoming more a matter of a wonderful choice that is still hard to make. Whichever is your case, before choosing the place of your new residence you should better have a clear picture of it. We here at moving-me are ready to help you choose and relocate San Diego vs San Francisco.

Narrow the Choice between San Diego vs San Francisco

This article is to help you approach the hardest question of all: How to choose your new hometown in California? If you thought enough to narrow your choice to two, that means you must have formed already a system of criteria and know what you want from the city of your dream. It would not be really hard to choose between the last two. Say, the final part of your long and thorough thinking brought you to a choice between the two most beautiful cities of California: San Francisco and San Diego. Well, the choice is not so obvious in this case. Both of the cities have a lot to be attracted to as well as a lot to be disappointed with. Let’s see …

Cost of Living in San Diego vs San Francisco

In general, the cost of living in San Francisco, CA is from 38% to 60% higher than the cost of living in San Diego, CA (based on different sources). Thus, in San Francisco Median Home Price is 68% higher than in San Diego. The property taxes are not any different. They are set for the State, so there are no variations in this question. There is one thing that is cheaper in SF though: the flights. For some reason flying locally or internationally from San Francisco is less expensive than from San Diego or LA. if you are a sports lover, be prepared to pay twice as much for your gym in San Fransico. Here are some numbers to compare for your convenience.

With all the higher prices San Francisco has an obvious advantage: the salaries in San Francisco are about 40% higher than in San Diego. This means the first thing you need to do before packing your things is to find a job in the city of your future residence. Be that The Golden Gate city, America’s Finest City, or any other, arranging a job offer is the best you can do for your successful move.

Getting around

A recent survey shows that the average commuting time is 26 minutes for San Diego and 36 minutes for San Francisco. With 77% of commuters spending 30 minutes or less every day getting to and from work San Diego beats San Francisco by 22%. Both cities offer convenient public transportation with flexible discount systems for children and senior people. Most drivers are friendly and helpful. The hilly landscape of San Francisco makes commuting a bit of an adventure though.

Let’s see what people, who have some experience of living in both San Francisco and San Diego, have to say:

Eric Pan, lives in San Francisco

I moved from SF to SD. I am sort of from SF and I lived in SD for 5 years, moving at least once every year to different neighborhoods in SD.
Pros and Cons will really depend on who you are and what you want to do with this period in your life. For example, having a loft in noisy downtown Manhattan is a Pro or Con depending on what you’re trying to do and what you like. More info on yourself would help tailor the answer.

Mark-Elliott Lugo, lives in San Diego, CA

This is a question that is near and dear to my heart, since I was born and raised in San Diego, but love San Francisco and visit there as often as possible. Obviously the city in which you’ll be happiest depends on your interests and lifestyle. Long-time residents of San Francisco complain that the city has lost its charm due to the tech boom and the influx of young, wealthy, self-absorbed yuppies, but I don’t think it’s as bad as it’s made out to be. San Francisco remains one of the world’s great cities.

Sarah Karlson, lived in San Francisco (2016-2019)

“Which is the better city?” is not a simple question to answer. Better for whom? A college student? A blue-collar family with young children? A couple of middle-aged gay attorneys with a cat? If we confine ourselves strictly to the city limits of each, San Diego and San Francisco are difficult to compare directly. San Francisco packs 825K people into a mere 47 square miles of land area. San Diego has half again as many people with a population around 1.3 million but sprawls over 372 square miles of land, and depending on where where you are in the city your experience of living “in San Diego” may be very different.
My perspective on this question: I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area (but not in San Francisco) and have lived in San Diego for nearly 10 years (but will shortly be moving on). As for why I moved down here and stayed for so long, well– the truth is I did it for love. Some things you just can’t account for by looking at housing prices and average temperatures.

Moving Advice San Diego vs San Francisco

As has already been mentioned above, choosing between these two cities is not going to be an easy thing to do. That probably is the most emotionally difficult task of the Moving To-Do List, which can be found and downloaded here at moving-me.com. You are also offered a full catalogue of moving companies operating in the area so that you could make a choice based on your needs and requirements. Once decided, things are going to move further as long as you keep track of your moving plans. Be safe and good luck with your move!