San Diego, You Confusing Beautiful Mess
i’m not gonna lie, i’m kind of over cities. give me a mountain or a beach and i’m happy. but san diego-man, this place is doing something right. or wrong. i can’t tell anymore. i’ve been running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to cover all the “essential” spots and i just checked and it’s 21.42°c right now, feels like 20.3°c. dry air, 26% humidity. if you're into that crisp, not-too-sweaty weather, you’ll probably dig it here.
san diego’s geography makes my head spin. it’s like someone threw the city on a hills-and-canyon-shaped pizza and said “have fun navigating that.” roads dip and climb like it’s a rollercoaster half the time and i’m pretty sure i’ve seen a few mesas trying to start a band. downtown’s down by the bay, which is protected by two peninsulas like it’s hiding from something very dramatic. honestly, i don’t blame it.
so obviously, i couldn't just stay in the city. someone told me that you can’t visit san diego without driving out to la jolla and seeing those cliffs. they’re not wrong. someone else said, “you haven’t seen sd if you didn’t get tacos and then feel morally superior about your life choices.” i did both. still don’t feel any better about myself but the fish tacos were solid.
and look, if you're tired of driving through the endless canyons (which i was), there’s a map down there. you’re welcome. lord knows i used it like 47 times:
also, if you get bored, escondido, chula vista, la mesa and a bunch of other places are like… right there. next-door neighbors that are way cheaper to live in. heard someone say that san diego’s cost of living is basically “pay triple for half the space,” so maybe take a drive east if you’re on a budget.
i can’t leave without mentioning how weirdly biodiverse this place is. someone’s saying it’s the most biodiverse county in the continental u.s. like, what? wild. also, y’all share a border with tijuana which is apparently the fourth busiest land border in the world. imagine trying to take a nap next to that kind of energy.
anyway, it’s cool. the weather’s okay for now but word is the sea level’s rising, so eventually, who knows. maybe the whole damn place’ll just float away and we’ll all be like “oh well, that was nice while it lasted.”
you’ve been travel-blogged at, have fun out there.
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- https://topiclo.com/post/shangqiu-okay-so-its-a-thing-and-a-surprisingly-interesting-one
- https://topiclo.com/post/johannesburg-the-city-of-gold-and-concrete
- https://topiclo.com/post/random-thoughts-on-dongguan-factories-confusion-and-too-many-people