Back in the early 1970s the slogan ‘America’s Finest City’ was coined for San Diego as part of advertising drive to attract visitors to the city. The nickname has stuck ever since, but does the city really live up to it’s nickname?
According to Natalie Côté, San Diego more than merits the accolade. Natalie was born and brought up in San Diego and whilst Natalie has always loved her home city it wasn’t until she came to work at LSI that she really began to appreciate what a fantastic place it is to live and study in, and just how much it has to offer visitors. She explains all here…
“As someone who was born and raised in San Diego, I tend to take it for granted, but thanks to my internship with Language Studies International where I created a tourist’s guide to “America’s Finest City” for incoming students, the view I hold of my home has completely changed. Over the past month I have learned more about San Diego than I ever had in my lifetime, but more importantly, I learned these new things from the perspective of a bright eyed tourist. With this new perspective, I was able to appreciate my city more, and develop an ever growing fascination and excitement for what it has to offer.
The San Diego streets are full of rich and vibrant history, it seems like there is a historic landmark on every corner and a new adventure in every highly distinctive neighborhood. It is filled with beautiful architecture, from Balboa Park to the Gaslamp Quarter and the Old Town and so much more. Though it is a desert with very little rainfall, it is surrounded by beautiful ocean views, cooling breezes, and the calming sounds of crashing waves to make up for it. It is both a big city with the perks of a small town, so if you want to hike in the mountains in the morning, sunbathe at the beach in the afternoon, and go out dancing at night, you can!
If you do manage to check off everything on your San Diego bucket list, never fear, in just 2-3 hours you can lose yourself in the snowy Big Bear mountains or leave all your worries behind while seeking thrills in the theme parks of the Los Angeles area.
San Diego is not only a tourist’s paradise, with numerous famous attractions and locations to tour and explore both by land and by sea, incredible educational value, and rarely unpredictable weather so every day is a good day to play, it is also, as I am sure all locals would agree, a wonderful place to call home.”
Well said Natalie! San Diego definitely has a charm that can be sadly overshadowed by it’s more prestigious and glamorous neighbours, Los Angeles and San Francisco. We shouldn’t also forget to mention that this coastal city offers some of the best surfing around. Check out our guide to the best beaches or learn some more quirky facts about this amazing city.