It’s been 5 months since moving from Maui to San Diego. I’ve had fun exploring the area — hanging out downtown, visiting north county, surfing cold water, eating delicious Mexican food and much more. San Diego is an awesome place. It’s beautiful, diverse and there’s plenty to keep me busy. When it comes to living on the mainland, San Diego — Actually, Encinitas would be my town of choice.

However, there’s nothing anchoring me to San Diego. Hawaii still feels like home. My friends and lifestyle are primarily in Hawaii. The ease and enjoyment of life in the islands is unparalleled. Some days I love San Diego, but every day I love Hawaii. Constantly putting yourself out there to make new sets of friends gets exhausting when you’ve moved every year for 9 years. Ultimately though, San Diego is a place I could be happy living, without question.

Positive impressions of San Diego:

• Lots of young people and families
• Beautiful landscape
• Great surfing
• Great downtown
• Great dining options
• Plenty of entertainment
• Super dog friendly
• Convenient for walking and biking
• Large tech, web, and art communities
• Educated and ambitious people
• Clean and safe

Negative impressions:

• Extremely expensive real estate (even more so than Hawaii)
• Expensive lifestyle
• An abundance of pretentious, materialistic people
• Cold, polluted water

Update: In hindsight, after 2 years of living in San Diego, I can say with confidence it was the best place I’ve ever lived for my personal lifestyle. I hope to move back someday.