101 Reasons
San Diego is the City of Life

San Diego arguably has the best quality of “life” of any city in the world. The city’s stunning visual beauty, geographic location, and extraordinary year-round weather have spawned a one-of-a-kind atmosphere of unlimited possibilities and opportunities.

Let’s take a look at what makes San Diego such an incredible City of Life:

Recreation / Entertainment

70 miles of spectacular beaches
Numerous bays, harbors and tidelands
Sailing and boating on San Diego Bay, Mission Bay and the Pacific Ocean
Whale Watching
Swimming and snorkeling in La Jolla Cove
Deep sea ocean fishing
Fishing in lakes and streams
Water-skiing in San Diego Bay, Mission Bay and on multiple nearby lakes
Numerous Indian Reservations and Gaming Casinos
Cabrillo Monument – birthplace of modern California
San Diego Mission settled by Spanish missionaries
Old Town
World-class bird watching
Golfing, hiking and swimming at Torrey Pines State Park
Hiking in Mission Trails Park
Yachtfest – The annual west coast premier yacht show
Thunderboat Racing on Mission Bay
Festival of Sail of historic tall ships in San Diego Harbor
The Star of India ship in San Diego Harbor
USS Midway Museum on board the aircraft carrier in San Diego Harbor
Vibrant nightlife in the downtown Gaslamp Quarter
MCAS Miramar Air Show featuring the U.S. Navy Blue Angels
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Wild Animal Park
Sea World
Legoland
Disneyland (a mere one hour away)
Horton Plaza
Shopping in the stylish Cedros Design District of Solana Beach
Temecula vineyards and wine tasting
San Diego County Fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds
Del Mar Horse Racing
Hot Air Ballooning over Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe
The historic Del Coronado Hotel on Coronado
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Driving and hiking through the rising mountains of Cleveland National Forest
Playing in the snow on Mount Cuyamaca and Mount Laguna
Mount Palomar and Mount Laguna Observatories
Eating apple pie in the historic mining town of Julian
Relaxation and golf in nearby Palm Springs, Palm Desert and Borrego Springs
Dune bugging, motorcycle riding, and hiking in vast deserts to the east
Glamis Sand Dunes to the east
Skiing in Big Bear to the north (or world-class skiing a one hour flight away)
Snorkeling on Catalina Island to the northwest
Big wave surfing at Cortez Banks off the coast
Historic Highway 101 – the original artery that winds along the California coast

Sporting Activities

Sports Illustrated named San Diego, “Sportstown, USA”
San Diego Hall of Champions
San Diego Padres professional baseball
San Diego Chargers professional football
Olympic Training Village
Surfing
Sailing
Boating
Swimming
Diving
Water-skiing and jet skiing
Golfing – over 90 golf courses including the spectacular Torrey Pines which hosted the 2008 U.S. Open
Tennis
Biking
Skateboarding
Motorcycle off-road riding
Running
Hiking
Hang Gliding over Torrey Pines State Park and beaches

Arts & Culture

Balboa Park
San Diego Museum of Art
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego – La Jolla & Downtown
Timken Museum of Art
Mingei International Museum
San Diego Natural History Museum
San Diego Museum of Man
Museum of Photographic Arts
Maritime Museum of San Diego
Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
San Diego Air & Space Museum
San Diego Automotive Museum
The New Children's Museum
San Diego Film Festival
San Diego Opera
San Diego Symphony
Old Globe Theater
La Jolla Playhouse at UCSD
Street Scene Music Festival
Fashion Week San Diego – featuring designers from Southern California and Mexico
Old Town Art Festival
Little Italy Art Walk
Christian Youth Theater (CYT)
A diverse community where English and Spanish are both widely used
Public Art that engages our citizens

Business, Military, Science & Education

San Diego's rising metropolitan skyline
San Diego - the third largest "Life Sciences" hub in the nation
Torrey Mesa (a.k.a. Life Sciences Mesa)
University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
San Diego State University (SDSU)
University of San Diego (USD)
Salk Institute
Scripps Institute
Sanford / Burnham Institute
Major U.S. Naval base with multiple aircraft carriers
US Naval Air Station
Marine Corp Recruiting Depot (MCRD) and Miramar Air Station
Camp Pendleton (Marine Corp) to the north
Qualcomm – leader in wireless technology
Ecke Poinsettia farms in Encinitas
San Diego Convention Center

Mexico

Tijuana / San Diego is one of the largest population concentrations on the west coast
The Tijuana / San Diego border crossing is the busiest border crossing in the world
Tijuana – birthplace of the Caesar Salad
Bullfighting and Mariachis in Tijuana and Ensenada
Rosarito Beach
Eating lobster in beautiful Puerto Nuevo
The spectacular Guadalupe Valley vineyards
Ensenada
Hussong's Cantina in Ensenada
San Felipe to the southeast
Mike's Sky Ranch for off-road motorcycle riders
Tecate Beer factory
Guadalupe Islands – mating grounds of the Great White Shark

Sound Marketing

√ The City of Life is the perfect umbrella theme for the San Diego Convention Center & Visitor Bureau’s (ConVis’s) marketing campaigns such as “San Diego: A Sunny Outlook”, “San Diego: 365 Days of Ahhh”, and others.

√ The City of Life is the perfect umbrella theme for the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture’s recent marketing campaign: “San Diego: Vibrant Culture, Vibrant City”.

√ “Conde Nast Publications released its annual “IT LIST”, placing San Diego with Paris and Mozambique as one of the world’s 10 must-visit destinations for 2008.” (The San Diego Union-Tribune 1/10/2008 front page A1.) Now that San Diego has been recognized as one of the “IT CITIES” in the world, maybe it’s time to adopt an identifier that is TRUE... the City of Life.

Why the City of Life?

Why the City of Life, as opposed to “Biotech Beach”, “Telecomm Valley”, “City of Guacamole” or any other number of ideas? Perhaps a better approach is to ask if there is another identifier that successfully:

1. Highlights the reason most of the original settlers migrated to San Diego in the first place. It was for "life" itself…for health reasons. (San Diego and its climate have long been recommended as one of the best environments to cure or forestall a host of physical maladies.)
   
   
2. Celebrates San Diego as the birthplace of "life" for modern day California. (The first European expedition to set foot on the west coast of the United States was led by Spanish explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542, and the location of the first landing was San Diego.)
   
   
3. Presents a unique, world-class image for San Diego. (We know the City of Life does so because when we started promoting it for San Diego, Hong Kong suddenly embraced it as theirs and ran full steam with it. It was only abandoned because of the 2003 SARS epidemic that led to a massive loss of life in their city. Hong Kong is one of the savviest cities in the world and their attempted embrace of this identifier speaks volumes.)
   
   
4. Appeals to San Diego's physical attributes as a place with endless sunshine and a diverse beauty along the Pacific Ocean.
   
   
5. Symbolizes the San Diego "mindset" of warmth, unlimited possibilities, and being able to do anything, any time of the year.
   
   
6. Personifies San Diego as an outdoor sporting and activity metropolis with sailing, surfing, swimming, golfing, tennis, biking, running, hiking, park activities, etc. (Sports Illustrated previously declared San Diego to be "Sportstown, USA".)
   
   
7. Evokes a city teeming with enthusiasm and a joie de vivre (joy of living).
   
   
8. Projects the "vibrancy" and "excitement" of San Diego as seen by our revitalized Gaslamp District, downtown ballpark, rising skyline, and spectacular beaches and harbors.
   
   
9. Spotlights a "quality of life" in San Diego that is second to none in the world.
   
   
10. Embodies the meaning of the April 2004 Partners for Livable Communities announcement of San Diego as one of the "Most Livable" cities in America. As well as embodies the meaning of the June 2004 issue of Men's Journal featuring "The 50 Best Places to Live" with San Diego ranked #1.
    
    
11. Echoes the meaning of the upcoming Centennial of the Panama-California Exposition of 1915 that launched San Diego on the road to become the thriving metropolis it is today. (The 2015 Centennial will be a great Celebration of Life…celebrating the "life" of San Diego itself.)
    
    
12. Shows off San Diego as one of the most bio-diverse regions in the United States and the world. (The definition of "Bio" is fittingly "Life".)
    
    
13. Incorporates original and exciting complimentary visual imagery that will be "emblematic" for San Diego, and possibly become "iconic" over time.
    
    
14. Includes a profound respect for the Spanish and Mexican influences on our city. (The Spanish translation, La Ciudad de Vida, to be interchangeably used.)
    
    
15. Promotes San Diego as a fun-filled "Tourist Mecca".
    
    
16. Illuminates San Diego as a city "Open for Business" where "innovation" and "creativity" are embraced as the building blocks of the community.
    
    
17. Invokes the Life Sciences, a key San Diego industry that is playing a pivotal role in improving and lengthening the quality of "life" for all Americans. (While at the same time remaining inclusive of all of San Diego's important industries and professions.)
    
    
18. Honors the large San Diego presence of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps who both "protect American lives" and "defend the American way of life".
    

The City of Life successfully accomplishes all of the above.