San Diego

Some people say San Diego lacks weather, but the city’s residents seem to be surviving just fine without it. In fact it’s the mildness of the climate that, above all, defines the city. Though it’s big (and growing fast), San Diego manages to hang on to a resort feel even amid the skyscrapers and brick facades of its revamped downtown. A huge influx of visitors helps add to the vacation atmosphere, from party-hearty undergrads to boozy conventioneers. San Diego is also a favorite for family vacations, what with kid-positive attractions like SeaWorld and the city’s world-famous zoo.

San Diego has reserved plenty of outdoor space to enjoy the weather, from beaches and boardwalks to the fields and footpaths of sprawling Balboa Park. This is a place where life is lived outdoors, so it’s not surprising that fitness is a religion. Sit at a café long enough, and you are bound to hear talk of 10K races, if not triathlons.

While the rest of California went into a holding pattern when the Internet bubble went bust, San Diego’s economy kept quietly growing. The sustained boom has helped bring a new dynamism to a culture where tastes were once largely defined by military retirees - think khaki and plaid. San Diego won’t seduce you like San Francisco or wow you like Yosemite, but life here is so unrelentingly pleasant that you might not care either way. [source: lonelyplanet]

Thank you very much Whitney!