What is going on in San Diego? It’s so clean and maintained! For this episode of Dashboard Tours, we’re going to drive downtown San Diego, perhaps the finest city in the country. As you’ll see, this city is super clean and has a lot of charm. It’s the OPPOSITE of other large cities in California like Los Angeles and San Francisco, where homeless and drug users are all over the place, and where you don’t really feel safe. San Diego has 1.4 million people, making it the 8th largest city in the country. San Diego is known for its mild climate, deep water harbor, for its beaches and parks, and its association with the navy and marine corps. Today, it’s quickly becoming an important center for healthcare and technology. Spanish ships first arrived here in 1542, and it became a city in 1769. California became our 31st state in 1850. While San Diego does have the 5th highest number of homeless people in the country, you won’t see them downtown much. Unlike Los Angeles and San Francisco, San Diego no longer accepts sidewalks as places where homeless can set up a tent, and the city has been vigilant about cleaning up trash too. San Diego has been aggressive about moving its homeless away from downtown areas and working with them to provide temporary shelter while they get their lives back on track. San Diego is growing, but not as fast as you might think. This city’s population has increased only at a rate of .6% over the last 5 years, which is 33% less than it grew the previous decade. Much of that growth has been attributed to a really young population and a high cost of living. San Diego is the 10th youngest city in the country, where nearly half the population is under 35 years old. And as you might have heard, millennials aren’t having kids as much as previous generations were. So, the slow growth can be partly credited to simply less people having kids here these days. It’s really expensive to live here as you can imagine. The great weather, friendly vibe, proximity to the ocean and abundant entertainment make it a huge draw. Home prices have almost doubled in the last ten years, and the average cost of a home in San Diego is now $650,000 folks. Rent downtown is somewhere around $2,400. San Diego is home to many large technology companies. Sony and Sanyo have a huge presence here, and this is also home to technology company Qualcomm. #california #sandiego You can buy my music here: iTunes: / state-songs-an-album