San Diego, California

San Diego – Major City in California

San Diego, a major city in California lies on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California around120 miles south of Los Angeles and adjacent to the border along with Mexico. It is the eighth largest city in the United States as well as the second largest in California. It is also one of the fastest growing cities in the nation and is the birthplace of California.

San Diego is known for its mild climate all year round, natural deep water harbour with extensive beaches, long association with the U.S. Navy and the recent emergence as healthcare and biotechnology development centre. It was the historical home to the Kumeyaay people and was the first site which was visited by the Europeans which currently is the West Coast of the United States.

Arriving in San Diego Bay in 1542, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo claimed the complete area for Spain and formed the basis for the settlement of Alta California some 200 years thereafter. The Mission and Presidio of San Diego established in 1769 formed the first European settlement to what is now California and in 1821 it became part of a newly independent Mexico.

Towards 1850 it became part of the United States followed by the Mexican American War together with the admission of California to the union.

Seat of San Diego County – Economic Centre

The city is the seat of San Diego County which is the economic centre and the San Diego-Tijuana metropolitan area. Moreover, San Diego’s main economic engines are its military and defence related activities, international trade, tourism and manufacturing.

With the presence of the University of California, San Diego – UCSD together with the affiliated UCSD Medical Centre has made it a centre of research in biotechnology. San Diego’s main attraction is the weather where the average daytime temperature is 70 degrees Fahrenheit and most of the days it is sunny. The winter temperature rarely fall below 40 degrees Fahrenheit and the average annual rainfall is less than 10 inches which occurs during the months of December right through March.

Besides the 70 miles of beaches, it is also home to the historical site of Old Town State Park, Wild Animal Park, the world-renowned San Diego Zoo and the centrally located Balboa Park, together with its 13 Japanese Garden museums, outdoor organ pavilion and several other attractions.

Rich & Diverse Cultural Mecca

San Diego is also known for its rich and diverse cultural mecca with heavy emphasis on performing arts and is home to two Tony Award winning theatres namely the Old Globe Theatre and the La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Opera together with dozens of dance companies, theatre groups and famous musical entertainers.

Due to its temperate climate, it makes several outdoor concerts at many venues, enjoyable events.The economy of San Diego is influenced by its deep-water port which has the only major submarine as well as the shipbuilding yards towards the West Coast with several major national defence contractors that started and are headquartered there including the General Atomics, NASSCO and Cubic.

The largest naval fleet in the world is hosted in San Diego and is also a home to the California National Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat team. Five percent of the civilian jobs are military related while 15,000 businesses in San Diego County depend on Department of Defence contracts.