San Diego California Real Estate

San Diego California homes for sale in San Diego, La Jolla, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Leucadia, Cardiff by the Sea, South County, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Mission Hills, Point Loma, Ocean Beach, North Park, Solana Beach, Carmel Valley, Imperial County, La Mesa, Mission Valley, Kensington, Rancho Santa Fe, and Chula Vista.

Quick Facts About San Diego California

San Diego, California is the seventh largest city in the United States, with 2.5 million residents.

San Diego, California is famed for the best climate in the United States. Average daily highs range from 70° to 85°F (22° to 30°C). Even in the coolest months (December and January), daily high temperatures still hover pleasantly close to 68°F (20°C).

The Hotel del Coronado on Coronado Island is the largest wooden structure in the United States.

San Diego, California is rimmed with seventy miles of beaches.

Hotel tax is 10%. Sales tax is 7.5% (A helpful hint: when calculating a 15% restaurant tip, all you have to do is double the tax!)

The city of San Diego lies in the southwest corner of California, 120 miles (193 km) south of the city of Los Angeles and 20 miles (32 km) north of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Elevation ranges from sea level to 1,591 feet in the city, to 6,500 feet in the county.

Surfing is always good, but the best conditions are from September to November, with strong swells and offshore Santa Ana winds.

San Diego is the birth place of California. Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo landed in what is now San Diego Bay and claimed the area for Spain on September 28, 1542. Cabrillo National Monument commemorates the arrival of the Portuguese explorer and provides spectacular views of San Diego's harbor and coastline.

Gray whales head south past Point Loma from mid-December to late February and return on their way north in March.

When Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed into San Diego Bay, on September 28, 1542 he named the port San Miguel, in honor of St. Michael the ArchAngel whose feast day was the 29th. San Miguel it remained until Sebastian Vizcaino sailed into the bay on November 10th 1602 and renamed it San Diego for San Diego de Alcala (St. Didicus).

It's not all sunshine and surf in San Diego, as the Ocean Beach Kite Festival makes the most of the wind with kite making, decorating and flying competitions in March.

American Indian Cultural Days held in Balboa Park in May includes Native American dancing, music and art exhibits. Things get a little more raunchy at the Pacific Beach Block Party held on Garnet Ave the same month.

The Ocean Beach Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off is a popular two-day street bash in June. It's accompanied that month by the three-week Del Mar Fair , a huge county fair held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds with headline musical acts and hundreds of carnival rides.

The Hillcrest City Fest street fair is held in one of San Diego's liveliest innercity areas in August. The Gaslamp Quarter gets in one the neighborhood party scene in September during the San Diego Street Scene festival. The Harbor Parade of Lights in December goes one better than a Christmas tree, with dozens of decorated illuminated boats floating in San Diego's harbor.

San Diego's Spanish heritage is preserved in its four beautiful missions: Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala in Mission Valley, Mission San Luis Rey de Francia in Oceanside, Mission San Antonio de Pala, near Palomar, and Mission Santa Ysabel near Julian. In 1769, Father Junipero Serra established the Mission San Diego de Alcala, a primary link in his chain of 21 missions that later extended to Northern California.

San Diego, California is home of the first European settlement on the West Coast.

Legal drinking age is 21. Across the border in Tijuana, it's 18.

Capital: Sacramento

Governor: Arnold Schwarzenegger, 1 R (to Jan. 2007)

Lieut. Governor: Cruz M. Bustamante, D (to Jan. 2007)

Senators: Barbara Boxer, D (to Jan. 2005); Dianne Feinstein, D (to Jan. 2007)

Secy. of State: Kevin Shelley, D (to Jan. 2007)

Atty. General: Bill Lockyer, D (to Jan. 2007)

Treasurer: Phil Angelides, D (to Jan. 2007)

Entered Union (rank): Sept. 9, 1850 (31)

Present constitution adopted: 1879

Motto: Eureka (I have found it)

State Symbols:

flower	golden poppy (1903)
tree	California redwoods ( Sequoia sempervirens & Sequoiadendron giganteum) (1937, 1953)
bird	California valley quail (1931)
animal	California grizzly bear (1953)
fish	California golden trout (1947)
colors	blue and gold (1951)
song	"I Love You, California" (1951)

Nickname: Golden State

Origin of name: From a book, Las Sergas de Esplandián, by Garcia Ordónez de Montalvo, c. 1500

10 largest cities (2003 est.): Los Angeles, 3,819,951; San Diego, 1,266,753; San Jose, 898,349; San Francisco, 751,682; Long Beach, 398,844; Fresno, 451,455; Sacramento, 445,335; Oakland, 398,844; Santa Ana, 342,510; Anaheim, 332,361

Land area: 155,959 sq mi. (403,934 sq km)

Geographic center: In Madera Co., 38 mi. E of Madera

Number of counties: 58

Largest county by population and area: Los Angeles, 9,637,494 (2001); San Bernardino, 20,062 sq mi.

National forests: 18

State parks and beaches: 264

Residents: Californian

2003 resident population est.: 35,484,453

2000 resident census population (rank): 33,871,648 (1). Male: 16,874,892 (49.8%); Female: 16,996,756 (50.2%). White: 20,170,059 (59.5%); Black: 2,263,882 (6.7%); American Indian: 333,346 (1.0%); Asian: 3,697,513 (10.9%); Other race: 5,682,241 (16.8%); Two or more races: 1,607,646 (4.7%); Hispanic/Latino: 10,966,556 (32.4%). 2000 percent population 18 and over: 72.7; 65 and over: 10.6; median age: 33.3.

Looking to Relocate? Moving your family to another town or state is a major event in your life! Interested in moving yourself? If not, SDREguide.com can help with your relocation. We are affiliated with some of San Diego's top Realtors, it's their job to know this area inside and out, and to make your transition as smooth as possible.

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