Where to Live, Work and Visit: A Guide to San Diego's Neighborhoods and Suburbs

By Inigo Figuracion, About.com Guide to San Diego

San Diego isn't exactly known as a city of neighborhoods, but they do exist in this bastion of suburbia. Though you might be more familiar with the county's bedroom cities and communities, the city also has its share of unique and interesting neighborhoods, filled with history, character and things to see and do. Here is our guide's Top Picks for San Diego's urban neighborhoods. In addition, we'll take you to some of the county's more interesting suburbs and what makes them so appealing for people to put up with patience trying commutes.

1. San Diego's Urban Neighborhoods
2. San Diego County Suburbs
3. Neighborhood Walking Tours

San Diego's Urban Neighborhoods

San Diego isn't exactly known as a city of neighborhoods, but they do exist in this bastion of suburbia. Here is our guide's Top Picks for urban neighborhoods, based on purely subjective intangibles and tangibles such as whether the neighborhood is pedestrian friendly, has an interesting mix of businesses and restaurants, is close to public transportation, and the cool factor.

• San Diego's Top Urban Neighborhoods
• About San Diego Profile: Hillcrest
• About San Diego Profile: Kensington

San Diego County Suburbs

OK, let me first say that I'm probably going to tick off a lot of people with this Top Pick list, and I'm only doing this for the sake of reference. San Diego County is the land of suburbs and bedroom communities, and though I've visited them all, I haven't lived in them. So this is going to be a subjective list from my own observations. Here are the Top Suburbs outside of the city of San Diego.

• Poway
• Chula Vista

Neighborhood Walking Tours

The best way to experience any neighborhood is to walk through it. Here are some neighborhood walking tours to get acquainted with the community.

• Waterfront Walking Tour
• Downtown La Mesa Walking Tour