San Diego Lures Second Home Buyers

"Weather, in fact, is almost everyone's first reason for buying a second home in San Diego. Midwesterners and Easterners have bought homes to escape the brunt of winter, while Arizonans - dubbed Zonies here - and some desert-dwelling Californians have purchased homes to escape the triple-digit temperatures of summer and bask in the cool ocean breezes."

"The down-at-the-heels Navy town image was one reason this city was off the radar screen for second-home buyers for so long. A city of nearly 1.3 million, it is home to five Navy and Marine bases with 95,000 uniformed military personnel."

"In the last few years, however, San Diego has morphed into one of Southern California's most desirable places for vacation homes. San Diego has the usual attractions of a major American city, like theater and professional baseball and football teams, parks and its world-famous zoo."

"Like other places in Southern California it has beaches, but it also has something remarkable for that region: a thriving and traditional downtown."