What Life Looks Like in Pacific Beach, San Diego

September 4, 2026

Summary

Is Pacific Beach, San Diego actually a good place to live? I spent three years there, and this is a look back at the places I loved most and what made it such a fun place to spend my late twenties.

My Experience Living in Pacific Beach, San Diego

The first place I lived was the Bay Park area of San Diego, near Pacific Beach, because my language school, Connect English, was located in PB. I ended up with a homestay family in Bay Park, just a few minutes from PB. They had a son named Dominic, and he was the one who took me to Pacific Beach for the first time.

There’s a picture below of him and his friends from 2016, taken the day they brought me to a Padres game. I was lucky to have Dominic in the house — he showed me around, and he was just fun to be around. I then decided to stay in San Diego a little longer, spent approximately three years in Pacific Beach area. PB is a great place to spend time when you re in your twenties.

The map below highlights the main spots worth checking out. Wherever you see a long pink line, that marks a route that’s great for a walk or run.

Fun things to do in Pacific Beach

There’s always something to do in Pacific Beach. I learned how to surf at Law Street Beach — if you want to take a class, there’s pretty much always someone teaching in that area. Once you get a little better, you can head south about a mile to Tourmaline. Just be warned: Tourmaline gets so packed with surfers at times that it’s not really worth being out there. I once cracked my surfboard after crashing into another surfer at that spot, and a friend of mine was badly injured there too. If you want to surf Tourmaline, pick a time when it’s not too crowded.

If you’re not a surfer, watching people surf from Loring Street is a must. There’s also almost always a parking spot open on Pacific View Drive near Loring. From there, you can walk from Law Street toward Mission Beach — I’d suggest stopping by Glaze for a coffee first, then walking that long boardwalk. And if you’ve got some extra time, walk past the corner of Crystal Drive and Wilbur Avenue, and you may spot the vintage cars Al and Bob Fisher keep on display there (I’ve got a picture of him down below).

PB is also where I got into yoga at Reach Yoga on Garnet— there are several studios around such as Corepower Yoga etc, plus free outdoor yoga events – Sunset Yoga on Law Street that pop up regularly. The whole area has this mix of healthy, outdoorsy living running right alongside a party mindset. Once you start living here, your life tends to shift into that rhythm: eating well, working out, having fun, and still going out, all at once.

There’s plenty more to do around PB beyond that: paddleboarding, paddleboard yoga, pilates, a run club, a book club that meets at Kate Sessions Park, beach volleyball, swimming, and tennis.

If you just want to take a walk, walk the Mission Beach to Pacific Beach Boardwalk and Garnet Avenue.

If you just want to take a walk, walk the Mission Beach to Pacific Beach Boardwalk and Garnet Avenue. If you need to take a break and get things done on your computer, go to Cass Street.

Pacific Beach (PB) Knows How to Make a Special Day Feel Like a Real Event

Pacific Beach is especially fun on special days.

My good friend Peggy also lived there, and it’s where I spent most of my Thanksgivings.

The San Diego Santa Run happens every December on Garnet Avenue, and the annual Pacific Beach Holiday Parade, also on Garnet, is always fun to watch — I’ve got a few pictures below.

Halloween is also fun here, since there are so many bars and house parties going on around the neighborhood.

And then there’s the 4th of July, my favorite of all — we’d spend the whole day at the beach having fun until the fireworks at night. Everybody loved spending time around Fanuel Street Park area on the 4th.

Bars, Restaurants, Cafes, Lunch Spots in Pacific Beach

Like I said, PB is a blast when you’re in your twenties, mostly because of how many bars there are. We used to love going to Backyard and Firehouse to listen to electro or house music right near the beach. One of the first bars I ever went to in PB was Pacific Beach Shore Club — fun. Down below, me and my friend Ayu from Japan laying on the street… I had amazing friends!!! We had so much fun, and I loved being with them very much.

As I mentioned earlier, if you need to spend time on your computer, go to Cass Street, for instance, Palmys or Java Earth Cafe. There are also a few lunch spots I love here: Second Nature, Fig Tree Cafe, The Barista Botanist.

Need to find a dining spot? JRDN for sushi, Fish Shop for casual dining, and the Fishery.

Brunch on Garnet? We used to go to Society PB.

I enjoyed grabbing coffee from Better Buzz or Glazed in PB. Check those out!

You should also try a huge California burrito from Vallarta Express on Garnet, and don’t skip In-N-Out either!