About San Diego

About San Diego

San Diego is not only "Americas Finest City," but also the 8th largest city in America with a population of over 1.3 million. The City's continual growth is fueled by many high-technical industries including bio-technical, medicine, telecommunications, as well as electronics companies and many other professional organizations. In 2001 the city had a job growth of 21% and the high tech GDP Growth was 86%. With an unemployment rate of less than 4% (full employment), the region attracts leading companies and start-up businesses, creating exciting markets for a great variety of products and services. San Diego also continues to be America's leading Navy town providing a huge market for goods and services.

San Diego's Economy
The leading industries and markets in this fast growing Pacific region are as follows:

The Life Sciences (include bio-technical, bio-medical, health care products)
San Diego is the third largest life science cluster in the world. San Diego’s is also renowned for being the most highly concentrated and one of the most diverse centers for life science. With a diverse representation of the life sciences, including biotechnology, biopharmaceutical, medical device and bioagriculture companies, combined with world-renowned research and academic institutions, the San Diego Life Science community is destined for even greater heights. The Life Sciences is predicted to begin to dominate the U.S. economy by year 2010. The largest industry association here is BIOCOM with over 500 members.

Telecommunication
San Diego has the third largest concentration of telecommunication companies in the US. The University of California at San Diego (UCSD) has established the Center for Wireless Communication which conducts primary research with corporate partners. Employment is over 100,000 in this industry. Leading companies are: Qualcomm, General Instrument, Com Stream, ViaSat, Titan Corp, PCSI/Rockwell, Hughes as well as Nokia and Ericsson. The San Diego Telecom Council is the largest telecommunication organization in San Diego.

Software Industry
Currently this industry comprises over 350 companies employing over 20,000 people. There are many very well known companies including Intuit, Qualcomm, Gateway etc. The San Diego Software Industry Council has 250+ members.

Electronics Manufacturing
The relatively inexpensive cost of living and labor in the greater San Diego region has attracted major employers and extensive electronics manufacturing operations in the Mexico border town of Tijuana known as Maquiladoras. This industry employs over 160,000 people. Leading companies include Sony, Titan, and Rohr. The California-Mexico Trade Assistance Centers has more information regarding electronics manufacturing in Mexico.

Free Trade Zone
Even though San Diego is already the leading center for bio-technical, bio-medical, high-technical products and telecommunications, further generous efforts are made by the local government to attract investments. An example is the 1,400 acre Foreign/Free Trade Zone (FTZ) that allows no duty taxes to be paid until the final product is shipped to the American user. Furthermore, San Diego has an Enterprise Zone providing tax incentives and training funds for manufacturing. In addition, the Sunset Commission was formed to streamline and/or cut existing regulations.

San Diego boasts a very favorable tax environment (lowest among the 20 largest US cities).

NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) opened free trade between the US, Canada and Mexico. Efforts are underway to extend NAFTA to Central and South America as well. Currently only 2% of US trade goes to Central America. With 93 million people in nearby Mexico, of which 24 million reside in Mexico City alone, Mexico is a prime trading partner.

Communications
San Diego has an international airport, rail-link, and superb highway system making transportation convenient. Air travel to Los Angeles takes less than one hour "door to door", to San Francisco takes 90 minutes and to New York takes 6 hours. Driving time to Los Angeles is less than 2 hours and to San Francisco is about 8 hours. The train to Los Angeles takes 3 hours and to San Francisco takes 14 hours. A cross continent scenic ride to New York takes 3 days.

History
San Diego's history contains a large amount of Spanish influence. Following the conquest of Mexico, the Spanish explored California. The Old Town - the oldest part of the city was established by the Spanish in 1769 after having been discovered in 1542 by Juan Rodrígues Cabrillo, a Portuguese explorer send by the Spanish Government. The Spanish built a string of missions so called "klosters" in San Diego and throughout California during the early days. After Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821 the missions broke up and San Diego itself was organized as a "pueblo" in 1834. In 1850 the "pueblo" was incorporated as an American city under the law of the new State of California.

Education
San Diego has a large number of universities and colleges including the University of San Diego (USD), San Diego State University (SDSU) and the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). UCSD has won 5 Nobel prizes and is also the home of one of five US Super Computers and the parent to over new 100 companies.

San Diego - a great place!
Whatever your preference, either a vacation or permanent living, San Diego offers it. Sunshine, fabulous beaches, surfing, mountains for hiking and skiing (2 hours away), or the desert. It's all here. Bring your company's next convention or board meeting here and relax between business sessions with a game of golf or tennis. We can plan your visit and guide you when you are here.

Should you decide to move here permanently, as so many Swedes have, San Diego offers first class schools, higher education and exceptional job opportunities in many fields. Did you know that there are approximately 3000 Swedes living in the region. San Diego is also one of the leading areas for entrepreneurs providing fast growth and development environments focusing on high-technical, telecommunications and bio-technical industries. Many lending institutions stand ready to provide finance for qualified entrepreneurs and companies offering unique products or services. The fantastic climate and proximity to the Pacific Ocean provides a variety of sports and recreational opportunities and a unique quality of life. It is no wonder that San Diego is the golf center of the USA.

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