What cultural etiquette should I know for San Diego?

San Diego might be the most laid-back major city on the West Coast. On the Embarcadero, strangers nod at each other while the salt air blows in off the harbor. Surfers wave from the Ocean Beach parking lot, still dripping, sand stuck to their calves. Bartenders in North Park call everyone 'dude.' That warmth runs from Pacific Beach to Chula Vista. But San Diego is also a military town. About 115,000 active-duty service members live in the county, spread across Naval Base San Diego, Camp Pendleton, and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. You'll spot them at Tacos El Gordo on Convoy Street. The warm smell of carne asada drifts half a block from the kitchen. A casual nod at Hodad's counter works better than a formal thank-you-for-your-service.

San Diego sits 17 miles from downtown Tijuana, and the two cities function as one metro area for hundreds of thousands of residents. About 60,000 legal crossings happen daily at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the busiest land border crossing in the Western Hemisphere. Immigration in San Diego County is not abstract politics. It is someone's Tuesday commute. Jokes about 'the wall' land badly in Barrio Logan, Chula Vista, National City, and anywhere south of the I-8. So do assumptions about citizenship based on appearance. Spanish is a working language from City Heights to San Ysidro. About 27% of county residents speak it at home. You do not need it in La Jolla or the Gaslamp, but if someone greets you in Spanish at a neighborhood mercado, respond in kind. It shows more awareness than most visitors manage.

San Diego's beaches have rules most American cities do not enforce this strictly. The smoking ban covers every beach and park in the city. Glass containers are banned on every San Diego beach. Lifeguards along La Jolla Shores and Mission Beach enforce both, and they will walk over to tell you. La Jolla Cove is where first-timers run into trouble. Harbor seals haul out near Children's Pool, and you can hear them barking from 50 feet up the stairway. The tang of fish and kelp carries on the onshore breeze. Do not cross the rope barriers. On the Boardwalk through Pacific Beach, the painted bike lane is a real commuter route. A cyclist at 12 mph will correct you if you wander into it.

At busy brunch spots like Morning Glory in Little Italy or Snooze in Hillcrest, put your name on the list and step away. Do not hover near a seated diner's table. San Diegans consider it rude, more so than in New York or Chicago. Wait for the text. The city has over 150 craft breweries, more per capita than almost any American metro. At taprooms like Stone Brewing in Liberty Station, the standard is $1 per pint to the bartender. You'll smell the hops from the sidewalk outside half of North Park's tasting rooms. San Diegans form loose but real queues at Phil's BBQ in the Midway District, where the wait regularly hits 30 minutes on Saturdays, and at coffee shops across University Heights. If you cut the line at a Pacific Beach taco window, even accidentally, people notice.