San Diego mediates between naval-base institutional transience and San Diego County beach-town permanence. Gaslamp rooms fill with visitors chasing harbor fantasy, while North Park hosts the locals who actually live here. Hillcrest draws the artsy energy. Ocean Beach and Normal Heights add the residential layers. The comedy here reads the tension between military rotation and surf-culture stability. Open mics become the space where both identities converge. Comics who grasp San Diego's dual rhythm find audiences relieved someone recognized the city keeps its fish-taco soul while the carriers dock at the bay.