ECG Management Consultants, Inc., is a healthcare industry consulting firm with offices in Boston, Seattle, San Diego, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. We provide highly specialized strategic planning, management, and information technology-related consulting services to physicians, hospitals, and healthcare providers.

Paradise Found

Have you ever fantasized about living in a tropical paradise by the sea, where the average year-round temperature is a perfect 70 degrees and November is the sunniest month?  Where the charm of Spanish renaissance style blends with the convenience of a modern city -- and the natives speak English?   

Welcome to San Diego, a city of stunning natural beauty (after all, the Spanish named this strip of coastline "La Jolla" or "the jewel") but also an exciting place to live. It's no wonder children’s author Dr. Seuss called this city home: it resonates with a youthful enthusiasm and playfulness.  After all, what other city hosts the U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition or an annual Underwater Pumpkin-Carving Contest?

The oldest port on the West Coast, San Diego has a rich seafaring history that is displayed at the Embarcadero's Maritime Museum.  Board the spectacular 139-ft tall ship Star of India to see what sailors’ berths and captains’ quarters were like in the 1800s.  Speaking of history, the city’s Spanish-Mexican roots are brought to vivid life in Old Town, with its original adobe buildings, bustling marketplace and authentic artisans who give live demonstrations of their craft.  Old Town is the best place to relax with a margarita while enjoying a live mariachi band.

After sunset, stroll through the romantic Gaslamp Quarter, restored from its infamous days as a slum of opium dens and saloons.  Now its brick walkways, gas-fueled streetlights and elegant Victorian houses belie a vibrant modern neighborhood of shops, restaurants and excellent jazz clubs.

Lions and Tigers and (Polar) Bears

If Old Town and the Gaslamp Quarter are the history of San Diego, Balboa Park must surely be its heart and soul. Considered the most beautiful city park in the country, over a dozen museums dot these lovely 14,000 acres, with plenty of open space left over for concerts, picnics and Frisbee.

Save your shoe leather and take the free tram to Balboa Park’s most popular attraction, the San Diego Zoo.  Because animals here are in their natural outdoor habitats, each visit is a thrilling journey of discovery.  Walk beneath an Amazon jungle canopy populated with over 200 exotic birds, experience Polar Bear Plunge or brave the mists of Tiger River to spot a big cat eyeing you from the underbrush.

After you’ve “seen the elephant” and put in enough beach time to master your surfing skills or just perfect your tan, you might be in the mood for a little shopping…or a LOT.  Horton Plaza is a full 11 1⁄2 acres of open-air shopping with 130 stores, five sit-down restaurants and 14 movie screens, all dressed in colorful, whimsical architecture.  Or if you’re looking for real bargains, spend an afternoon haggling with the merchants of Tijuana, Mexico, only 10 miles from San Diego.

We humans aren’t the only ones who enjoy a Mexican holiday – make a trip to Loma Point from November to December to see humpback whales on their journey to winter breeding grounds in Baja.  For a closer encounter, take advantage of one of the many whale-watching tours available. If you still need more thrills, Shamu the killer whale and company await your visit to SeaWorld.

Dr. Seuss liked to refer to adults as “obsolete children,” but he knew the secret to escaping that fate.  With all its history, beauty, whimsy and non-stop activity, San Diego is the perfect antidote to old age (or at least “old attitude”). In this town, it’s impossible not to feel like a kid again.