Gastronomad

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San Salvador: North America's coolest undiscovered metropolis

Everyone should live in San Salvador, at least for awhile. As the gigantic old capital of El Salvador — 1.5 million people larger than San Francisco and a century older than New York — San Salvador is a major and historic city.

We spent nearly a week there straddling New Year’s Eve, staying in a brand-new condominium with a stunning view (the picture was taken out of our living room window).

It made us wonder why more Americans don’t visit San Salvador. The answer is probably crime, poverty, earthquakes and volcanoes, all of which are active in San Salvador, but none of which is likely to affect you.

San Salvador is in many ways like any other city — there are Starbucks, hipster cafes and Crossfit gyms popping up everywhere. But unlike many cities, San Salvador has clean air, friendly people and a very rustic countryside always minutes away.

The weather is amazing. It reaches a high in the mid to high 80s every day, all year. The only different in weather is that sometimes it’s very rainy. Other times its very windy. But it’s always pretty warm during the day.

The best thing, of course, is the food. Salvadoran food is incredible, and incredible food is everywhere.

In any event, one week was too short. So we’re trying to figure out how we can stay in San Salvador for a lot longer next time.