100 best places to live and launch

Population: 90,536
Pros: Carlsbad's fun-based economy includes booming tourism, thanks to LegoLand, adventure sports outfitters, and major manufacturing of golf equipment.
Con: An aversion to growth

Conveniently located Carlsbad is a popular tourist destination, with seven beaches and Legoland Park, as well as the forthcoming SeaLife Aquarium (an aquatic extension of Legoland), which is set to open this summer. Carlsbad also boasts the second-largest business community in San Diego County.

Biotech and golf-related ventures dominate the list of businesses in the self-proclaimed "golf manufacturing capital of the world," but action sports companies like Reef and No Fear have recently relocated to the area. Carlsbad has a strong entrepreneurial community, with the fastest-growing businesses catering to the tourist crowd and incoming business travelers. While the city suspects it would be at build-out in the next 10 years,officials are also aggressively redeveloping several underused zones,enhancing them with amenities (such as parking spaces and parks), and makingthe neighborhoods more attractive to business owners - and consumers.-Kelsey Abbott

Interactive map: Carlsbad, Calif.
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