La Jolla was incorporated into the City of San Diego in 1850, but its international reputation makes it seem like a city all its own.  The name is usually translated as "the jewel" and tourists often make their status known when they mispronounce the name using a hard "J."  There is also a school of thought that the name derives from a Native American word meaning "the hole," referring to the caves that dot the cliffs.  Whatever its origins, La Jolla has become synonymous with cosmopolitan living in San Diego.

With approximately 43,000 residents, the average price of a home in La Jolla is over $700,000.  The natural beauty of the ocean-front community, along with upscale shops and restaurants, combine to create the perfect home for the country's affluent and elite.  The area is also home to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the University of California San Diego (UCSD), the Contemporary Museum of Art San Diego, the La Jolla Playhouse, and the Steven Birch Aquarium and museum.  Artists and writers settled in the area and Jonas Salk located his Salk Institute here as well.  There are numerous biotech and high tech firms that call the area home.