How do you feel about California?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Inspired by the “How do you feel about Texas?” thread in this forum.

I was born and raised in California and I love it, but it has its issues like any other state. I love the diversity and the creative energy in Silicon Valley. When I lived in southern California, I liked the beaches and Disneyland, and I even liked Hollywood! When we vacation, we often travel to Sonoma, Mendocino and Humboldt counties.

But a lot of it is hot and dry and desert-y, which I dislike. I also dislike the traffic and the huge income disparities.

What say you?

2

I worked briefly in Bakersfield. Hot desert, yes.

But overall CA seems a cool state. Just wish I’d been there longer.

3

I like the progressive attitudes in much of the government, the diversity, the range of geography, and the fact that it ranks fairly high on a list of size and population when compared to other countries (let alone other states).

The fires and mudslides don’t sound too good, though.

And you kind of have to compare it to most of the US East coast, not just one other state.

4

I miss the food (particularly the Mexican food). I will always be fond of it, since it was my home for most of my life. I don’t miss the traffic, the earthquakes, or the cost of living. But I enjoy visiting when I get the chance.

5

When I dream about where I would retire if money were no problem I think of San Diego near the beach. Nothing but positive memories of the place and Ive been to quite a few nice places.

The weather, people and things to do are all right there. And California girls are all they say they are. Undeniable.

6

I grew up in California and I’ve tried to go back twice since I left for college.

I think the central coast is one of the most perfect places in the world (Carpinteria to Moro Bay). I came back from college to live in Bakersfield and it is the worst place I’ve ever lived and the whole central valley (maybe excluding the far north end from Redding North) is one of the worst places in the world. I prefer southern California to northern California aside from an occasional vacation. I didn’t like living in Rancho Cucamonga since it had all of the negatives of LA without any of the positives but I’d move to Temecula so the whole valley isn’t bad. I’d love to live from Pasadena West though I almost bought a home in Yorba Linda so its not a North/South Line. I don’t overly dig San Diego.

I don’t particularly like the politics in California and the state would be better off if they had a more balanced legislature but the republicans that are left are insane and should be ostracized. The water situation scares me enough that I’m not sure I could move back permanently and the fires are a huge negative.

7

I spent 3+ years in California. Mostly San Diego. South Cal is not a nice place. I do like the Bay Area though and Wine Country.

I hate the fact the state with the largest economy is a welfare state. California is just barely into taking more from the Feds than it sends. California should be helping to pay for less wealthy states, not taking any money.

The state’s water and farming rules are bad in the long run for California and farms in most other states.

LA is a terrible place. San Diego I understand has improved since I was stationed at Coronado. So that is good news.

8

I have visited California many times and even considered moving out there (Silicon Valley) for work. The reason I didn’t move to the Valley was the strange lack of green space. I’m used to big parks and lakes and where I would have had to live for work really only offered vertical green space, which would drive me nuts. I guess I feel I shouldn’t have to drive to find a park.

Now, Sonoma, I could handle, but at the time, there was no job for me there. Wineries didn’t need technical writers. A lot has changed since then, especially the ease with which one can work remotely but I’m moving to the tail end of my career life, if not my working life altogether.

Bakersfield, nope. Not for me. Same with Sacramento. I like L.A. but I can’t afford it. Nor would my asthma like the air quality. And I hate the traffic.

Overall, I vote to keep California.

9

I moved to the Sacramento area in 2005, and I generally like it here. I love the diverse scenery within a couple hours drive. I can drive 2 hours in one direction and be on the coast, and 2 hours in the other direction and be in the mountains. And I love the Mexican food, and In-N-Out Burger, but I miss North Carolina barbecue. For whatever reason it’s hard to find good barbecue here.

Cost of living is a mixed bag. Where I live is relatively affordable compared to the coastal parts of the state, but still more expensive than other states.

The weather in the part of the state is much hotter during the summer than on the coast. Maybe that’s why it’s cheaper to live here. The wildflowers that start blooming this time of year are very pretty, but the pollen is pure torture. If you didn’t have allergies before, you will once you move here. The more frequent wildfires and getting inundated with their smoke is starting to become troubling.

I kind of roll my eyes when people stereotype the entire state as a bastion of extreme liberalism. People who don’t live here typically only know LA and the Bay Area, where that stereotype probably does fit, and just extrapolate it to the entire state. And they do tend to dominate the state’s politics. But California is a very big, diverse state. And I can tell you I see people driving lifted diesel pickups where I live as often as I see people driving Priuses. And due to the way California’s primaries work, I had to choose between two Republicans for my state representative.

But overall I like it here.

10

I was born and raised in LA County, and spent several years in northern California. I’ve been all over the state. It’s a big and varied place, and I think there’s a place in California that would suit most people in the US.

I’ve lived most of my life outside of the state at this point. Although I still feel sentimental about California, I don’t feel a strong draw to move back there. I’d probably stay north of Redding, since that area is most similar to where I live now.

11

It’s that place on the other end of Rt 50. I’ve heard good things, mostly.

12

I spent 62 years there, mostly in the Monterey and SF Bay areas. It was an amazing place fifty years ago. However, I hate it there now, and the only reason I go back there is to visit my 62 years worth of friends (and all my family lives there still as well). I hate it for what human beings have done to it, and continue to do to it. I could write all day about it, but I won’t. Just writing the above made my stomach hurt.

Also: Bakersfield is the butthole of the entire state, as any Californian could tell you.

13

The Granola State? Constantly in the news for catching on fire, trying to slide into the ocean, and/or trying to shake itself apart?

A nice place to visit – lots of history and pretty scenery. Only visited San Diego and Frisco, wouldn’t want to live in either place (lousy climate in the former, while the latter is much too close to a major fault line).

14

Whaddyamean? YOU’RE at the other end of Hwy 50! :slightly_smiling_face:

I am not native to CA, but have lived most of my life here. Part in Southern California, and the rest in Northern. I agree with @WildaBeast the severe lack of BBQ is problematic in this area - wont any Texans help us out? Otherwise, this is all I really know, and no one meme can cover the whole state.

Up north you got your State of Jefferson folks trying to separate, in the middle you have miles of farms growing nearly everything from rice to pistachios to cotton (all depending on limited water supply). There is a lot of entrenched money along the coast, with a lot of creativity and diversity. We have the tallest trees, the largest trees, the highest mountain and the lowest valley (they are about 150 mi apart). Los Angeles County is larger than a couple of eastern states combined, both in area and population, while Alpine county has less than 500 people and no stop lights.

The weather can be great depending on what you like. There are stereotypical scenes of surfers and palms along the beach, but most of the cities looks like your typical suburban setting with freeways, strip malls, and tract homes (with fences) that sadly exist in every state. A good portion of the state does NOT have many earthquakes.

As for politics it is true the state is heavily blue, and there needs to be some rebalancing, but as of late the GOP is weaker than it’s ever been thanks to strong alignment with a former President. The business climate and taxes are an issue here and the can that keeps getting kicked down the road.

Overall, it has been a great place to live and work and raise a family.

15

California native here–I was born in La Jolla (the original Scripps Memorial) and except for two years in Hawaii (dad was in the Navy), I’ve lived in San Diego or San Jose my whole life. Despite the high cost of living and a few other negative aspects of life in San Jose I love being near the coast and having easy access to redwood forests and places like Yosemite, Sequoia and the desert parks down south. I can’t imagine living in another state.

16

< rolls up newspaper >
Hold still.

17

Somebody had to do it.

18

I lived half my life in San Diego, and they were exceptionally good years. I was very active and outdoorsy and had the discretionary income to travel.

If you’re athletic/outdoorsy, there aren’t a lot of places – IMHO – in the world that are a whole lot better than CA – hiking, climbing, skiing, Scuba, road cycling, mountain biking, motorcycling, backpacking/camping, and on and on.

And CA really is … everything. You can pick a CA that you like – it’s almost surely there. The cost of living and the traffic/pace/rat-race of the larger urban centers gets/got tedious but it’s not hard to eschew those hellscapes for many.

If you can work remotely, or simply live where you want, there are charming exurban or pretty rural communities that – dropped into them by helicopter at night – you’d never know you were in CA.

The state has some 40 million residents, making it very hard to paint them all with any kind of a broad brush. It’s America. It’s not rural Mississippi or Brahmin New England, but there are so many people from somewhere other than California that the cheap and easy labels really don’t hold up to much scrutiny, fun as they are to offer up :wink:

And I loved the Latino culture, and I miss the hell out of the Mexican food – the exquisite white linen, fine dining places and – especially – the burrito joints. Oh, man, oh, man…

I’m glad I lived there when I was younger and ridiculously active. The people I met who grew up there used to just gush about SoCal in the 1950’s. I’d have liked to experience that.

But you know the place you know, and then you get to watch it all go to hell.

And – as somebody with a passion for travel – whenever somebody in CA would ask me where they should go first, my answer was always the same: you’re already here. California is vast and complicated and intricate and beautiful and rugged and as diverse as all get-out.

Until it falls into the ocean that is. I’ll definitely miss my mother. She’s only a couple hundred yards away :wink:

19

Well, the highest mountain only pertains the the “lower 48.” Denali (Alaska) is higher. There’s a footrace that starts in Death Valley and goes to the summit (I think) of Mt. Whitney. I’ve hiked to the summit, and just going from the Whitney Portal to the summit was enough for me. Awesome (literally) view though.

P.S. I’m a California native, and I’m biased, but there are very few places I’d rather live.

20

Wait…what?