I’m going to challenge this slightly. The history and architecture are not White Euro-centric (read - recognizable as “my” history by most “Americans”), so it gets easily overlooked.
As a motorcyclist, California and Californians are awesome. Great scenery, a 55 mph limit on most rural roads, courteous drivers, miles of twisty mountain roads. I’ve yet to ride anywhere better.
I was born in San Diego - Dad was stationed at MCRD. But he left the Marines a month after I was born and we all returned to Baltimore. Twenty years later, I was stationed at NAS North Island (San Diego) for almost 2 years. I bought my first car, had my first apartment - generally had my first adulting experiences during that time, and it was great.
But after leaving, I had no desire to return. Maybe I’m too much of a East Coaster at heart. I wouldn’t mind visiting again, but even if I had unlimited resources, I don’t think I’d want to live there. I can’t point to anything specific, I’m just not interested.
To what do you refer? There was nothing “architectural” there before the Spanish missions, which were perfectly Eurocentric, and engendered a ‘style’ but since they were made of sun-baked clay, none still exist (the ones on the grade school field trip tour are all reconstructions). Then forty years later, the gold rush brought in Victorian architecture, which is by far the main “historical architecture” that exists there. That’s pretty much it.
God, no. We have the best examples of Craftsman and Mid Century Modern architecture in the world. History didn’t end in 1900.
Amen to all that. Heading out from my home in Santa Barbara, I’m spoiled for choice in any direction except out to sea. And don’t forget lane splitting.
I’m a fifth generation Californian. I love it here. I’ve been all over the state during my life, most of it NorCal. SoCal visits are fun and I enjoy the culture there, but I’d still rather stay where I am.
I was born in the Central Valley on a chicken ranch (eggs), but my family moved to Napa Valley when I was a toddler. I consider myself very lucky to have been able to stay here. We bought a fixer upper just before the housing bubble hit. We’ll probably die in the same house, and that’s fine.
I love that I can access any number of environments in just a few hours. I can be at the beach in 90 minutes. I can be at the mountains in three hours. San Francisco is only an hour away. Sacramento is the same distance the other direction. They each offer something different, and yes, I like Sacramento just fine. Bloody hot in the summer, but that’s okay, I just go home. San Jose is 90 minutes away and I can be at the redwoods in a couple hours.
I agree that the politics can be silly. I’m pretty liberal, but sometimes I think that the state government can use a better hobby than messing with things that seem to be working fine before.
Oh, and @Ulfreida? Hand me that newspaper when you’re done with it, will ya? Thanks.
Ca-CHU-ma.
Gesundheit !
My best friend lived in Ojai when I lived in San Diego. I don’t know that I ever took the same route twice when visiting him.
I surfed in the morning (Newport) and skied in the afternoon (Big Bear or Wrightwood) on a couple occasions before traffic and crowded local slopes made it too much of a chore.
I’d love to visit, never been. Zero interest in LA sprawl. I want to see nature, ocean cliffs, Big Sur sunsets, golden lit valleys, sequoia’s, marine mammals, even the desert would be cool. I can spend hours hitting Zillow and reading the listings for sale, huge sticker shock! Found Nice little acreage and cottage in Sebastopol under 2 million in city limits. Destined for development though that’s life. If I could turn back time I’d love to been in California even S Florida before the building booms.
I wasn’t trying to cover all the architectural styles, just answering the “non-eurocentric” statement. Victorian is about the earliest California can boast of, except for reconstructed missions and a few Monterey/Presidio buildings that date from the Spanish colonial period.
You do know that England looks at this argument and laughs out loud. Europe pats England on the head and just chuckles. Asia gives them both the side eye.
I don’t get it. Are we just fixated on “old”?
Julia Morgan, Bernard Maybeck, Greene & Greene, FLW, … all did architecturally significant work in California. Nobody’s building like that anymore (not really, can’t afford to), so by definition historical.
They were all as influenced by Asian traditions as by European, so not “Eurocentric”. Their work was uniquely American and, in many cases, uniquely Californian.
Paraphrasing @Elmer_J.Fudd, architecture didn’t stop in 1900.
Yes, lane splitting! The best part of riding there. It makes all traffic jams irrelevant.
Great location. Gotta love 33 and Cerro Noroeste rd.
I was only responding to Icarus’ post, because I can’t figure out what the hell he meant by it.
I am quite familiar with the architecture stuff. In fact my parents restored, and my father still lives in, a house designed by Julia Morgan.
Lucky! I used to babysit in a Julia Morgan house.
I mean, we’re talking a big state, and a GDP that would put it fifth among the world’s country economies. It seems like there should be something for everyone, and I’ve traveled there quite a bit, so here are my completely unfair impressions:
- Fresno: had to go there for business multiple times, hated it. just ugly. take the palm trees out of all the strip mall parking lots and you’re in anywhere USA (ignoring the mountains, unattainably in the distance).
- San Diego: pleasant but boring.
- Bolinas (outside SF): stayed there two weeks and loved it, from the hippy vibe to the proximity to wildlife reserves & Route 1. Looked up the cottage we stayed in on Zillow, it was $2M. Hmmm.
- SF (visiting from Bolinas) was packed with tourists but good for one day trip. I was there for business another time and Oracle was having a convention and you never saw so many techies jaywalking in your life.
- LA: went there once to give a talk, and everyone was late because it was misting and the roads were wet.
Overall, I would still like to see northern California once, it looks lovely up there, but otherwise not much interested in returning. [I realize all of this is completely unfair, but]
Three words (nay, letters) of advice to visitors: PCH. Drive the 800+ miles of Pacific Coast Highway between the Mexico and Oregon borders with as few detours as possible on the 5 or 101, and not a half hour will go by without sighting something worth stopping to look at or experience. Even the parts that run through San Diego, Orange, and LA counties, where you will find a beach and maritime culture that in iconically Californian.
There is no doubt that California has its advantages, but it has serious disadvantages as well.
California had a net migration of -135,000 last year - That’s how many more people left the state than moved in. Net outward migration has been going on in California for years. Rent in the Bay area dropped by more than anywhere else in the country last year, I believe, due to the rate that people are leaving, driving ip vacancies.
That doesn’t bother me a bit.
Well, we’ve been saying that we have a bit of everything. That includes some crap, too.