# So, this is California . . . **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 29, 2000, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985 "2000-06-29T07:22:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/21 "2000-06-29T17:10:32Z")
“_Would you prefer overcast and cold? Rainy and miserable? Dark, cloudy and freezing?_” I second Johnny L.A on this. I’d prefer it as well. I hate the feeling of the scorching sun beating down against my skin. I hate when my clothes become drenched with sweat from just sitting in traffic in 90° heat. I hate that I have to wait 'til the sun sets to wash my car, so it won’t develop water spots from drying in the sun. But, am I willing to move because of this? No. The positives of living here outweight the negatives. At least for me. Have fun, phouka. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/22 "2000-06-29T17:23:23Z")
One bedroom in SF= $1650 min. SJ: About $1400 My city has 25 days of fog every day of the summer! That’s California…also very little cement here. I’d say someone didn’t visit the area of Calif they should have. ---
**Author:** ![Demo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demo/32/8472_2.png) [@Demo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demo)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/23 "2000-06-29T17:45:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Y’all are talking about apples and oranges (well, except for the weather). Johnny lives in Los Angeles and you live in Northern California – and there is a big difference. Actually, I’m talking about both. I was born and raised in San Diego, which is close enough to LA to compare. The weather is still unbeatable. I’d go back if it weren’t for the congestion. Nevertheless, if you like cold, rainy and overcast, I can’t help ya! 😉 Johnny, from what you say you like, Seattle will be perfect for you. I lived there for four years and, while it’s a great place, with a lot of the same features of the SF Bay area, the weather nearly did me in. I needed solar therapy so I started tanning. ;)Don’t expect to see the sun much. But that’s what you like so… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/24 "2000-06-29T18:38:10Z")
**Dem** , I’d agree with you about S.D. weather if you had said un **bear** able instead of un **beat** able! 😉 I lived in S.D. 'til I was 15. I tend to avoid the sun. (Ironically, I actually _like_ the Mojave Desert!) I was in Mission Beach last weekend for a party. All of my firends were wishing it was cloudy. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Vega](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a9adbd/32.png) [@Lord\_Vega](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Vega)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/25 "2000-06-29T19:17:38Z")
Come spend some time in Ventura! It’s just north of L.A. and it shares the same 4 seasons (Fire, Flood, Earthquake, Drought). The weather is much nicer. For instance, the past week, the days have started out cloudy and cool, the fog burns off about 10-11 am, then it’s nice and warm the rest of the day. Most of the time, just perfect! V. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/26 "2000-06-29T19:25:57Z")
> [@](#): > > originally posted by phouka: > When’s the next SoCal Doperfest? Huh? The rule is, whoever asks is in charge. ---
**Author:** ![pricciar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@pricciar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pricciar)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/27 "2000-06-29T19:30:03Z")
Come to Santa Barbara/Ventura. We have all the benefits of Southern California without all of the concrete. 🙂 Woohoo. Phouka! You are in charge of the doperfest? Cool. Pick out a good place. Somewhere in the North, we have done most of the other geographical locatations. What we really really need is a NoCal/SoCal crossover gettogether. What better place to have it than Santa Barbara? I mean it is centrally located, right? 😉 pat ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/28 "2000-06-29T19:48:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > > One bedroom in SF= $1650 min. SJ: About $1400 > > My city has 25 days of fog every day of the summer! That’s California…also very little cement here. I’d say someone didn’t visit the area of Calif they should have. > \*\* 3 bedroom, ok ‘Hood’, SJ-$1200 Ain’t I lucky? 😃 > [@](#): > > , As a matter of fact, I do prefer overcast, cold and rainy. Move to Britain or something. -Sam ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/29 "2000-06-29T19:58:08Z")
I got your postcard, phouka, Thanks! And well, welcome to California, even though you got here a week before me. So far I like it enough. The weather is great. The people are interesting. Beats Pennsylvania hands down. Oh and Swiddles, I totally understand your grandmother’s point of the ocean being on the wrong side. When Demo and I were in San Francisco I thought I was just hypersensitive to it, or conciously creating that feeling, but thinking back, it was a very real feeling. Not a reason to dislike the entire state, but still something to get used to. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/30 "2000-06-29T23:03:04Z")
I was in SD, califoronia for 12 years. Thats a mediteranean climate, so kinda hot sometimes. But spent a lot of time surfing at Blacks beach where people ran around naked. LA, is really weird. You don’t know who your neighbors are & you don’t want to assist anyone either. One night I asked at 6 stores where Panaroma city was & not one store knew. I found a chain hotel & they showed me. ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/31 "2000-06-29T23:13:24Z")
Being a native of CA, it always freaked me out when I went to the midwest and I had an uninterupted horizon. Godamnit where are the mountains. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/32 "2000-06-29T23:45:56Z")
Wait a minute! **I’m** in charge? Are you mad? I mean, moreso than I originally thought? Okay, how’s this for a SoCal Doperfest: Bruno’s Italian SomethingorOther on San Marcos Blvd in San Marcos about two miles south of 78. A little on the pricey side, but they have an awesome buffet, and pizza to die for. Even better, I can find it on my own. 😃 What’s a good time? We’re right on the July 4th weekend. Anyone want to do it this Saturday or Sunday? I have not run into too many shallow people out here mostly because I’m either running around with family OR I’m in class with future teachers - the worst of whom aren’t exactly shallow but are slightly hidebound. (One lady got all upset today because seating isn’t assigned and I was sitting where she had been on Tuesday. Strange person.) Today during class, the whole building jolted, and for a moment, I thought “yippee! my first earthquake!”, but it turned out they were dynamiting the hill next to us so they could build dorms. I do miss the Texas thunderboomer storms, but not the tornado watches and hail damage that went with them. It’s also very strange to me to be living in what’s basically a desert and yet no one worries about water, because they pipe it in from so far away. So glad everyone liked their postcard, and Tater, I’m telling you, you got the absolute creepiest/tackiest one I saw the whole 1300 miles. Now I’m going to have to scare up something to send ChiefScott for his pagan comment. _cackle_ Oh, and Mr. Cynical, glad you liked yours. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2000, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/33 "2000-06-29T23:51:11Z")
Take a leisurely drive up north on highway 1 sometime when you have a couple days, at least. Go as far as you have time for and be prepared to be awestruck. The Big Sur area is breathtaking. Enjoy your time here, you might not ever want to leave. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2000, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/34 "2000-06-30T01:32:08Z")
> [@](#): > > I hate California. A lot. You must mean LA from the rest of your post ;). [QUOTEI hate the weather, which is almost always sunny and warm. How 'bout a little variation? There are no seasons to speak of. Smog. Heat.[/QUOTE] Well, where I live it’s usually foggy and overcast in the summer. Right now the sky is grey, and a cool wind is blowing. I’m used to it quite a bit, since i’ve lived up here for my entire life. This is Artichoke country afterall. And, my area of California does have more seasonal variation than the LA area. Spring is usually sunny and mild, summer is foggy and cool, autumn is warmer than spring, and we get our nicest weather then (well, probably not for you, since heatwaves arent uncommon in the fall ;)), and winter is usually wet and cold. Frost isnt uncommon, and temps can drop to the mid twenties in a cold winter. Face it, you basically live in a near subtropical climate. > [@](#): > > I hate the concrete and asphalt. The entire city is grey, with only a mocking smattering of green. The local hills have scrubby, dusty, dry, hot vegetation. I like the trees in the San Gabriel mountains, but it’s too hot and dry. Well, that’s what the Coastal chapparal is like Johnny, not to mention LA is basically near desert. At least in Monterey, while you do have chapparal nearby (as well as coast live oak woodland), Monterey is covered in Pines, and if you go further down the coast, Big Sur has Redwoods. The valleys here have some beautiful blue, and valley oaks, and Nearby Fremont Peak has an oak woodland (actual deciduous oaks) as well as Coulter Pines. > [@](#): > > I hate the traffic, which crawls. I hate having to drive everywhere. I hate having to pay for parking. One of the benefits of living in a small town, most things are only 1 or 2 miles away, and even then, that depends how far from the edge of the city you are. I prefer to drive, only cause my town has no industry to speak of, so I have to go to the next town over. > [@](#): > > I don’t like the people, who are superficial and too consumed with looks and money. Which is why i prefer Northern California. I didnt like So Cal that much when I was there in '87. And it turns out next week i’ll be down there for a family reunion for a few days. All of the people I know from So Cal tend to be materialistic and into stuff, and also bitch and complain about this area. While the Bay area people do, it’s only cause there’s not much here. They however, aren’t very superficial and shallow (or maybe i just like them better? :)). All of my close friends from school are from this area or the Bay Area. If the state ever decided to split into two, i’d go with Northern California :). Phouka: Take lots of trips to see California, and not just the LA Area. Central and Nor Cal have some very beautiful state parks, beaches, and just nice drives. Carmel is a quaint, but charming town, Big Sur to the south is breathtaking, as Mangeorge says (the coastal mountains plunge directly into the sea). There’s some nice Coast Redwood forests in some of the state parks (such as Julia Pfeiffer i believe). The further north you go, the more forested and wet it gets. The far north of she state tends to get some rain in summer. Also, the Sierra Nevadas are beautiful. North of Santa Cruz there are some fairly secluded beaches. There’s not too much to speak of the central valley though. It’s mostly farms and fields. Usually quite hot in summer. But unfortunately you have to pass through it to get to places like Yosemite :). ---
**Author:** ![lurkernomore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2000, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/35 "2000-06-30T01:40:50Z")
…if you hate the CA crowds FORGET NYC!!! LAst time I was in SJ I thought it ws the country… Oh, and I remmeber an article on rents - south of Worth St in manhattan last year the median rent was 2350…(granted, toward Wall St and the like is high.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2000, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/36 "2000-06-30T02:02:32Z")
**Doobieous** , you’re right. The Bay Area is nice. A friend of the family once said that the coldest winter he’d ever spent was a summer in S.F. (Old joke.) I rather liked it. But So. Cal. has left a bitter taste in my mouth for the whole state. Besides, WA is a lot closer to Canada, and I like Vancouver, all of the islands, the pine forests… and the rain. 😉 **lurkernomore** , a friend of mine lives in NYC. She says I should move there and we’d work together on films. Uh… no. Too many people, too much concrete. (No offense to any New Yorkers.) Maybe she just wants to use my camera? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2000, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/37 "2000-06-30T05:03:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > So many people have such a love-hate relationship with Los Angeles, including myself. Sure, there are things I can’t stand about L.A., most of which have already been mentioned in this thread: superficial people, smog, traffic, and high rent costs. > > But, I have found that there is far, far more to love about it: > > Those days (which happen often) when it’s not too hot, and a sea breeze is blowing in > > Going to a yoga class in the morning, have Thai food for lunch, and end the night at a Salsa Club–all in the same day. There are few places in the world where there is that level of diversity. > > The wonderful, year-round selection of produce, and unusual ethnic foods. > > The old neighborhoods, like Pasadena–I love seeing all the great architecture. > > A balmy Saturday night at the Hollywood Bowl, with a fantastic picnic basket and a bottle of wine. > > The arts & entertainment scene–there is always _something_ to be seen or done around here. > > I could go on. > > But, one final thing to add, of why I love it here: > > This is where I grew up. No matter what, Los Angeles will always be _home_. > \*\* Nice to know there’s at least one poster who I can relate to on this thread… I’m sorry, I don’t agree with the idea that LA is full of superficial people, or at least that the percentage is significantly higher than other U.S. metropolitan cities. I don’t find the people to be any more superficial here than I have in other places I’ve visited. I don’t find the LA residents who are originally from other areas to be any more or less superficial than us born and raised types. I don’t see people I’ve met who are originally from LA but live elsewhere to be any more or less superficial than their neighbors who have never seen California. In short, I just don’t buy this at all. Maybe I’M superficial, but most people I’ve met don’t seem to think so (weird, maybe). I think where you live is basically what you make of it–and I’ve always found it a bit surprising the number of people who complain about the area they live in (and I mean constantly, not the occasional gripe), yet never leave. I think LA’s great, and while I wouldn’t say I’ll never leave, I love it here (not that the place is perfect–anyone who isn’t bothered by the traffic or the smog is either a saint, or has the perceptivenes of a stone). And the women–yowza! But then they’re really attractive in other places I’ve been, too. I think that the spread of the internet and the relative ease of travelling and relocating relative to previous generations has the effect of “homogenizing” the U.S., in any event. Oh, and welcome, Phouka! P.S. Tater (since you’ve been mentioned on this thread already, it’s not a hijack)–get yourself out here! I’ll spring for a nice dinner for you and yours (assuming I’m still employed, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![Catrandom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@Catrandom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catrandom)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2000, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/38 "2000-06-30T05:12:33Z")
I grew up in L.A., and I like it here just fine. I don’t consider myself shallow or superficial, but of course, they haven’t issued me my thong and plastic breasts yet, either. :rolleyes: Catrandom ---
**Author:** ![Catrandom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@Catrandom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catrandom)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2000, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/39 "2000-06-30T05:14:00Z")
BTW, welcome to California, phouka! Glad to have you 🙂 Catrandom ---
**Author:** ![Kiva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/d78d45/32.png) [@Kiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiva)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2000, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985/40 "2000-06-30T06:29:45Z")
Johnny, I live in Seattle. I was born in Redmond WA, lived in Riverside CA from age 1 to age 5, then moved to Seattle. I’m nineteen now, and I’m looking forward to the day when I’ll be able to move back to California. I miss: The weather. I’ll never forget being able to wear shorts on Christmas day. The desert. Anza Borrego. Joshua tree. Barstow. Date shakes from Indio. Castle park. The ocean. The palm trees. El Pollo Loco. I love Seattle, but there’s just something about California that makes me miss it whenever I’m away. It’s magic. It’s home. I bet I’ll be saying the same thing about Seattle after five years in California. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-is-california/23985.md?page=3)