# The Myth of Laid-Back Californians **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 12, 2001, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228 "2001-05-12T17:38:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2001, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/21 "2001-05-14T14:38:15Z")
More like laid off rather than laid back. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2001, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/22 "2001-05-15T09:03:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Country Squire \* > \*\*Huh? Laid back? From what I’ve seen, Californians as a group are about as uptight and cutthroat and driven as in any other geographical region in the U.S. \*\* We’re only that way to you outsiders. ---
**Author:** ![tclouie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/838e76/32.png) [@tclouie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tclouie)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2001, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/23 "2001-05-15T09:46:53Z")
Angelino checking in here. The largest single ethnic group in California is now the Latino population, and especially so in the L.A. area. And they’re pretty laid back. And many of them do walk in L.A., or take the bus. Walking…waiting at bus stops…laid-backness…must be a connection…hmmmm… Walking slowly across the street, with angry Anglo motorists cursing and honking at you? Ya gotta be laid back. Having a long conversation on a pay phone, while some off-duty cop is cursing you and threatening you with arrest if you don’t get off the phone RIGHT NOW? Ya gotta be laid back. Walking away smiling from a million little daily indignities and insults? Laid back. Getting ignored and never mentioned in every California thread, unless it’s about the food? Very laid back. My stepmother does drive like a psychopathic maniac, and I do fear for my life when I’m in the passenger seat next to her. But she’s from Indiana. Ya see, it’s them damn furriners on our highways, giving us a bad name, and I ain’t talkin’ about the Mexicans! (And ironically, she’s sure it’s the native Californians who are the bad drivers.) Everybody comes here. Everybody projects their own vision of reality on this place. And strangely enough, everybody talks about this place as if they themselves had nothing to do with how it turned out. California is “other,” an ideal, a vision, a destination, a utopia, a dystopia, a convenient whipping boy. California is you. ---
**Author:** ![broccoli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@broccoli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/broccoli)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2001, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/24 "2001-05-15T12:51:18Z")
Yeah, I can honestly say that of all the States i’ve been in Florida (where I currently live) has got to be the most laid back… Actually it’s more like “laid down for a nap.” I dunno, maybe it’s the year round Hellish hot air. Maybe it’s the average 93% humidity. Maybe it’s too much oxygen in the air for being so damn close to sea level. I seriously wish we could start a Siesta-type “this State will be closed from noon until 2p.m., thank you”. Then again, maybe it’s the large retiree population clogging up the works 😉 Turn your blinker off! I know you can’t hear it with your hearing aid turned down. punk snot dead ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2001, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/25 "2001-05-16T00:51:58Z")
Well, from my observations, the Monterey area isnt all that laid back, but people arent in too much of a hurry (and if they are, theyre usually from LA or Orange county and dont understand why they got pulled over doing 80 in the fast lane). The main industries in Monterey are tourism and fishing. There are som businesses, but nothing like Silicon Valley (although, there are quite a few commuters who work there, and live here). I’ve noticed Angelinos and Orange Countyans complain that everyone drives too slow here. So, i guess in their eyes, it _is_ laid back here. But if you want laid back, visit the small farming towns around here like Soledad, or Greenfield. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2001, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/26 "2001-05-16T04:38:57Z")
Well, it kind of depends on which version of “laid back” you mean. I don’t think any sports team ever really got a personal, fanatical following, except maybe the Raiders. Even the Lakers are only well-loved, and they’re much, much better loved when they’re winning. The Raider fans, on the other hand, even in L.A., gave you the feeling they were going to run on the field and help with the tackling. “The Dodgers lost again? Eh…” The rumors about the baseball fans who come in the second inning and leve in the seventh really are true. Or atleast many arrive in the second and many leave by the seventh, especially if there’s a 3 or more run differential. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2001, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/27 "2001-05-16T15:12:52Z")
I guess that UnEmployment in Monterey County is about 20% (if the tv captions are right). Unemployment for handicapped people is 79% around the nation. For deaf people its more than 80%. As I said, more like laid off then laid back. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2001, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/28 "2001-05-16T22:18:44Z")
I’ve never lived anywhere else, but my wife tells the story of when she moved here from Connecticut 20-odd years ago. She was amazed at supermarket checkout lines, where checkers would exchange pleasantries with the customers–she’d want to ram the people ahead of her with her cart, snarling “C’mon–let’s go!! Move it!”. It took her a while to acclimate. ---
**Author:** ![Airblairxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Airblairxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airblairxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2001, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/29 "2001-05-17T00:48:06Z")
Northern California born and raised here. I’ve lived in the Bay Area for 25 of my 32 years. 5 of the other 7 were spent in LA getting an education. I also held a job traveling the country for four years. So I know Cali and have a pretty good idea of the rest of the country. If you were to compare two suburbanites, one from California and one from another state in the union. Same age, same education, same economic status. The one from California would be more laid back 9 times out of 10. (And live in a smaller house.) But let’s keep a few things in mind here, if you’re expecting to move out and find that we’re all stoned. LA has a huge entertainment industry, the Bay Area has a huge high-tech industry. Both are VERY cutthroat. The people in those industries are hugely uptight, aggressive, and not at all laid-back. (And not always natives.) You have to be to survive in them. Also, transportation sucks, the freeways are clogged and public transit is a joke. So trying to get anywhere–especially in LA at 5pm–will set anyone’s blood pressure rising. Bottom line, you have to look good and hard to find a “laid-back” Californian, but they are there, in their little enclaves, where life is lived at a pace it’s meant to be lived at. Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, Venice, La Jolla. Humboldt. Monterey. Any college town, we got a few of them. Redding, Pismo Beach, anywhere in Napa and Sonoma. Santa Barbara. Chico, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo. Definitely not in the big cities, duh. ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2001, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/30 "2001-05-17T01:27:55Z")
_ **WE ARE LAID BACK!! WE ARE TOO!!** _ [sub]Sorry[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2001, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/31 "2001-05-17T05:37:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DRY \* > _ **WE ARE LAID BACK!! WE ARE TOO!!** _ Hey, don’t tell 'em – if they think it’s stressful out here and stay away, that means fewer hassles for _us._🙂 It’s already annoying enough that they show the Pasedena Rose Parade every year, which shows everybody all smiling and romping and wearing T-shirts on January 1st, which prompts 100,000 more frozen mideasterners to move out here… I say let 'em stay glued to their radiators for another three months while we enjoy the sun and surf. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![seawitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@seawitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seawitch)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2001, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/32 "2001-05-17T20:52:56Z")
I’m from CA, and from one of the few LA/Orange County places that may be well and truly relaxed. If you don’t live near here, you won’t have heard of it - Seal Beach, on the coast between Long Beach and Huntington. SB is about six blocks by fifteen blocks, and still trying to be a funky little surf town, even though the rising property values are making that a tough fantasy to keep alive. Anyway, here’s a conversation I overheard two of my neighbors having one Saturday night in February. > [@](#): > > Guy #1: Dude, I’m going to meet my blind date. Do I look OK? > > Guy #2: Yeah, fine. (Pause) You gonna put on long pants? > > Guy #1: (Horrified) WHAT? She’ll think I’m not a local! Also, we play a little game called “Spot That Tourist!” (They’re the ones with shoes on.) Now, **we’re** laid back. Duuuude. ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2001, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/33 "2001-05-18T06:26:58Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Mauvaise \* > \*\* I am glad I escaped and never want to return._\* Not even to meet an internet friend? ☹ [sub]and here I was, being laid back, too[/sub] > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by rjung \* > Hey, don’t tell 'em – if they think it’s stressful out here and stay away, that means fewer hassles for us.🙂_\* Hey, if they’re attractive and female, I want 'em to emigrate here. Other than that, you’re right. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2001, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/34 "2001-05-18T14:39:46Z")
I have surfed up & down the California coast. Surfers in the southern part of the state seem a bit more laid back. As you venture north there seems to be more aggressive localism for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2001, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/35 "2001-05-19T17:03:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JavaMaven1 \* > **Really, Johnny nailed it about how L.A. works. It really is not a laid-back place, but there are parts of California that are.** There are parts of New York state that are laid back. But when people hear “New York”, they only think of NYC. \*\* > [@](#): > > Part of the culture here is the strong media/entertainment influence–which is a competitive and cutthroat business, and a very strong part of our economy. Some people outside of L.A. probably didn’t know just how many people were holding their breath when the WGA (Writer’s Guild of America) threatened to strike.\*\* Amen. CalMeacham, what did you want that guy to do, weep for you? He probably knew other people who’d been injured skating or bicycling, and was interested to hear your story. You said yourself that you didn’t know what the Malar bone was until yours was broken. I’m sure he meant “Where _on your head_ is it”, not “[pufffff]What were we talking about?” Edwardina, how old were these people who walk slow? Wait, oops, I shouldn’t fall into the misconception that Florida is all about retirees. jsc1953, sigh…Again, I have to ask, what kind of town/city was your wife in where everyone was jawboning in the checkout line? I assure you, if people did that at the Albertson’s where I stop after work, they **would** get rammed with a cart. Conversely, I’m sure there are places in New England where that behavior is par. Airblairxxx: True 'dat. (Okay, how does that last statement make me sound? Like an aggressive homegirl or a laid-back stoner?) ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2001, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/36 "2001-05-19T17:09:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > \*\*Oh, I dunno – I’ve lived in Los Angeles for over twenty years, and I’d say that Californians (or at least _southern_ Californians) are fairly laid back. After all, if two leather-clad purple-haired lesbian punk rockers rollerbladed down the street holding hands, nobody in California would give them a second glance. Anywhere else in the nation and it’d be “Shut yer eyes, Martha, the weirdos are out today!” > > [SUB](Heck, there are still huge chunks of the United States where you can get the hairy eyeball just by walking into McDonalds while not a Caucasian. How uptight is _that?_)[/SUB] > \*\* Tip America on its edge and everything loose falls into LA. ---
**Author:** ![tsunamisurfer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@tsunamisurfer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsunamisurfer)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2001, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/37 "2001-05-19T20:36:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\* > I have surfed up & down the California coast. Surfers in the southern part of the state seem a bit more laid back. As you venture north there seems to be more aggressive localism for some reason. \*\* Actually, I disagree. Back in my prime surfing days, I found the surf crowd in So. Cal. plenty aggressive, if they didn’t know you. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2001, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/38 "2001-05-19T21:47:04Z")
There have been some pretty nasty fights between locals and “outsiders” at beaches in Southern California. People who live along the Pacific Coast are generally laid back unless you bring up the topic of beach access. Then they can get pretty nasty. ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2001, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228/39 "2001-05-20T09:35:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tsunamisurfer \* > \*\* > Actually, I disagree. Back in my prime surfing days, I found the surf crowd in So. Cal. plenty aggressive, if they didn’t know you. \*\* I remember one of my friends went up to Santa Cruz to surf. He said the surfers there were quite cold and unwelcoming. I’ve also heard they hate sharing steamer lane with the surf kayakers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-myth-of-laid-back-californians/65228.md?page=1)