Broadly speaking, it’s customary for folks along the west coast of North America to dislike people who live to the south but not those to the north.
So Southern Californians despise Mexico, but feel fondly toward San Francisco and Seattle. Northern Californians return the favor by disliking Southern Californians. Oregonians and Washingtonians obligingly resent the whole Golden State.
Yes, these are stereotypes.
I’m curious how detailed and extensive this rule can stretch. Do British Columbians look down their noses at Washingtonians? Do Washingtonians carry a grudge against Oregonians? Do Mexicans sneer at Panamanians?
Uhm… I’m in Arizona and while granted, I strongly dislike Mexico… I dont care much for Nevada either. But I agree. Northern Californians always stress NORTHERN so as not to be confused with the peasantry of LA.
Preface: I don’t actually despise California, but it’s a tradition to rant against Californians anyway (in part because so many of them seem to think California is heaven on earth, and the people who do live in heaven on earth resent this. :p). That said, I thought I’d share this little experience. True story, too.
So I’m in getting my Washington driver’s license renewed, and there’s a person at the next window doing the same thing. Of course, they always ask you if you’d like to be an organ donor, so they can put that on the back of your license. The lady at the next window gets asked this question, and she gives the poor woman behind the counter the nastiest look I’ve ever seen. “Organ donor? Why in God’s name would anyone want to donate something to Oregon?”
Go read the “What do Americans think of California?” thread and you’ll see why. There’s a lot of “I hate California! It’s so smoggy and there are too many freeways and it doesn’t have weather!” Well, I live in Northern California, where we have generally clean air, no more freeways than you’d expect, and we definitely have weather. The California they are describing is the one from the family trip to Disneyland, and I live 500 miles away. I don’t think I’m being snobbish when I say that I live in Northern California, I’m being precise. (It’s true I heartily dislike LA, but that isn’t the point.)
FWIW, I adore Mexico. Haven’t been to the west coast for a long time, though, so maybe my opinion on this doesn’t count.
A good friend of mine grew up in Red Bluff, which is the REAL NORTH in California. Some friends and I drove up there from L.A. and it was over 700 miles. And the Oregon border would still have been over 100 miles away.
People from that part of California like to refer to their part of the state as “Superior California”.
Of course, not many live there and the economy is crappy there.
I always say I’m from northern California, even though I haven’t lived there in over 15 years. Why? Well, it is very different that the whole Socal sprawl.
I did my time up near Red Bluff too, and I would call that pretty godforsaken country. Yeech, the Sacramento /San Juaquin valley. Generally, people from deep in the valley at least know the correct pronunciation of “almond.”
Exiled Angeleno here. I currently live in a Midwestern town - which is OK, but it’s not home. And I’m homesick.
I love Northern California, I love the West Coast. I love a lot of places in the USA. (Don’t have much of an opinion of Mexico - but the scenery sounds lovely.)
I have noticed that some people here have decided to hate California out of defensiveness. Many (well, most) have not even been to California, but they know they don’t like it. Or something. Perhaps they truly hate California, which is fine with me. (It’s too crowded anyway. At least LA is.)
But I sometimes get the “What does California have that we don’t have?” And I’m thinking…“Mountains, oceans, deserts, The Getty Museum, Yosemite National Park, Trader Joe’s…” I mean, come on. Every region has its strengths and weaknesses. I personally miss Yosemite, and Trader Joe’s, and many other places in California. And nothing in the state I currently live in can replace that.
Not that I don’t enjoy what I can here - but it’s not the same. And I think some people think that “not the same” means “I hate this place”. And they get offended. But all I mean is that I am homesick. I mean, how can I not miss Yosemite National Park, and Trader Joe’s?
And I also think that some of these people think that since California is full of things are “not the same” from where they live, they must hate it. Because - God Forbid things be different.
Well, that’s just my little ramble on the subject.
Oregon has Trader Joes. . .
As I recall, Portland residents have a disdain for Seattle-- Portland says it is because they regard Seattle as sell-outs, the LA of the north, while Seattle residents are certain it results from envy of a real museum and music scene. Everyone secretly wants to be in Vancouver because it is foreign and exotic-- practically Europe, snicker.
Moving to Santa Barbara I became confused as the locals started referring to San Francisco as “northern California” when I understood it as most of the way to LA, relatively speaking. Weed and Shasta are northern California. San Fran is Central coast, in my mind. San Diego is in Mexico.
The I-5 corridor versus the 20 miles or more away from I-5 battle is a more interesting one. Think of Oregon or Washinton state voting records.
Since moving to California I have learned that the central coast area is not so bad, although as soon as you get north (west) of Malibu the anti-LA things starts up. California is not nearly as bad as the Oregonians I went to college with reported (not originaly from there either). Of course, I ended up really liking northern Idaho, too.
I am north of San Francisco, but not by much, about 35 miles. I’m still in the Bay Area.
I haven’t travelled all that much in the US, so I can’t compare it with most places. It has good natural scenery and some good unnatural scenery, but is pretty much like most cities, I think. The housing is entirely overpriced, though. Not as many hippie granola munchers as there used to be - too expensive. I don’t know how they’re affording rent in Berkeley.
Trader Joe’s is on the West Coast, and East Coast. It is not currently in the Midwest (where I am exiled). And yes, it is sick that it’s not here. I grew up in Glendale, right new Pasadena. I sure miss it now.
And what’s special about Trader Joe’s? Ghiradelli UFO chocolates, for one. Their packaged asian crackers, for another.
Trader Joe’s has moved its corporate headquarters, from my fair city, South Pasadena to the Southern California city that passes for the Midwest (at least Grosse Pointe, MI) Monrovia. It’s East Coast headquarters are in Needham Heights, MA.
The store pretty much has a cult-like following in California.
The feature I like the most about the store is that when the cashiers give you back change, they always count it back to you, instead of just punching in the amount tendered and counting out what ever the change total is. I.e., if you have a total of $3.59 and give them a $20, they count the total back up to 20.
(And the change will be one penny, one nickel, one dime, one quarter, one one dollar bill, one five, and one ten.)
FWIW, all ex-Californians living in Colorado seem to love to despise any other Californian moving into Colorado.
Oh and native Coloradoans don’t blanketly hate anyone, really. It’s just those that have moved here from other states that have a blanket hate.
I think it’s this “must close the gate before too many come here” kind of thinking.
There are a few native Coloradoans that can’t stand outsiders but most of them have missing teeth and have a goat named Josephine while their appliances are sitting in their front yard next to the 1979 Grand Prix on blocks.
But hey, I am native Coloradoan that grew up in a somewhat okay sized city that has many passers-through because of our military presence. I am used to it.
The North-South Latitude average in cali hits around San Jose. So I assume you Northern Californians are from Redding and all you Bay Area types just forgot to say that you’re from Central California.