Sheesh, Monkey Man, no one ever says they are from Central California. Especially if they are from the Bay Area. That is, not if they are natives at least. Some of them transplant dudes might, but no one else. You might be from the Central Valley, which is not connected with the Valley Girls’ valley. Places like Bakersfield are a bit of a grey area. It’s not LA, but pretty far south. Along the ocean up to San Luis Obisbo, say, probably claim to be Socal.
I always call it as the Grapevine dividing Northern and Southern California when you’re going down the valley. The coast maybe it’s San Luis Obisbo or Pismo. No one would claim that San Jose, Fresno or Santa Cruz is Socal. Central valley means Norcal IMHO.
Finally, there’s almost no one in the state if you’re claiming the area around Redding and Red Bluff.
I hope there is one close to you. Before I knew where to get good Tamales on a regular basis, I used to buy several packages of their frozen ones every time I got out to the left coast.
I don’t think the idea that their is a trend to despise those to the South holds any truth at all. I am a third generation Angelino, and I love OC, San Diego, and even Mexico. I went to School on the Central Coast (SLO) and learned that the NoCal people despised SoCal people because we steal their water. Huh? Did not. Mulholand et al bought the water rights years ago. Turns out the NoCal people really had a thing about SoCal people (watch the fans in a Giants/Dodgers game in S.F. for proof). SoCal’s response is “who cares”. There aren’t enough of NoCal people to worry about, and they can go to Stockton (synonym for Hell) for all we care. The City is cool, though, and Davis (the town with the U.C., not the Gov.).
As far as attitiudes for Angelinos, OC - nice place to live but wouldn’t want to visit, San Diego - cool, 909 (Riverside / San Berdoo) - Hickville, Washington - cool, Oregon - weird, Baja - road trip worthy once or twice, Mexico / Canada - cool travel places with lots to see and do, but lots of people from those places come here to live abd work so they must not be all that great.
These attitudes change with actual repeated exposure. IMHO no real North/South trends appear.
Well, I’m currently an Oregonian. But I’m an East Coast native, and came here after a 3 year stay in Santa Cruz, Ca.
In general, folks here do seem to dislike California. I think it’s because a fair number of folks move here from there, and Oregonians are a tad xenophobic.
Not me, though. I love California, especially the central coast region.
I occasionally check TJ’s site, to see if any new locations have come in, but I hadn’t in a while. I am glad to see they are slowly invading the Midwest. Alas, nothing close enough to me. I swear, if there ever is a Trader Joe’s within a day’s round trip of me, I will make the trek there on a regular basis!
And I loved a lot of their frozen vegetarian dishes. Sigh. I miss it so.
Ike: Lomboc is, I believe, in Southern California. A friend of mine spent her high school years there, and she worked in the nearby town of Solvang. I have always considered Solvang to be in Southern California. (My friend says that Lomboc is an armpit - I wouldn’t know personally - I just have driven by, gotten gas, etc. there.)
Don’t worry… it’ll all be worked out soon thanks to the 20 northernmost counties of California. Seriously…they have just launched a marketing campaign. They saw themselves lumped into Northern California which they felt meant the bay area to most people. Now, they are to be known as “Upstate California” which should clear up any misconceptions. http://redding.com/news/business/past/20010828topmp000.shtml
Born in Portland, OR
raised in southern OR
living in southern CA
yep…I’m all f*cked up. sniff
…fact is: We Orange Countians think pretty much everyone else adjacent to us are damned ignorant philistines.
I live in Oregon as well, and I think this is fairly true. There are quite a few Californian immigrants here (my father’s family all grew up in California, but now all but 2 of my relatives live here in Oregon.) I don’t think Oregonians are particularily xenophobic though, it’s just the same old “Damn those dirty _____'s coming here and taking our jobs!” mentality that exists everywhere.
Lompoc (LOMM poke) is decidedly in Southern California. Granted it’s toward the northern end of Southern California, but most people would include even parts north of Lompoc (which is in Santa Barbara County) to be in Southern California, namely San Luis Obispo County, although some residents up there would complain.
Lompoc’s principal businesses are flowers grown for commercial purposes and nearby Vandenberg AFB, which every now and then has missile tests which leave really cool looking contrails in the sky around sunset.
And of course, Lompoc is near Solvang, a city that only seems like it should be fun to visit. And don’t forget the bustling metropolis of Buellton, home of Andersen’s Split Pea Soup, although I have always found and still maintain that split pea soup is one of the most vile concoctions ever foisted upon mankind.
Sorry, reliving a childhood vacation trauma right now.
I guess Lompoc would be considered SoCal because it is south of San Luis Obispo, which is pretty much where SoCal ends and Central Cal begins.
Now, to me, Central Cal has always been Porterville, which is located about ten miles southeast of Tulare. My aunt had a horse farm there and I spent many a summer at her place. I always thought it was kind of a cool place because there were orange groves across the road from her place, but right behind her place was borderline desert territory.
I don’t think you can draw a straight line from San Luis Obispo across to the Nevada Border and say that’s the border. Central California is defined mainly by the San Joaquin and Central Valleys, which are huge and full of tasty food.
I’ve never had a cashier at Trader Joe’s do this for me (for reference, the Emeryville store is my most frequent; but I don’t go that often, don’t understand the charm).
On the west coast I’ve lived in Portland, Vancouver, Seattle, and the Bay Area; I spend quite a bit of time in the LA area. I’ve personally experienced no great animosity by any of those places for any other.
San Franciso and LA are very different, though. I don’t think it is so much animosity as wanting it to be clear to everyone the environment from whence they came.
I’ve never heard of any problem between the people of Portland and Seattle.
The reason that Washingtonians and Oregonians disliked Californians is two-fold (and similar to what is now happening in Arizona and Utah, I’m told)
Back in the early 90s there are a large influx of Californians moving to the Northwest. Unfortunately they brought a lot of money with them. Property values skyrocketed (which is great if you want to sell, but not if you are looking to buy or have to pay the taxes on the new valuation).
Californians have a habit of deciding that they don’t like it anymore and move; then they decide that they really liked the socialist laws they had back home and try to pass them in their new town. That just pisses off the locals.
Here’s how i’d split the state, according to how i see cultural differences showing (from what i’ve seen myself, it could be split further)
Northern California - from north of the Napa and Sonoma Counties to the Oregon border
Central California coastal - From the eastern edge of the coast ranges (the ranges that encircle the central valley). Northern border: Napa, Sonoma, etc, Southern Border San Luis Obispo County line.
Central California central - The central Valley.
Eastern California - the Sierras
Southern California coastal - all the major urban cities and suburbs from San Luis Obispo county to San Diego
Southern California interior - basically the interior desert areas.
Now, what i’ve listed here could probably be tweaked, but i think it holds true in a gross generalization sense ;).
I am a native of the Central Coast (Monterey), and i’ve never heard any outright disdain for LA, in fact it’s close enough that many people here make weekend trips down there. I like both LA and the SF Bay area regions. Both have their interesting sides, and both have their crappy sides. But, culturally speaking, the northern end of the central coast is at least much more influenced by the bay area than LA (mainly because most people on the central coast live closer to the Bay Area.
I like to think of the Central Coast as really the gradation between So Cal and Nor Cal, the more northern end is like the bay area, but things begin to appear more “So Cal” as you move south (like Santa Barbara). I have to say my “culture” is more Bay Area than LA, but i could probably adapt to So Cal if need be ;).
I think if anyone the people here complain about it’s Silicon Valley people. They’re the ones who’ve been buying up a lot of houses in the region in the past few years. Salinas was going to sue Cisco if they had gone through with their new facility in Coyote Valley south of SJ, because Salinas feared houses would be lost to commuters, and land prices would sky-rocket. So far the only people from So Cal who buy property here and commute are wealthy business people, and they tend to buy in Carmel and Pebble Beach (two places most people in this area care little about anyway).
By the way, i like the central coast because i can grow all kinds of neat sub-tropicals and cloudforest plants that wont grow anywhere else well (even in the state) :). So Oregonians and Washingtonians wont ever have to worry about me moving there.
Having been a resident of both WA and CA, all I can say is that WA residents don’t really have too much business complaining about housing prices going through the roof. I mean, what can you say when your friends and family are complaining about the skyrocketing cost of housing while they are happily letting their realestate agents sell their houses for 2 to 3 times their value to Californians who have had to deal with such high housing costs that they actually think they’re getting a good deal?
I live in Seattle now, and my parents migrated to Tacoma 30 years ago. Things have really changed around here. But I haven’t really encountered snobbery except from the older set, many of whom are guilty of the above mentioned activities. Most of the younger folk in Seattle are pretty cool about CA.
But that’s all in the past, the dot.com hell bubble exploded, and this WA resident is looking for other digs again. Oregon is a possibility. I hated LA, way too forlorn and weathered. SF was too expensive. I did like San Diego, but I honestly don’t know too much about it. And of course if I find better work here in Seattle/Tacoma I might have to stay.
I’m a Seattleite, and I don’t dislike Californians. I do, however, have a problem with Californians who move up here and then decide that we aren’t enough like L.A. or the Bay Area, or wherever. Those that come here because they like it here are fine with me.
I think that’s why people react against Californians here. The various cities are different, but some Angelenos or San Franciscans seem to want to change them so that they all match.
No one responds well to someone coming to their place and constantly telling them how their hometown was so much better. That’s why Texans get such cool receptions everywhere they go, too.
EXACTLY! :). I think this is the reason why at my school, the Central/Northern Californians have problems with the Angelinos and Orange Curtainians (Orange County residents). They get up here, and then they begin to complain how much better LA is, and how sucky Nor/Central California is. For instance, they complain about how slow drivers are here, how there’s nothing to do like they have in LA, how the weather sucks, how our slang sucks, etc. Such complaints are met with “If you hate it so much here why dont you leave?”. They then reply “Because i wanted to get away from LA!”. Then why the hell did they leave if they complain so much? :). So, anyone who starts in with “Where i come from it’s so much better than here” is met with a cool reception anywhere, as Saltire said.
Doubly so if they move to Seattle, due to its proximity to Microsoft. 