Ca natives who have moved to another state: what do you miss? (Huntington Beach: university, military)

[GSC1]

Not a damned thing.

[Mvn2nc]

Originally Posted by RPEP09

moved out of ca about 2 years ago.. I miss many many things. lived there my whole life.
now live in hou, tx
I miss:
cheap produce (and variety too)
cheap electricity
friends
mountains and hills
good shopping malls
carls jr's
kmart and rite aid
alcohol in grocery stores
vertical stoplights
dry heat
not being eaten by mosquitos
good viet and mex food (tex mex is not the same!)

lots of other things I can't think of right now.

Now did you leave because you wanted to or you had to?
Can you buy beer or wine in the grocery stores?

[nightbird47]

Originally Posted by Oerdin

You can find tri tip just about any where there is a good butcher but what's special is Santa Maria style BBQed tri tip. That's just uniquely central coast of California.

A small meat market where all the meat is local and unfrozen just opened next to my house. He features the more common cuts, but he can get anything I want. I can ask for tritip and have it custom cut. I've been getting all my burger and steak there because the taste differece is so noticable and good.

But I have also seen it in Walmart, though the store in Stillwater is more likely to have it. Walmart is where I get my veggies. They have a very good selection for the area and its always fresh.

[nightbird47]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

I always thought Riverside reeked of a "wet grass" smell during July and August.

As for Riverside being a desert, most classifications place deserts as being places that receive less than 10 inches of precipitation per year on average. From 1971-2000, Riverside averaged about 12 inches per year, which would classify it as semi-arid, but not as a proper desert.

People try desperately to keep the lawn alive. As hot as it gets you have to soak it to a bog to do that if you dont have some shade. And the city passed a "landscape" ordinance back when we had the horrible drought in the 90's. So while they were telling people they must conserve water and to NOT water the lawn, code enforcement was busily answering complaints for dead lawns The code guy found a patch of green where the hose was connected and said we passed. He found lawn.

Definately semi-arid, and frequently there are stretches when it does get less than ten inches of rain. All those lawns are there only by the graces of the Aquaduct.

Now, if I could send some of the RAIN this spring and summer here out there I would love to. In Riverside lawns turn brown. Here in July and August they are supposed to slow down, but with all the rain this year they become monsters. Not just grass, too, but wild plants and grasses and gnarly stuff. Lots of clover too. There the challenge is a green lawn. Here the challenge is a short green lawn that doesn't look like the prarie. Mine got quite high this spring because when your foot sank into the ground it was so wet the lawnmower was bound to be defeated.

[nightbird47]

Originally Posted by RPEP09

moved out of ca about 2 years ago.. I miss many many things. lived there my whole life.
cheap produce (and variety too)
alcohol in grocery stores
not being eaten by mosquitos

lots of other things I can't think of right now.

I found that food in general is a whole lot cheaper here. We really didn't have a lot in the way of produce markets and they were very much more expensive so I didn't buy much there. Variety would be nice.

I like to cook with wine. Yeah, some nice wine on the shelf along with the beer.

I HATE MOSQUITOS, Now, at my apartment in Riverside at dusk you could get eaten with all the grass which was persistantly overwatered, but the beasts will suck you dry here. I haven't done any gardening outside yet, still working on the inside, but will be trying the Off clipon then. When it looks like a swarm of gnats but its skeeters, you know its time to stay inside.

[Oerdin]

Originally Posted by breeze823

yeah that's exactly what I'm talking about, the Hollister T's that say socal on them rofl...I work part time at my daughter's high school and the kids, both girls and boys wear them, all the kids...I just want to make a huge announcement lol....I keep wondering if they are as big a hit in SoCal as they are out of state? I do love their store though, it's pretty cool, but still, a surf shop in Hollister? lol....

Fontucky raises a good point a post below....hmmm....maybe we should write the company and find out lol

Ahh, the Hollister clothing company is named after Hollister Ranch which is a famous surf spot near Santa Barbara. It has nothing to do with Hollister, CA.

From the wiki on Hollister Ranch:

Hollister Co., a clothing brand created by Abercrombie & Fitch, purports to be the outcome of a surf shop founded by John J. Hollister on Hollister Ranch in 1922.

[Soccersupporter]

Originally Posted by slo1318

If you are like us you'll hit the wall in the next 2-3 years. Some dont though, Ive built homes here for many Californians who are still happy to be here, although theyve only been here 4-5 years.

I have met many many ex-Californians here. Most are happy to be here some wish they could afford to move back. We have 2 wonderful granddaughters that keep us plenty happy and low cost of living makes it an easy choice for us. As long as family is here and it is financially better that CA I don't expect we would even consider leaving.

[Soccersupporter]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

I noticed this same thing while living in Colorado. Everyone loves it initially, like a new and wonderful paradise discovered. But after a number of years reality starts to set in and the realization that it's not perfect but rather has it's own set of pros/cons just like anywhere else. In our case three years was enough time to realize we would return to the West Coast some day.

We have other relatives who moved from California still there, some of whom would like to return. One is a family of teachers who have not found an opening yet. Another friend lived in CO 20 years, raised his children, then moved back recently to California. So some might stay in other places quite a bit longer before eventually returning. Then of course some never return. For the one's who don't return, taking regular trips out to the West Coast to visit family or to other coastal type destinations like Hawaii seems to help, especially during the Winter months.

Derek

We have solved our beach needs by going to the gulf beaches in Alabama and Florida. Far far prettier that SoCal beaches. The beaches in central CA and northern are very nice but no so much for swimming. I grew up body surfing The Wedge, Newport and Huntington Beach. I do miss that but at my age it is more of a beating anyways.

[Soccersupporter]

Originally Posted by Oerdin

You can find tri tip just about any where there is a good butcher but what's special is Santa Maria style BBQed tri tip. That's just uniquely central coast of California.

CostCo has incredible Tri-Tip, 2 different marinades. We have it a few times a month. Throw it on the barbecue!

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Soccersupporter

We have solved our beach needs by going to the gulf beaches in Alabama and Florida. Far far prettier that SoCal beaches. The beaches in central CA and northern are very nice but no so much for swimming. I grew up body surfing The Wedge, Newport and Huntington Beach. I do miss that but at my age it is more of a beating anyways.

Growing up in Newport Beach in the 50s-60s, that was my experience as well. It was a magical time and I also miss it, but the body, probably not so much.