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A great post. But you'd better hunker down for attacks by the intolerance gang. To say that people prefer living near those of their own kind will mark you as intolerant by the political correctness squad.
Hi.
O pffft I don't care. They need to learn to be tolerant themselves. I have a different opinion and that's the way it is.
I don't want to be interviewed or anything but I would just like to leave a few comments.
CA is too violent nowadays. For one thing, there are too many people with guns, drug addicts, too many thugs, gang members, and lowlifes. So many that those people they are creating a culture in CA to where if you don't fit into one of those categories, you don't fit in. I visited Magic Mountain in March 2009, for the 2nd time since 1986 and the demographic differences were completely different. In '86 there were typical, all American families roaming the park. In '09, the place is crawling with thugs, taggers, gangsters, hoodlums, street people, ufc wannabees--it was just a nightmare. I fit in none of those categories--native Californian that I am--and that solidified my exit from the state.
Another problem is immigration. Some immigrants can be nice people but they are NOT and can never be traditional Americans; they don't share my values, they don't speak my language; they don't share my religion; many are here for the money and not for the good of America. I have found that it is stressful to deal with them, day in and day out, because they are so different. I can't understand them and they can't understand me, which is a recipe for disaster on many levels. It's really not a mystery why humans were separated by continent. We should learn something from our ancestors. I don't hate other people but I do believe we should be separate.
Overpopulation is huge concern. There are simply too many people for my liking.
Cost of living is way too high. I just paid $210 for my vehicle registration renewal. $800 for auto insurance, though I have not any accidents in 17 years of driving (ripoff). I pay around $1000 per month in rent.
So those are the reasons I plan to leave my state of origin.
There are also many Americans that don't share your 'values', your 'religion' etc and we still get along fine. I understand the Illegal thing... I want them out too, which may be surprising coming from a liberal such as myself.
Overpopulation is always a problem, not just here but anywhere. I could give you quite a few places near my area to move (Harmony: Population 18, California Valley: Population less than 500, Pozo, Santa Margarita, Cholame etc are all in my county on the coast) but then you would probably complain about the 'lack of services' like shopping, restaraunts, and lack of jobs, of course. Unfortunatley, population makes jobs so it's hard living in the boondocks, I did it for 10 years I know.
You're looking in the wrong places, especially if you consider Magic Mountain a good representation of Californians.
To answer the OP:
No, California has not lost it's charm. Unfortunately the big areas hog the limelight which makes it seem as though ALL of California is like Compton, Oakland, LA, San Francisco, Sacramento etc. It's not. I actually like living in California and can think of nowhere else I'd rather live right now.
To give you a bit of a background, I'm pretty much a California native (with the exception of me being born Denmark, but grew up here since I was 2 years old, it's all I've known!). I'm 21 years old, though very observant and aware of the many changes California has gone through since I was a child. I think you might find it interesting to provide a younger person's perspective on the situation.
-- What do the state budget cuts and state budget chaos mean for me? Higher tuitions or school fees? Taxes? Other costs? Fewer services that I need or want?
I went to public schools in California up until 8th grade (2002). Every year they seemed to deteriorate, and in the end my parents put me into a private Catholic school because San Diego Unified nearly all extra-curricular activities. For example, my middle school, Muirlands Middle School, in La Jolla, CA (ironically, one of the most affluent areas in San Diego) had no after school sports and very few acitivies. Trash was everywhere due to the lack of custodians. The school was in chaos.
With the present budget cuts I can't imagine what California students will have to endure now. Class sizes back in the early 2000's ranged from 35-40 students...I've heard that the class sizes will increase up to an average of 45 students. California public schools are now some of the worst in the nation, and they look like prisons. There's just simply no funding. To me, education for our state's youth is the most important aspect to their future...without it, our state will deteriorate...and with the current situation, it is.
I'm considered a liberal lefty who theoretically believes that taxes help overall in bringing better infrastructure and overall quality of life. But in California, it's as if our taxes dissapear. We pay one of the highest (if not, THE highest) taxes in the nation. But none of that shows. The roads are better in developing nations than they're here. I've had friends from Europe come and visit, to be shocked my the amount of potholes and ill-maintained highways and roads the state has. In addition, the schools are in terrible condition as well as everything else. I just don't get where my money goes to, it certainly doesn't show. The government here is completely inept.
-- If you moved to California, whether recently or long ago, are the things that made it attractive then still around? Or has California soured for you? Tell me how.
I'm willing to live in California through thick and thin, and pay the cost for it. One thing nobody can take away from California is the sheer amount of natural and urban diversity you have here. You can ski, surf, and sail all in one day. We have deserts, lush forests, mediterranean landscapes, vast fluctations in climates...deserted beaches and some of the country's most dynamic cities. No wonder everybody wanted to live here. We have forward thinking citizens and a progressive nature that's hard to find elsewhere. There's a "cool" factor here that no other states have, an allure people are still drawn to from all over the world. I love California, flaws and all...it's home for me.
Would I ever consider moving to Texas or Arizona to sit in some cardboard tract housing development just because it's cheaper? Absolutely not. There's no ambiance, culture, or atmoshphere in those states. If suburban wasteland for cheap dollars is your thing, go there then. But even suburbia in California is far more interesting than in Phoenix or Houston. There's too many natural gifts like the mountains and the sea here that make the quality of life better. Where do you go in Houston for a day's getaway? Muggy swamplands and oily beaches? Thanks, but no thanks.
On the flipside, though, some things have also soured. The traffic is frequently unbearable. San Diego, where I live, has become far too overpopulated and unpleasant. We don't have adequate public transportation here or other alternatives to cars. The beaches are too often polluted and well...many parts of the city look poor due to lack in funds for maintenance, etc.
I think growing up as a kid in CA is rough, from white washed suburbia to urban communities. There's a lack of moral fiber and values. There doesn't seem to be a strong family culture here, and I think kids grow up here MUCH faster than elsewhere. 12 year olds smoking pot the norm, gang activities at public schools, but more so the sheer amount of drugs everywhere. I think with the media influence from LA and what not, there's an early amount of destruction to childhood innocence kids experience here. Lack of after school activities at the majority of public schools, etc. I just don't think it's as family-friendly as it'd be in Boise or Omaha.
-- What are some specific things that bother you about the direction California is headed? Are roads deteriorating? Schools? Business opportunity? Business climate? Jobs? Real estate? Traffic and crowding? Taxes? Infrastructure?
The mismanagement of this state is astounding. How can one of the country's most dynamic and powerful states have such a lackluster government? It's anti-business, the roads are horrifcly bad, traffic is bad, infrastructure is overall terrible. In addition to frequent droughts, I do fear as to how this state will be able to sustain itself.
-- Is California still a place where you would advise someone to move to, to create a life and pursue a career? Is it still America's promised land of opportunity? Why or why not?
If you're willing to make sacrificies and understand that you won't be able to have a McMansion for $100,000 or other "American Dream" ideals that you'd get cheaper in other states, then yes. America's promised land of opportunity, though? Not at the moment. But is America itself really a land of so-called "promised" opportunity anymore? I think not. All Americans are suffering, in all states. But if you work hard, just like anywhere else, you'll reap the awards eventually. But it might take longer in CA than elsewhere...but in the meantime while you wait, enjoy the beaches, the forests, the cosmopolotain culture of San Francisco, the urban chaos of LA, the laidbackness of San Diego, the beaches at sunset, the 70 degree weather in January.
If you think Denver's air pollution is in the same league as LA's, you've been inhaling something.
He said he was sick of hot days and pollution. Something that exists in Denver including smog alerts that produce the same health problems. Show me where I said it's in the same league as LA. Whether it is or isn't doesn't matter fact is he wants to move there thinking he can escape pollution and heat, when there are plenty of area's in CA that have just as good if not better air quality.
A great post. But you'd better hunker down for attacks by the intolerance gang. To say that people prefer living near those of their own kind will mark you as intolerant by the political correctness squad.
Personally, I don't care who my neighbors are as long as they're not boneheads or thugs. I actually prefer an area with a racial and ethnic mix, where I can hear different languages and know backgrounds different from my own. California offers this in a heartbeat, which is one of the things I truly enjoy about the state. A stronger criteria for me is crime. I don't want to live in a high-crime area.
As I wrote earlier, the poor state of k-12 schools concerns me way more than anything else going on in this state right now. Lack of education leads to a lack of economic opportunity, which leads to crime. It also leads to a society lacking of qualified people to do the jobs needed to support services I use (and increasingly so as I near retirement age). I also wonder what a society of un- and under-educated people will be like. Not good, I suppose.
Destroycreate: You are one lib that I could get along with. We probably disagree on much as I see America's future depending on the individual rather than the collective, but you are willing to recognize California's weaknesses while still liking the place. My hats off to you! I think many of California's politicans are depending on those who will not crticize the place no matter how bad it gets.
For ppl who can only see the negative because of their situation it may seem like denial when others don't think the same way. Why isn't everyone miserable and planning to leave right? But that is your reality, not the next person walking down the steet. Hence the original question. How has it effected you? And does that effect CA's charm for you.
If someone is stuck on the hampster wheel locked into the concrete jungle without any chance to see beyond the buildings then by all means go. If one is misreable then why stay? What's the point in paying a premium for something you never have the chance to enjoy? You may as well move to the Detroit. And at least there you can buy a big cheap house on the lake. Yet many others Californians do find the time to break away from the cities to enjoy the nicer things which the state has to offer. There are millions who still do enjoy living in CA reagrdless of the economic highs and lows.
Its not a one size fits all. Everyone has a different California experience. So tell your story. But don't expect eveyone to see it your way or be in denial. Thats called projection and small minded at best.
Derek
My personal situation is fine. I could stay here until I die if I wanted to, and actually, do not rule that out.
However, when I put on my political / economic / social critic hat, I see certain things. I am going to comment about such things, it is both my right and my duty.
what case?
that people who care about and who are deeply connected to the earth / land / nature and who recognize the vapidity and destructiveness of the present materialistic and consumer driven culture are superficial?
that would be a strange case indeed.
Destroycreate: You are one lib that I could get along with. We probably disagree on much as I see America's future depending on the individual rather than the collective, but you are willing to recognize California's weaknesses while still liking the place. My hats off to you! I think many of California's politicans are depending on those who will not crticize the place no matter how bad it gets.
I agree.
As I alluded to in my post, I miss the old JFK liberalism.
What rules now is something different - something more recent, more foreign and more malevolent. It's reminiscent of Allende.
As I alluded to in my post, I miss the old JFK liberalism.
What rules now is something different - something more recent, more foreign and more malevolent. It's reminiscent of Allende.
What is that difference ... between the "old JFK liberalism" and liberalism now?
I have a sense of what you're saying and have a sense of the "malevolence" (although that may be extreme) you're referring to but i cannot articulate it.
Can you? or Will you?
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