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This weekend I went on vacation down to San Diego and was very surprised to find that the people there in general were friendly and eager to engage in conversations with strangers. This got me thinking, what is the most friendly metro/city in California?
I'll add my 2 cents in here later but wanted to see what everyone's opinions are and why. What are you personal experiences?
I personally found Los Angeles and San Diego to have very unfriendly people. This rings true at my university where the majority of students hail from California. The nicest students at my university that are from California seems to be the Bay Area.
I won't vote because I haven't been to all the major metros in California personally.
I personally found Los Angeles and San Diego to have very unfriendly people. This rings true at my university where the majority of students hail from California. The nicest students at my university that are from California seems to be the Bay Area.
I won't vote because I haven't been to all the major metros in California personally.
I found the Bay Area to be less friendly than Southern California in general. I voted for San Diego as the friendliest metro area in California because that was my experience. The LA beach cities were really friendly, but the rest of the city seemed a bit self absorbed. Each person is likely to have their own perspective on this though.
I found the Bay Area to be less friendly than Southern California in general. I voted for San Diego as the friendliest metro area in California because that was my experience. The LA beach cities were really friendly, but the rest of the city seemed a bit self absorbed. Each person is likely to have their own perspective on this though.
My breakdown:
- Bay Area: I mean, I actually like the place, but the people just generally aren't that friendly. Even genuine friends may not necessarily be very friendly with each other in introduction; it's just kind of the culture there.
- San Diego: Unlike the Bay Area, I don't like that place. Even more so than the Bay Area, however, the people are unfriendly...and rude and surprisingly full of road rage. I haven't had good experiences there all in all.
- L.A.: Depends on where you go. The west side of L.A., and even parts of the San Fernando Valley such as Burbank and Sherman Oaks, represent the worst of the L.A. stereotypes. However, many other parts of the SFV, as well as the San Gabriel and Santa Clarita Valleys and North Orange County are full of much more down to Earth, friendly people.
- Sacramento can have a little of the NorCal reserved vibe, largely attributable to the initially reserved nature of NorCal in general and the influx of Bay Area transplants over the years. However, the people of Sacramento are cool when given a change. I've actually switched from "dislike" to "like" in my opinion of that city.
Californians across the state are generally pretty chatty though the Bay Area is probably the most reserved. When it comes to being polite, or extending genuine invitations, or actually being open to friendships ... I think that's a different thing than the willingness to start conversations with strangers, know what I mean? The Bay Area probably fares pretty well in those areas. People are nice.
Oh, I forgot to mention: I voted for "Some other area." Visit a smaller city like Stockton, Modesto, Turlock, Chico, or Redding, or even an emerging large metropolis like Fresno, and tell me it isn't friendlier all-in-all than any urban area along the coast.
Edit: I really, truly can't believe that San Diego is overwhelmingly leading the poll so far. The people voting must be Midwestern tourists who have only visited San Diego and are too scared to visit San Francisco or Los Angeles. (Oh, and long-term Midwestern tourists seem to live in San Diego anyway!)
I also have another thread on this in the California forum. It's interesting to see the comparison between the two. I think (though not proven) that more folks in the US will see this one whereas the California may be comprised of a majority of locals. That's my hope at least.
Like I said, I'm interested in hearing about people's experiences and opinions. There is no "right" or "wrong" answer. sav858 may love San Diego whereas EclecticEars does not. I'm more interested in the rationale behind each opinion or negative/positive experience(s). That's the fun of this site!
Fresno and Bakersfield have the friendliest people.
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