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Well, fine, maybe not Hawaii, or the subpolar areas of Alaska. But my point is, California contains all the climate types, accents, food, etc. you'll find in the (mainland) American West.
Eureka has the Marine West Coast, temperate rainforests of Puget Sound. Lassen Volcanic National Park is a mini-Yellowstone, with its many geothermal features. Tahoe rivals Oregon's Crater Lake. Ski resorts in Tahoe and Mammoth are on the scale (size-wise, and snowfall wise) as any resorts in Colorado.
We have the Mojave desert of Vegas, the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, and the rugged Great Basin of Nevada, Utah, and Idaho. We have the 14,000 mountains that rival anything in the rockies. The Bay Area's tech industry and urban hipsterness is the inspiration behind every other liberal bastion in the West from Seattle to Denver.
The entire Western US from SF to Denver and even El Paso speaks with the same American accent, with very little variation (compared to the many dialects of the South or Northeast).
To sum it up, going to other Western states basically felt like California. Seattle? Basically San Francisco with the cold gloominess of Eureka, California. Salt Lake City? Exactly the same as San Bernardino, what with the semi-arid climate, adjacent desert, and mountains, only difference being SLC was more conservative and winters were colder. Idaho Falls? Again, a colder, more conservative (i.e. Mormon) version of Visalia or Tulare. Flat, barren, with hot, bone dry summers, and "close" to the mountains (i.e. 2 hours to Sequoia from Tulare, 2 hours to Grand Tetons for Idaho Falls.) The Snake River Valley really seemed like a colder version of the Central Valley.
Generally speaking, people in California are a lot more open-minded and sociable than people in other Western states.
People in Montana and Wyoming are openly hostile towards transplants, who they perceive as straining their natural resources and threatening their way of life. Those people want you to leave them alone.
Arizona and Nevada are extremely transient in the major metropolitan areas, similar to Florida. Therefore, it is often challenging to befriend others and, more importantly, maintain long-term friendships in those states. It can be very isolating when you befriend someone, and they move away six months later. The extreme summertime heat in Phoenix and, to a lesser extent, Las Vegas and Tucson only compounds the isolation factor, IMO.
Idaho and especially Utah are very Mormon. Because Mormons tend to be very active in their local congregations, and those states tend to be very "homegrown," they only way for you to break into most social circles is to join an LDS church. Also, most Mormons don't drink or smoke, and while I'm not a huge fan of drinking or smoking, those are outlets by which individuals can bond and socialize.
People are quieter and more introverted (i.e., more "bookish") in Oregon and Washington, especially west of the Cascades. Everyone up there seems to be on their own agenda and OK with being alone for a majority of the time. Very different from growing up in Rhode Island or living in Orange County, I'll tell you that much.
I don't know that much about Alaska or New Mexico, but I've met some nice folks from those states. Whites in both states don't seem too radically different from the folks you'd meet on the Plans or in the Upper Midwest.
People in Colorado are very self-absorbed and extremely competitive because it's a very lifestyle-oriented place (more so than California, IMO). They would rather go skiing, snowboarding or mountain-biking than hang out with you. Their sports and hobbies come first, never others.
Finally, people in Hawaii *HATE* white people, and if the Asians in Southern California are any indication, I would venture to guess they're not too crazy about black people, either.
Generally speaking, people in California are a lot more open-minded and sociable than people in other Western states.
People in Montana and Wyoming are openly hostile towards transplants, who they perceive as straining their natural resources and threatening their way of life. Those people want you to leave them alone.
Arizona and Nevada are extremely transient in the major metropolitan areas, similar to Florida. Therefore, it is often challenging to befriend others and, more importantly, maintain long-term friendships in those states. It can be very isolating when you befriend someone, and they move away six months later. The extreme summertime heat in Phoenix and, to a lesser extent, Las Vegas and Tucson only compounds the isolation factor, IMO.
Idaho and especially Utah are very Mormon. Because Mormons tend to be very active in their local congregations, and those states tend to be very "homegrown," they only way for you to break into most social circles is to join an LDS church. Also, most Mormons don't drink or smoke, and while I'm not a huge fan of drinking or smoking, those are outlets by which individuals can bond and socialize.
People are quieter and more introverted (i.e., more "bookish") in Oregon and Washington, especially west of the Cascades. Everyone up there seems to be on their own agenda and OK with being alone for a majority of the time. Very different from growing up in Rhode Island or living in Orange County, I'll tell you that much.
I don't know that much about Alaska or New Mexico, but I've met some nice folks from those states. Whites in both states don't seem too radically different from the folks you'd meet on the Plans or in the Upper Midwest.
People in Colorado are very self-absorbed and extremely competitive because it's a very lifestyle-oriented place (more so than California, IMO). They would rather go skiing, snowboarding or mountain-biking than hang out with you. Their sports and hobbies come first, never others.
Finally, people in Hawaii *HATE* white people, and if the Asians in Southern California are any indication, I would venture to guess they're not too crazy about black people, either.
California, FTW.
This is all very accurate. Having lived in Montana and Wyoming I can especially vouch for those assessments. Wyoming people are also self absorbed. They will not help anyone out. My question is, do Californians (and those in other western states) have the same attitude toward food as people do in Wyoming and Montana? I have seen so many people in those states act like eating is a shameful thing to do and when it is meal time a major production is done on presenting it, dishing it up, and commenting on it while eating.
Idaho and especially Utah are very Mormon. Because Mormons tend to be very active in their local congregations, and those states tend to be very "homegrown," they only way for you to break into most social circles is to join an LDS church. Also, most Mormons don't drink or smoke, and while I'm not a huge fan of drinking or smoking, those are outlets by which individuals can bond and socialize.
Utah is estimated at 63% LDS while Idaho is only 26% LDS. Those numbers may be high because the LDS Church does not remove names of people who leave the church or become inactive.
Utah is estimated at 63% LDS while Idaho is only 26% LDS. Those numbers may be high because the LDS Church does not remove names of people who leave the church or become inactive.
Idaho is less Mormon than Utah because it receives more transplants from other states, most notably California and Washington, than Utah. However, I dated a guy from Pocatello in the past, and I will have you know the area stretching from Twin Falls to Idaho Falls is, generally speaking, very Mormon.
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