Should I move to California? (Los Angeles, San Diego: fit in, how much, Home Depot)

[locoindio]

I'm a musician and considering moving to California from the South. Is it really as snobby as people say it is? And what parts of California are the least image-conscious and more about substance?

[KnoxTown]

How much money do you have? Do you have a job?

[locoindio]

I'm not going to move to anywhere in california without a job. advice?

Loco

[KnoxTown]

Originally Posted by locoindio

I'm not going to move to anywhere in california without a job. advice?

Loco

Depends how much you will make.

[Ghostgecko]

One thing I know is that I work for Home Depot, and well, it may not be the best place, but the Home Improvement sector in retail is doing better, cause "Do it yourself" saves money, and a lot of people are into saving money. Just sayin...take it or leave it

[Charles]

Originally Posted by locoindio

Is it really as snobby as people say it is?

No, actually it is only 69% as snobby as they say.

Originally Posted by locoindio

And what parts of California are the least image-conscious and more about substance?

According to officials who analyzed data from the 2007 Census, the following are the number of image conscious individuals per 1000 in each California county:

Alameda County 185
Alpine County 242
Amador County 210
Butte County 103
Calaveras County 120
Colusa County 119
Contra Costa County 45
Del Norte County 204
El Dorado County 210
Fresno County 82
Glenn County 6
Humboldt County 65
Imperial County 198
Inyo County 59
Kern County 146
Kings County 30
Lake County 68
Lassen County 288
Los Angeles County 232
Madera County 295
Marin County 199
Mariposa County 96
Mendocino County 35
Merced County 3
Modoc County 85
Mono County 10
Monterey County 38
Napa County 241
Nevada County 243
Orange County 294
Placer County 11
Plumas County 251
Riverside County 161
Sacramento County 283
San Benito County 196
San Bernardino County 168
San Diego County 248
San Francisco County 258
San Joaquin County 163
San Luis Obispo County 73
San Mateo County 91
Santa Barbara County 248
Santa Clara County 244
Santa Cruz County 264
Shasta County 300
Sierra County 6
Siskiyou County 152
Solano County 87
Sonoma County 125
Stanislaus County 12
Sutter County 154
Tehama County 112
Trinity County 39
Tulare County 120
Tuolumne County 118
Ventura County 289
Yolo County 18
Yuba County 20

[gypsystar]

Originally Posted by charles

no, actually it is only 69% as snobby as they say.



According to officials who analyzed data from the 2007 census, the following are the number of image conscious individuals per 1000 in each california county:

Alameda county 185
alpine county 242
amador county 210
butte county 103
calaveras county 120
colusa county 119
contra costa county 45
del norte county 204
el dorado county 210
fresno county 82
glenn county 6
humboldt county 65
imperial county 198
inyo county 59
kern county 146
kings county 30
lake county 68
lassen county 288
los angeles county 232
madera county 295
marin county 199
mariposa county 96
mendocino county 35
merced county 3
modoc county 85
mono county 10
monterey county 38
napa county 241
nevada county 243
orange county 294
placer county 11
plumas county 251
riverside county 161
sacramento county 283
san benito county 196
san bernardino county 168
san diego county 248
san francisco county 258
san joaquin county 163
san luis obispo county 73
san mateo county 91
santa barbara county 248
santa clara county 244
santa cruz county 264
shasta county 300
sierra county 6
siskiyou county 152
solano county 87
sonoma county 125
stanislaus county 12
sutter county 154
tehama county 112
trinity county 39
tulare county 120
tuolumne county 118
ventura county 289
yolo county 18
yuba county 20

dang funny

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by locoindio

I'm a musician and considering moving to California from the South. Is it really as snobby as people say it is? And what parts of California are the least image-conscious and more about substance?

I hadn't realized that California had a "snobby" image. No, it's not snobby, although some individuals are. Same as anywhere, though.

The parts of CA that are the least image-conscious and the most about substance are everywhere - it's like every other state in that there are image-conscious people mixed in all over the place, just like there are substance people mixed in everywhere. It's not about the city/town/state itself, it's about the particular people you hang out with.

No offense intented, but these threads pop up a lot, and really, it's the same thing as if I posted on say, the Georgia forum and wanted to know what areas of the state were the least hillbilly or redneck, where do the "smart" people live, and is it is really as backwards as people say.

[US-Traveller]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I hadn't realized that California had a "snobby" image. No, it's not snobby, although some individuals are. Same as anywhere, though.

The parts of CA that are the least image-conscious and the most about substance are everywhere - it's like every other state in that there are image-conscious people mixed in all over the place, just like there are substance people mixed in everywhere. It's not about the city/town/state itself, it's about the particular people you hang out with.

No offense intented, but these threads pop up a lot, and really, it's the same thing as if I posted on say, the Georgia forum and wanted to know what areas of the state were the least hillbilly or redneck, where do the "smart" people live, and is it is really as backwards as people say.

I think Greater Los Angeles and much of Orange County has a reputation for being very image concious, but from my experience Greater Los Angeles is no more image concious than other more affluent areas of other major cities like Chicago or Atlanta.

I think in general the Bay Area is less status or image concious. It has a similar "social feel" to Greater Boston. People are very concerned about where you got your degree as supposed to what car you drive and how much is in your checking account. I think it depends on what you feel is more tolerable.

[uptown_urbanist]

Actually, my experience has been the opposite - for me, the Bay Area has been far more image concious than was LA. But, like US-Traveller says, it's just a different kind of image issue. In SF I've run into the image issue from the right school/eat the right thing (organic only, and local)/live in the right neighborhood/send your kid to the right swim school viewpoint. Things on the kid front were far more laid back on that front in LA. (didn't drive a car in either place, so no pressure there!)

LA does get hit with a reputation, but much of that is undeserved; it's undoubtedly true if you're a celebrity, but for most regular people who don't make their living off their image (or want to fit in with the crowd that does) it doesn't matter. You'll probably encounter more of that in certain status "name brand" neighborhoods (the places that attract snobby types who gravitate there because of the name), but even in those neighborhoods there are plenty of non-judgemental people who live there for other reasons.

In any case, you should definitely try to visit before you make a final decision. People tend to have very strong preconceived ideas about CA, both good and bad. In my case I didn't think I'd like LA, but after a job-related move brought us there I discovered that I loved it. Based on these forums, I think many of the unhappiest people are those who had really high expectations and then found that their reality didn't match up with the dream. It's been a little like that for me for SF - while I love San Francisco, I thought based on all the positive San Francisco stereotypes that it would be my dream city. It's great, but not quite the utopia I had hoped for, either. It was an easier adjustment to go to LA from DC with low expectations and to be pleasantly surprised, rather than to go from LA to SF and be a little let down because of unrealistic expectations.