Oc - great to visit but no longer a place to live (Orange: school districts, taxation)
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I live in Portland Oregon which has over 2 million people and we don't all go hide in our houses at the end of the day. People socialize, some drink, some bowl, some go to neighborhood BBQ's, some go tubing on the river, etc. When I worked at In-N-Out Burger in OC I had regular customers, but none of them wanted "small talk" just their food and to be on their way. When I worked at Philadelphia's Steaks & Hoagies here in Porland I had regular customers and they would actually chat with me and I would actually remember their names because although they were there for the food there is nothing wrong with a little socializing. LaMarcus Aldridge (the center/ power forward for the Portland Trailblazers) was even a regular customer and despite being a 6'11", professional athlete, with millions of dollars he still talked to me like a real person, he treated me with more respect than your average OC patron.
I have to disagree with your statement, "Nothing wrong with that.". There is something wrong when neighbors don't know their neighbors (especially in a place like OC where your neighbors house is probably only about 4 feet away from yours, LOL). Lack of socialization leads to many of the problems that OC has, such as rude driving. Would you drive like a jerk and cut-off people if one of them was someone you knew and talked to?
The very definiton of socialization shows that it is important. "Socialization - The process of social interaction through which people acquire personality and learn the way of life of their society. Socialization is a life long process."
Without socialization how is a child supposed to learn a sense of self and create a personality? What is it that they always say about mass murderers? Oh yeah they say, "He was a bit of a loner and kept to himself."
Here is a cut and paste about a study done with monkies to identify the importance of socialization:
"In a study of monkeys that were seperated from their normal family unit and grew up with a lack of socialization there were clear signs that by adulthood these monkies did not develop social skills, had no language abilities, and did not survive long if left on their own."
Yeah that's cool, but Portland (and the entire Pacific Northwest) really sucks. They have one of the highest suicide rates in the nation.
Largely, it's people that make the community, and many out here seem to be too busy, or perhaps disinterested, or tired, or beaten up via the freeways, to communicate to others.
Hot topic in The OC? The weather!
Hmm, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were talking about Seattle.
It's not an uncommon thing for neighbors to not speak to neighbors. People are mostly to themselves here. Guess it depends on what you want and how hard you try.
Engineers use their personalities as birth control.
Engineers choose engineering as a career after they realized they didn't have enough charisma to become undertakers.
Charles, you just made me choke on my drink. that was funny.
The engineering department here at my work is like going in a morgue, but without the funny smell.
The original post seems to be predicated on everyone in Orange County being rich. That is far from the case and I can personally only remember one woman I knew who had breast implants---my brother's first wife.
It is true that people in SoCal tend to cocoon, but on the other hand, up here in Washington state, I wouldn't know my neighbors if they were in a police lineup because I never, ever see them. I just think that cocooning is something that the entire west coast culture does.
I've never had it take an hour to get from Brea to Orange on the 57. However, I have had it take that long to get from Main Street in Corona to Yorba Linda on the 91. The 91 is a beast.
As for the humor thing, boy, are you wrong on that! The only folks I knew who were no fun in that regard were really uptight evangelicals. People in Orange County are generally pretty easygoing and like to laugh.
Also, mass murderers are usually sociopaths, that is, people who tend to be real charmers (think Ted Bundy or even Manson in his own way) that view people more as objects than human beings. The loners tend to be the type who act out in one spectacular exhibition of anger such as post office or shopping mall shootings.
How many mass murderers has Orange County had anyway? Richard Ramirez is the only one I can think of. You had that guy who shot up the CSUF library. I can't really think of any others right now.
The lawsuit tendency is true for the country as a whole. Plus the rate of lawsuits has been declining anyway.
The materialism/implants/people linked 24/7 to Crackberry's/open-and-shut garage door scenarios, etc etc......all that is true across the country........just somewhat moreso in OC.
But a word about the "diversity" and melting pot cultures. True there is LOADS of diversity. It's not necessarily good or bad I guess. I rarely speak to the neighbor next door...But how much is there to talk about with Chinaman Charlie anyhow, given his limited command of English, and my even less so of Mandarin? Then there's the Iranians across the street. Very nice people, but they socialize with .....other Iranians. Same with the Mormon guy on the other side of me..much as I would like i don't get into many MILF conversations with him....
on and on it goes. Melting pot? Not really. More like one of those Indian restaurants where they bring out a dozen bowls of distinct spices....and each spice stays in its own bowl.
For the past 20 years, I've observed The OC lifestyle. The following does NOT reflect everybody. I'm sure there are nice, down to earth people, but they're hard to find. The following applies to about 70% of Orange County residents.
Yes, The OC is physically beautiful and very spacious but in exchange you get some Southern Californians. These people are the most shallow and materialistic people you could hope to meet. It's a 100% freakin' car-culture which means these OC residents never get a chance to practice and hone any significant social skills due to the fact that they rarely interact with other human beings.
There is definitely a So Cal phenomenon where the garage door opens, the car goes in, and the garage door closes ... and it happens every day & night on every street. This is worse in OC than anywhere I've seen. There are some newer neighborhoods that try to make this different, but it usually only lasts a short while. Largely, it's people that make the community, and many out here seem to be too busy, or perhaps disinterested, or tired, or beaten up via the freeways, to communicate to others.
Hot topic in The OC? The weather! Which by the way is constantly sunny and gets to be boring after the initial euphoria of it wears off. It's like I'm in a Groundhog Day movie.
People in The OC have zero sense of humor and lack the wit that God gave the common asparagus.
Cosmetic details are of the UTMOST importance here & silicone enhancements are a MUST for women. Can you say stepford wife? Speaking of OC women, they're mostly greedy, dimwitted, money chasing, blondes and The OC woman is in general like plastic fruit; nice to look at…But flavorless and inedible.
I just went back to the Chicago suburbs after a long absence and felt like I was freakin' ALIVE again. The diversity, the action, the odors (good & bad) the edgy humor, the street smart people, and the friendliness ...THAT'S LIFE!
Everything is twice as much as it is in the Midwest! Chicago may suck in comparison to the weather and geography in The OC (and it does) but my lifestyle may be way BETTER there. How do Californians live out here and pay these high prices for EVERYTHING! I have a 700 sq foot Brea apartment that I pay $1,115.00 per month. I can't get a detached home in a nice neighborhood anywhere in The OC for less than $600,000. Most are up around a MILLION DOLLARS. I may go back to the Chicago suburbs where I can live in luxury and not get RAPED every time I buy something! Five months of winter to live in a 3 bedroom house, built in the 90s, on a .25 acre of land for $249,000. Believe me? Check the majority of houses (250,000 to 300,000) on realtor.com in McHenry County! Crystal Lake and Lake In The Hills to be exact.
The moral atmosphere in The OC is generally terrible. Too many children are raised with no principals and no work ethic. Many are handed anything they could want with no effort to earn anything and they look down on others who have lesser brand clothing, cars, etc. Girls dress like hookers and guys dress like gangbangers in many schools, including the "good" schools (actually many of the lesser ranked schools have a uniform policy). The lifestyle is unwholesome. Everything is rush, rush, rush and many of the schools are insanely competitive. Most of the kids are stressed out. The schools are too large and the kids receive little personal attention.
Many of these problems exist everywhere to some extent, but to a much greater degree in The OC than in any other place. Certainly a lot of places can be worse.
Here are my extra observations:
- Unless you're still in your twenties, night life sucks.
- Breast implants for a girl's High School graduation gift.
- Older women competing with twenty something girls in the dating scene.
- Traffic sucks! 45 min on the 57 freeway from Brea to Orange (14 miles).
- Protesting or suing if one sneezes the wrong way.
- Terrible customer service. I'm so tired of clerks not speaking English, understanding English or even acknowledging that I'm waiting for service.
Just so that you know, locals here do NOT refer to OC as "The OC" as titled on a TV show.
Try not to form opinions about an area based upon reality or sitcom TV shows. Such as Jersey Shore, The Real Housewives of Wherever, Jerseylicious, or any other show that is scripted or controlled tabloid entertainment.
People here tend to be detail-minded about many things, including personal appearance. Thus obesity tends to be discouraged as a matter of habit as opposed to other parts of the country where its an accepted part of living.
Personal care and self-care is part of healthy living and women and men tend to take good care of their appearance since the number of sunny days makes outdoor living enjoyable as a frequent positive social experience.
As far as the implants thing, a few girls get implants, however that is not the case for the majority and the network and tabloid news tends to focus on the fringe few to the detriment of an entire county in California.
IMO, the implant thing is becoming less and less common simply because HELOCs and other loan products are not common as they were prior to the economic downturn.
I was born in So Cal and found many of your observation, just that your own, that's all fine, your perception is your truth and no one can change that for you.
A German family moved in across the street and they where from Chicago and still long time friends.
I found most in So Cal very polite and genuine, and freeways will get the best of even grandma.
Many of the non natives that move in are the ones many times expressing an assumption how to be a Californian.
I found that same in Hawaii, where non native would assume a local attitude and get eating up.
Was funny to hear a mainlander try to speak in local pigeon.
Home prices are still nuts, we sold our Mom's house there she got for 13K in 1949 and we sold it for 535K and its not even worth half that to use. (2006)
It's now worth about 480K and that's still to much.
Love Chicago pizza but the cold
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