Hatin' on the Californians (Portland: find a job, live, dangerous)

[Nell Plotts]

San Francisco without a Castro District, I can see that; but probably more like the Silicon Valley areas south of San Francisco but with older and less expensive homes.

In my youth we really were like San Francisco. You dressed nice when you went down town and wore hats to church.

[John Shaft]

I think the "Californians" are more specifically, southern Californian, especially those that espouse the stereotypical lifestyle. As another poster pointed out, often these people come in and then begin to complain about how much they hate it here. I have heard this personally: one lady complained about how much she hated it and wanted to go back to San Diego. When we asked how long she'd been here, she said "fourteen years." Plenty of time to pack up and go back where you came from...except she probably couldn't afford the lifestyle and instead wants to pretend she could while living up here.

The Californian influx certainly changed Bend over the last decade or so. In addition to driving housing prices up, native Bendites (due to house pricing) couldn't afford to live in their hometown...and were forced to move to outlying areas and often work service-oriented jobs for these same Californians. Add in the culture clash of the fast-paced SoCal lifestyle (including more aggressive driving), and building huge houses that architecturally didn't belong in the high desert, and more, and it's easy to see why there was some resentment toward the newcomers.

Maybe it's not nice that there's the resentment, but I can certainly appreciate where it's coming from.

[scone]

Originally Posted by Jamminredheaded

I can't help but chuckle at the similarities between Bay Area dwellers and Oregonians. Seems I would get on just fine being a chica from N. Cali living in Oregon. On the otherhand, I think my fiance will hate it (native of SoCal) -and it was his idea to start looking to move to out of state.

Just don't wear any "bling." You have been warned. Big brother/sister is a-comin after them thar blingy chicas.

Isn't it heartwarming to know how tolerant Oregonians are of all sorts of alternative lifestyles?

[Nell Plotts]

There is a difference between toleration and respect.

[Jamminredheaded]

Originally Posted by scone

Just don't wear any "bling." You have been warned. Big brother/sister is a-comin after them thar blingy chicas.

Isn't it heartwarming to know how tolerant Oregonians are of all sorts of alternative lifestyles?

No "bling" here. I hardly wear jewelry. If I wear it, it's because my outfit's incredibly dull without it. The most bling I will likely ever wear will be what I have in terms of wedding/engagement rings.

Things that really struck me as odd coming into SoCal from the Bay Area:
-How people claimed my new high school was "diverse" when most of the school was WASP. (I was actually soundly insulted that they claimed it was "diverse.")
-How people had a strange attraction to "spinners" and over-sized wheels, paying little to no mind to how it effects their vehicle's overall performance.
-The pre-occupation with hydraulic vehicles amongst the Latino population.
-The concern with appearance and status. You weren't popular unless you lived above such and such a street and looked like you walked off of Rodeo Drive or shopped at Abercrombie, American Eagle, Charlotte Russe, Gap, etc.
-The number of shiny, clean cars as well as their size (SUVs, Hummers, Chevy Suburbans, lifted trucks galore [aka "bro-mobiles"]) and expense (BMW, Lamborghini, Lotus, Porsche, Ferrari, Mercedes).
-Talk of being outdoors for exercise instead of fun.
-Stupidly aggressive driving. It's like people don't know how to use a turn signal. (Sometimes I'll be a b*tch and not let someone over until they've signaled.) I understand aggressive driving on Sunset in LA, though, because the proliferation of stop lights and the way it forces traffic to flow is so retarded.

[Leisesturm]

The kinds of rents and house prices asked by a majority of Oregon sellers guarantees that the eventual renters/buyers will be from California or to a far lesser extent Chicago or NYC. Some renter/sellers have to cave and sell at local demand price but others can hold out for just the right client. Over time it results in a net loss of population from CA to OR. Equilibrium will result in ... ... ... 25.6 years =/- 2 years. In the meantime don't hate the CA people for "driving up prices", hate your OR neighbors for holding out for CA buyers.

H

[Cat_Person]

The problem with Cali people is that these people don't like us...plain and simple. With increased population growth comes change and "they" are not likin it :

Cave People: CAVE People - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Drawbridge Mentality: Drawbridge mentality - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nimby's: NIMBY - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If you look on other boards, you'll find these animals everywhere and they usually troll with bait ("I'm so sick of Californians, etc. is the opening line) Ignore them and they will go away

[toughguy]

The problem with Californians is that they seem to view Oregon and Washington as their unfortunate younger siblings that they are embarassed to be seen in public with. The arrogant attitudes turn a lot of people off.

[TriggerHappy9mm]

Originally Posted by whynot?

I'm not an Oregonian or a Californian, but I live in Hawaii and we get lots of people moving here from California. What I notice is that while they've supposedly left California to get away from this or that bad thing there, they're really not happy with the ways Hawaii is not California, and set about trying to change our ways, our habits, our laws, and our preferences to make them more like California.

It kind of makes me laugh, fleeing a place just to try to rebuild your new home in its image, but over time -- and with a large influx -- it really does have a significant influence socially, culturally, and politically that may or may not please those who have lived in the new state for a long, long time.

Perfectly put.

First off , I don't "hate" anyone , the effort required to actually "hate" someone , I've found , can be better spent on other things.

Now , if I move next door to the house you've lived in your whole life and decide to paint it while you were at work because I did'nt like the color , well I think there would be problems.

While this is an extreme metaphor , the point is still the same.

If I meet 10 Californians , 9 of them have some kind of issue , ranging from slightly annoying to downright dispicable. Statistically speaking this is pretty sad. This is not a case of one bad apple spoiling it for the bunch , this is a bunch spoiling it for the "good" ones. Combine this with the shear number that have moved here in the last 5 years , and you get a post like this one.

It seems to be they're attitude...I'm sorry you had to leave because of traffic , gangs , costs , overcrowding , etc. , etc. , etc. , but coming up here all pissed off because you "had" to leave ,with a "I'm better than you" because I have more money , better car , whatever attitude , driving like a idiot , and trying to change Oregon into what YOU think it should be , is unacceptable.

That said.....

Here is the sad truth.....there is not a damn thing I or any other native can do about it , they're gonna come , the good , the bad , and the ones with too much plastic surgery. If your out of line , and you cross my path in the real world , I WILL tell you about yourself , thats all we can do , I invite everone else to grow a pair and do the same.

This is my opinion , and I'm entitled to it.
Bring on the opposition , "I'm rude" , "no one else thinks this way" , blah blah blah

[Minervah]

I was transfered to Portland 30 years ago by a company at which I was working in Chicago. The people in the Portland office were all very hostile towards me. They refused to train me, talk to me other than nasty comments and were downright unpleasant.

One day one woman threatened to beat me up. They had already run another transplantee out before I arrived so I was aware there might be some problems but this was crazy. I went over and stood in the middle of the office and loudly asked what the heck their problem with me was. The answer was that in taking this job from as an out-of-towner, I was depriving an Oregonian of work.

Oh and they were nice enough to add that it wasn't personal; just geographical.
I told them I was staying and they had better just get used to it. So they did.

And I was from Chicago. Had I been from California, they would probably have tarred and feathered me. LOL! One native told me that Oregonians were a belligerent lot and didn't like change. I guess since many natives still have grudges against outsiders this must still be true. At least now after 30 years I have lost most of my Chicago accent so I can blend. All of my first friendships were made with other outsiders but now I have many native Oregonian friends too.