Led Zep - Going to California (Los Angeles, San Francisco: hotel, salary, places to live)

[Plokivos]

Originally Posted by simbared

Not long after this song came out, I decided it was time for my very young family and I to make the move from a bordertown in Texas to L.A. I was recently married and had a newborn child and a crappy factory job that paid nothing. Sometimes it helps when you have nothing to lose! I jumped in my '66 Mustang and headed out, hoping to get established and have the wife and baby come later (which they did). It wasn't all groovy times and positive experiences, but I'm still here forty years later. I've gone back to that bordertown numerous times because of family, and seen some of my contemporaries over the years. They made their choices, and I'm not going to put them down for it. But, hot damn am I glad I took a chance and split town when I did! They've been re-living the same dead-end life year after year, decade after decade. More than a few are still in the houses they grew up in. If I had stayed, I probably would have ended up in the same situation as they did. Oh, and my infant son is now 42 and has a successful business in SoCal, something he likely would not have if I had stayed put and he had grown up where I did.

"I jumped in my '66 Mustang and headed out, hoping to get established and have the wife and baby come later... It wasn't all groovy times and positive experiences, but I'm still here forty years later."

" But, hot damn am I glad I took a chance and split town when I did! They've been re-living the same dead-end life year after year, decade after decade. More than a few are still in the houses they grew up in. If I had stayed, I probably would have ended up in the same situation as they did."

Man, I love these stories! This is so real.

[Plokivos]

You know what other song gets me?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RHTb-WE4zo (I like the studio version for some reason better than live version for this)

My god, this song just makes me want to sell/burn all of my stuff, and travel, forever.

[TBCasino]

I never took the song literally, to a lot of people who didn't grow up here, California has been more than just a place, it's become an ideal. A person's "California" could be anywhere.

[8to32characters]

Originally Posted by Plokivos

So, how many of you silly ****s have moved to California, giving up a successful six figure job, burn that successful bridge to move to CA because of that song?

Because, I'm about to.

I did, and I have zero regrets. I'm here to stay forever, too.

I wasn't born in California, but California was born in me.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by 8to32characters

I did, and I have zero regrets. I'm here to stay forever, too.

I wasn't born in California, but California was born in me.

Impregnated by a state? Surely we get under people's skin, but...damn!

[Plokivos]

Originally Posted by mateo45

So where 'ya gonna live… O.C.? 'Cuz if you're truly as conservative and don't believe in democracy like you say, then soon you'll either be back here all disgruntled with "Lib-rul Kalifornia", or else packing your bags and singing this song instead!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nd7tF9QeBs

haha, I might be singing this when I leave, but I have to get there first.

[Plokivos]

Originally Posted by TBCasino

I never took the song literally, to a lot of people who didn't grow up here, California has been more than just a place, it's become an ideal. A person's "California" could be anywhere.

I think this is true about people in East Coast as well. I think being in a same surrounding for some people just don't work, unless there is something special about it, and I'm realizing that through all these stories.

But there is just something magical about California.

[Plokivos]

Maybe. Maybe out of all the cynicism and rhetoric banters that we all go through, all the logical sayings that we start to recall, just maybe some times the grass is greener on the other side if you finally figure what's important to you.

Someone told me that California is unlike any other states in America because the state is based on non-European structure. It started out with an adventure by the gold rush, and established and structured by everyone who desired to be their own person, bringing all the beauty of other culture that doesn't get mucked up by expectation, rather it's a state that shows what would happen if you start with a blank slate, and mix all of the culture together without any bias.

I really like to think that way about California. A unique paradox of oil mixing with water.

[JGC97]

Not sure how I missed this thread. Must have slid to the second page when I wasn't looking.

Loved the stories about what brought you to California, too. I didn't get to have a song to inspire me to move here. Born and raised but I did see Led Zeppelin at Fillmore West on January 11, 1969. Still have the ticket stub in my box of momentos. San Francisco was a popular hang out for us back then.

[Plokivos]

Originally Posted by malcorub16

11 years ago a hopeless 22 year old moved to Southern California from Texas on a whim. I was not making 6 figures like you, not even close, but I knew I had to leave town and not because it was a bad place, I just knew too many people and was getting into too much trouble so I needed to get out of my folks house to get my own act together.

The first time I moved out was a disaster and I came back home to my folks with my tail between my legs. I remember I had been back home for a year and it was was a Sunday afternoon, I was doing chores at my folk's small farm listening to classic rock station KZEP 104.5 depressed out of my mind. The Zeppelin song played and planted the idea in my head, it wasn't the sole reason for my move it just got me thinking "I gotta get out of here." After about 3 months of planning I found myself driving out here to SoCal to start over again without telling anyone. I left at 4 AM on a Saturday of August 2003 and no one knew where I was for 3 days.

Fast forward to 2015, I am still not making 6 figures like you but me and my SoCal wife make a decent living to provide for our kids and live very comfy. Also, I didn't want to come to "Hollywood" so I decided to go to San Diego, not sure Page and Plant were referring to San Diego in their song but hey, close enough.

It is a very good song but not the reason to move, it just gets you thinking whether or not its time for change. Didn't Fats Domino do a song called "Kansas City Here I come"? Thank God they did not play that song on the radio that day.

what a good story.