Natives and Long time residents how well do you know California weather?

[Orange County Fit Girl]

^ dont forget about Big Bear (:

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by Orange County Fit Girl

^ dont forget about Big Bear (:

Yes! And Lake Arrowhead, and Idyllwild too. We have quite a few national forests in SoCal that, even if they can't compete with NorCal, are nicer than those of many other parts of the country.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by sav858

There are oak woodlands forests dotting the East Bay, though I wouldn't describe that type of forest as dense or lush. Usually the western facing hills have them more so.

Wait, no, the eastern facing hills would have them more. The western facing hills get the most sun and heat and tend to be more barren from my experience. Like along the western side of 680, the hills facing east are more wooded than those on the eastern side, facing west. :-) In any case, yes, they are 'woodlands' as opposed to 'forests,' and part of a grass and oak habitat that stretches from interior Southern Oregon to San Diego County. It's my favorite landscape in all of California.

[Fran66]

Originally Posted by Chimérique

Natives and long time California residents, how well do you know California weather?

In the summer, is San Francisco really the coldest/coolest large city in California and in the nation?

How many months out of the year do you no longer need a wetsuit for a SoCal Beach?

How much more rain does the urban areas of NorCal get compared to SoCal urban areas?

Why does the Sacramento Valley receive so much more Rain than the San Joaquin Valley?

Which urban areas in California have 4 seasons and why?

California weather myths and stereotypes discussed, dispelled and debunked.

I lived in CA for 57 years. Grew up in San Diego. Went to HS near San Francisco. Took a few years away to be with my husband, a military man. Then back to OC for 27 years to work for CA government.

One day about five years before I retired (2000), I walked out of work one May evening and wondered when in the H CA had become so hot and humid. The longer, hotter, humid summers, along with ALL the people and ALL the cars and ALL the horrible traffic -- I retired in January of 2006 and left 10 days later.

CA has almost 40 million people, and almost all of them want to live near the coast (beaches/ocean).

While I still miss CA at times, what I really miss is the Southern CA of the 1950s, 60s and early 70s. It really was paradise 'back then' (I'm sure I remember it better than it actually was, but, no matter what, it was still MUCH better than it is today). Today it's just one huge glob of people who can't get anywhere due to the traffic. And if you know only the CA of the 80s, 90s and the past 17 years -- CA might be just great for you. But by 1990 I was starting to become miserable. I don't even like to visit anymore.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by tstieber

Wait, no, the eastern facing hills would have them more. The western facing hills get the most sun and heat and tend to be more barren from my experience. Like along the western side of 680, the hills facing east are more wooded than those on the eastern side, facing west. :-) In any case, yes, they are 'woodlands' as opposed to 'forests,' and part of a grass and oak habitat that stretches from interior Southern Oregon to San Diego County. It's my favorite landscape in all of California.

Correct, that's what I meant. I was thinking hillsides to the "west" but yes the forested parts faces east. Woodlands and forests are the same thing pretty much.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by Fran66

I lived in CA for 57 years. Grew up in San Diego. Went to HS near San Francisco. Took a few years away to be with my husband, a military man. Then back to OC for 27 years to work for CA government.

One day about five years before I retired (2000), I walked out of work one May evening and wondered when in the H CA had become so hot and humid. The longer, hotter, humid summers, along with ALL the people and ALL the cars and ALL the horrible traffic -- I retired in January of 2006 and left 10 days later.

CA has almost 40 million people, and almost all of them want to live near the coast (beaches/ocean).

While I still miss CA at times, what I really miss is the Southern CA of the 1950s, 60s and early 70s. It really was paradise 'back then' (I'm sure I remember it better than it actually was, but, no matter what, it was still MUCH better than it is today). Today it's just one huge glob of people who can't get anywhere due to the traffic. And if you know only the CA of the 80s, 90s and the past 17 years -- CA might be just great for you. But by 1990 I was starting to become miserable. I don't even like to visit anymore.

I was born in the 70s so never knew CA in the 50s or 60s, but I do remember the very late 70s and of course the 80s as a kid, and even then, I remember the 80s signaling a shift from the relaxed CA to the more frenetic one with the rise of the yuppie at that time. The culture became more materialistic and career-driven (although of course, big banks and law firms existed in SF for some time, and Silicon Valley began its startup culture in the 50s), and it seems to continue to this day. Everyone seems caught up in the rat race to a large extent, and even leisure time seems at times pretentious so that even a relaxed wine tasting has to be Instagram-worthy. I have fond memories of those simple times of the 70s as a very small kid.

However, I do love many other things about the new California as well, too many to list. And in search of the slower pace and friendly vibe, we find it still exists in parts of San Diego, which, due to being geographically cut off from OC and LA, has somewhat better traffic than most of CA. And there is still a real country vibe to be found in some communities that I like. I really love it down here now.

[saibot]

I was born in 1969 and grew up in OC. There was definitely a lot more wide open space and I miss that. My grandmother lived in Laguna Beach, and I remember going down the 5 to visit her, driving past mile after mile of fields with eucalyptus windbreaks where Irvine is today. (But then on the canyon road, we would often get stuck either coming or going in traffic that was just as bad as it is now.)

Disneyland was a relaxing place where families could stroll around and leisurely decide which rides they wanted to go on. Even when I was in college in Fullerton in the late 1980s, I would sometimes drive over on a weekday and park right in front of the entrance, stroll in, go on a ride or two, shop a bit, and leave again. It wasn't the ridiculous seething mass of humanity that it is today.

I like where I live and find that most of the time, I don't need to go on the freeways during peak hours or to the beach on the weekend. There are still windows of time when places are less crowded (well, except Disneyland) and when the roads are open. The toll road helps. But the last time I tried to get down to San Diego on a Saturday morning, I realized that the days of being able to make that trip in a little over an hour were long gone.

[Amy WJ]

From tstieber: "And in search of the slower pace and friendly vibe, we find it still exists in parts of San Diego, which, due to being geographically cut off from OC and LA, has somewhat better traffic than most of CA. And there is still a real country vibe to be found in some communities that I like."

Which places are those that have the "real country vibe," if you don't mind sharing?