Why do you love California? (Santa Barbara, San Rafael: restaurants, shopping centers, food)

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Widowmaker2k

Hey guys, us Californians receive a lot of flack on these forums, so I thought I'd pose a question...why do you love living in California?

What about you? What about California makes you want to live here?

Whoa! There's a huge difference between what you may love about California and what may or may not make you want to live there.

I love California as the state of my birth and a goodly part of my upbringing, culminating some years later with working for and retiring from the state.

I love California as the place where I met both my wives ~ well, the first one not so much ~ and where four of my six grandchildren were born.

I love California for it's mountains, beaches, deserts, forests and all the rest of its topographical diversity.

What I don't love is its ground-kissing, boot-licking obeisance to the other type of diversity that is mentioned a number of times in this thread (Ooh! Look at me! I'm so enlightened, inclusive and progressive!), it's politics or its governance. Nor do I care for its out-of-control costs and deteriorating infrastructure.

But I guess you can't have everything!

Oh, yeah! I love it but I don't want to live there any longer, and I don't.

[murlough23]

Originally Posted by Charles

I love California because it is not a "churchocentric" place unlike the bible belt where we used to live and, due to this lack of a religious hang up, our kids' gymnastics performance was scheduled today, a Sunday at 10AM, with obviously no consideration for church goers.

...and then there's Orange County.

Seriously, though, as late as I go to church, I could probably make the gymnastics performance and still be on time for 11:30 service. That's the advantage of a big urban population, I guess: When the sanctuary can't fit everyone at once, churches will have multiple services, sometimes even one in the evening, or on a different night, etc. Which is cool if you'd rather spend part of your Sunday morning at St. Arbuck's.

I love California because the women apparently all wear Daisy Dukes, bikinis on top. Yes, according to hit songs about our state, it is really easy to get laid here. I guess that explains the population...

[Phil306]

Much of the "flack" Californian's get, is well deserved. California has constantly bucked the mainstream of the country and, for that matter, the rest of the world. Their ideas on social matters, illegal immigration, crime, et al are well off the norm. There is so many hypocrites in this state, it boggles the mind. In fact, you couldn't begin to list all the negative issues with this state, on an internet forum.

I too was born and raised in California. And while the "scenery", beaches, etc are nice, is that all there is too life? Diversity, as people say, is a joke. Tell a black man (me) this state is diverse. It isn't. It's a joke and a flat out lie; it may not be as open as other states, I'll agree to that, but sure isn't diverse.

The state is near bankruptcy, having had to have been bailed out by the rest of the country once and its coming again. However, the people in this state continue down the road to financial ruin and don't lift one finger to change things.

The people in this state are arrorgant, rude, nasty, and have a "holier then though" attitude.

There is a reason the rest of the world refers to Kalifornia as: The land of fruits and nuts.

[.highnlite]

Much of the "flack" Californian's get, is well deserved. California has constantly bucked the mainstream of the country and, for that matter, the rest of the world. Their ideas on social matters, illegal immigration, crime, et al are well off the norm. There is so many hypocrites in this state, it boggles the mind. In fact, you couldn't begin to list all the negative issues with this state, on an internet forum.

I too was born and raised in California. And while the "scenery", beaches, etc are nice, is that all there is too life? Diversity, as people say, is a joke. Tell a black man (me) this state is diverse. It isn't. It's a joke and a flat out lie; it may not be as open as other states, I'll agree to that, but sure isn't diverse.

The state is near bankruptcy, having had to have been bailed out by the rest of the country once and its coming again. However, the people in this state continue down the road to financial ruin and don't lift one finger to change things.

The people in this state are arrorgant, rude, nasty, and have a "holier then though" attitude.

There is a reason the rest of the world refers to Kalifornia as: The land of fruits and nuts

Another display of anger about California, by someone who hasn't left yet. Guess the state isn't bad enough to make him leave, despite the complaining.

The state is near bankruptcy, having had to have been bailed out by the rest of the country once and its coming again. However, the people in this state continue down the road to financial ruin and don't lift one finger to change things.

This of course, is utter baloney

[murlough23]

Diversity is in the eye of the beholder, I guess.

Minority-majority state - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

More Black? The South wins.

More Hispanic? New Mexico wins, but we're #2.

More Asian? Try Hawaii. (They also win for mixed race, or as they like to say, "hapa".)

More white? California wins by virtue of just plain having more people, though percentage-wise, you could get a lot whiter.

[EdJS]

I love California because:

I moved here when I was 15 years old, so I finished high school, went to college and grad school here, and had a fantastic education.

My immediate family -- parents, sister -- all lives here.

I met my wife here, we have started a family here, we have created a good life for ourselves here.

I got a job straight out of graduate school and have never been unemployed even a single day since then, while getting promotions and raises regularly.

I have a paid-off house in a good neighborhood close to a BART station if I want to take in some culture in San Francisco. Symphony? Rock Concert? Muscial? Opera? Science Museum? It's all there.

Natural wonders are everywhere, a short drive away.

And of course the weather is (usually) great.

[Rhenzanite]

Originally Posted by Phil306

Much of the "flack" Californian's get, is well deserved. California has constantly bucked the mainstream of the country and, for that matter, the rest of the world. Their ideas on social matters, illegal immigration, crime, et al are well off the norm. There is so many hypocrites in this state, it boggles the mind. In fact, you couldn't begin to list all the negative issues with this state, on an internet forum.

I too was born and raised in California. And while the "scenery", beaches, etc are nice, is that all there is too life? Diversity, as people say, is a joke. Tell a black man (me) this state is diverse. It isn't. It's a joke and a flat out lie; it may not be as open as other states, I'll agree to that, but sure isn't diverse.

The state is near bankruptcy, having had to have been bailed out by the rest of the country once and its coming again. However, the people in this state continue down the road to financial ruin and don't lift one finger to change things.

The people in this state are arrorgant, rude, nasty, and have a "holier then though" attitude.

There is a reason the rest of the world refers to Kalifornia as: The land of fruits and nuts.

California is a biiiig state. What you seem to think is the same throughout the state (ya know, rude, nasty people) is vastly different depending on where you go. The people who live where I live are generally pretty nice. Nicer than the people I met when I briefly lived in Lousiana, that's for sure.

You seem rather negative, perhaps it's you who is attracting those mean, nasty people?

[2belowpar]

We went to Cali (SF up to Calistoga) for our honeymoon last May and loved it. Despite the AWFUL weather (no other way to explain it and this coming from a Canadian!), it was the most beautiful place I'd ever been to. If both our families weren't in Michigan/Ontario I'd move there in a heartbeat if the wife were up for it.

[jeffredo]

Originally Posted by JetJockey

You seem rather negative, perhaps it's you who is attracting those mean, nasty people?

A person usually does get only as good as they give.


Likes about my home state:

1. Great variety of topography, climates, flora and fauna.
2. Recreational opportunities for the most part unmatched anywhere else.
3. Interesting and beautiful cities and towns
4. Wide variety of peoples and cultures
5. Almost all my family still lives here. They've pretty much resisted the "Gotta get out of California - its going down the tubes!" mindset that's been so pervasive the last couple of decades.

[EdJS]

Originally Posted by jeffredo

A person usually does get only as good as they give.


5. Almost all my family still lives here. They've pretty much resisted the "Gotta get out of California - its going down the tubes!" mindset that's been so pervasive the last couple of decades.

All of my immediate family still lives here, as well as several members of my wife's family. Not one of them has any intention of moving away from California. As far as I can tell from my real-life dealings with people I know well, the "gotta get out of California" mindset is a figment of cyberspace, not reality.