I have to say reading these threads make me believe there aren't many positives about California (neighborhood, living in)

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by razorback_06

It's called American Suburbia. All cities have it. SoCal is no different. And your point is?

His point is that Orange county has very few oranges these days, if any.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Even with all the development, it would have been possible to preserve more of the "Old West" feel as they did it. Instead it seems that many developers and city planners want something more like New Jersey or even New England in terms of look and feel. We need to blame ourselves. Us Westerners who used to be in control of things were too laid back and rested too much on our "none of my business" live and let live mentality. That mentality was great for the Old West but it was our undoing as the world moved in. I think one of the big attractions that Texas and more recently the SE US has for exiting Californians is that they are more in touch with their early formative days as regions. They are loud and proud about where they came from and about the unique regional characteristics they have. Newcomers experience assimilation pressure, etc. That did not happen here, and now we've lost our state.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Even with all the development, it would have been possible to preserve more of the "Old West" feel as they did it. Instead it seems that many developers and city planners want something more like New Jersey or even New England in terms of look and feel. We need to blame ourselves. Us Westerners who used to be in control of things were too laid back and rested too much on our "none of my business" live and let live mentality. That mentality was great for the Old West but it was our undoing as the world moved in. I think one of the big attractions that Texas and more recently the SE US has for exiting Californians is that they are more in touch with their early formative days as regions. They are loud and proud about where they came from and about the unique regional characteristics they have. Newcomers experience assimilation pressure, etc. That did not happen here, and now we've lost our state.

Hear! Hear! Count us as two 1940s era natives who are leaving for points east and southern/mid-western. You nailed it!!!

[4beanie]

Originally Posted by razorback_06

It's called American Suburbia. All cities have it. SoCal is no different. And your point is?

the point is you don't have to like the change. When you go back to a city you grew up in and you can't read any of the signs because they are in a foreign langage there's a problem IMO

[City Boy]

Originally Posted by 4beanie

the point is you don't have to like the change. When you go back to a city you grew up in and you can't read any of the signs because they are in a foreign langage there's a problem IMO

What city is like that?

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by City Boy

What city is like that?

Santa Ana, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Westminster, Fullerton in OC and a huge chunk of LA County.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by City Boy

What city is like that?

Let's start with Westminster. Then let's look at huge swaths of large cities such as LA, SF and Sacto, and some not so huge.

I've lived in three foreign countries and in none of them did the populace, the businesses nor the government roll-over to provide me with signage, literature or information in English, nor did I expect them to. I learned their languages and customs. Had I become a citizen I wouldn't have expected voting ballots in my native language or anyone else's either but for the mother tongue.

Presumably, in order to become a citizen and gain the right to vote you have to have a working knowledge of the "native" language. It really comes in handy while driving, don't you think?

Oh, and City Boy, you're from Oakland. Isn't that the city that wanted to teach Ebonics in its schools? How about that city?

[4beanie]

Originally Posted by City Boy

What city is like that?

garden grove. I went back 10 yrs ago and a good part of businesses signage was in vietnamese. Just not like I remembered it from my youth

[City Boy]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Let's start with Westminster. Then let's look at huge swaths of large cities such as LA, SF and Sacto, and some not so huge.

I've lived in three foreign countries and in none of them did the populace, the businesses nor the government roll-over to provide me with signage, literature or information in English, nor did I expect them to. I learned their languages and customs. Had I become a citizen I wouldn't have expected voting ballots in my native language or anyone else's either but for the mother tongue.

Presumably, in order to become a citizen and gain the right to vote you have to have a working knowledge of the "native" language. It really comes in handy while driving, don't you think?

Oh, and City Boy, you're from Oakland. Isn't that the city that wanted to teach Ebonics in its schools? How about that city?

Those are in the sections of the cities that are specific to immigrants I.E. The Mission District of SF, China Town, Japan town, Korea town etc etc. It's not all over the city in random area's where there is no population of the groups language.

Here that issue is again specific to China Town, Korea Town, the Latino sections of the city. Not all over. Even then they have English in there under their language. Ebonics is still English and most people here felt it was a joke, including me. Nobody really took that BS serious and no they did not want to teach it

[4beanie]

Originally Posted by City Boy

Those are in the sections of the cities that are specific to immigrants I.E. The Mission District of SF, China Town, Japan town, Korea town etc etc. It's not all over the city in random area's where there is no population of the groups language.

Here that issue is again specific to China Town, Korea Town, the Latino sections of the city. Not all over. Even then they have English in there under their language. Ebonics is still English and most people here felt it was a joke, including me. Nobody really took that BS serious, other than as a joke. Even Blondies Pizza while all that was popular was calling a large slize of pizza, "A Big Azz Slize wit cheez" because the idea was so ridiculous.

Why should there be a China town, japan town, korea town, latin, german, vietnamese, etc,ect. Pretty soon you have a larger population speaking foriegn than english. If you come to this country why shouldn't you blend in with the existing customs and language. Why do you come here if you want to make it like where you came from?