Visited California and fell in love with the weather, but... (San Diego: neighborhood, schools)

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by pbergen

i'm guessing that you live in johnson county, kansas?
because from everything i've heard, johnson county is sparkling clean and largely well-maintained due to being a relatively newly built suburban area. sounds like a great place to live for those desiring a family friendly, upper middle class lifestyle in close proximity to kansas city, but of course it isn't really analogous to the grittiness of a huge urban city like LA or even its older suburbs stretching between downtown and north orange county, which are the areas you probably drove through.

there are definitely places in the greater LA area that are basically the southern california equivalent of johnson county, but they're mostly in relatively newer suburbs like south orange county (e.g. irvine, mission viejo) or on the border of western LA county (westlake village) and eastern ventura county (thousand oaks).

i think the hollywood image and lifestyle that's constantly highlighted by the media leads people around the world to believe that everything in the LA area is like beverly hills, bel air, or malibu...or at least irvine or thousand oaks. so i guess it's understandable to an extent that so many visitors and newcomers are surprised by the imperfections of greater LA's built environment.

anyway, glad you enjoyed your california trip overall. as many others have stated on this forum, LA can be a tricky city and region to "figure out" because it's so ridiculously large, is surprisingly dense, has a mishmash of suburban-esque neighborhoods bordering gritty urban hoods, and is incredibly diverse in terms of people, architecture, landscape, and even weather.

Yes, I live in Johnson County, but it's not all that new...I grew up in Johnson County in the 60s and still live there. There are newer areas, but even the older areas are manicured and well maintained. A lot of people like living in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, but I prefer to live in a nice suburban area instead of urban areas. I guess I just pictured LA as basically all upscale suburban.

I think you are right about the image people have of California. When I first posted I said that I wasn't expecting it to be like TV. On thinking about it more, I guess TV really did influence my ideas of what it would be like. I think I was thinking 50s and 60s Hollywood/Beverly Hills - which I know is ridiculous, because I know how stupid I think it is when someone who has never been to Kansas/Kansas City uses The Wizard of Oz as their frame of reference or thinks Kansas City is a cowtown or that all we have here are farms or that we are all uneducated hicks - we're not!

Thanks for the reference to places in CA that are comparable to Johnson County. When I travel, I often ask someone who knows both places "Where is the Johnson County of ________?" (insert wherever I am traveling).

I traveled with other people this time who weren't necessarily interested in things I would be interested in. I would love to take an extended trip sometime and orient myself to LA and surrounding areas.

[nightlysparrow]

luzianne, next time trek up to Ventura County. It is the equivalent of your Johnson County.

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by BarcelonaFan

Do people really like that new form of development that looks like a cheap Vegas? It seems like people eat that stuff up and would trip over each other trying to get the cookie cutter house in the master planned community only a short drive from the town center which offers the same chain stores at the mall in jazzier buildings. It looks cheap even though the look is supposed to be chic suburban upper middle class.

It seems like that is the new American dream with the white Tahoe in the driveway

sure, lots of people like that homogenized suburban look - this is nothing new. for example, if my parents were to relocate to southern california, they'd definitely be looking into an area like irvine rather than, say, koreatown.

i happen to prefer urban areas and definitely don't mind gritty neighborhoods - after all, those types of places tend to have a lot of soul and character and often feature some of the best food in the city, especially of the ethnic variety - but i can understand why some people like perfectly manicured suburbia. to each their own.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by pbergen

sure, lots of people like that homogenized suburban look - this is nothing new. for example, if my parents were to relocate to southern california, they'd definitely be looking into an area like irvine rather than, say, koreatown.

i happen to prefer urban areas and definitely don't mind gritty neighborhoods - after all, those types of places tend to have a lot of soul and character and often feature some of the best food in the city, especially of the ethnic variety - but i can understand why some people like perfectly manicured suburbia. to each their own.

I can always drive from a nice, manicured suburban neighborhood to a dirty neighborhood with some good food.

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

I can always drive from a nice, manicured suburban neighborhood to a dirty neighborhood with some good food.

yeah, that's true as well.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by nightlysparrow

luzianne, next time trek up to Ventura County. It is the equivalent of your Johnson County.

Thank you!

[taydigga]

Originally Posted by IamReady2Move

I moved here about 8 months ago from Boston. I totally agree about the drivers - I find them pretty considerate and level-headed in my experience.

I was doing a little hiking the first month, and noticed when I got away from the landscaped lawns, everything was a dry, arid desert. Mostly I saw dirt. My friend who's a Cali native pointed out basically it's a desert. They just do massive irrigation in a couple places to make it look really lush.

A month later I hiked the same spot after some rain, the place had exploded with colorful plant life. All waiting dormant during the dry times, ready to burst forth. Kinda beautiful.

Yup, LA is green. It gets dry but when from December to June (months where it rains most) it's surrounded by green. I'll take the dry heat any day.

[taydigga]

Originally Posted by mrsltd

Your "Cali Native" friend does not know what he/she is talking about, unless you were actually hiking in the desert area (Joshua Tree, Mojave, Colorado desert, etc.).

The LA basin is semi-arid; on the average it gets anywhere from 12-20 inches of rain depending upon where you are. (the average rainfall amount for deserts is less than 10 inches) It is a mediterranean climate (summer-dry), which means that the grass and brush go brown in the summer. Trees don't, though, usually. Hillsides in Whittier (for example) have much plant life and many thickets, even in summer (almost forest in some areas); hillsides out past Moreno Valley don't unless they are in or near a water source. That is the difference.

The mountains get even more rain than 20 inches per year, on the average.

Was thinking the same thing. Great response. Truth be told, a lot of Cali natives don't explore much outside their own little communities, particularly in LA. Can't tell you how many friends have said to me that they, "never been to this part of LA". In fact, just took some friends to Pasadena/San Marino and they were like, "OMG, look at the streets and how green this area is..."

[taydigga]

Originally Posted by luzianne

Thanks for all the replies! I guess I thought LA would be perfect because after all, don't stars live and hang out there, and wouldn't they expect everything to be perfect? I live in Kansas City, in a suburb on the Kansas side - which, incidentally, everyone calls "Perfect Village." Where I live our medians have grass growing and it's always mowed and trash picked up and looks nice. I guess I did expect to find perfection every where I looked in California; I expected things to look so much better than home. I do know that CA has budget/financial problems that other states don't have.

That doesn't mean I didn't love it, though; I did. The ocean views were spectacular. We traveled from San Diego to Santa Ynez and the weather and sunsets were perfect. I went to Phoenix and California expecting to love Phoenix and just curious about California. Ended up loving California and liking Phoenix okay. I normally like really hot weather, so thought I'd like Phoenix, but thought California weather was perfect.

Seems like you got a quick view of LA and that's it. Unlike NYC, SF, Chicago or others, LA is not a city that a quick minute will usually get EVERYONE to love it. Some people love it right away, others it takes time as they explore it. West LA is beautiful. Not to mention Pasadena or the South Bay. You just have to know where to go.

[taydigga]

Originally Posted by VLWH

I'll put up with crappy looking freeways as long as I can drive twenty minutes to see this....

Exactly!