Things people miss most after leaving California or disliked most in another state (San Diego: house, buying)

[LuvSouthOC]

Hello fellow Californians:

I was once of those Californians who left the state of my birth to go to another state. In my case, it was Washington D.C./NOVA. Upon arriving on the east coast, I tried very hard to get into what I thought was the right state of mind to successfully live outside of the state that I *previously* criticized so much: California. However, I experienced many things outside of The Golden State that made me dream of returning. I did just that at the end of 2012.

Here is a list of things I missed about California most after I left California. I might have missed some things, but these came to mind. If you've left too, please share what you missed about California.

1) Weather. It was obvious that I could not wear shorts most of the year as I had been accustomed to in my native land of San Diego. When I used to land off the plane home for the holidays from the east coast, my relatives in California would say I was dressed for an expedition to Antartica. Oh and sinus infections too. Fun fun.

2) [No] Bugs. The east coast has these many things that fly around, sometimes stinging you, other times swarming around you. (Well ok, I did like the fire flies over there though!)

3) Great Mexican food. I looked for it. I was assured by many that this place and this place or that place was authentic. Bleh. And even when I found decent Mexican food, not one of the places could prepare a carne asada burrito the way I was used to it. No rice for me, thanks. Oh and, by the way, no east coaster I encountered (Puerto Ricans etc. excluded) could speak Spanish at all (I do) even though they all rave about Miami. Weird!

4) Racism (of many, many varieties). The things I observed in D.C., Virginia, Pennsylvania, etc. deserve to be written about in a book. Period. Oh and on a related note, unimaginable rudeness.

5) Produce quality and prices. I like buying raspberries, blueberries and blackberries year round. Thanks. Oh and I won't pay 2.99 for an avocado.

6) Roads in winter, following sand and salt, often not cleaned well the entire year from the last winter and the winter before that, etc.

7) Driving in a snow storm. People abandoning their cars in heavy snow making it impossible for others to move forward. How lovely.

8) So I was always a proponent of trains in California. I suppose, to a certain extent, I still am. But the anticipated joys of real, mass, mass transit on a daily basis rarely materialized for me, at least NOT in DC. The red line was broken down all the time. It took a year to fix one escalator in Chinatown. Mass transit has some pluses, certainly, who could deny that? However, it is far from efficient even in a place that is showered with our tax dollars. I just loved waiting on a subway train late at night for 20 minutes after 1:15 am in NYC and having to do that urban "I'm not scared of you man, in fact, I could mess you up" look/pose. Oh and those DC metros

9) Aggressive panhandling. Yes I know this exists in California too, but it is significantly less common.

10) Florida. God those east coasters rave about that state non stop as if it were some Shangri-La. (It's not a terrible place, so Floridians please do not take offense, it is just NOT for me.) They dream of retiring there. They vacation there. They go to Disneyworld with their kids in July, yada yada. I mean, really? Guys, it is like 97 degrees (with crushing humidity, 107?) as you await your entry into Epcot. Talk about over rated! See also weather and bugs above.

[Huckleberry3911948]

other than bikini clad beautiful women, no winter, and lots of beaches and palm trees, nothing in california to really get excited about when you realize you can trade it all in for beautiful chicago with a simple plane ticket.
ah yes chicago my kind of town. when i think of all the skating i am missing out on in my home town it just makes me want to cry.

[oc919]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

5) Produce quality and prices. I like buying raspberries, blueberries and blackberries year round. Thanks. Oh and I won't pay 2.99 for an avocado.

I couldn't believe my eyes when on a recent trip to the west coast I saw signs that said "10 avocados for $1"! Indeed, its a rip-off here in the east coast. I know there are transportation costs to cover, but c'mon!

[ExeterMedia]

Lack of food choices in other states. I don't know what it is in places like the South, but I couldn't find even near the food selection in places like Birmingham that I could in LA.

[MichiVegas]

Pizza sucks in OC, though. I think any random town in North Jersey has better pizza options than the entirety of OC.

Bagels are pretty bad, too.

But, generally speaking, everything else is at least decent.

DC, BTW, is not known for its food. It's known for having lots of mediocre places.

[nmnita]

wow, checking the OPs/observations, I have to wonder where in NOVA he/she lived. We left So. Ca. for DC, NOVA and didn't experience all of that:

Here is what we missed: Good Mexican food would be the number one thing I guess
Low utility bills
Good produce at reasonable prices, almost year around.
Yes, nice winters for those who don't like 4 seasons.


As for the rest,

We certainly didn't see more racism in DC than in LA. maybe less.
We didn't see more panhandlers. We had them in downtown L.A. when I was growing up, 50 or more years ago and yes, we had them in D.C.
We didn't see more bugs, you are talking about the D.C. area, Florida is different.

Now, I happen to enjoy 4 seasons, or I did until the this winter here. I am about to move back to Ca or Fl. (only kidding of course)

How about starting a thread about what you liked living on the east coast, like our country's history for starters?

[ExeterMedia]

Pizza in California is different. East Coast Pizza in New York and Jersey is different in that they concentrate on cheese selection, being the right "gooey", and in general I find it just over indulgent, cheesy, fattening, dough.

Good California pizza can be had at a lot of places, like All' Angolo in LA. Their pizza is more like the classical euro/italian style where it's not drenched in cheese and oil. Absolutely delicious.

[Candicem]

I moved to NoVa from south Orange County, CA 3 years ago. I REALLY miss the beach. We used to live in Dana Point and would walk to the beach at least once a week if not more. That's pretty much the only thing I miss there. I LOVE spring, fall and winter here. I love snow and beautiful fall colors and the cherry blossoms. I do hate summer here. It's way too hot and humid. I hate all the bugs and wasps/hornets everywhere. I'm a mosquito magnet and even with off deep woods, I will get attacked with in minutes of going outside. I also do love the fireflies Yes people are not as friendly here. I miss the laid back chill beach lifestyle. I miss the weekly BBQ's and beach bonfires. But my kids go to an amazing school here and I also work there so we are always together. I get to see the beautiful seasons. It's beautiful here (not as beautiful as the beaches in Laguna) but it's still beautiful. I have a beautiful house (which I would not be able to afford in CA). I have met some great people here too. I am also only a few hours from VA Beach and we go there a couple times a year for about a week in the summer. It's not as great as CA beaches, but it's still nice. So, I don't hate it here. There are good things and bad things, just like in CA.

[DinsdalePirahna]

Originally Posted by MichiVegas

Pizza sucks in OC, though. I think any random town in North Jersey has better pizza options than the entirety of OC.

I guess you have never been to St. Louis. most god awful pizza in the country. - and they think its good.
My favorite OC pizza placed closed but I found an even better substitute_ La Roccos on 14th Street in Huntington Beach.

back to the topic:
Things I missed about OC when I lived lived in the Midwest:
Scenery. I missed the mountains and the Ocean
People. I missed intelligent conversations. I missed the diversity.
Not having to deal with judgmental or racist people
Not having to deal with bat-***** crazy religious mentalities

Weather: You really miss OC when you are shoveling snow, or driving along an interstate seeing some yokel without snow tires skidding out of control in your direction.
Not having to deal with bugs
Not having to buy snow tires.
Not having to pay out my arse for Heat or Air conditioning
Not having to mow the lawn in high- humidity,90 degree temperature

Not having to drive 30 miles to get to a trader joes

Being able to ride my bike on a well maintained trail or a road wide enough not to fell threatened by rednecks

Being able to bike, workout/row/sail almost everyday - outside

Good variety of food.

Wahoos and In-n-out

[TurcoLoco]

Originally Posted by DinsdalePirahna

I guess you have never been to St. Louis. most god awful pizza in the country. - and they think its good.
My favorite OC pizza placed closed but I found an even better substitute_ La Roccos on 14th Street in Huntington Beach.

back to the topic:
Things I missed about OC when I lived lived in the Midwest:
Scenery. I missed the mountains and the Ocean
People. I missed intelligent conversations. I missed the diversity.
Not having to deal with judgmental or racist people
Not having to deal with bat-***** crazy religious mentalities

Weather: You really miss OC when you are shoveling snow, or driving along an interstate seeing some yokel without snow tires skidding out of control in your direction.
Not having to deal with bugs
Not having to buy snow tires.
Not having to pay out my arse for Heat or Air conditioning
Not having to mow the lawn in high- humidity,90 degree temperature

Not having to drive 30 miles to get to a trader joes

Being able to ride my bike on a well maintained trail or a road wide enough not to fell threatened by rednecks

Being able to bike, workout/row/sail almost everyday - outside

Good variety of food.

Wahoos and In-n-out

So, when exactly did you move back from Fresno to HB?





Just kidding!