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Why should you care about what people think? I see nothing wrong with your title or anything that you have said in this thread. All you that you have done is provided your perspective, and there is NOTHING wrong with that. Everyone has the right to express their opinions and views, but I don't believe that they should beat down others (especially over something stupid and trivial like a title). So just ignore all of those bad apples that have been slamming your posts. They obviously have nothing better to do and/or they have issues.
Thank you so much, I appreciate your support and kind words
The sentence in bold print above says it all. Anybody with anything resembling critical thinking skills will see how tremendously flawed that sentence is.
Skyway31, look at post number 51. I think that your opinion is just that "AN OPINION". Let me put it this way. At least we aren't married..LOL
I guess we both have something to be thankful for
I left 2 years ago after 30 years in Huntington Beach - born and raised. I just wanted more for my family.
Job brought me to Madison, WI then Indianapolis, IN. I loved Madison, but it was a temporary move I knew about. Indy I did not like at all. Just did not fit in and missed the weather.
We finally got sick of the weather and people and headed back as close as we could be without having to live in California - Phoenix area. We just got here and we love it. it's like OC without the California crap. I guess you do not have a beach either, but I have done the Havasu thing and many others places that are just as much fun. Taxes are less, housing prices are far, far less, people seem nicer as they are all from somwhere else and less of them have thr "I'm from OC pride" that somehow makes them cooler than someone not from there.
As someone that grew up my whole life there...I know that feeling from some people I know and will never leave OC. They have kids and rent small apartments and are totally broke and do nothing. They just keep saying "I live in the best place in the World."
Good luck to those that leave. I hope you find a great place. I tell you the only things I miss are friends and family and of course the weather. But AZ is pretty close in weather. just a lot hotter in the summer, but more sun and better winters. (Not that OC gets a winter or anything)
I left 2 years ago after 30 years in Huntington Beach - born and raised. I just wanted more for my family.
Job brought me to Madison, WI then Indianapolis, IN. I loved Madison, but it was a temporary move I knew about. Indy I did not like at all. Just did not fit in and missed the weather.
We finally got sick of the weather and people and headed back as close as we could be without having to live in California - Phoenix area. We just got here and we love it. it's like OC without the California crap. I guess you do not have a beach either, but I have done the Havasu thing and many others places that are just as much fun. Taxes are less, housing prices are far, far less, people seem nicer as they are all from somwhere else and less of them have thr "I'm from OC pride" that somehow makes them cooler than someone not from there.
As someone that grew up my whole life there...I know that feeling from some people I know and will never leave OC. They have kids and rent small apartments and are totally broke and do nothing. They just keep saying "I live in the best place in the World."
Good luck to those that leave. I hope you find a great place. I tell you the only things I miss are friends and family and of course the weather. But AZ is pretty close in weather. just a lot hotter in the summer, but more sun and better winters. (Not that OC gets a winter or anything)
I am glad that you like Arizona. My husband gets tranferred a lot in his line of work and we almost ended up there. I am not sure where we will be going next.. Mayber back to Portland or Tulsa. I am pretty much trying to enjoy every place that I go because it seems that in my life there have been constant moves. It is kind of an adventure to me anymore. I agree with you on the Cali thing. The weather was great and the beach OK, but I truly enjoy four seasons and a change in weather now and then. It became monotanous in California with the same weather every year. I just never really cared for it..., but I realize others love it and that is good.. It seems like you either love it there or hate it.. All depends on what your motives are I guess and your lifestyle.
Where are the better places? Phoenix just broke its record in June for the most days below 100 degrees (14 days). We tried to move to Fort Collins, CO from the OC and found the natives altogether grumpy (first bit of advice we got was "change your plates ASAP"). We also checked out Charlotte, NC, which was pretty and friendly but so hot and humid that hardly anyone went outside (and too far from family, really).
When we returned to OC from these places, we realized just how great it is here. Yes, the weather is fabulous, as is access to so much to do, both in OC and south in SD and north in LA. People are very friendly here even if they don't stop for 15 minutes to chat about their farming equipment. Everyone is from somewhere else (I'm the only OC native in my office) and aren't shocked when your license plate or race is different. Not to mention, where I live in South OC, we have some of the safest cities in the country.
Yes, the cost of living is absurd and the materialism is bad, but it's not all there is here. The upside to a high cost of living is that people in general have to hold down jobs and be responsible to even afford to live here, which does improve a certain quality of life.
Just the other weekend I took my family down to Fashion Island at Newport Beach, and the weather was perfect, high 70s with an ocean breeze. People of every class and color were about walking their dogs and hanging out, all friendly and interesting. We went inside for an Italian ice cream and my daughters played around the fountain with other kids for an hour.
We kept meaning to leave so we could supposedly buy a real house in a friendlier place, and maybe trade some of the materialism for old fashioned charming realism, but where is it? Many of the places we look at in areas like Oregon have much bigger downsides, like extensive drug problems and really bad schools. Oh yeah, and no jobs.
I have found very nice places in both Oregon and Washington with awesome school systems. Just out of curiosity where did you live in Oregon?? There are great places in almost any state if you search it out. And like I said on my other thread there are good points and bad points about every place including California. OC just did not work for me. I don't particularly care for places where I can't understand the languages of other people because I enjoy communicating with people. I found that I often times felt lonely in California because half the time I didn't understand people and I felt like I was looked down upon for being caucasion. I have a good friend that lives there that says she feels very lonely attending her son's baseball games. She said that she sits alone while everyone who is of another race talks in another language and often times in their conversations she hears her last name. I encountered the same thing when I worked at the Restaurant across the street from Disneyland. All the cooks and busboys spoke Spanish and I knew they were saying things about me. It is rude when people chose to do that when they are in this country. I will probably be blasted for this comment and don't mean to offend anyone but I think this country needs to have it's primary language as it was to begin with....English. Just my opinion here and experience. Anyway, thanks for sharing and I am glad that you enjoy where you are at...
^^^
Yeah, it is very much a case by case thing and each person or family will have different feelings. I can speak and understand Spanish decently (I am Caucasian) which is the main "secondary" language around here so it is no problem for me. Although I really don't know any of the Asian languages such as Chinese or Vietnamese which have decent numbers as well. Only a select few times have I had people start to talk about me in Spanish and think I couldn't understand. I just responded with something like, "Sabes que puedo entender lo que está diciendo." (Do you know I can understand what you are saying?") and they just looked at my shocked. I think it has been good for my kids though to see different walks of life though. The IB program at their high school has been like a mini United Nations. The students all have different backgrounds from Christian to Atheist to Muslim to Buddhist, Vietnamese to Costa Rican to Chinese to French to mixed blood American to Mexican to Persian to Jewish, etc... yet are some of the closest group of kids I have seen. I am putting both my other kids through this program after how much my oldest son learned from his classmates in this program. Granted, I think youth can often be more accepting than adults these days and other areas of OC can be too stuck up and basically spit on other races.
This is very much a case by case thing. The diversity here has been good for us, but it isn't something for everyone and I don't think it is something everyone should be forced into.
^^^
Yeah, it is very much a case by case thing and each person or family will have different feelings. I can speak and understand Spanish decently (I am Caucasian) which is the main "secondary" language around here so it is no problem for me. Although I really don't know any of the Asian languages such as Chinese or Vietnamese which have decent numbers as well. Only a select few times have I had people start to talk about me in Spanish and think I couldn't understand. I just responded with something like, "Sabes que puedo entender lo que está diciendo." (Do you know I can understand what you are saying?") and they just looked at my shocked. I think it has been good for my kids though to see different walks of life though. The IB program at their high school has been like a mini United Nations. The students all have different backgrounds from Christian to Atheist to Muslim to Buddhist, Vietnamese to Costa Rican to Chinese to French to mixed blood American to Mexican to Persian to Jewish, etc... yet are some of the closest group of kids I have seen. I am putting both my other kids through this program after how much my oldest son learned from his classmates in this program. Granted, I think youth can often be more accepting than adults these days and other areas of OC can be too stuck up and basically spit on other races.
This is very much a case by case thing. The diversity here has been good for us, but it isn't something for everyone and I don't think it is something everyone should be forced into.
Great point!! some people are fine with it and others not so good. I don't care if there are various races of people but when I feel like a minority that is getting left out or talked about I don't care for it. My older kids now living in OC didn't do very well in school because of it. This has been an interesting topic and forum in general. Lots of different opinions and views and some of these threads can get very hostile. Hopefully those looking for a place to live will weigh the good with the bad, talk with their families and make a decision that will work for them.. Life is hard enough without having to live somewhere that you don't enjoy. You know what I mean??
I liked O.C. Maybe because I'm not white and there are an ethnic town there (well, a small part of a large county). I feel like at home. Hehe. Plus it south of LA, and close to Hunt. Beach. It is quiet and not rowdy like other areas of California. The place used to be gardens of oranges. Plenty of citrus fruits here. The place is getting crowded and I think they need a public transit system. There seem to be a flux of poor yet aggressive Latino moving in this area lately and I feared they may sap the local area like other places. I hoped they do not corrupt the locals with drugs and violence as they did to other parts of town.
Well, the O.C. was unheard of until it was made by TV. By the way, it used to be farm land. I feared that mainstream Americans will spoil and corrupt whatever niche of culture that are there. Perhaps another exodus. Thank you Hollywood.
I am sorry if I offended you if you are Latino. I am sure there are good people other than gang bangers.
Last edited by Cityadventurer; 06-23-2009 at 04:09 AM..
She said that she sits alone while everyone who is of another race talks in another language and often times in their conversations she hears her last name. I encountered the same thing when I worked at the Restaurant across the street from Disneyland. All the cooks and busboys spoke Spanish and I knew they were saying things about me. It is rude when people chose to do that when they are in this country. I will probably be blasted for this comment and don't mean to offend anyone but I think this country needs to have it's primary language as it was to begin with....English.
The insecurity you felt in those situations is rather a conventional reaction. Can't really blame you.
However, just a thought: when I was living in Japan and Korea, not once did I hear Americans there speak Japanese or Korean to each other, even with Japanese or Korean folks immediately around them. In fact, there is a certain kind of expat I know of in Japan who prides himself (these are all white males---have yet to meet an American female with this attitude) on not having, and I quote, "gone native" by learning the language or changing their behavior to suit Japanese cultural mores. These are all corporate types with college degrees, the whole ball of wax, not your usual ignorant white trash. So it just goes to show that xenophobia and ethnocentrism (and the Japanese and Koreans themselves are pretty renowned ethnocentrists) really knows no particular nationality.
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I see nothing wrong with your title or anything that you have said in this thread. All you that you have done is provided your perspective, and there is NOTHING wrong with that. Everyone has the right to express their opinions and views, but I don't believe that they should beat down others (especially over something stupid and trivial like a title). So just ignore all of those bad apples that have been slamming your posts. They obviously have nothing better to do and/or they have issues. 
, but I realize others love it and that is good..
It seems like you either love it there or hate it.. All depends on what your motives are I guess and your lifestyle.
Well if you are happy then stay there..
Hopefully those looking for a place to live will weigh the good with the bad, talk with their families and make a decision that will work for them.. Life is hard enough without having to live somewhere that you don't enjoy. You know what I mean??
