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I always find these sorts of comments and sentiments a little curious...
Other than being born in Chicago and living there my first 9 months and other than living in Hawaii for 4 years, I have lived in California all my life. Finally settled here on the Monterey Bay and we just love living here as we hope to do for the rest of our retirement years. Now going on about seven so far. No doubt we "live in a bubble" here in many beautiful ways,
High taxes? I've paid more in taxes than most people earn their entire working career, but of course we pay higher taxes for a variety of reasons we can debate all day long.
High cost of living? They say you get what you pay for, and I for one feel this to be true where we live. .
Dominated by liberals?
So right you are. What it seems we both appreciate are not the same things...
Your post reminds me the story of a frog sitting in a pot with slowly increasing heat, so the frog did not realize it's sitting in boiling water.
You are the frog living in California not realizing the high COL, high crime, high taxes, and the fanatic liberals surrounding you.
I know, I lived in California for 20+ years before moving to Alabama and have always though of myself as a Rush Limbaugh religious conservative (mega ditto!). Then in Alabama I realized I was a California liberal in comparison.
Here's some California trivia for those that don't know. The word smog comes from what looks like a combination of fog and smoke "smog" which appears as a brown hazy substance hanging over inland valleys of Southern California especially during the warm summer months caused by industry pollution but mostly from automobiles. It was far worse in the 1960s and 1970s than it is today.
So when emission standards were tightened and people needed to have their auto emission checked on their vehicles, people would say they had their cars smogged. The word stuck and is now commonly used in CA.
I learned that "smog" was a combination of smoke and fog when I was a little kid in NJ, probably around the 1960s. We certainly had lots of smog ourselves.
But the term "smogged" was never used for our emissions testing and compliance. THAT is the California trivia.
Your post reminds me the story of a frog sitting in a pot with slowly increasing heat, so the frog did not realize it's sitting in boiling water.
You are the frog living in California not realizing the high COL, high crime, high taxes, and the fanatic liberals surrounding you.
I know, I lived in California for 20+ years before moving to Alabama and have always though of myself as a Rush Limbaugh religious conservative (mega ditto!). Then in Alabama I realized I was a California liberal in comparison.
I'm not sure if it is a conservative thing or an ego thing or maybe just bad manners, but you are not the first person I've met who wants to diss California like you do. Many for as long as I've lived in California. Nothing new, and all I can say is that over-population is a problem in some parts of California too. In large part because a whole lot of people want to live here for all variety of reasons. To those who don't, nothing personal but I say good riddance! We could use a few fewer people here just like we could use just a bit more rain.
Here's to you and yours there in Alabama in any case. Hope you are as happy there as we are here...
Here's some California trivia for those that don't know. The word smog comes from what looks like a combination of fog and smoke "smog" which appears as a brown hazy substance hanging over inland valleys of Southern California especially during the warm summer months caused by industry pollution but mostly from automobiles. It was far worse in the 1960s and 1970s than it is today.
So when emission standards were tightened and people needed to have their auto emission checked on their vehicles, people would say they had their cars smogged. The word stuck and is now commonly used in CA.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801
I learned that "smog" was a combination of smoke and fog when I was a little kid in NJ, probably around the 1960s. We certainly had lots of smog ourselves.
But the term "smogged" was never used for our emissions testing and compliance. THAT is the California trivia.
Here's some more California air pollution trivia:
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo was the first European explorer to visit the west coast of North America. In 1542, he rounded the tip of Long Beach to see what is now Los Angeles -- and yes, in 1542, Cabrillo discovered Smog.
The indigenous people of LA called it "Valley of the Smokes." On October 8, 1542, Cabrillo came to San Pedro Bay (the site of the modern Port of Los Angeles), which he named "Baya de los Fumos" (English: Smoke Bay).
I always find these sorts of comments and sentiments a little curious...
Other than being born in Chicago and living there my first 9 months and other than living in Hawaii for 4 years, I have lived in California all my life. Finally settled here on the Monterey Bay and we just love living here as we hope to do for the rest of our retirement years. Now going on about seven so far. No doubt we "live in a bubble" here in many beautiful ways, but having grown up in Southern California, then living in Northern California during my college years and all the years since other than Hawaii, I've never really been affected all that much by all you go on about in your comment.
High taxes? I've paid more in taxes than most people earn their entire working career, but of course we pay higher taxes for a variety of reasons we can debate all day long. One reason is because real estate values are a good deal higher here than the national average, so we pay higher property tax. We've made some pretty good money on buying and selling real estate in California that has well offset the taxes however. California real estate always seems to appreciate over time, as many people have enjoyed who have "cashed in" and moved to less expensive areas.
High crime? Though I read about it all the time, and I've had some close encounters, given 65 years of mostly crime-free good times, I guess I'm just lucky not to live in the higher-crime areas. There are lots of low-crime areas in California too. No need to leave the state if that's your fear in any case.
Little water? Again it depends on where in California, but generally speaking we could certainly do with a bit more rain. Here in the Monterey Bay area the problem is not as acute, though we have lots of farming in the area that needs that water. Our yard is for the most part covered in draught resistant trees and plants. All the nice blue-sky mild temperature sunny days unfortunately also means less rain than lots of other places get, but not too little during our wetter years. I do water our veggies in pots and raised plant beds on a daily basis right now as it gets warmer. The cost of home grown veggies from seeds (basil, cilantro, Swiss chard, tomatoes, onions, squash) helps keep the grocery bill down during retirement. Along with not paying the higher cost of gasoline now that we own a Tesla.
High cost of living? They say you get what you pay for, and I for one feel this to be true where we live. Comes with a higher cost of living, just like our 4 years in Hawaii did, but compared to what I/we can get in lower cost of living areas? We've found no place we would rather be after many years of traveling across the country and overseas.
Dominated by liberals? This is kind of funny to me as well, because I've never thought too much about the politics over the many years of buying homes and living where we thought best for our family. We made a point of living where our kids could go to middle schools and a high school with the best ratings a high school can get for example. Public high schools that are paid for with tax payer dollars of course. Worth it? We sure think so. There is much more that bothers me about the more conservative way of thinking as compared to the liberal ways, but no doubt that's for the P&OC forum.
So right you are. What it seems we both appreciate are not the same things...
Looks like it's going to be another beautiful mild bug-free blue sky day here again today. Here's hoping the same to you and yours!
That's the wonderful thing about California, it can and does vary greatly from county to county and city to city. Where I lived is nothing like where you live or lived. My brother has a McMansion in Laguna Hills. I always enjoyed visiting there. That is nothing like where I lived either so each of us has own experiences. I know my brother thinks and rightly so that it's worth it for him to live where he does but he lives on a hill in a house worth 3-4 million, just minutes from the beach.
There's a great saying here....you do you and I'll do me.
Last edited by marino760; 05-19-2022 at 10:53 AM..
That's the wonderful thing about California, it can and does vary greatly from county to county. Where I lived is nothing like where you live or lived. My brother has a McMansion in Laguna Hills. I always enjoyed visiting there. That is nothing like where I lived either so each of us has their own experiences. I know my brother thinks and rightly so that it's worth it for him to live where he does.
There's a great saying here....you do you and I'll do me.
Yes, and speaking of smoke, I hope your brother is safe from the fires near there...
My parents used to have a small second home condo in a nice complex in Laguna Niguel. Those are certainly some beautiful spots as well. My wife and I always like to focus on the better aspects of wherever we might be visiting or living. Fortunately, our "cup runneth over" here but we've enjoyed Utah as well for example. My wife's family lives there, so we visit there often. My wife is there in SLC right now visiting her father just out of the hospital in fact.
My mother-in-law there is one of those people who has a hard time keeping her ego in check as well, because according to her there is no other state that compares to Utah. Any comment made about anything good in California (or any other state) is met by her with a comment about how Utah is better. Even my wife readily admits she's got a problem along those lines.
Reminds me of when we were staying at an inn in New York. White Plains, many years ago on a trip along the east coast. The owner of the inn came over to our table to talk to us at breakfast, and I'll always remember the conversation. He asked where we were from, and my wife mentioned she was originally from Utah, but now we live in California. He said, "Oh Utah. That's a good place to be FROM."
I don't think he would have got along with my mother-in-law too well...
I'm not sure if it is a conservative thing or an ego thing or maybe just bad manners, but you are not the first person I've met who wants to diss California like you do. Many for as long as I've lived in California. Nothing new, and all I can say is that over-population is a problem in some parts of California too. In large part because a whole lot of people want to live here for all variety of reasons. To those who don't, nothing personal but I say good riddance! We could use a few fewer people here just like we could use just a bit more rain.
Here's to you and yours there in Alabama in any case. Hope you are as happy there as we are here...
Someone is being defensive?
Is the water getting a bit warm, Mr. Frog?
I am not dissing California. I am just giving a honest opinion based on experience. I guess you don't like what you're reading.
I am back in California FYI. We moved back to be close to family. There's something more important than money & politics.
And another thing: I still get and use coupons (both paper and digital), but I've noticed that more and more are for so much off TWO items instead of just ONE... Kind of cuts that discount in half... And I don't necessarily like the item enough to buy and eat two of them.
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We certainly had lots of smog ourselves. 
