by Bangalore 64 Replies latest jw friends
"... there's a Hollywood prejudice that people associate with the state as a whole, particularly among those who have never even stepped foot in California."
Yeah, I've gotten that attitude before too. Some folks outside California think LaLaland is all there is to California and its one big beach. Folks have asked what I missed about California when I lived in Indiana and they were always shocked when I didn't say the beaches or the ocean.
I was born and raised in SoCal. There was, and is, much to like about California. Parts of it are breathtakingly beautiful and certain areas are unmatched by anything else in the world. On clear days, fly-over photography of San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego show their magnificent topography and unique settings. There are days when you can be swimming in the warm waters of the Pacific while gazing at snow-capped peaks off to the east. You can literally swim in the ocean in the morning and snow ski in the afternoon.
From a societal standpoint, California has always been way ahead of the rest of the country in terms of acceptance of ethnic, racial, and sexual minorities. When I was going to public school in Riverside in the 1950s, we had Mexican-American, African-American, and Asian-American students in every classroom and none of us gave it a second thought.
I now live in Oregon. As I write this, I am sitting in a motel in San Juan Capistrano, California. The weather is nice, except for the chilly ocean breezes at night. But just a few hundred yards from this hotel is the Interstate 5 freeway. It's busy 24 hours a day. For someone like me who has been away from the Los Angeles area for a few months - the traffic can be terrifying. No one drives the speed limit (70 MPH) except me and I feel like I'm being run over most of the time. Everyone drives aggressively in CA - probably for survival. You can be doing 75 MPH and have a 4 wheeler pickup or Hummer riding your rear bumper with its high-beam headlights flooding the interior of your car bullying you to get out of its way.
In Oregon we don't pay sales taxes. Here in California, most communities have sales taxes approaching 10%. That includes gasoline. So you pay for gas, federal road tax on gas, state road tax on gas, and then sales tax on the whole balance. So as gas prices go up, so do gasoline state and local sales tax of almost 10% on the dollar. So the same gas that would cost $3.75 in Oregon would cost over $4.00 in California - no matter what the gasoline company was charging. So a 20 gallon fill-up would cost you $8 more in CA.
There is more to like and hate about California. I lived here long enough. I look forward to my quiet and sereen life back in Oregon. I might never return to California if I didn't have so many family members living here. I count it my good fortune that I only have to travel back here two or three times a year.
JV
I HATE this stupid state. I am moving back to NM...
Cal is beautiful but the political environment is intolerable...
"There is more to like and hate about California. I lived here long enough. I look forward to my quiet and sereen life back in Oregon. I might never return to California if I didn't have so many family members living here. I count it my good fortune that I only have to travel back here two or three times a year."
And that's the flipside. When I went back east to visit my husband's relatives I loved the slower pace and said to my husband if we ever get the opportunity to move out that way let's do it. I got my opportunity about two years later with our move to Indiana. I loved it there. It was a slower pace. There were better schools. The people were hecka friendly. It was way cheaper to live there. When we first got there folks were in a tissy because the state tax was going up to *gasp* 6%!! I thought it was hilarious.
Where we live now kinda reminds me of Indiana. It's way slower than living in the Bay Area. I've grown to like it here.
P.S. I love Oregon. If I had the chance I'd move there too.
Juan, next time u are down here, let us know.
I agree on the impression people have of Cali. Everytime I would tell dybs I lived in Cali while traveling, they either thought i lived near the beach or I just had breakfast with George Clooney
these kinda polls are just dumb, in my opinion, no one thinks about which state they hate, till they are asked in a poll , therefore it's irrellevent...
I never thought about it till now and when I think about it I can't think of one.. or a valid reason to hate a state .. why would I..
TT
CALIFORNIA has it all --- beautiful mountains, ocean, world's leading soil to grow food (or was, San Joaquin valley) --- you name it. What's not to love other than the taxes. I'd live there permanently if possible.
I was thinking the same thing Tater, who "hates" a state? Stupid poll.
Mind you, I'm a native, and the sheer volume of humanity is getting to me where I live. I envision retiring someplace a wee bit more peaceful. I know when and if I return to SoCal, I'll hate the traffic and overcrowding more than I do now.
Move to NY. We hate everyone. Oh, and the weather sucks. Almost forgot the taxes.
Now, our economy is a mess due to mismanagement of State government ( thanks Arnold )
Hillarious Flipper.... Do you you have any Idea what that looked like to the rest of the world... You all recall Grey Davis .. then have a side show election, pick a guy that made Big movies who's an Iconic sort of super hero in them... (by the way what was his skill set that made him seem like the man for the job) Then you all wonder what happened... he always wins in all his movies...
I guess it was better than Gary Coleman or the pornstar...
Any whoo.. Just funnin around
later tater
