(Ask about) California

[.Shane.]

I'm a native Californian and have lived here almost my entire life. I don't mind the stereotypes in jest, but not when people say things that show their ignorance of this great state. Unfortunately, been seeing a bit of that ignorance lately, so I thought I'd keep in w/ CFC tradition and start an "ask me" thread on the topic.

Thus, I offer this thread as help in answering your questions about CA and if I can dispel stereotypes/myths along the way, excellent!

1. CA is not simply a bunch of liberal hippies. While it does skew to the left of USA politics in general, what people fail to realize is that CA can be broken down into , at a minimum, 5 distinct social/political/economic areas. For example, the Central Valley, where I grew up and currently live is arguably the best farmland in the world. With a couple exceptions, it skews conservative. Go further East, into the Sierra Nevadas and you'll find it goes further and further to the right.

Even the municipal areas are not wholly liberal. Orange County for example is a famous and well-known bastion of conservative politics. San Diego has a strong conservative base, etc...

And, yes, of course, you do have the extremely liberal communities such as SF, Berkeley, Santa Cruz.... But even the greater SF Bay Area is not wholly liberal. San Jose recently passed SF in population is a very moderate city, politically. I find the SF Bay Area as a whole to be extremely diverse in all ways.

2. Earthquakes.... I was living in the SF Bay Area when the big quake hit there in 1989. I was living in the LA area, about 4 miles from the epicenter of the Northridge quake of ~1994. Guess what, they're not that bad and certainly preferable to hurricanes and tornadoes. The state long ago realized this disaster potential and thus building codes are excellent. That's why a quake that would kill a 10s of thousands people along the Mississippi kills a handful here. And that is a true worry. While EQs don't occur as often in places like the Midwest, they can (and do) happen in other parts of the US.

3. Surfing.... Maybe this stereotype has died? But, no, most Californians do not surf or have ever tried.

4. There is an interesting divide between NorCal and SoCal, but this is mainly between the cities of LA and SF and secondarily between the farmers of the Central Valley and the LA area in competition over water rights.

I'll admit to being unabashedly in love with living here. I think most of the hate is due to ignorance and/or jealously. For instance, were I live, within 100 miles of driving I can do any of the following:
*Yosemite National Park
*Lake Tahoe (beautiful lake on the CA/NV border w/ gambling, all kinds of recreational activities
*Every outdoor actitivity you can imagine but I don't have snow in my town in the winter... short list: Skiing, water skiing, boating, fishing, hiking, camping, off-roading, eco-tourism, redwoods, etc.. etc...
*SF Bay Area: Musuems, pro sports in all major sports, great universities, theatre, ocean recreation
*Monterrey Bay Aquarium (maybe a touch longer than 100 miles)

So, I can have everything a city has to over or be completely lost in nature.

Oh, and did I mention the weather is great? In the CV the summers do get very hot, but its dry heat (very low humidity), so 100 in Davis is more comfortable than 85 in the humid south or east.

About myself: Lived here ~37 of my 39 years. I've lived in the Central Valley, LA area, greater SF Bay Area, so I can be impartial to the various, competing state interests. I've also studied CA history in some detail, so I can go into detail about the state's past.

I will try and be careful and note when something is established fact vs. my opinion.

Fire away.

 

[Trajan12]

How do you feel about San Franscisco? Have you ever seen a celebrity?

 

[Godwynn]

Does the rest of the state want to disown Los Angeles? If I was in Cali I would.

 

[GinandTonic]

Is everyone prozac happy and insincere? Does everyone really have fake tits? Is LA really a great big freeway?


EDIT - Whats the deal with electing Arnie? I cant think of a worse governor, I just done get it. Stupid, charmless and forign to boot. Why Arnie?
Moderator Action: Warned for trolling. - The Yankee
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[Masquerouge]

Hey I have a couple of questions about California that have been bothering me since I moved here. I asked several locals but did not get a satisfying answer.
- roads. What on Earth is going on? Why are they in a worse state that an average Baghdad street? This was confirmed when I read somewhere that the San Jose area actually had the worst roads in the nation, but I don't understand why - it's not as if Californians did not pay taxes...
- cell phones. You would expect that the most populous state in the United States had some decent cell phone coverage, but I'm surprised at some of the places where I simply don't get any. Granted, I have T-Mobile and apparently they're the worst for the Bay Area, but not having coverage in downtown Mountain View? In the Yahoo! building?
- internet. Why is it that I'm living in the middle of the Silicon Valley but have laughably low, pathetically expensive Internet access? Is it the same across all the US? I remember back in France I paid 30 euros per month for 20+MB/sec, dozens of TV channel and free long-distance phone (aaahhh... the freebox)

Other than that, I really, really love it here. People are nice and relaxed, the way of life is awesome, and there is so much to do...

 

[Riesstiu IV]

Is it true everybody drives like psychopaths?

 

[sonorakitch]

I love California. It is the incompetence of the government I dislike.

It is a wonderful beautiful state, and I visit quite often.

~Chris

 

[.Shane.]

Good questions.

How do you feel about San Franscisco?

Well, I feel about SF the way I feel about a lot of big cities.... Great place to visit, but wouldn't want to live there... and that's all politics aside.

I got to a few SF Giants games a year (I share season tickets) and have been a lifelong fan. The city has some great museums, both art and history, restaurants, etc... I think as far as cities go, its great. But because of the mild weather and liberal city politics it has tons of homeless people which makes parts of the city unpleasant. They do recognize its a problem but its very hard to do anything about.

I'm hoping to take the kids HERE sometime this winter.

Have you ever seen a celebrity?

Actually, yes. I have a lot of celebrity stories, mostly because I went to college in Malibu. It's a Conservative Arts college.

I'll give a couple stories. One w/ a minor star and one w/ a major.

*I went to school at Pepperdine from '85-89' and then 91-96 as a grad. In the late 80s Madonna used the campus a lot of for personal training. I probably saw her myself about 3 times. Probably everybody did, lol. My favorite though is once I was driving home from the store and noticed that she and her PT were on bikes in front of me. You know what I thought to myself at that very moment? "WOW, I could be the guy who killed Madonna!"... but I just drove by.

*The interesting thing about living in a community where there are lot of celebrities is that you see them in non-celebrity context. For example. I'm in the local supermarket, in the dairy section. I look and standing about 6 feet to my left is Harvey Korman. He is wearing an old jogging suit and comparing packages of cheese. Its an odd juxtaposition.

 

[Trajan12]

*I went to school at Pepperdine from '85-89' and then 91-96 as a grad. In the late 80s Madonna used the campus a lot of for personal training. I probably saw her myself about 3 times. Probably everybody did, lol. My favorite though is once I was driving home from the store and noticed that she and her PT were on bikes in front of me. You know what I thought to myself at that very moment? "WOW, I could be the guy who killed Madonna!"... but I just drove by.

*The interesting thing about living in a community where there are lot of celebrities is that you see them in non-celebrity context. For example. I'm in the local supermarket, in the dairy section. I look and standing about 6 feet to my left is Harvey Korman. He is wearing an old jogging suit and comparing packages of cheese. Its an odd juxtaposition

Sounds great. I'm gonna move my family to California when We have kids.

 

[Gilder]

Is California all sunshine and raisins ?

 

[.Shane.]

Does the rest of the state want to disown Los Angeles? If I was in Cali I would.

As I said in my OP there is some of that rivalry between NorCal and SoCal. But, mostly its harmless. Though there are some people who are hardcore about it.

More amusingly is that there are a lot of people in far Northern California who feel ignored by the state and would like to be the 51st state so they can grow pot free from the hassles of the man. I saw that in jest, but it is true that northern Cal (above Sacramento) has many very rural areas that are very much different than the rest of the state.

Is everyone prozac happy and insincere? Does everyone really have fake tits? Is LA really a great big freeway?

Having lived in Malibu and interned at a film company, yes, LA has a does have a disproportionate number of well.... disproportionate people. I was struck when I lived down there by the volume and per capita ratio of incredibly beautiful women. But with that comes a superficial and "what have you done for me lately" culture. LA definitely revolves a lot around celebrity worship.

EDIT - Whats the deal with electing Arnie? I cant think of a worse governor, I just done get it. Stupid, charmless and forign to boot. Why Arnie?

He's not so bad. In fact, he got his ass kicked in a special election early, early this year. After that he dramatically shaped up and has done a much better job.

 

[.Shane.]

- roads. What on Earth is going on? Why are they in a worse state that an average Baghdad street? This was confirmed when I read somewhere that the San Jose area actually had the worst roads in the nation, but I don't understand why - it's not as if Californians did not pay taxes...

I think that's a pretty local issue. Where I live (by Sac) the roads seem fine. My cities roads seem fine and they're always doing a lot of improvements. I do know a lot of the highways in the Bay Area are screwed up, but I think that's an issue of not being able to keep up w/ the ridiculous pop growth.

- cell phones. You would expect that the most populous state in the United States had some decent cell phone coverage, but I'm surprised at some of the places where I simply don't get any. Granted, I have T-Mobile and apparently they're the worst for the Bay Area, but not having coverage in downtown Mountain View? In the Yahoo! building?

Yeah, I have t-mobile too, and they seem to suck. I think we both need a new provider.

internet. Why is it that I'm living in the middle of the Silicon Valley but have laughably low, pathetically expensive Internet access? Is it the same across all the US?

My DSL in Davis is excellent. But yeah, that's a real irony. A good friend lives in San Carlos and he has the worst cable experience horror stories.

Other than that, I really, really love it here. People are nice and relaxed, the way of life is awesome, and there is so much to do...

Is it true everybody drives like psychopaths?

Actually, and this is really opinion , I think CA drivers are very good. LA drivers are maniacs, yet, I'd rarely, rarely see accidents. Its like the horrible traffic has trained them all to be stunt drivers.

In the more rural parts drivers are probably as good or bad as anywhere else in the country.

I love California. It is the incompetence of the government I dislike.

Ok, now we're headed into serious op-ed here, but within the context of acknowledging that all govt everywhere is screwed up, I have to say I think they do a good job here.

I like that CA usually leads the way (not that we're perfect or don't get it wrong sometimes) on many social and economic issues. I think we do a good job of regulating industry and allowing it to thrive. So, while some of you think CA is a borderline socialist state (which is ridiculous) keep in mind that we have one of the best economies w/in the US. We have incredible, world-leading agriculture, technology, research, entertainment, and service industries.

 

[Veritass]

Is California all sunshine and raisins ?

California is the breakfast cereal state: what isn't fruits and nuts is flakes.

I am one of those Orange County conservatives that were alluded to, and a native Orange Countean at that. Yes, we try to avoid (going to or anything associated with) Los Angeles whenever we can. We call it "living behind the Orange Curtain."

For the most part, the liberal politics is the hardest thing to get used to. I know that it doesn't really matter where I cast my vote for just about any state office, or for our senators, they're going to be Democrats anyway. I thought we had a chance with Arnold "blowing up the boxes," but he was trounced by the teachers' and government employees' unions and has been assimilated.

The other laughing stock is the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is full of liberal appointees, and which is regularly overturned by the Supreme Court.

In general, it is a nice place to live, and we have a surprising amount of theatre and other culture that I enjoy. I am concerned about the future, though, with the billions of dollars of bond debt that we they just voted for the future.

 

[.Shane.]

I am one of those Orange County conservatives that were alluded to, and a native Orange Countean at that. Yes, we try to avoid (going to or anything associated with) Los Angeles whenever we can. We call it "living behind the Orange Curtain."

Yeah, my mom lives in OC and you always know you've arrived to OC when you're on the 5 and all of a sudden you go from this mangled, insufficient, horrible highway to a nice 5 lane highway w/ carpool lanes. It the part of the drive where the stress instantly leaves me.

I didn't realize there was such a divide there, between LA/OC. Interesting.

For the most part, the liberal politics is the hardest thing to get used to. I know that it doesn't really matter where I cast my vote for just about any state office, or for our senators, they're going to be Democrats anyway. I thought we had a chance with Arnold "blowing up the boxes," but he was trounced by the teachers' and government employees' unions and has been assimilated.

The other laughing stock is the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is full of liberal appointees, and which is regularly overturned by the Supreme Court.

In general, it is a nice place to live, and we have a surprising amount of theatre and other culture that I enjoy. I am concerned about the future, though, with the billions of dollars of bond debt that we they just voted for the future.

Well, its not just the Dems. As you know, 3 of our last 4 governors have been Republicans. And, the State Assembly while typically Dem controlled is not overwhelmingly so. I think that a lot of CA Repubs know that, esp. on social issues you have to be at the least, in the middle of the road.

 

[garric]

Is everyone prozac happy and insincere? Does everyone really have fake tits? Is LA really a great big freeway?

No, no, and no.

EDIT - Whats the deal with electing Arnie? I cant think of a worse governor, I just done get it. Stupid, charmless and forign to boot. Why Arnie?

I don't see the point of attacking another person, especially one you don't really know. Probably because he's a Republican? I guess that's a really good reason for most of the people on this forum.

Arnold is neither "charmless" (he won because his opponent was ironically too much of a wimp and had no appeal), nor stupid. Just because he's "forign to boot" doesn't mean anything.

 

[Masquerouge]

Actually, and this is really opinion , I think CA drivers are very good. LA drivers are maniacs, yet, I'd rarely, rarely see accidents. Its like the horrible traffic has trained them all to be stunt drivers.

I have to second that opinion. People, in the Bay Area at least, are usually pretty relaxed on the road.
But TBH my comparison is with Paris, where the expected age of death for a driver there is 24.

I like that CA usually leads the way (not that we're perfect or don't get it wrong sometimes) on many social and economic issues. I think we do a good job of regulating industry and allowing it to thrive. So, while some of you think CA is a borderline socialist state (which is ridiculous) keep in mind that we have one of the best economies w/in the US. We have incredible, world-leading agriculture, technology, research, entertainment, and service industries.

I was actually surprised to see how much California has in common with the average European social-democracy

 

[Atlas14]

How big is the sport of lacrosse in California? I ask because I heard it is growing fast out there, and my unlce and cousin lived out there while stationed for the Navy.

 

[Masquerouge]

How big is the sport of lacrosse in California? I ask because I heard it is growing fast out there, and my unlce and cousin lived out there while stationed for the Navy.

They have commercials on the radio for the San Jose Stealth, a lacrosse team. Other than that I cannot say...

 

[aussieboy]

I was actually surprised to see how much California has in common with the average European social-democracy

Well, a lot of the suburbs farther from LA are quite conservative. However, we're not exactly Jesusland. More like the base areas of the CDU, I'd imagine.

 

[Atlas14]

They have commercials on the radio for the San Jose Stealth, a lacrosse team. Other than that I cannot say...

Hmmm. I wonder if the youth lacrosse programs over there are very big yet.