UCs: What would it take to leave CA?

[Zoom-Zoom]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. . . What a fun debate this is.

But you know, to toss in my 2 pence, there's a lot of reasons that Cali may not be the best place for a lot of people. JUST OPINIONS - no need to leap down my throat Californians - some of you guys are great.

For example - in my four years at UCLA I have never once ceased to be amazed at the disgusting amount of flagrant ostentation that Angelinos appear to require for survival, nor the disturbing lack of empathy or even concern for fellow human beings. Live in a shoebox and drive a lexus seems to be the rule, particularly if you spend the requisite 3 hours every morning doing the gym/salon/tanning circuit. I can't spend a single day without seeing a damn porsche or H3 or anything like that, the drivers of which pay absolutely ZERO regard to anyone else on the road, and I could easily pass 30 people walking down the street without a single one saying "good morning". And that's not even mentioning the fact that it's pretty common to spend 40 minutes on the freeway and move 4 miles. On a Thursday. At 1 pm.

That sort of aloofness and/or unfriendliness is just not something I want to put up with for any amount of time, and nor is it concentrated in the "wealthier" areas. You have to go all the way up to Topanga to get somewhat friendly human beings, and even then they're more like Berkeley transplants or Venice Beach expats. Newport Beach makes me barf, and don't even get me started on anything with "Laguna" in the name.

San Francisco, in contrast, is much more friendly. In the suburbianlands you still have the aloofness and ostentation, but generally speaking people aren't anywhere near as plastic as in LA. The city itself is remarkably cosmopolitan for its relatively small size, and I can't stress enough how awesome the music scene is. Sorry, LA, but Everybody Else and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs just don't do it for me, even when paired with the indisputably awesome Jenny Lewis. Sausolito, Berkeley, Big Sur, Napa, etc. . . it's all wonderful. Unfortunately, though, you do still have the astronomical cost of living and the traffic to put up with. And, regrettably, people are still quite a bit less approachable than your average Southerner or Pacific Northwesterner.

San Diego? Well, I haven't lived there for longer than a week at at time, but generally speaking people are quite a bit more laid back than the average Angelino - must be the margaritas and the beaches talking. Traffic? Bad. Cost of living? Bad. Plasticness/aloofness? Probably less than SF-area, even. Really, I'm not too much of an expert on this place. Might be why I'm still holding on to UCSD.

Sactown I've never visited.

IIIIIINNNNN conclusion. . . were there a med school in, say, Monterrey or Carmel or Cambria, I'd be sold in a heartbeat. However, the unfriendliness, traffic, and morbidly high cost of living in the more urban areas makes it a pretty safe bet that a girl like me might very well be happier living somewhere like TX or NC or CT, particularly if scholarships and/or sweet deals make it financially more equivalent.

Then again, I actually LIKE real winters. And if I had my druthers I'd be at UW, no questions asked. Stupid WWAMI.

I could smell some generalizations coming so I was prepared to battle as I started reading your post, but as a native Californian who lived for 12 years in SF and another 8 in LA (and 2 in Lake Tahoe), I have to say that I agree with everything you said. I'm becoming sick of LA and all these psycho popped-collar ugg-wearing spoiled brats. I think I probably get a high representation of it at SC, but it seems like in LA you are either surrounded by Paris Hilton wannabees or people who are in poverty and don't speak English...there is no middle ground. It's a weird city. And did you know less than 50% of LA residents speak English? I'm not trying to hate, I'm just saying that LA is nothing like San Francisco.

With that said, I still love California, and if I had a choice, would easily pick any California city over any city outside Cali, including LA. What can I say, west coast is the best coast

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[Messerschmitts]

Ha ha, it's fascinating to see L.A. and California from an outsider's perspective. I grew up in LA county in the suburbs, then went to UC Berkeley for college, so I got a good taste of life on both "poles" of Cali. I guess it is true we don't really say "hi" to each other on the street, it's just something that was never realy ingrained into us for some reason. People just think you're weird if you're overly friendly to strangers.

I personally love the Bay Area and its atmosphere, and I'd live there over SoCal if I had the choice. However, I'm "used" to Los Angeles, and I love it too, smog and everything. My ancestors didn't land on Plymouth Rock, they landed in LAX 17 years ago (I came to America with my parents when I was 5). Thus I have to say that my family feels very welcome and at home in SoCal. Even though I'm a "minority", I have been spared most of what minority in other parts of the country have had to endure. Thus I don't really know what it feels like to be a minority despite being an immigrant, you could say. Only in California Honestly, living in a part of the country where I was the only slanty-eyed kid for miles would feel really weird. Thus, part of what I love so much about L.A. is the immigrant culture. If it turns some people off, I understand. If I were a WASP, I don't think I'd feel very comfortable in most parts of LA county either.

Plus, being born in Taiwan, and having grown up in SoCal, I'm "warm-blooded", I can't really stand the "real" winters.

 

[wowzer]

OOS: what would it take to get IN to california?? thats the thread i want

 

[infiniti]

As the saying goes, Cali is not for everyone. That being said, I dare the person who complained about people not being nice in Cali to go over to New York. In my opinion, friendliness is generally missing in urban cities (you could make a reasonable argument as to why).

For some of the reasons mentioned above, I prefer the bay area to certain parts of SoCal.

 

[pagemmapants]

Ugh, I would absolutely positively NEVER live in New York City. Period. Those that love it, you can stay there, but don't expect me to become your next door neighbor (pardon me, to move into your building or share a wall with you) anytime soon.

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

As the saying goes, Cali is not for everyone. That being said, I dare the person who complained about people not being nice in Cali to go over to New York. In my opinion, friendliness is generally missing in urban cities (you could make a reasonable argument as to why).

For some of the reasons mentioned above, I prefer the bay area to certain parts of SoCal.

I have been to NYC a couple times and was pleasently surprised by how nice some of the people were. I guess I wasn't expecting much, so maybe they seemed nicer than they really were. Anyway, I think I would generally prefer people being honest and blatantly rude than people snickering and sneering in a kind of quiet, judgmental way. It's more fun and you get to rant back, if you have the opportunity. For example, I tend not to honk at people in LA because I'm worried I'll be shot by some crazy speed freak. (Actually, it is illegal to honk here too, kind of weird) It might be nice to have the freedom to let people know how you feel. I don't know if that makes sense