I spent the summer of '78 after high school graduation in Monterey. It was glorious. Cannery Row was still a sketchy strip with a hippie movie theater. Nearby towns like Salinas, Hollister, and Watsonville were still places where real cowboys lived. The rolling golden hills were like nothing I had ever seen. San Francisco was as beautiful as you could imagine. The people were friendly and everything was possible. It may have been ruined over the years in some ways by greedy politicians, but fundamentally it's still the same place: the promised land.
I am glad you have been battling this on X and well articulated here. Why do they get to claim CA and the only answer if you are right wing is to relocate. F*ck that. My parents did that for retirement and miss their grandkids now. They constantly fly back.
I live in Pebble Beach CA, put roots down here, raising a family here, and we love it. We do not live around what is SF/LA. It can definitely have some of the "big little lies" feel to it at times however we have a large Catholic community in Monterey, do sports, surf, snowboard/ski, Big Sur, Carmel, Paso Robles, Santa Cruz Mnt wines ect...
I lived in LA from ’83 to 1992. It was a love/hate relationship. Yes, it is truly a magnificently beautiful state. And yes, it is largely ruled by democrats on the state level which makes everything on the county and city level an uphill climb. And yes, I rue those “republican” governors who can’t seem to decide what lane they’re in (you named a couple). We currently reside in FL and are thrilled w DeSantis - is he perfect, of course not. He has our back and he’s willing to take the shots for his stand for conservative values. All that said, congrats for hanging in there. Maybe y’all can get rid of rank choice voting and elect a balanced state gov.
I've spent a lot of time in California, starting a juice company and manning tasting booths from south of LA to south of SF. Beautiful place, breathtaking actually. I did this during spring/summer 2016. I knew Trump was going to get elected just by talking to all those California Republicans.
The people are great, reasonable and hardworking, politicians, not so much. So much money on projects that don't get off the ground (LA rail system comes to mind). The electrical grid hasn't had the appropriate capital infusions necessary to stay consistent, where did all that money go? How do these people get elected? Is there such a population differential between SF+LA and the rest of California? Just didn't make sense to me when I was there and it still doesn't. There seems to be two Californias - the nutty one you see on tv and the reasonable one off screen.
So true. My friend from the east lived there many years and explained this to me a long time ago. Living near NYc has created so much opportunity for me and my family and I’m minutes away from the best food and vibe maybe in the world. The constant action here is a precursor to living long and prosperous lives. My 76 year old dad acts and works like me my mother the same. I feel ny and Jupiter FLa give them the edge many do not have in other parts of the USA and world.
I lived in Orange County for 12 years, during 2000s and 2010s. If got there during the 90s or before, it would be great. Maybe if you came into money somehow, it'd also be doable. Bottom line is that today, if you are young and starting with little baseline of wealth, there are such high barriers to entry. Good luck buying a home there, for example. Maybe CA is livable if you are a wealthy retiree. But it's not welcoming to a young person starting out.
Here in Diamond Bar, CA.. So much to do within a short drive. Paso Robles, Mammoth Mountain, San Diego, etc... Lived across the US in the military and nothing really compares to the range.
I spent the summer of '78 after high school graduation in Monterey. It was glorious. Cannery Row was still a sketchy strip with a hippie movie theater. Nearby towns like Salinas, Hollister, and Watsonville were still places where real cowboys lived. The rolling golden hills were like nothing I had ever seen. San Francisco was as beautiful as you could imagine. The people were friendly and everything was possible. It may have been ruined over the years in some ways by greedy politicians, but fundamentally it's still the same place: the promised land.
I am glad you have been battling this on X and well articulated here. Why do they get to claim CA and the only answer if you are right wing is to relocate. F*ck that. My parents did that for retirement and miss their grandkids now. They constantly fly back.
I live in Pebble Beach CA, put roots down here, raising a family here, and we love it. We do not live around what is SF/LA. It can definitely have some of the "big little lies" feel to it at times however we have a large Catholic community in Monterey, do sports, surf, snowboard/ski, Big Sur, Carmel, Paso Robles, Santa Cruz Mnt wines ect...
CA is a big place.
I lived in LA from ’83 to 1992. It was a love/hate relationship. Yes, it is truly a magnificently beautiful state. And yes, it is largely ruled by democrats on the state level which makes everything on the county and city level an uphill climb. And yes, I rue those “republican” governors who can’t seem to decide what lane they’re in (you named a couple). We currently reside in FL and are thrilled w DeSantis - is he perfect, of course not. He has our back and he’s willing to take the shots for his stand for conservative values. All that said, congrats for hanging in there. Maybe y’all can get rid of rank choice voting and elect a balanced state gov.
I've spent a lot of time in California, starting a juice company and manning tasting booths from south of LA to south of SF. Beautiful place, breathtaking actually. I did this during spring/summer 2016. I knew Trump was going to get elected just by talking to all those California Republicans.
The people are great, reasonable and hardworking, politicians, not so much. So much money on projects that don't get off the ground (LA rail system comes to mind). The electrical grid hasn't had the appropriate capital infusions necessary to stay consistent, where did all that money go? How do these people get elected? Is there such a population differential between SF+LA and the rest of California? Just didn't make sense to me when I was there and it still doesn't. There seems to be two Californias - the nutty one you see on tv and the reasonable one off screen.
So true. My friend from the east lived there many years and explained this to me a long time ago. Living near NYc has created so much opportunity for me and my family and I’m minutes away from the best food and vibe maybe in the world. The constant action here is a precursor to living long and prosperous lives. My 76 year old dad acts and works like me my mother the same. I feel ny and Jupiter FLa give them the edge many do not have in other parts of the USA and world.
I lived in Orange County for 12 years, during 2000s and 2010s. If got there during the 90s or before, it would be great. Maybe if you came into money somehow, it'd also be doable. Bottom line is that today, if you are young and starting with little baseline of wealth, there are such high barriers to entry. Good luck buying a home there, for example. Maybe CA is livable if you are a wealthy retiree. But it's not welcoming to a young person starting out.
Here in Diamond Bar, CA.. So much to do within a short drive. Paso Robles, Mammoth Mountain, San Diego, etc... Lived across the US in the military and nothing really compares to the range.