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Proud Californians


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2006 Apr 18, 4:29am   19,045 views  329 comments

by Peter P   ➕follow (2)   💰tip   ignore  

We are all proud Californians. Let's talk about things that we ought to be very proud of.

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1   Peter P   2006 Apr 18, 4:33am  

The weather is okay. It is good but nothing to be proud of. Our affordable housing problem is second to none. Think 1% START RATE. Where else can you get that?

2   surfer-x   2006 Apr 18, 4:35am  

What is great if you click back the title is "The Global Property Boom: Danger and Delusion Proud Californians"

3   surfer-x   2006 Apr 18, 4:36am  

The weather isn't necessarily good here, it's just not bad.

4   edvard   2006 Apr 18, 4:43am  

It is beautiful here. I like the redwoods, the ocean, and the mountains. But it is also beautiful in the Blueridge mountains, the cumberland plateau, and many other places across the country, and those places aren't insanely expensive, thus the beauty can be enjoyed by everyone.. The fact that it rained for 6 months solid out of the last 2 years also has me wondering if good weather= the BA for the next foreseeable future. Plus- I don't recall ever being able to get fried ocra here... yet...

5   Joe Schmoe   2006 Apr 18, 4:45am  

California really is the most beautiful state in the nation.

I also appreciate:

California rolls.

The many outdoor recereational opportunities.

The incredible diversity.

Our legal system (hey, compared to other states, the CA court system is a model of excellence and efficiency.)

The Pacific Ocean.

The city of San Francisco.

San Diego County.

The city of Beverly Hills.

Yosemite.

Ronald Reagan.

Our state's rich history.

The entertainment industry (it has been putting out a lot of crap lately, but the people who work in it are the most talented, capable, and creative in the world.)

California car culture.

Surfing.

The Golden Gate Bridge.

West Coast rap.

The Hollywood hills.

The LAPD and LA Sheriff's Police.

The PCH.

Edwards Air Force Base.

Disneyland.

In-N-Out Burger.

6   Jimbo   2006 Apr 18, 4:48am  

The University system here in California is second to none. The UC is especially good, with the best and probably second best public schools in the world.

In something like 25 different programs the UC Berkeley graduate program is rated number one. UCLA has a bunch of good programs too.

Can you tell I am a Berkeley grad? :-)

We have a bunch of great private schools too, including CalTech, Pomona and a really good Jr. University at Stanford.

7   astrid   2006 Apr 18, 4:55am  

fresh produce - Florida and Texas has nothing on a good California Navel orange.

8   astrid   2006 Apr 18, 4:56am  

Surfer-X,

Yeesh, if California's weather is just okay, where can I find good weather?

9   edvard   2006 Apr 18, 4:56am  

Joe..
No offense, but to non-natives, saying that:"California is the most beautiful state in the nation" sounds really obnoxious. California is nice, but it is nice for the things that make it California. North Carolina, Arizona, Utah, Alabama, Texas, and Alaska all have what diffrent people would consider to be their ideal picture of perfection. Otherwise they wouldn't live there. I could yabber on for days about the countless contributions my own home state has made, including modern American music as we know it, the Appalachian mountains, good public schools, and scenic beauty, but I come to expect people to judge for themselves and let their own incinations decide what's right for them, and their own subjective opinions.Where you live is right for you, at that exact moment. As my dad used to say:" where you are right now this second is the best place for you to be, for you're alive and well and that's all that matters." No hard feelings, I just get a little tired of hearing it sometimes.

10   astrid   2006 Apr 18, 4:57am  

Californians are also not known for marrying their siblings.

11   astrid   2006 Apr 18, 5:00am  

Joe,

I'd say of the few places I've been to in the US, Utah, Arizona, Hawaii, and Washington all have more spectacular landscape.

12   edvard   2006 Apr 18, 5:05am  

And who might I ask marries their siblings?

13   astrid   2006 Apr 18, 5:06am  

"I’d say of the few places I’ve been to in the US, Utah, Arizona, Hawaii, and Washington all have more spectacular landscape."

Oops, take out Hawaii, I was composing a slightly different post than I ended up with. I've never been to Hawaii, just seen pictures.

14   astrid   2006 Apr 18, 5:07am  

nomad,

It doesn't matter, the important thing is to focus on the positive, Californians don't marry their siblings :P

15   Joe Schmoe   2006 Apr 18, 5:12am  

I just disagree.

It's true that CA's natural beauty is sometimes overhyped. For example, the Rockies are more spectacular than the Sierras, yet people talk about the Sierras as if they are all that. And I have never understood the fuss about Lake Tahoe, to me it is not especially magnificent, just a giant freshwater lake surrounded by so-so moutains and tacky casinos (they are great bargains though...)

But CA has EVERYTHING. Ocean. Mountains. Desert. Forest. Even prarie of sorts.

A lot of states are beautiful, and parts are more beautiful than CA, but there is no other state that has everything like CA. The sheer diversity of beautiful places is what makes CA, on average, the most beautiful overall.

Other states are beautiful too, there is no question about that. My favorite western state is Utah; while CO is nice I think Utah is simply magnificient and I have never understood why it isn't a bigger vacation destination. I have never been to the South, except for one brief trip to northern Florida, so I can't say anything about it but the Smokies sure looked nice in pictures. The Midwest just isn't beautiful, even MN and Wisconsin can't really compare -- and as for Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, forget it -- sorry, Midwesterners, but it's true.

But I still think that on balance, California is the most beautiful state in the nation. We've got it all, and even if it's not the most spectacular in every instance the sheer breadth and depth of beautiful areas take the prize IMO.

16   Peter P   2006 Apr 18, 5:13am  

I thought this is a sarcastic thread...

17   edvard   2006 Apr 18, 5:14am  

Positive..
well even though this goes into NIMBYism, I do like the fact that people here seem to overprotect their neighborhoods. Like Alameda for example. Small, old fashioned town that time forgot, frozen in the 1940's with the same waffle shop and shoe stores, old houses, streets and local library you can walk to. I like the fact that people seem to really care about their neighborhoods, except they take it too far, and that's why we're in the pickle we're in. I like the pride people take in long established landmarks and traditions. Actually, California most reminds me of back home. People there ALSO really put a big focus on their history and musical, artistic heritage and when visitors from out of state come, they are only too happy to show them around. That same pride exsists here in California.
The only negative Id say about this is that many of these small quaint towns in CA have a somewhat fake feel to them. They don't feel all the way genuine because even though Bill's Shoe store is still around, everyone knows Bill has no chance in hell of affording anything anyway, so it's like a giant movie set for all the rich folks to walk around in and pretend they're all common townfolk.

18   Joe Schmoe   2006 Apr 18, 5:16am  

My dad's family is from northern WI/MN, and let's just say that the ol' family tree gets a little...tangled the farther back you go.

I don't know if the relatives were married, but let's just say they didn't require a legal ceremony to establish a relationship of kinship.

It's not just an Appalachian thing.

19   edvard   2006 Apr 18, 5:17am  

To me another thing that makes a place beautiful are the people. If the people suck, then the place becomes ugly pretty fast. Some of the most "beautiful" places I've ever lived were in jack-nowhere. Like Harriman, Tennesee, a little former coal mining town that was pretty dirty and dillapidated. The neighbors came out and talked to me the first day. There was a parade that everyone took part in( so there wasn't many to watch) and when it snowed, they shut down main street so the kids could ride their sleds around. That was 10 years ago and I still remember it like it was yesterday.

20   Peter P   2006 Apr 18, 5:25am  

Where is the CRASH ? The Dataquik report is out and this is for March 2006

No crash in Kalifornia. Never.

Kalifornia Roll (with Krab), banzai!

21   Garth Farkley   2006 Apr 18, 5:30am  

Astrid,

You mean we're not allowed to make this crap up as we go along?

22   astrid   2006 Apr 18, 5:35am  

Garth,

Is that a pot shot at me or at the thread?

23   astrid   2006 Apr 18, 5:43am  

BA Trader Joe's carry sour Jelly Bellies.

24   Joe Schmoe   2006 Apr 18, 5:57am  

Nancy Pelosi

Willie Brown

Grey Davis

Antonio Villagairosa

Gavin Newsom

Cruz Bustamonte

Bob Dornan

Tom Hayden

Arianna Huffington

25   Peter P   2006 Apr 18, 5:57am  

California affords opportunities that transcend class and socioeconomics barriers.

Of course. People are free to do things so long as somebody's cake is not touched.

I have got mine and you cannot have yours.

26   Joe Schmoe   2006 Apr 18, 6:00am  

Barbara Boxer

The 2003 recall election

27   astrid   2006 Apr 18, 6:04am  

The entire proposition system!

28   astrid   2006 Apr 18, 6:05am  

Rent control.

Earthquakes, wild fires, and landslides. (creative destruction, don't yah know)

Happy cows and Californian cheese.

29   astrid   2006 Apr 18, 6:10am  

But SFWoman,

With so many ARMs, even if high inflation occurs, nominal prices will still go down in the short term due to desperate house-debtors.

30   Peter P   2006 Apr 18, 6:17am  

Why would anyone get an ARM at a higher rate?

Are the fees and closing costs the same?

Perhaps people just like to pay more.

31   astrid   2006 Apr 18, 6:19am  

"I noticed on their little mortgage sign board that ARMs were higher than fixed rate mortgages"

Wow! That's pretty incredible.

Anyways, so many people already stretched themselves thin on their home purchase and made a bad bet about future ARM rates. These people will be forced to sell or be foreclosed when their ARM rate readjusts upward.

Short of hyper-inflation, I still see a scenario where RE will not go down a lot at some point. This credit bubble can only go on for so long.

32   Peter P   2006 Apr 18, 6:19am  

I was just bringing the kids to have them put money in their little passbook accounts.

Good financial education. :)

33   Garth Farkley   2006 Apr 18, 6:22am  

Astrid said,

Is that a pot shot at me or at the thread?

No pot shots.

I've found that in haste I have written "stuff" that I can't connect back to reality when the meds wear off. But consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.

34   Garth Farkley   2006 Apr 18, 6:25am  

Joe Schmoe,

I am reminded of the Sesame Street tune:

Some of these things belong together, some of these things are kind of the same.

Bob Dornan?

35   astrid   2006 Apr 18, 6:26am  

Garth,

Okay. I don't mind criticism of my "Hawaii" goof, my proofreading skills are definitely below average.

36   astrid   2006 Apr 18, 6:29am  

Oh yes, speaking of politicians, also David Drier, Mayor Newsom, the Mayor of Pleasanton...

Maybe I should throw in some notorious serial killers and proximity to movie stars to round off the interesting people factor...

37   LILLL   2006 Apr 18, 6:44am  

Cali has San Quentin ...and all of its inhabitants....

38   edvard   2006 Apr 18, 6:51am  

"California affords opportunities that transcend class and socioeconomics barriers.

There is no nation on earth as balanced and blessed as is the nation-state of California."

I would agree with this statement up until now. The only reason that this was true is that up until the last 10 years, The US was largely fragmented due to economic. socioeconomic, and even physical barriers. Freeway systems didn't exsist in any great number in the entire SE as late as the 1970's. The populations in many parts of the country were not only underdeveloped, but based mostly in extractive, and textile related industries. The SE and midwest were fully taken advantage of by northern states and it's cheap labor is still a major draw for manufactors since the end of the cival war.In the last 10 years, the country has become more solidified and the extremes you mention are becoming a little gray.California and other traditional areas simply got a head start. That's all.
In the last 10 years, more new economic and infrastructural growth has occured in regions and states in the country conversly to traditional economic powerhouses. In essence, California is losing a lot of it's edge. This was occuring before the housing boom, and was only accentuated with its arrival. Immigrants are now starting to bypass traditional gateways and move inward.Nashville, Dallas, Ann Arbor, Raleigh, Montgomery, and a hundreds other micropolitan areas are becoming reknowned for their family friendly atmospheres and opportunities to immigrants that can rise above the poverty level much easier than in CA. Micropolitans are the new force in the US.Business can operate as much as 50% cheaper outside of California. Instantly. They are more efficient, have room to develop new industries, have in some cases no NIMBY politics that make doing business and making new housing expensive, and they are in many ways newer and younger since their populations are increasingly being prime locations for the 25-35 age group- the age with the most innovation and new ideas.
In my opinion, the SE and parts of the midwest like TX are replacing what was once the situation in California. At one time not too long ago, California was the golden state- the state where a middle income citizen could live well within their means, get a world class education, and participate in a society that was in large more tolerant regardless of race. While tolerance is still above the norm here, all the rest is long gone. You WILL NOT prosper as a middle class citizen here, and this is why it is losing and will continue to lose it's future. Sorry I'm being negative, but I travel back and forth between the SE and CA and I see what it happening, and it's pretty much a 360 degree change of what I grew up with. Change is in the air.

39   Randy H   2006 Apr 18, 6:54am  

California is not Ohio, for that I owe this state more than I can ever hope to repay.

40   Peter P   2006 Apr 18, 7:05am  

Steak in Chicago: $25
Steak in San Jose: $45

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