why do so many people seem to hate/dislike California

[BudAshes]

Originally posted by: IGBT
...it's good kalifonia attracts so many idiots and morons..cleans up the rest of the country..so don't complain.

Yeah californians sure are stupid. I mean everyone knows california is spelled with a K not a C.

 

[Mill]

Well:

Positives:
Lots of people, culture, things to do.
Beautiful Land, people, weather
Variety of views and political beliefs
High percentage of people with degree; great higher education system

Negatives:
Elitism against all others
Arrogance due to that elitism
Housing prices
Inefficient government in the past decade

 

[Martin]

penis envy.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: her209
Would you say its fair to say that Californians get less per capita in terms of what the taxes paid to the federal government than it gets back?

yes our little wellfare support payments to the red states😛

 

[CrowBarr]

because my ex-wife lives there....need I say more?
:evil:

 

[HamSupLo]

we have more metrosexuals than anywhere in the country

 

[RockyIII]

After smoking a joint in CA. don't you have to go somewhere and hide to smoke a cigarette?.. peace

 

[DurocShark]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
I want nothing to do with california because of things like:

Berkley
Hippies
Smog
Illegal Immigrant
Taxes
Traffic Jams
Earth Quakes
Rediculous Property Prices
Pretentious People

Wow. Aside from Berkley, none of those things exist anywhere else?

:Q

(And you can replace earthquakes with tornados, hurricanes, blizzards, etc...)

The only reason people hate Cali is because of its visibility. Our gubment sucks a lot of the time, but so does the fed. We have pretentious people, but they're everywhere. Property prices are screwed up in many urban areas too. But they're going down. Ya'll all know about your taxes. Smog in Texas and NY is as bad as here, hippies are everywhere, traffic jams happen anywhere there's civilization, immigrants are everywhere - how do you think the fruits and veggies got to YOUR grocery store?

Quit whining about California and go take care of your own fvcking state.

 

[Ausm]

Originally posted by: Heisenberg

Originally posted by: notfred
Because they're rednecks who think that everyone who cares about the environment is a communist and everyone who supports gay-rights is some kind of anti-god demon worshipper.

Or it could be the elistist @ssholes with superiority complexes.

Nice Comeback!

:beer:

Ausm

 

[DingDingDao]

Originally posted by: SampSon
People tend to dislike things they know little about.

Quoted for truth.

I just got done reading this thread and I have to say that the majority of responses to this question include information that is completely unfounded and/or arose from some stupid stereotype. I speak from experience here, as I have, during the course of my life, lived in Denver, Dallas, Bakersfield (a small city in the central valley of California), and Los Angeles. I have also spent a large amount of time in New York City (Manhattan) and San Francisco.

Example:

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Taxes: If I wanted to be taxed into oblivion, I'd move to Canada.
CARB: As far as emissions testing goes, they can shove it up their tailpipe.
Cost of living: It's easily twice as expensive to live in Cali as it is to live in the Midwest, and to my eye, the Midwest is every bit as beautiful as Cali.
Snow: No snow in the lower areas = t3h suck.
Overcrowded: There are just too many bloody people.

Not to single you out, ZV, because they are a slew of posts out there to pick from, but I have a fair response for every single one of your complaints:

Taxes: Last year my CA state income tax amounted to approximately 9% of my federal taxes (I paid ~$1000 for my federal income tax, and approximately $90.00 for my CA income tax). How does that equate to taxation into oblivion? The sales tax here in Los Angeles is 8.25%. It's 8.25% in Dallas, too. 😕

CARB: Every state I've ever lived in requires emissions control. If you've ever been to Asia (Japan aside), you'll know what it means to have no emissions control. The smog will make your eyes water. Pedestrians wear face masks when they walk on the street. During my most recent trip to Taiwan, I wore my contacts for one day (out of 2 weeks), because my contacts became so dirty it hurt to wear them. Emissions controls, even in CA, aren't that hard to pass. Just put the catalytic converter back in your car 😉

Cost of living: The cost of living in Los Angeles is high. There is no doubt about this. It is also very high in New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Miami, and any other place where a lot of people want to live. Currently I live in Los Angeles, and my rent is nearly as low as my sister's rent in Denver, Colorado. The house I lived in when I lived in Bakersfield cost $175,000 and was 2700 square feet. My folks, who live in Dallas, just paid off the mortgage on a $249,000 2100 square foot house. I don't really see how living in California costs twice as much as the midwest, given my two examples above. *shrug*

Snow: If by lower areas you mean Southern California, you'd be wrong. There are three major ski resorts within an hour and half's drive of me, here in Los Angeles, that I can go to. All three are already open this season. And if you go up north, Tahoe has some of the best skiing around (I grew up in Colorado and learned to ski when I was 5, so I think I can say this with some clout). If by lower areas you are referring to the cities, then I would agree with you, and ask why on earth you would want it to snow in the cities? Snow causes traffic problems, freezes pipes, cracks foundations, and in general is just an overall PITA to deal with (I learned this living in Denver). People move to California because of the weather. On average, it's 75 and sunny here. During the summer it gets warmer (maybe 90 on the hottest day) and during the winter it's cooler (maybe 55). People like to be comfortable, and the weather here in California is, to say the least, dreamy. In Dallas it gets to 110 during the summer and 25 in the winter. That sucks.

Overcrowded: Tell me the east coast isn't crowded. Tell me Europe isn't crowded. Tell me Asia isn't crowded. San Francisco is crowded. Los Angeles is crowded. That's just two small parts of California. There are plenty of wide open spaces all over this state. When people say that there are too many people in New York, I tell them to go upstate, and get out of Manhattan. Same thing with California.


These generalizations that people make about California regarding hippies and overcrowding and crap just crack me up. I had a guy from Denver ask me (when I told him I was from Texas) if the roads were paved in Dallas, or if we just rode horses? 😕

Ignorance is bliss, and if people don't want to come to California because of the kinds of thoughts I read in this thread, then that's fine. You guys stay there, and I'll enjoy my life here in California. :beer:

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: RockyIII
After smoking a joint in CA. don't you have to go somewhere and hide to smoke a cigarette?.. peace

LOL, same here in Boston!

 

[PrinceofWands]

Expensive, hot, dry, social seeking, materialistic, abusive to personal rights (at least compared to collective rights), etc.

I like cool, even cold. I like rain. I like lots of green, mountains, rivers, forests (and no, scrub pine is not a forest). I dislike sun. I dislike people that think appearance matters. I dislike people trying to make a name for themselves. I dislike large towns. I dislike people after money. I dislike concentrated government authority. You add it all up, I'm anything but a Kalifornian.

I lived in LA (sherman oaks actually) for 6 months. Really ruined kali for me.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
Expensive, hot, dry, social seeking, materialistic, abusive to personal rights (at least compared to collective rights), etc.

I like cool, even cold. I like rain. I like lots of green, mountains, rivers, forests (and no, scrub pine is not a forest). I dislike sun. I dislike people that think appearance matters. I dislike people trying to make a name for themselves. I dislike large towns. I dislike people after money. I dislike concentrated government authority. You add it all up, I'm anything but a Kalifornian.

I lived in LA (sherman oaks actually) for 6 months. Really ruined kali for me.

LA would ruin it for most people.

 

[PrinceofWands]

You know, people say that all the time, and yet it's one of the largest cities in the country. Obviously not everyone hates it. And that's what really irks me. 😎

 

[GoSharks]

Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
Expensive, hot, dry, social seeking, materialistic, abusive to personal rights (at least compared to collective rights), etc.

I like cool, even cold. I like rain. I like lots of green, mountains, rivers, forests (and no, scrub pine is not a forest). I dislike sun. I dislike people that think appearance matters. I dislike people trying to make a name for themselves. I dislike large towns. I dislike people after money. I dislike concentrated government authority. You add it all up, I'm anything but a Kalifornian.

I lived in LA (sherman oaks actually) for 6 months. Really ruined kali for me.

should have tried norcal/the sierra.

 

[DingDingDao]

Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
You know, people say that all the time, and yet it's one of the largest cities in the country. Obviously not everyone hates it. And that's what really irks me. 😎

More people moved to the Los Angeles area last year than any other metropolitan area in the United States. Obviously not the people in this thread, though 😉

 

[shortylickens]

I had a german friend who's lived in many places around the world. After living in California (several places) for about 4 years, she described it as a perfect example of the lowest common denominator.

For my own experience, I used to think all the California hating was just the usual stereotype stuff hanging on for no good reason.
Having been stationed here for two years I can honestly say its deserved. A ridiculous amount of people here seem to be fools in the truest sense of the word. They have no real concept of their place in the world. They drift through life with slightly less than a clue, only peaking out long enough to criticize others and stoke their egos.
Then they turn inwards and complain constantly about mundane problems while the serious issues go unresolved. Its way too easy to live here. You dont have to worry about anything important and its not healthy. You need a little misery in life to be healthy. It builds character and makes one stronger for future obstacles. Provided it doesnt kill you.
Yes we would all like to live in a perfect world with no troubles. But it isnt gonna happen. Not in our lifetimes. California was pretty close to Utopia back in the 40's 50's and 60's. But it was inevitable that such a dream had to get ruined. Mostly by folks who were not strong enough to keep it running.

Great scholars have written about such a society for thousands of years, and it looks like California has finally come along to fit the bill.
But just like any other society, I recommend you come here and live a little while BEFORE you judge it.

If I have ever deserved a flame, now is it.

[[ wow, i took so long to write, 10 more posts popped up, BTW was my use of 'UTOPIA' accurate?? ]]

 

[kalster]

bump for more opinions

 

[777php]

I really don't understand all these generalizations. All it does is make you seem like the close minded ignorant elitist that you are claiming that Californians are.

California is so diverse and I'm not even referencing ethnicity, the cities and physical surrounding are completely different from one end of the state to the other. You can have the mountains, trees and snow of the north versus the sun, beaches and desert of the south, therefore these conditions have an affect on those who grow up in different surroundings. Take someone who grew up and Redding (way nor cal) and someone from LA, of course they will be completely different from one another. Factor in the many different ethnicities that co-exist here in the state and the possibilites are endless.

Really people, open your eyes, take your current best friend or girlfriend and it is possible that you'll find someone very silimar to them here in Cali.

 

[Feldenak]

People hate California for the same reason that people hate the South and Midwest, take notfred's post for example....bigotry.

People and the media focus on the 1% of a population that makes the most noise. In CA, NY, MA, etc... the ones that get the press coverage are the extreme liberal, socialist nutjobs. In the Midwest and South, the ones that get the most press coverage are the extreme right-wing, facist wackos.

Red Dawn, for example, appears to hold mostly middle of the road political beliefs. Even with those centrist views, he's still fond of calling people in the south and midwest <insert interesting adjective> rubes.

The stauch CA defenders here are not helping their cause either. The whole, "you need us more than we need you" concept is incredibly elitist and reeks of the snobbery that those same people claim Republicans and right-of-center people are guilty of. This whole statement can be flipped around and applied to the stauch CA haters as well, just replace a few words here and there.

 

[grrl]

Hollywood and all the ego-inflated pinheads that live there. Plus the whole plastic nature of life in Southern California.

 

[jEnus]

I dislike them becuase of the huge influx of them moving to my state raising prices and pushing their idealism on our way of life.

It has been suggested that the Democratic Party is behind this influx to increase the democratic vote due to their continous and overwhelming defeats in all political races.

 

[Leejai]

Originally posted by: TheNinja
jealousy

my first thought as well

 

[Leejai]

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
because they complain about high energy prices, yet refuse to build their own power plants

also, the lakers

so you just hate so. cal then right?....i mean while nor cal does have a higher cost of living and experienced rolling blackouts due to the energy crisis, it's only because they support so. cal in every way...

w/out nor cal, so cal would have no water and w/out nevada, no energy....

 

[jEnus]

I'm in for cutting so cal off and letting it float away. But let Calpoly stay w/ us . . my friend goes there and he still owes me 20 bucks.