Ok ppl... What's Cali REALLY like?

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

I've lived in the Bay Area my whole life and I love it. I  think most people who live in California love it. However, I have never been to NYC, so I can't tell you how Cali is "better."

Dude, don't get all crazy in the head. No city is better than NYC. I know having 70 deg. weather all year long is cool and all, but you really have to experience NYC to know why it's great. Come on over, you can stay in my house and i'll take you to all the best places to eat, drink, fall down, vomit, protest, scream at people, et cetera...

In L.A. there is a lot more emphasis on bleached blonde hair and plastic surgery than there is in S.F. In S.F. there is more of an emphasis on wealth. The weather is better (if you like sun) in L.A. than it is in in S.F., but the traffic is worse.

I love the idea of the emphasis on wealth. I'm beginning to like S.F.  But i don't know if i want to go to Santa Clara anymore. I hear that if you don't want to go into IP/Tech law, that you may be royally screwed with your pants on. I may have to go to Villanova with absolutely no money over Santa Clara with some good dough.
What say you ppl? Is Santa Clara worth it if you aren't interested in IP?

[VivaLaMuerte]

5)closer to Mexico, which is much more cool than being close to Canada

Is this true?  Even Eureka and north of there? 


I can add a few things here.

California is awesome for people who love the outdoors.  There are virtually no outdoor activities not readily available in CA, and there are many places where such activities are enjoyed ideally in CA.  In the Bay Area alone, I can think of 10+ places that make me long for a return to CA based on astounding natural beauty alone. 

There are two styles of laid back, imo.  Southern and CA.  CA is vastly preferable, but annoying at times.  When I first live in CA, I noticed how everyone feigned excitement for whatever projects I might happen to voice an interest in.  "That's awesome!" or "rad!"  and if I described anything I might be doing on a weekend (say, desert hike), I heard the response: Wow, that place is amAAAAAAAAzing.  get used to hearing a long drawn out 'A' in amazing.  but no one gave a *&^% if you had some weird fetish, it seemed, as long as it wasn't racism or something that bothered them.  (contrast this with southern style, where laid back means not working, and speaking slower than ever imagined.)

[awhomer]

Born and raised in New England, UG in NY, and been living in San Diego for 5 years...Although I'm excited to try something new, I'm very sad to be leaving CA for law school.  The cost of living (particularly if you plan to buy a home) is tough, but you get what you pay for-a highly desirable place to live.  For the fella' who touted NYC as the best city, I have two words: RED SOX!

[BoscoBreaux]

So as many of u know, i am looking at Santa Clara as my best option now. This is just a straight forward question: What do i have to know about the great state of Claifornia (i already know who the Governor is)? I'm from NYC. I there is anyone whos lived in both places (nyc & San Francisco/Sanjose), let me know what your thoughts are.

Your going to Santa Clara, so issue really is what is San Jose/Northern CA like in comparison to NYC. Just as NYC is not necessarily a good reflection of New York State as a whole, San Jose/San Francisco is not an accurate reflection of CA as a whole. What most people know about CA is a reflection of the media, which tends to be centered in LA or SF, so you get a good idea of what living in those cities are like, but little else. For example, most persons don’t realize that once you get away from SF and LA, California is about as moderate as a midwestern state, albeit with better scenery.

After living in NYC, and Northern CA, I noticed that the major difference is attitude. Northern Californians tend to be non-neurotic, and don’t tend to let little things bother them–unlike New Yorkers. Also, racial differences are less of a factor in CA. What always struck me is how stratified (socially and geographically) persons in NYC are, and how much time is spent debating issues concerning race. There is much less of this in CA. I find that persons in CA are significantly friendlier. After living in CA, I will NEVER go back to the East Coast. Is it perfect? NO. The traffic is bad, home prices are mindblowing, and many cities are crowded. But, all of those problems are functions of so many people wanting to live here.

[manserunt]

California like New Jersey?  Umm... no.  Not really.  Can't tell you much about Santa Clara in particular, but Caifornia as a whole is probably the most diverse (geographically and demographically) state you'll find, and is breathtakingly gorgeous.  It's also livable, once you learn to deal with traffic.  Weather?  Great - top to bottom.  Things to do?  More here than anywhere else.  People?  Yeah, also more here than anywhere else - but it's not as crowded as you'd imagine.

[calgrad04]

As a Bay Area native who grew up not too far from Santa Clara - I can just say there is no place in the world like th Bay Area.

It is beautiful here; no doubt about it. Yes we have bad traffic, yes public transportation does leave something to be desired and yes it is very very difficult to buy a home here - but I can't imagine making anywhere else my permanent home.

The Bay Area is ideally situtaed, 3 hours from the mountains and great skiing, less than a hour to the beaches, about 2 hours to Monterey and Carmel. San Francisco is a great city, full of diverse, interesting people and there is always something going on.

Santa Clara is in a nice area as well, but San Jose is no San Francisco. Santa Clara is in the heart of Silicon Valley, not far from SJ downtown and it's definitely more suburbia than SF. There aren't as many exciting things to do outside of the city but if you have a car you aren't limited to staying in that area.

There is definitely a difference between Nor Cal and So Cal - my freshman year at Berkeley, all my friends from LA took forever to get ready to go anywhere, everything was a fashion show and they seemed more superficial than those of us who frequently wore sweatshirts and jeans and were just more laid back. However, by senior year, these same girls came to class wearing there PJs. So I guess, the attitude here just kinda grows on you. I think what a professor of mine once said rings very true for the bay area "the way people live here - it isn't what is considered to be normal, this mixing of ethnicities, mindsets and viewpoint. if you go to other places in the country, you won't find this - the bay area is its own microcosm".  I agree with that, and I would say that a lot of people who come here find that they really enjoy it and they are reluctant to leave.

I do love NYC - I was just there at the beginning of this year, and there is just a vibe in NYC that isn't felt anywhere here on the west coast. Ideally, I would love to live in NYC for 5 years sometime in my 20s/30s but when it comes to my permanent home, I think I'd want to come back to the Bay Area. The weather is great - no snow!, people are nicer and my family is here.

If you have any specific questions, let me know and I would be happy to answer them. Welcome to the Bay Area if you decide to attend Santa Clara!

[SH]

Canada is MUCH cooler than mexico...


and dumb question: are there more bees in california than anywhere else? i asked another californian and they said they "didn't notice" ....

and so if a person HAS no car...they basically have no life...

thats alot of pollution

[dbgirl]

SH I don't think there are any more bees here than anywhere else.
And as for the transportation thing, it's much, much worse in Southern California than in the Bay Area. San Francisco and Berkeley, for example, are very walkable cities.

[SH]

thank you dbgirl!
Bees 

Nevertheless how do poor students afford cars...

[la-man]

hey now, certain parts of la are walkable..like west la, oc, etc...then theres certain parts that are runable...east la, around USC, etc...so all in all you have a wonderful cardio conscious environment...