ucsd_ucla_dad

Poetsheart:
I've experienced a bunch of earthquakes but no bad ones. Many of them are hard to tell for certain whether they're quakes or not because they're barely felt or heard. Others leave little doubt. I've lived in California for over 30 years now and have yet to have anything knocked off a shelf or anything. The most active fault line is the San Andreas and other faults close to it. That doesn't run through San Diego however. It's way east of here in the desert then runs up through LA and then up through the Bay area so they usually have worst quakes. IMO the risk associated with quakes is generally far less than living in areas with tornados (which are virtually non-existent here), hurricanes, snow, ice, and severe thunderstorms (also rare here). Quakes certainly can show you the power of mother nature though and like many natural events, it's only a matter of time before it strikes someplace.

Clint Eastwood lives in Carmel - used to be the mayor. It's a pretty expensive area to live. Monterey has a CalState U. The weather there is typical Northern California coastal with a fair amount of low hanging clouds and cold air right on the coast but it's particularly beautiful when it's sunny out. This weather changes just a couple miles straight inland where the low-hanging clouds suddenly disappear and it's brighter and warmer. This is all caused by the influence of the cold ocean water. The ocean is interesting in that area since a lot of the coast is protected by bays and thus has fairly calm water. There are a fair amount of seals, sea otters, and the like. Scuba diving in the kelp forests is interesting but the water's always cold so it means a full wet suit with hood, gloves, booties which is a bit of a pain (but not as painful as the cold water).

I think you should come visit.

ellemenope

Which Northridge one? There's been more than one bad one. My aunt and uncle from Northridge have lived through a lot of them, 2 of them pretty bad.

One advantage of San Diego living is that it doesn't seem to be afflicted by bad earthquakes as some areas of Southern California. But we've had two horrendous wildfires in the past 5 years.

overseas

Speaking of earthquakes: I am a 5th generation Californian by birth and my family has experienced many of the recent quakes in one way or another. A series of small quakes hit SF after one ancestor arrived in 1850; family members offered aid and assistance during the earthquake that hit SF in 1906 since they lived out of the path of the fires and in the Golden Gate Park area and on Lafayette Square; Most missed it though since many lived in the mother lode at the time; my mom told me about being with her father who was doing surveying in 1925 in Santa Barbara when that quake hit; I remember the Concord quake in 1955 very well, it was my first experience with an earthquake; my sister's home had structural damage during the Loma Prieta quake in 1989; my cousin's home was rebuilt after that quake as well; I was affected by the Sylmar in 1971, I felt it; living in LA for some of my life little quakes happened rather often.

I am more afraid of tornados, hurricanes and the like. I guess it is what you are used to. I live in an earthquake zone now and I roll with them when they roll through. I guess every area has its good and bad.

great lakes mom

I graduated from HS on the Monterey Penninsula and lived in California through part of my college years. My mom moved us there to be near family friends back in the days when Pacific Grove wasn't much more expensive than other places in the USA. Nature was so integrated into the fabric of life there, a constant presence, with the sea all around, the little stands of forest running through the town.

Last winter I spent some time there with my kids. I'd move back there in a heartbeat, save the price of housing. The coast is always there, the nature infused lifestyle, the Bach Festival in Carmel. the value placed on poetry and whimsy. Though there has been some development, it feels a timeless place.

My family left partially due to long term fears about the earthquake danger. Here in tornado country where I now live, we do have basements. In an earthquake, a doorway seems little protection. Now I think, how silly. Should have lived in the place I love the most, risks be damned. But events carry one along.

The SF Bay area is seems quite intense these days, with the traffic, the oppressive mortgages, the parking, the development. I lived in California in a gentler time. But rather than laid back, I felt that people lived in California with a bit more passion than elsewhere, less bound by societal constraints. Innovation is appreciated, rather than looked at with mistrust. So the artwork is brighter, the cuisine more innovative, writing, computer development, business development, etc are affected. Awareness of the Pacific Rim placement influences things. I think life is just plain more fun, in a spectacular setting.

curmudgeon

I have never been to the Bay Area or the Shastas. I have never been mid-coast. I have been to Lake Tahoe many times. I have been to the Southern California coastal area for my last time.
I have no problem with the scenery, the topo, the flora, or the fauna and I envy the temps. It's just that there are so many people at all the fun stuff. So many at all the pretty stuff, too.

Southern California, the Land of Lines. (I don't do lines.)

great lakes mom

Some of the prettiest stuff in California to my mind are the oak studded ranch lands of the coastal range. Rolling hills, open space down to the cliffs and sea. There's always coastal access somewhere, or trails into wilderness, so all can enjoy, and where I go, it's not crowded.

2331clk

I've wondered, do California people take their scenery for granted? The climate is one thing, but those mountains, cliffs, the ocean...

First time there, from the flattest part of the East Coast where we live (the shore), I couldn't believe the place. This is the US? Closest we have is the beautiful Maine coast, similar but with much smaller cliffs and mountains.

Around here everyone goes to Florida (how many times can you go to Disneyworld?), never venturing out West. It amazes me how many NJ people have never been to California. Other than warm winters, admittedly a big plus, FL to me is NJ with palm trees. Our vacations are often to CA. Been all over the state by now, still can't get enough of it.

Last time was a couple years ago, in SoCal (do CA people use that term, or is it like "Frisco"). Visited nephew, a Dartmouth student who, along with a bunch of his D friends, was taking winter term at UCSB (they must be on the same calendar). At the end they were in tears...he said had they not been at a school like Dartmouth half of them would have transferred.

coureur

People who don't live in CA are often frightened of earthquakes way out of proportion to the actual danger. Here in San Diego you feel the ground shake a bit every now and then, but nobody ever gets hurt or has their house destroyed.

If you want to be afraid of something in SoCal, fear the wind-driven wildfires. We had huge fires in 2003 and again last year. Both times more than 2000 homes were destroyed here in San Diego county - more than 4000 gone in less than five years. All the earthquakes in the entire history of California combined never destroyed 4000 homes.

sunshadow

"Nature was so integrated into the fabric of life there, a constant presence, with the sea all around, the little stands of forest running through the town."

What a great line, GreatLakesMom. Makes me want to jump in my car and go...

ucsd_ucla_dad

Not "Southern California". The correct term would be "LA basin" and parts of San Diego. The majority of Southern California is empty and wild.

If one sticks to just the few miles along the coastal strip in Southern California it is built up though. I'm always thankful for Camp Pendleton separating San Diego county from Orange county and offering some natural coastal land.

I have the same sentiment.

One nice thing - no private beaches in California and a requirement for beach access in areas with private development.

ucsd_ucla_dad

I've actually only heard people from NorCal verbally use the term "SoCal" and at that it seems to be more of a recent term. It's heard among current college students. I don't recall ever hearing it when I lived in the Bay area over 25 years ago and I don't really hear people here using the term NorCal either. There is some Northern California versus Southern California (with the middle part somehow skipped) mentality among some people but IMO, it's all good.

sunshadow

Can anyone walk the beach in Malibu where all the *stars* have homes, or is that limited beach access?

Redondo Dave

Our family certainly does not take the scenery for granted. This time of year is incredible as you drive through the rolling hills of Ventura County and the wild flowers have turned these hills into bright yellow. The poppy reserve in Lancaster is aflame with orange and the grapevine into the San Juaquin valley is awash with poppies and purple lupin. After a good rainy season the drive through San Lois Opispo County is so beautiful as the hills are a brilliant green.

One of our favorite spots on the planet is Trinidad, CA which is 20 miles north of Eureka. In June the landscape is covered with blackberries for the picking. 15 miles to the north is Prarie Creek State Park with some of the tallest and most beautiful redwoods. Walking into this ecosystem takes you to an almost Tolkien-like environment. Heavy moss, tall redwoods, and banana slugs everywhere. Yes, California has great diverse scenery that is here to be appreciated.

mootmom

I could, if I chose, head west or southwest from my home and within a half-hour, maybe a bit longer, be at some of the most dramatic cliffs and ocean vistas I could desire. But instead, most days, I drive to work.

Every day as I head to my office, I see first the Santa Cruz Mountains (so-called) in their lush green verdancy where the on-shore storms drop their moisture before moving into Santa Clara Valley, where yellow mustard grows between the remaining trees in plum and cherry orchards. Then as I turn southeast, I see the Diablo Range rising farther to the east, with Lick Observatory perched at the top of Mount Hamilton. If it's winter, there will be days when I can see the snowline clearly defined all along the range, even though not a flake arrived on the Valley floor and it's nowhere near freezing down here. I'll pull off the highway (sorry, never learned to call them "freeways") and start my climb up into the chaparral hillsides and inhale deeply. The fragrances always bring me into focus for the day.

I grew up in NJ. I will never, ever tire of having my spirits lifted by the hills and mountains around me here and the impossible number of shades of green in the spring, and not a day goes by that I don't appreciate the scenery around me. I've been in other places with more impressive mountain ranges or with soft, sandy beaches where one can actually get into the water (too cold here without a wetsuit), but somehow the contrast and the co-existence of the varied terrains and microclimates here is just what my spirit needs.

I'm staying. And I never, ever take the scenery for granted.

WashDad

I'm a third-generation Californian, who moved to Washington 10 years ago. There is absolutely nothing wrong with California that the sudden disappearance of 25 million people wouldn't fix.

I find most of the US west of Denver to be chock-full of scenery. When we were driving WashDadJr to college last summer we were stuck just east of the Tetons in Wyoming for a couple of hours when a road was closed for emergency repairs. It was during sunset in a magical valley. Just an awe-inspiring experience.

Growing up in Huntington Beach in the 60s was an amazing time. I wouldn't trade it, but I couldn't afford to go home again.