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<blockquote data-quote="nofearfactor" data-source="post: 1350103" data-attributes="member: 1535"><p>My version of the 'what it's like to live in California' story. For me,its,what its like to NOT live in southern California. Where I live at ( <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold,_California" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold,_California</a> ),all of our political representatives are Republican. They are representative of the population up on the mountain who voted to put them there to represent us. People who want nothing to do with the **** that goes on down in the valley,near the beach,in the shitholes of Oakland or LA,etc.</p><p></p><p>My sister lives in the LA area, Huntington Beach; my older brother is in Monterey; my mom and stepdad are snowbirds living in San Francisco in my old condo in the Pacific Heights/Presidio area during the winters/then they spend summers back home in Oklahoma; and I live up north 7700 ft up in the mountains on Hwy4. </p><p></p><p>My life back in Oklahoma: I live in a nice little upper to middle class neighborhood with well manicured lawns,a residential area and bedroom community 20 miles east of Tulsa. A place with someone on all sides of me just a few hundred feet away, social activities going on all of the time,etcetc. The hustle and bustle of our household,kids in school and their activities, the struggles we have to go thru to make the bucks to pay for it all. But after a few months of it though I start to get a little claustraphobic. When Im home I love spending time with my kids and wife and friends. But I also yearn for the mountains and cant wait to get the hell out of here for a month or so,I start looking forward to it. The drive there is always exciting. Even though Ive been going back and forth between Oklahoma and California all my life,41 years, I still love that drive. My little Boston has become a road warrior now too. We stock up on corn nuts and Dr Pepper and head off. I do my drives to and from California almost straight thru. I get a 2 hour nap about mid point some where usually then truck on.</p><p></p><p>When I get back up at my place in nothern Cali I can breathe. Its quiet. I barely have any neighbors near me. The neighbors I do have though we all look out for each other with a tight grip. Ive been there 15 years in my place now but have been going there my whole life,so me and the neighbors have known each other forever it seems. New people come in here and there. They get welcomed. But people usually dont leave,unless they die. My little town near me has less than 5000 people in it, mostly all made up of big lifted 4x4 pickup drivin ultra conservative right wing outdoor freaks type of folks who regularly hunt and fish,some of us snowmobile and skii all winter, but we all have one thing in common- we just generally want to be left alone by the rest of civilization. There are some people living back in the woods near me who you wouldnt want to mess with. They go to town and stock up then get the hell back home. Like I said,WE all basically have one major thing in common up here- WE just want to be left alone by almost everybody else in the world. </p><p></p><p>Guess who is the happiest in my family? We all grew up together down south in the San Diego area. My sibs are all successful in their chosen careers and financially upwardly mobile. They live in houses that look like the Jetsons would be comfortable in. They drive shiny new automobiles. They eat vegan or semi vegan and work out like its a religion. They shine their browns at the beach. They believe in the left side ******** that their chosen representatives lie to them about. Then there is me,was always the weird one anyways. The one who left 'civilization' in the south part of the state for the soltitude of the northern mountains 15 years ago,and never came back down the mountain. There is nothing about their 'shiny' perfect aerobicized lives that interest me. I dont miss the big cities. I kind of miss the beach sometimes and the ocean,but I only ever enjoyed it at night anyways, when it was quiet. I go to Big Sur when I want to see the ocean. I have a life long good friend who still lives in the bay area who dives for abalone and when Im home he brings some up to visit me for some beers and good eats. But I wouldnt trade my mountain life versus living down in the valleys and foothills or near the ocean for anything in the world. </p><p></p><p>I do my duty and go down and visit my family on holidays but when dinner is over I cant wait to get the hell out of there and back up to the mountain. I wont see any of them again until they come up to invade my privacy to ski. The snow. When it starts to snow up there, it really snows. We're talking in feet,not inches- the CHP closes the road down to chains and 4x4s only and thats when I am the happiest. The tourists all scurry off back down the mountain to 'safety' and leave and go back to wherever the hell they came from. The only people who try to make it up are people with places at Bear Valley who come back up every year for winter skiiing, and then whoever is left and stays is there for a few months and thats just the way we all like it. We're not stuck there,we're all glad to be there. Every one has their 4x4s and snowmobiles. I like my alone time but it is nice to go in to town on Friday and Saturday nights and hang out at the brewpub with my neighbors for some tasty steaks or burgers and some of the best microbrewed wheat ale,visit and talk to people,socialize a little. But then its also nice to go back home and be alone and sit out and listen to the snow fall and look out at that freakin unbelievable view I have of the valley down below our mountains. If I didnt have satellite TV and the internet then I wouldnt know anybody else was left on the planet some times. Its just me and my little Boston and we are happy just sittin and doing nothing sometimes. When my wife retires after her last kid graduates in 4 years she'll be up there with me a little bit but shes an Okie born and bred and I doubt she will stay long. I suppose we'll always live in both places.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="nofearfactor, post: 1350103, member: 1535"] My version of the 'what it's like to live in California' story. For me,its,what its like to NOT live in southern California. Where I live at ( [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold,_California[/url] ),all of our political representatives are Republican. They are representative of the population up on the mountain who voted to put them there to represent us. People who want nothing to do with the **** that goes on down in the valley,near the beach,in the shitholes of Oakland or LA,etc. My sister lives in the LA area, Huntington Beach; my older brother is in Monterey; my mom and stepdad are snowbirds living in San Francisco in my old condo in the Pacific Heights/Presidio area during the winters/then they spend summers back home in Oklahoma; and I live up north 7700 ft up in the mountains on Hwy4. My life back in Oklahoma: I live in a nice little upper to middle class neighborhood with well manicured lawns,a residential area and bedroom community 20 miles east of Tulsa. A place with someone on all sides of me just a few hundred feet away, social activities going on all of the time,etcetc. The hustle and bustle of our household,kids in school and their activities, the struggles we have to go thru to make the bucks to pay for it all. But after a few months of it though I start to get a little claustraphobic. When Im home I love spending time with my kids and wife and friends. But I also yearn for the mountains and cant wait to get the hell out of here for a month or so,I start looking forward to it. The drive there is always exciting. Even though Ive been going back and forth between Oklahoma and California all my life,41 years, I still love that drive. My little Boston has become a road warrior now too. We stock up on corn nuts and Dr Pepper and head off. I do my drives to and from California almost straight thru. I get a 2 hour nap about mid point some where usually then truck on. When I get back up at my place in nothern Cali I can breathe. Its quiet. I barely have any neighbors near me. The neighbors I do have though we all look out for each other with a tight grip. Ive been there 15 years in my place now but have been going there my whole life,so me and the neighbors have known each other forever it seems. New people come in here and there. They get welcomed. But people usually dont leave,unless they die. My little town near me has less than 5000 people in it, mostly all made up of big lifted 4x4 pickup drivin ultra conservative right wing outdoor freaks type of folks who regularly hunt and fish,some of us snowmobile and skii all winter, but we all have one thing in common- we just generally want to be left alone by the rest of civilization. There are some people living back in the woods near me who you wouldnt want to mess with. They go to town and stock up then get the hell back home. Like I said,WE all basically have one major thing in common up here- WE just want to be left alone by almost everybody else in the world. Guess who is the happiest in my family? We all grew up together down south in the San Diego area. My sibs are all successful in their chosen careers and financially upwardly mobile. They live in houses that look like the Jetsons would be comfortable in. They drive shiny new automobiles. They eat vegan or semi vegan and work out like its a religion. They shine their browns at the beach. They believe in the left side ******** that their chosen representatives lie to them about. Then there is me,was always the weird one anyways. The one who left 'civilization' in the south part of the state for the soltitude of the northern mountains 15 years ago,and never came back down the mountain. There is nothing about their 'shiny' perfect aerobicized lives that interest me. I dont miss the big cities. I kind of miss the beach sometimes and the ocean,but I only ever enjoyed it at night anyways, when it was quiet. I go to Big Sur when I want to see the ocean. I have a life long good friend who still lives in the bay area who dives for abalone and when Im home he brings some up to visit me for some beers and good eats. But I wouldnt trade my mountain life versus living down in the valleys and foothills or near the ocean for anything in the world. I do my duty and go down and visit my family on holidays but when dinner is over I cant wait to get the hell out of there and back up to the mountain. I wont see any of them again until they come up to invade my privacy to ski. The snow. When it starts to snow up there, it really snows. We're talking in feet,not inches- the CHP closes the road down to chains and 4x4s only and thats when I am the happiest. The tourists all scurry off back down the mountain to 'safety' and leave and go back to wherever the hell they came from. The only people who try to make it up are people with places at Bear Valley who come back up every year for winter skiiing, and then whoever is left and stays is there for a few months and thats just the way we all like it. We're not stuck there,we're all glad to be there. Every one has their 4x4s and snowmobiles. I like my alone time but it is nice to go in to town on Friday and Saturday nights and hang out at the brewpub with my neighbors for some tasty steaks or burgers and some of the best microbrewed wheat ale,visit and talk to people,socialize a little. But then its also nice to go back home and be alone and sit out and listen to the snow fall and look out at that freakin unbelievable view I have of the valley down below our mountains. If I didnt have satellite TV and the internet then I wouldnt know anybody else was left on the planet some times. Its just me and my little Boston and we are happy just sittin and doing nothing sometimes. When my wife retires after her last kid graduates in 4 years she'll be up there with me a little bit but shes an Okie born and bred and I doubt she will stay long. I suppose we'll always live in both places. [/QUOTE]
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