EDIT: I feel I should specify: most of these things were
true of the San Diego area. I cannot vouch for any ideas or activities in other
parts of the state.
Near the end of my senior year of college, I began searching
for where I should head next. Like a large portion of my graduating class, I
didn't have a job lined up and I could head, well, anywhere. When I first
started thinking about coming out to California, I heard a loud resounding
descent. Supposedly I was going to hate living out in Cali. It is the kind of
place that is better in the imagination. But with encouragement from a few
important people, I decided to try it out. I don’t want to live out here
forever, especially not in the hot desert of Riverside. But I am extremely
grateful that I moved here. These are my reasons:
- I needed warm weather. I was young and single
and freezing in long Indiana winters. I needed some warmth. (For more on where
to live in certain stages of life: http://nthculture.blogspot.com/2013/09/where-to-move.html)
- California is by far the most outgoing place I
have ever been. Everyone talks to you, everyone becomes friends with you. Not
in the deep life-long friend way, only two of my friends from California came
to my wedding, but in the fun, un-exclusive way of community. I could meet
someone one weekend, and be invited to their birthday party the next. Everyone
was included, everyone was invited. It was so refreshing.
- This hill behind my grandparents house in Alpine is one of the best places to feel at peace, and to have a small piece of home:
- You can wear whatever you want out here. No one
looks twice at the kid with the helmet covered in cloth spikes walking around
the mall, no one wonders about the girl with five facial piercings, and no one
cares if you are just wearing jeans. I could wear thigh high boots without
judgment, I could wear heels with shorts, and I could ignore brushing my hair
for three days and just pull it back. It’s also the first place I lived where
no one asked me why I didn't wear makeup. There’s a large amount of freedom
when people accept you no matter what you look like.
- Instead of being on the liberal end of the scale
as I was in Indiana, I was pretty conservative. I was not the most ‘out there’
person. My opinions were somewhat normal for this area of the country. The
people that disagreed with me did it inquisitively, not with judgment.
- I got married. I can’t recommend you move out to
California just to find (or in my case re-find) the love of your life, but it
worked out nicely for me. It helped that I had a slight plan to be persistently
patient. It has been the best blessing of my time here. Although, there is
quite a large array of people here so meeting the love of your life isn't all
that unlikely.
California, I will always love the time I spent here. Thank you for your sunshine, oceans, and most of all, people.
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