I have become incredibly tired of reading comments stating "Californians move to other states and ruin everything". I am not the first person, and certainly not the last who hopes to dispel some of these myths about those awful Californians. As with any group, nobody is all the same. I think it is popular to hate us, but it seems rather silly to me.
Myth 1: Californians make real estate prices go up. Real estate prices are going up everywhere. Also, I have noticed that some large tech companies have moved to Seattle. That increases the amount of people who move to Seattle to work there. Yes some are from California but not all. Then the housing prices go up. So people move farther away and commute. Then the housing goes up there, and so on and so forth. I agree that housing prices are too high pretty much everywhere in the U.S. So blame the tech companies. Blame the government or the banks, but blaming the Californians is giving us way more power than we have. Don't make our heads swell up now.
Myth 2: Californians pay cash for their houses. Surprise! We didn't make huge money selling our last house In fact, we were underwater for years. We did make a down payment with the proceeds, but we have an oppressive mortgage just like the rest of you. My medical bills actually throw us in the hole every month.
Myth 3: Californians are rich. See the paragraph above.
Myth 4: Californians drive fancy cars. My husband drives a Jeep that is older than two of our kids. I drive a 2005 Scion with over 100,000 miles on it. They are paid off and that is how I like it. We drive our cars until the wheels fall off. We always have.
Myth 5: All Californians drive fast. I can't speak for all Californians. I remember getting stuck behind some pretty slow ones when I lived there. However, the area we have chosen in Washington does seem to be notorious for people who drive 10 miles an hour below the speed limit. I do LIKE to drive the speed limit, and sometimes a bit over in uncrowded highway conditions. I hate when a 20 minute drive takes me 30 minutes because somebody drives below the speed limit. I don't tailgate, but I am grumbling at you behind the wheel. So I guess I am a fast driver. But for the love of all that is holy, what is wrong with driving the speed limit, assuming weather conditions are safe? Or what is the matter with using turn-outs? I have used them when somebody wants to go faster than me. It takes about three seconds.
Myth 6: Californians want to change wherever they live into California. I would have stayed in California if I liked California. I moved to a rural area with less people. That is exactly how I like it. I don't need a closer grocery store, gas station, or bank. Keep it rural please.
Myth 7: Californians vote for laws that raise taxes. If there is anything I have learned, it is that voting for higher taxes never works. We pay plenty in taxes and it will always be mismanaged by our government. Next!
Myth 8: Californians move here and complain about the weather. Doesn't everyone complain about the weather no matter where they live? I complained in California because it was too hot. I complain here because spring takes too long to arrive. I still love it here. Winter is the price we pay for an amazing summer, but the winters do stretch on. So maybe we do complain about the weather, but so do the natives. I forgot to sign the "no complaining about the weather" clause when I moved here.
Myth 9: Californians are food snobs. I do like to eat. Does that make me a food snob? It is really expensive to eat out, prohibitively expensive actually. If I have to pay a hundred dollars for a family of four to have BREAKFAST, (I'm talking to you, Port Townsend) damn right I am going to complain if it tastes crappy. Seriously, how can they mess up breakfast? Yes, we were incredibly spoiled as far as eating out goes in California. However, Washington has a lot of gluten-free and vegan options. I think that is great. Washington is way ahead of California on that. I can't help it if I pine for wonderful ethnic cuisine. I LOVE all the (well prepared) foods.
I am sure there are a few more things about Californians I could choose to touch on. However, these are some of the most prevalent comments I have seen about people from California. If you choose to hate me, do it because there is something you don't like about me as a person. Don't choose to hate me because I come from a different region in the country I am a citizen of.
