O/T Who used to live in Calif?

Quite often when reading the posts, there are many replies about living in Ca. at one time. It seems as if a few have left due to work or just being tired of it. Just curious/bored.

 

I lived around Sacramento area,cost of living went up,wages didn't and had two ex-wives too close for comfort seem's like a good reason.Miss the weather & fishin' and old buddies though.

 

Opposite here, moved a girlfriend to LA and visted frequently always had a blast. Used to see posts on here about the past and present and would get goosebumps thinking about it. Just got here from Michigan in Sept, now I'm here and lovin it. In fact I ran up to Bobs on Friday and Mooneyes on Saturday last weekend..

did I mention I live with two girls near the beach and the two car garage is MIIIINNNNEEE!!!

 

I grew up in Tarzana, Calif and then joined the Marine Corp at 18 and got stationed in Orange County Calif Eltoro which is in Irvine, I loved it so much that when I got out I moved with my Wife a few miles west to Newport beach and lived there for 5 years and then moved here to Vegas in 2000 due to the fact that I could buy a house and my mortgage would be a 1/3 of what rent was in OC

 

i lived in californa for 18 years, then left cause i joined the air force.. but now i'm back

 

I lived in Cali all my life from San Francisco to San Diego and many points in between. I miss it a lot and would like to return if my job in Portland goes away. Here is the reason I left, All of a sudden I didn't own anything anymore so I went to Portland to visit a friend and here I am. Still my favorite state to drive through and someday I'll return.

 

Ouch man, that sucks big time. I hope you had decent insurance at least. Best of luck......

I have been thinking about SOCal alot lately.... For a Gearhead, there just cant be a better place to live......

I fucking hate michigan winters and salt and rust........ Did I mention that snow does me no favors being in a wheelchair either?

Rudy

 

Lived in OC for a while. hated it. lived in NorCal Sacto for a while, loved it. jobs and life took me to Denver, then back to Oklahoma City, haven't had the gumption or the money to make it back cali. maybe someday. all my homeboys in NorCal moved on out of state though... I just hate thinking how hard I had to hustle out left coast. Truly the rat race... sure is a great place to do ANYTHING you want though. I sure miss fresh sturgeon and abalone, American River, South Lake, Napa, Sonoma, and 'downtown' Petaluma. Thanks for letting me reminisce...

 

Grew up in Omaha, moved to L.A. area to go to Cal Arts. Got my start in animation and stayed for close to 13 years. Moved to rural Nebraska to give the kids a taste of where my wife and I grew up and so the could know their grandparents while there's still time.
My dad was pretty sick with cancer so these years back in Nebraska have been very important. May move back to California some day, if they get their politics figured out but with 9 siblings on my side and 5 on the wives plus the dozens of cousins being here, it may be hard to leave again.

 

I lived in the San Faransico Bay Area from 1968 until 2002. I moved to beautiful Sedalia MO. because of a Granddaughter. We had a real feel of 1 deg today. Oh yea. Dean

 

Now I sit here in Cali and think back of the good times crusin' Woodward.. I'll never win!

 

Grew up in Riverside. Left for a bit a came back. Ain't never leaviing again. Tasted a couple of them snowy winters. Those people have to be nuts. An hour to El Mirage. 14 hours to Bonneville. What else do you need?

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You're not missing much, woodward aint what it used to be. (not that I was around back then, but I'm talking like even 10 years ago) I enjoy the downriver cruise, cruisin'telegraph, and the helluvacruise much more. I would just be in heaven seeing all the old cars everyday, and even being able to drive a classic year-round!!! You got out at the right time, cuz when one of the big 3 goes down, we all go down with them. People from other states just dont know how bad it is here......

Best of luck to you, I am jealous.

Rudy

 

I always liked pre-cruisin' Woodward, those two weeks before the show it was always a blast. I wasnt around to cruise back in the day either.

Hey you've always got a place to crash in the San Diego area, us GMB's gotta look out for each other.

 

Born & raised in Inglewood, Ca. After HS graduation in 1950, Korean war, after 4 years USN, back to Inglewood---Hawthone---Torrance---Westlake Village---Retired from pipefitters & welders union 1984---Moved here to Bend, Oregon & love everything about it, especially the 4 seasons!---No more Freeway hangups---All winter sports 35 min. away---Ditto summer time water sports & fishing lakes---Hunting & shooting sports to the East of me 45 min.---Population in 1984, 16000---
Population in 2008, 80,000, BUT, never near the L.A. growth!!
Walking or riding bike to school during WWII & after, you could always see MT. WILSON in the distance, with MINIMAL SMOG, during WWII, people came from all over the nation to work at various industry's--Ship--Auto--Aircraft--& the thousands of overnight 2 car garages converted to instant small parts mfg. turning out parts for the war effort. The South Bay area became a "MECCA" of industry.
Then after the war, 95% of the "newly citizens" did not return to their original states, they loved the great year around weather conditions & all the attractions around the L.A. area,---So, they stayed put, buying homes, cars, raising families, & in general, living a good life! Along with this large influx of new habitants, came the dark side of L.A.'s future----Smoggy conditions!---Everyone had a burning device in their backyard commonly known as the "Incinerator" which every household used to dispose of daily burnable trash, this worked fine for a while, then as the skies became more & more unbearable, & the watered eyes begged for relief, L. A. appointed a man named Smith Griswold to oversee this situation. Well, you know how politics work in the BIG cities, Griswold appointed one of his buddies to be the "TRASH CZAR" & a law was passed to have your trash picked up at curbside once a week, ELIMINATING the old "INCINERATOR" in the back yard. Who do you think was the NEW TRASH KING???
Non other than--J.C. AGAJANIAN, (later known in all racing circles). Talk about a monopoly!!!!---This guy had the contract for ALL LA AREA!!!
The air quality did not get any better---After a couple years Griswold was fired & left the scene. Coupled with SMOG & the SMUDGE POTS in all citrus growing areas, by 1960 things were really getting hot over the bad air quality in the whole area! People were getting madder, the media was blasting LA City hall for not producing a quick solution to the growing problem & so on.
In 1968 I moved my family from Torrance,Ca. out to Westlake Village, Ca. where the air quality was great, even tho I had to travel daily back into the smog areas.
Research engineers claimed that if water injected scrubber spray systems were installed in each industrial chimneys throughout the LA area, it would SOLVE the smog problem, this idea would cost the industry millions of dollars, & someone back then suggested it was the cars, trucks, & diesel buses causing the main problem, naturally big business not wanting to pay for the scrubber systems, Jumped on the idea of all vehicles causing the problem.
So, after all the finger pointing at eachother, SMOG is still prevelent in the LA basin, & in 1984, all I wanted to do is get out of that environment into a better way of life, & I have no intention of EVER moving back to that mess!----That was 25 years ago!!-------Don

 

Folks lived there...around SJ Valley and Central Coast in the '50s/60s.
Valley sucked hind tit...flat...hot...barren...just ugly.
Central Coast is cool, but $$ to live there.
Mom still in MorroBay...nice to visit.
Draconian smog laws pervade existence.
Oppressive cops in the senior/resort areas
don't appreciate rowdy young guys.
Or rowdy old guys.

Escaped to beaucolic PacNW 40 years ago.
As soon as I had the opportunity.
And never once considered returning.
PacNW offers employment (20+ years at same job),
reasonable housing for many years.
Until fat Californians started paying nutty money for our housing.
Still...$70K 25 years ago bought new 2000sqft, bigass garage, and half acre.
10 miles from work.
Find that in the land of fruits and nuts.

 

Born in L.A. 1960. Raised in Glendale, La Canada, then later, Westlake Village.
Spent my teens and early twenties cruising Van Nuys Blvd on Wednesday nights and "T Street" in Simi. Used to hit the Whisky and the Starwood at night. Good times. Got married. Bought a starter home. Got upside down in the real estate market but nobody was missing any meals. Started a career. Fast forward twenty-odd years. Had two kids and a wife and was living the "California dream". Still driving hot rods. Cruising Bob's Big Boy with the kids. Rampant crime. People getting gunned down at ATMs. Earthquakes. And then the big event, at least for me. The L.A. riots. Seemed like half the town was on fire. We started wondering why our kids weren't having the same quality of life I had in the same town thirty year earlier. Started reading livability studies based on what my wife and I most enjoyed. Live music. Warm weather. Mild winters. Classic car driving weather. Kept seeing Austin, TX ranked way up at the top of various lists. It seemed to have everything we loved. Took a deeep breath and did something I never dreamed I would. I left my once beloved hometown for a better life. Moved here in 99, the boys were 5 and 8. All of my Cali friends figured I'd be back. Nope. This is it. I've got five acres and a garage bigger than any house we've ever owned. Room to roam. Know and like my neighbors. Do I miss the car shows every weekend? You bet I do. The beaches? Abso-freakin'-lutely. Pomona and Long Beach Swap meets? Yep. Do I miss the rat race or the L.A. real estate roller coaster or the gangs? Not one iota. Take it from an L.A. native. If you've got kids to raise, there's more to life than L.A. Just one man's opinion.

 

imperial beach 1964-1975

 

Spent more than half my life in San Diego (83-06). In early 06, took a promotion and transfer that brought us to Austin, TX. I do miss So Cal from time to time, but I'm having a ball here in Austin. It took three years, but the family is starting to feel at home, mostly due to hospitality and acceptance of the fine Austin folk.

 

Born and raised in the San Gabriel Valley. Left in the 80s back in the late 90s. I worked all over the country in the 90s. Sold out 2 years ago and moved to a small town in Utah. I'm a happy man. Wayno

 

I Love California, but the one thing I don't understand is how people afford it ? With housing so expensive, what does everyone have to do ? Not everyone has $150,000 dollar a year jobs out there do they ?? What does the average person or family do to survive ? I sure can't figure it out.

 

I got an opportunity to telecommute..(and a hefty child support payment.) way cheaper out here in the country and the girlfriend has a ton of family. (Read: free baby sitters...) I travel all over the country and the North Georgia mountains are some of the greenest, most scenic areas of the country. It's like New England without the snow... yeah, it gets hot and humid in the summer time, but it's a wet heat.

That being said California is awesome and there is no place on earth like it...

 

I lived in San Diego for 35 years. I went there in 1969 for the drag racing and spent every weekend at OCIR, Lions, Irwindale, etc. Now those are all gone and so are most of the circle tracks. For the last few years we were there things just got to be too much. Congestion, (my last job was a 15 mile commute and it took an hour to get home at night), expenses, (High car registration fees and dumb rules) the stupid politics, and rampant political correctness finally drove us out.

In 2006 we moved to East Tennessee and now I wish we had done it years ago. No traffic reports on the radio because there's no traffic. Race tracks all over the place. The Pomona swap meet? We've got the Charlotte Auto Fair. Car shows and cruises? Some weekends in the summer there's so many we have to pick and choose. Goodguys, Nashville, Charlotte, and Bowling Green, are all within easy driving distance. The scenery is beatuful, real estate is 1/3 to 1/4 of what it is in SoCal, there's no state income tax, $25/year to register your car, and we even like the change of seasons.

Is there anything about SoCal I miss? Only two things, the beach and In-N-Out! You can keep all the rest!

 

I used to, joined the Marines in '78 at 18. Lived in 29 palms and riverside. Visited some other places. Everything was the same, bland, tepid.
Hot and cold I can take but the luke warm I spew.
I like NY better, the change of seasons means the ant and grasshopper apply, ie you'll intelligently function or freeze/starve next season.
What I like best is stockbrokers turned waiters...... Even better when that scum wind up in the prison laundry.
Oh guess what the roads are better in NY than california and yours don't suffer frost heaving.

 

Born (1965) and raised in north Long Beach until I was 15, Started to get into trouble (fun) so mom moved me up to the hills above Fresno. What a culture shock! Long haired surfer kid hanging out with a bunch of hicks. Went into the Navy at 19, and other than visiting I havent been back. I just wish parts were easier to get in florida, like they are in Cali.

 

Now you did it; I need a double-double -animal style.... Mmmmh. One of the best goddamn bugers out there....

PS: not to mention their shakes and fries.


NOW I'm home sick

 

Live in the San Diego area from 1962 till June 1977. Folks moved back to Michigan when Dad retired from the Navy with 20 years. There was never any question about whether we were moving back to my folks home state as me and my sister were living the California lifestyle of spending more time at the beach then in school and studying. Lots of boys in lots of cool cars. We cried in the backseat of the family car all the way across country. The midwest lifestyle was a culture shock but was probably the right thing to do to straighten out a couple of teenage girls.

 

Born in Monterey Park, lived in Bell Gardens, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Covina and Charter Oak. East end of San Gabriel Valley was a great place to live, orange groves everywhere beautiful view of Mt Baldy. This of course was the 1950's, then came the sixties... Cut down the orange groves, couldn't even see the foothills any longer let alone Baldy! Oppressive smog, cops and traffic. I left the summer of '67 for Phoenix. I did take with me the memories of a wonderful time and place. I do miss In 'n Out, though...
Double Double with grilled onions, Please!

 

Interesting thread. I was made and born in the SGV(San Gabriel Valley), Arcadia to be exact in 78. At 2 we moved down to San Juan Capistrano and then @ 6 moved to El Toro now known as Lake Forest. Use to watch the helicopters and the F-14's fly over our house all the time that were stationed at the El Toro Marine Base. Anyways moved back up to the SGV a year later into a 1950's ranch house my uncle built in 1951. Attended San Marino schools from 3rd thru 12th grade, became a cop, moved back to Orange County in 1997 and moved all over OC. Bought a house in Riverslime....I mean Riverside in 2001 and moved out to Austin, TX in 2003.
Do I miss it? Absolutely. Would I ever go back?......don't know if I can honestly answer that one. After 4 years of not liking it here I am finally met a good group of people so I don't know....oh and for all of you SoCal transplants that are here in Austin missing In N Out, try 5 Guys or Might Fine. Your craving for the yellow arrow might just dissapear.

 

I graduated high school in Encinitas, CA (North of San Diego). Mom did all right there. they bought a house for $23,000 in 1968 and sold it in 1992 for $485,000. A 4 room shack that would be condemmed anywhere else, but becasue it was 1/2 mile from the beach it was golden.
I moved back and forth a couple of times 1970 to 1977, and again 1999-2000 but always going back to the midwest.

California story:
When I bought my house in 1973 in Hwthorne, CA (between LA and Long Beach) I drove the pickup into the driveway with a trailier and truck carrying EVERYTHING we owned. My new next door neighbor comes running over. says hello, ays his name, then asks if I want to go 50-50 on an 8' high cinder block wall down the property line. Tehy love those walls out there. I told him no, thanks. Every 3-4 months he asked again and again and again. We sold the house in October of 1977 and moved back to Chicago. In December of '77 i went back for work reasons and stopped by to to visit the guy across the street who was putting a 409 into a '54 Pickup. They were putting the finishing touches on an 8' high block wall on my old house.

While ther are some cool folks out there, TOO MANY Californians are plastic asshats that are only about personal status/image and are the most self absorbed bunch I've ever dealt with. I've lived all over...Illinois, Virginia, Georgia, Ohio, Missouri, North Carolina, Minnesota, Tennessee. FORTUNATELY, there ain't NOTHING like a plastic California puke. And out there there are SO MANY of them.