California seems overwhelming

If LA and NYC are your ideas of wilderness, we have very different definitions of the word. San Diego is considerably better, but quite honestly most of southern California and the Bay Area are concrete paved wastelands. The beaches are the highlight. Most of the trails I have been on in LA are paved, just like the rivers and creeks they abut (all concrete). There is no place to park and everything is overpriced (houses that would be found in ghettos in many parts of the country are considered million dollar homes in LA). If you want wilderness, try cities in Alaska, Montana or Wyoming.

Hrunner2 wrote:

Ha ha - did you just call Central Park wilderness? Love Central Park but it is nothing compared to national parks like headlands, Muir Woods, or even topango canyon in so cal

I can see trees from my house wrote:

Ever heard of Central Park?

Muir Woods is beautiful-but wilderness, I don’t think so. John Muir defined wilderness as a place where man is a temporary visitor. I went there last January. Parking lot full. Shuttle buses from Mill Valley-full. Trails full-even when one left the valley floor and hiked up the side to the ridge overlooking the ocean. Muir Woods is beautiful, but it is also crowded and spoiled from overuse.

Not a big fan of the Eagles, but there’s a line from one of their songs... “Call something paradise and it’s gone.” I think they were talking about California in general, and Yosemite and Muir Woods in particular. I fear that cancer is spreading here in Colorado.

Ever heard of lief Erickson?

There are no major, or even secondary cities in Alaska, Montana or Wyoming.

I lived in San Jose. You can’t go down the street in 10 minutes.

You’re an idiot. You got trails in Nisene or Huddart (35 min) and you do long runs at the Baylands (more than 10 min from SJ).

Good running but your 15 miles from everything which equates to an hour in the car.

As a resident of San Jose, I admit that most of the unbroken running paths are only accessible by a long car drive. You'll most likely have to run on the concrete sidewalks in the suburbs we have here. Traffic is pretty bad during rush hours, but as a runner you can get up early to avoid it. Have to admit Baylands is a underrated place to run- long vistas of the Bay with smooth dirt trails.

Everyone that complains about CA being overcrowded seems to forget that the northern third of the state is very sparsely populated and a lot of it is covered in forests and mountains. Yes Muir Woods and Yosemite Valley are packed, but if you go a little further north Pt Reyes has plenty of hikes or runs where you won't see very many people.

And if you really want remote, there is the Lost Coast, Mt Shasta Wilderness, Trinity Alps, Kings Canyon - places you can find as much solitude as just about anywhere in the lower 48. I run on trails in the Bay Area almost exclusively and I seldom encounter anyone during the week and only a few people on weekends - and no I don't have to drive to them.

Socal guy that cant stand Jamin wrote:

Expensive yes, liberal POS governments - state and local. But we have everything.

When I’m cruising a 15 miler in a singlet in the middle of January or February and think about those either slipping on ice, or can’t run outside, or stuck on a treadmill in 2/3 of the country, it’s all worth it.

+1

California sucks. Your OP is correct - it is a land of extremes. Extreme weather, extreme cost, extreme wealth, extreme traffic, extreme ideas, extreme people. It's not a place a "moderate" person does well in.

People are still clinging on to a 1950-60s ideal of California: one of surf, sandy beaches, beautiful people and tons of economic opportunity. Or a utopian hippie paradise of the 60s. That California is long dead. Now, don't come if you're not already wealthy or Mexican. Seriously. People underestimate the how expensive it is to live here (in the not-terrible areas) and how many people from South of the Border live here now. It's a white minority state - 45% of the residents or white.

TLDR - California is played out. Go to Boise, Salt Lake City or some other western city that's booming and still cheap.

muir woods is big - congratulations - you want to the one acre that every single tourist on the planet goes to, next time trying going outside the main half mile path and you will find yourself alone, with mountain lions, bobcats, wildlife, beautiful trees and peace and quiet

This is the dumbest post i've seen - you open with extreme weather - here in bay area... we rarely, rarely go below 40 (only at night if it happens) and rarely, rarely go above 90. it is nearly the most temperate weather in the world. i grew up on the east coast, that is extreme, and awful weather

osaka123 wrote:

California sucks. Your OP is correct - it is a land of extremes. Extreme weather, extreme cost, extreme wealth, extreme traffic, extreme ideas, extreme people. It's not a place a "moderate" person does well in.

People are still clinging on to a 1950-60s ideal of California: one of surf, sandy beaches, beautiful people and tons of economic opportunity. Or a utopian hippie paradise of the 60s. That California is long dead. Now, don't come if you're not already wealthy or Mexican. Seriously. People underestimate the how expensive it is to live here (in the not-terrible areas) and how many people from South of the Border live here now. It's a white minority state - 45% of the residents or white.

TLDR - California is played out. Go to Boise, Salt Lake City or some other western city that's booming and still cheap.

I can see trees from my house wrote:

Leighton Woodhouse wrote:

L.A. is the only major metropolis in the country that directly abuts wilderness

Ever heard of Central Park?

LULZZLIZLZLULXZZ at thinking central park is "wilderness"

Sub 5 or die wrote:

I'm from Pennsylvania, and I couldn't imagine living in California. It looks incredible - beaches, red wood forests, mountain views and impressive cities.

But, its just so big. The traffic looks like a nightmare. How do you grocery shop after getting out of work? Where do you go for a quiet hike? What is life like in California? Asking for a friend. lol, jk, I just want to hear :)

I do believe you are a troll setting up people to bash Cali. As a lifelong resident, I will say there are a basically 5 or 6 different regions in California that are dramatically different. There is something almost anyone can enjoy but it is definitely not all great.

Overcrowded roads and cities suck. Cost of living is ridiculous and taxes are high. Overall I think people in Southern California are less friendly than what I've experienced in other parts of the country.

The one thing that really separates California from other places is the weather is awesome. Especially the LA and San Diego areas. 50F is considered freezing there and you don't have the oppressive humidity of a place like Florida.

As crowded as a place like Yosemite is all you have to do is hike for 20ish minutes and the crowds are no more. Very few people will hike up the upper trail of Yosemite falls. Very people use the loop trail around Mirror Lake (a great trail for run around a couple of times to get a workout in).

Socal guy that cant stand Jamin wrote:

Expensive yes, liberal POS governments - state and local. But we have everything.

When I’m cruising a 15 miler in a singlet in the middle of January or February and think about those either slipping on ice, or can’t run outside, or stuck on a treadmill in 2/3 of the country, it’s all worth it.

Slipping on ice? Ever hear of Nordic skiing? No, on second thought, please stay in California

California is just like anything else that lots of people want to be part of - highly competitive. It is expensive, and it is much better to be wealthy there than it is to be poor. However, it is also home to several of just about the best place in the world to become wealthy. No different than places like NYC, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc. If you want to live near the world's engines of wealth creation and try to get your piece, then your going to have to compete for the privilege just like everyone else.

Just realize in these kinds of places you either make it big, or you eventual leave (or stay and complain bitterly about how crowded and expensive everything is). There is not real middle ground. If you want the middle ground, plenty of other places to live that are less competitive and expensive. The trade off is generally less opportunity.

Vancouver is the most beautiful an dangerous large city on the Planet. Grizzle bears in back yard, mountain lions in school parks, killer whales eating fisher men , then travel to the east side of the city and your will find triggered immigrant gangs from India and Pakastan. We would like to host the next Olympics as well.

Mount Baldy, which goes up to 10K feet and is 45 minutes from downtown LA, is not paved. The Marin Headlands, which are 20 minutes from San Francisco, are not paved. There is a reason housing is affordable in Alaska and Montana and Wyoming.

"What is life like in California? "

California is something like 5 different state: So Cal, Central coast, Bay area, NorCal, Central Valley. What life is like depends on where you live.

SoCal is dominated by LA, but San Diego, desert, mountains, and Ventura/Santa Barbara are vastly different from LA.

Central Coast ranges from paradise: SB wine country, SLO, Arroyo Grande to rural/dumpy (Santa Maria).

Bay Area is rich and vibrant and crowded as heck.

NoCal is beautiful and rainy and rural and isolated.

Central Valley is hot, poor and limited in opportunities (but is also the gateway to California second (or first) paradise.

Some of these areas are very crowded. Some are not. Some are very expensive. Some are not.