At least we here in SoCal understand we?re savannah and desert locations, unlike you NoCal folk who drained vast marshes and swampland and forests to make those farmlands! Plus, your ground water isn?t used for SoCal, it?s used in in your farms and industrial practices.Neverhoodian said:California, specifically the Sacramento Valley region. It's largely agricultural around these parts, with rice and almonds being the major cash crops. I happen to live in one of the few modestly sized cities, but travel just half a mile west from my position and you'll run into a bunch of orchards.
Unlike our southern brethren, we northern Californians made the sensible decision not to build our cities next to deserts. Unfortunately we're more sparsely populated, which means southern California routinely siphons our ground water away in order to keep their giant swimming pools and immaculate golf courses. It's a pet peeve of mine when people automatically think of surfing and palm trees when I mention my state. The landscape is actually quite diverse where I live, ranging from wetlands to snow-covered mountains.
We're also not the progressive hotbed that everyone thinks we are. With the exception of Sacramento and the Bay Area, most districts up north are distinctly conservative (I'm more center-left, which makes me an anomaly). Again though, we don't have the numbers like in other, more left leaning parts of the state, so the Democrats pretty much have free reign concerning state matters. This had led to a movement advocating the formation of a new state called Jefferson, though it's little more than a pipe dream at this point.
But anyway, yes California. We may be ?blue? for federal elections, we?re pretty much purple locally. Red and blue all over, though tends to be Blue Coast and Red Inland. Also what is liberal in Los Angeles is different from San Fransisco liberal, from San Diego liberal, or Sacramento liberal.
If you want to travel from Los Angeles/San Diego northbound, or San Fransicso/Sacramento southbound, it will take you between 6-10 hours of driving one direction depending on what roads you take and what traffic you deal with. Also gas prices are priced crazy. Main street or highway gas station? Crazy expensive (From $3.50 to more than $4 in such areas). More out of the way streets or middle of small time shopping areas? Quite cheap (Seem them from $2.20 to $3.10 in such areas).
There are a lot of small town locations all across the state that are great places to be if you know what you?re looking for and where it is located in the state, but you will need to find a motel at least to be able to enjoy said locations.
Nationally, we?re the reason many states are even able to stay afloat, because a large number of our federal tax dollars are siphoned away from us to keep them from collapsing completely. Upwards to 35-40% of our tax money is taken away. We?re also the major food producer of the country, most of what we grow goes to the markets across the nation (And lots of it goes across the world too).
Every city, town, and county is completely different. Don?t expect someone from one part of Los Angeles to act in the same manner as another part, same is in a person from San Diego to act the same as someone from Barstow, San Francisco, San Jose, etc. We?re one giant state, but our population could effectively be compared to at least 5 different states due to the vast cultural differences in this huge ass state.