Blog Challenge Day 19: California Dreams

Blog challenge is from Can I Get Another Bottle of Whine

 

Day 19:  If you could live anywhere, where would it be, and why?

If you've known me or read my blog for any amount of time, my answer to this question is no secret.  If I could live anywhere, it would be southern California.  Probably not right in Los Angels, but near it.  Probably the furthest I would live from it is Lake Forest, which is about 40 miles south of Los Angeles. 

But the South--where you live--is lovely!  Why on EARTH would you want to move to California? 

Hey, at least it wasn't New York!

Well, my home town (lovingly scornfully referred to as "JackVegas") is not exactly the ideal place to abode if you are well educated, artistic, or are media or entertainment minded and don't know the "right people."  It's a good place to get an education, but I need to get out of there to ever be more than I already am.

Yes, I know that California has it's problems, but it also has it advantages.  Yes, I realize that the cost of living is higher there, but so are wages and opportunities.  Yes, it's hard to break into entertainment, writing, music, or art, but I believe they are not so quick to turn down hiring a person with education who is willing to work a lower end job.  I'm sure they see their share of homeless divas who think they are too good to mop a floor, take out trash, or clean a baby's bottom.  Not me, girlfriend.

Unlike where I live, I don't think the powers that be in California would discourage me from  pee on my dreams.  They would not blatantly do things that keep me trapped in the system.  They would not discourage me from working and tell me that I need to just go and get a government check.  Oh yes I was told that on more than one occasion.

Along with the opportunity factor, there are more reasons I want to live there:

• I've always felt like an outsider in "JackVegas" and I've been here since I was six years old!  The first time I set foot on California soil, I felt at home.  No, I didn't see any celebrities or spectacular views.  It was just a feeling in my heart that, I believe, came from God.  I've had a heart for California since I was a kid.
• The weather.  It's Alabama Spring and Fall ALL YEAR.  No hot as hades, humid as the inside of a dog's mouth summers.  No winters that send your power bill into outer space.  Year round football weather.  Can I get a Roll Tide!
• Bike lanes and public transportation. If I don't feel comfortable driving around, there are plenty of other ways to get there.
• More entertainment and art venues.
• More diverse culture - as I've said, my home town is very anti anything that is not already like itself.  It is also still very racially and socioeconomically divided--and they like it that way.  I don't.
• Did I mention the weather?

It's very difficult to feel this way about a place and every door I can see to get to that place is closed and has furniture piled behind it.  I'm not sure how I'm going to escape the "JackVegas" vortex, but I WILL.