Don't you just love living in CA?

Like most, I've moved here from elsewhere, specifically Chicago. My DH is from Hong Kong! We live in the SF Bay Area and love it, despite the expense. I took up gardening very late in life, only 3 years ago. Have a small house on a large (for the city) lot, but much of it is shady so I can only grow roses and other sunlovers in certain beds. Went out into the garden today and picked some roses, hydrangeas and dahlias for the vases.

Our friends that live in other states always ask, "Aren't you afraid of earthquakes?" and "How can you live there when it's so expensive?" But when you can have this kind of beauty around you, it is such a joy to be able to do this when it's almost November (and actually, it's pretty chilly and overcast here today, lol).

From top to bottom, these are: 'Double Delight' and 'Margaret Merrill'; 'Margaret Merrill' and an 'Endless Summer' hydrangea clone; and dahlia 'Bishop of Landreff'

We just learn to deal with all that comes with CA living, don't we? It's not like we have earthquakes everyday here and yes, it is expensive but I'd live no where else. Born and raised in this area. It's also chilly here today, a little cloudy but hopefully this weather will help out the firefighters.
Your flowers are beautiful!

Sometimes.....but having also been born and raised here, I fear it's time to leave. If you're over a certain age, you know what it used to be like and that it can never be recaptured. I've always loved California, it's special, but once it's gone, it's gone. Sigh.
Sherry

I`ve been here all my life, and would probably freeze' elsewhere. 'haha

mary

I am over that certain age and remember how things used to be...the vineyards here in Cucamonga, the open space, now homes everywhere, and the traffic is getting awful but I've learned to deal with it. I would rather be here where the weather couldn't be better most of the time, I love the sun and couldn't deal with the weather we're having right now all the time, cloudy and just plain yucky, but I know that spring is just around the corner and the flowers will be blooming and then we'll be complaining about how hot it is. Sherry, where do you think you'd go? I've always wondered where I would go if I were to leave here, maybe up the coast...Cambria! That's a gorgeous little city but that's all about I've come up with.

weeg,
You bet!!! Cambria is my town of choice, but anywhere north of Santa Barbara and I'm in heaven. I'll be going up to see my Dad in 2 weeks and my gift to myself will be to cut over to Cambria on the way back. If and when we leave it will be to head back to the northwest...I like the yucky weather. When I die, I hope it's in summer, 'cause I sure don't want to miss the fall and winter...pumpkins, gourds, indian corn, christmas trees, soups, stews, hot chocolate, rainy days making cookies and reading. It is funny how differently we all respond to the weather, I've just been ecstatic all day and it's supposed to be like this for several days anyway, how lucky can I get?!
Sherry

I was raised in Oregon but moved to the San Fran. Bay area during my teens, then I married young and moved to the Chicago area . I couldn't wait to get bay to the Bay area, and told my husband I would never leave again. I don' think I would be willing too. Even with the frost we get, we have really nice weather most of the time.

Patricia

I dont live there, but omg! Beautiful state you got there!
:)
Amy

Sherry, bring me back a piece of Cambria will you?!?!!
Patricia, you're very fortunate to live where you live too. I'm fortunate too, I have a home here and it's not really that bad here, this is where I grew up and can't see myself ever leaving...dh would love to move to the Azores where he was born. Yikes, an island?!?!
And yes Amy, we do have some very nice areas. Where else are you 1/2 an hour from the beach, the mountains or even the desert!

I love the Bay Area, too. We lived in Contra Costa 25-30 years ago, still miss it. But then, I love all of California, there's something great about almost every part of it. From where we are we have a fantastic ride to Julian (and especially when it snows). Went to Julian a couple of days ago and had lunch and from there down through Del Dios to Rancho Santa Fe and the coast for pizza for dinner. There have been a couple of times that we made it to Big Bear and still down to the coast for pizza....seeing a pattern here? Last winter when we got so much more snow here we went through Temecula to Warner Springs (covered in snow!) to Borrego Springs and up to Julian for much more snow. I have to admit, I did that 3 days in a row while the snow was still there...so, yeah, it's pretty cool here. It's just that there's *never* anytime I can get into Los Angeles anymore (anywhere up there) and timing it just to get into and out of So Cal when we go anywhere is just horrendous. In the summer I hate it, but then fall and winter hit and there are so many absolutely glorious days! Like yesterday,like today!
Sherry

I've just returned from another traveling adventure from down around the equator and although I love to explore other cultures and bask in new climates I enjoy coming home to live in Northern California.

I've come to appreciate the conveniences of living so centrally located , the weather, the local liberal mindset towards politics and the year round gardening.

Now that most of my traveling clothes and travel purchases are off the livingroom floor I can wander out into the garden and pick a bouquet for the kitchen table ( which sports a new batik tablecloth from Bali ) . There are two near pefect hugh protea flowers in full bloom in my driveway border. They are just too incredible to cut. I don't have the guts to do it.... which means one thing.... I have to plant more !

The crotalarias are blooming along side of the yellow brugmansia and chinese yellow banana ( musella lasiocarpa ), and the brilliant orange Iochromas are back in color after suffering substantial leaf drop from our week long heat wave a couple months ago.
Several bromeliads are blooming and showing vibrant leaf color and new Geranium madrense seedlings are sprouting up everywhere. It is almost time for selective "editing".

The sky is clearing after our first substantial winter rain and it is a hard call to make in deciding if I want to drive 25 minutes east over into Napa and Sonoma Valleys to see the grape leaves turning colors ( and grab a bottle of local wine ) or drive the equal distance west to go kayacking at Pt. Reyes Seashore.

Or there is the possibility of heading north to go nursery hopping in neighboring Sonoma County, passing by giant stands of old growth redwoods along the way or perhaps go in completely the different direction and drive south across the golden gate bridge into the City for some museum and art gallery hopping.

So many choices,... almost as many as there are flowers blooming in the garden on this sunny November day.






This message was edited Nov 4, 2006 10:15 AM

weeg and gypsy, so nice to have my move choice heartily affirmed. I moved here in August of last year and can say I absolutely love it. BTW, Cambria is by no stretch a "city." Around 6600 people, not one chain store or fast food restaurant and lots and lots of trees. wcgypsy, I'd love it if you took a minute to stop by while you're in town, maybe for a cuppa. I'm literally just a few hundred feet from Hwy 1. You can take a piece of Cambria back to weegy (gopher?). D-mail me if there's a chance. If it's a day I have off I could maybe even show you some of the special places. I'm so happy to be here instead of So Cal even though I loved living on the ocean in Laguna Beach.

stella, I'm usually through Cambria every couple of months, we'll have to do that on one of these runs. You do know that if you're too quick to put out the welcome mat, we'll all descend on you and never leave. Made my usual weekly run up PCH to Seal Beach today and yes, Laguna is soooooo crowded, but no other place like it...still, Cambria is better. You must be having glorious weather up there now, even raining is glorious there. Today was one of those really special days on the coast.
Sherry

I loved living in the Bay Area. Born in Palo Alto, 4th Gen. No. Californian.

Moved to AZ for work reasons. End of story. :-)

Sherry, I have a nice back yard with plenty of open space. We'll build a nice platform to keep the bedding dry and pitch a huge tent and all of DG is welcome. Seriously beautiful today wasn't it? I worked the whole day but during breaks ran outside and planted part of the 50 Pacific Coast Iris that I ordered from Joseph Ghio. I've put off so much planting this fall, hoping the rains would start and help me out a little. I'm ready for winter.

aguane,
I'm sooo truly sorry.
stella, yes, need that rain, supposed to be in mid-90's here today. I'm watering, watering,watering. And 50 of us from So Cal say we'll be there Friday around midnight!!! Fire up the barby......
Sherry

Oh goody, 50 people, 500 bulbs. Each of you only has to plant 10! That should work. I was out watering and gathering stuff for the green waste can and those faster-than-usual winds were coming in from the east. Decided you must be having Santa Ana's down there and you just confirmed it. Now that is something that I could do without. Never mind the earthquakes, just be rid of the Santa Ana's. They really do have a perfect name, those ill winds.

To get back to the thread title: When I was researching relocation I really didn't find another place in the US outside of California that I would consider seriously. If it hadn't felt right in Cambria my next move would have been New Zealand. Third choice were the Gulf Islands, between Vancouver and Victoria. But for the States, California rules.

stella, All points north from Santa Barbara will do it for me. If living here has formed your mentality and outlook, it's hard to live anywhere else. We weigh the decision daily about where next and when. To come out ahead we'll probably leave California. Would be in Cambria by choice, but the moratorium prevents us from building (which is a good thing, really) and it's too expensive to just buy. Love the northwest islands, love B.C.
jkom51,
This is a great time of year to go exploring to some of the other areas of California that you maybe have not seen. There are sooooo many great places to go from there. That's the best part of living somewhere new....new adventures!
Sherry

Welcome to the Bay Area from Chicago jkom. Sitting here where the sun is lighting up the papyrus like fiber optics and the Japanese Maples are turning red and yellow and the cannas are still blooming and oranges hang on the tree is heaven. But my favorite part about living here is that it doesn't get too hot except for a week or two. What a heat wave we had this year!

And what opportunities we have to garden. We are really lucky to live here.

Five generations of Californians in my family and not one killed by an earthquake - yet.

I hear you, doss, although in 1989 I missed the collapse of the Cypress freeway by less than 90 minutes! We were still living in SF but had bought our home in Oakland, and I drove over the Bay Bridge that day to the San Leandro HDepot to order my kitchen cabinets with our partner. The Loma Prieta quake shut the store down -- lost electricity but nothing fell, just felt like a very sharp jolt. We had no idea how serious it was until we got back to our partner's house in the hills and saw the video footage. It was 3 days before we could go home.....fortunately my inlaws went over to the apartment and fed the kitties, who were a bit spooked!