I’ve lived in the Midwest all my life. Midwesterners are hard-working, no-nonsense, and sensible people. We generally act only after careful deliberation, eschewing the flashy and trendy. We have deep roots. When I am faced with the possibility of relocating to southern California, my deliberations must proceed slowly in order to evaluate the consequences of that move. I’m no stranger to southern California. Long before part of our family moved there we found it a good place to visit. We have just returned from an extended visit. The question I must consider now is whether or not I want to live there.
Hands down, southern California has great weather—boring, but great. Most Midwesterners think it is uniformly warm, but it is not. Near the ocean, temperatures range between the 60s and low 70s during the day. Evenings require a light sweater. The water is very cool. Surfer movies lead one to assume a skimpy bathing suit and surfboard are all you need for the sport. Real life surfers wear wet suits to keep warm. (Incidentally, the Midwesterner wants to know when these surfers work and go to school.)
The desert—and southern California really is desert—can be very hot. Rainfall is quite modest. The green of late winter too quickly becomes brown and sere. There are deciduous trees, but the stunning colors of the upper Midwest never appear. Palm trees are messy and ugly. The flowers of California are multitudinous and magnificent. Californians just take their nice weather for granted; no Midwesterner would. I’m sure I would miss the variety and persistence of green trees and fields that is our reward for enduring winter.
Although the Great Madrid fault that produced the largest magnitude earthquake in the continental U. S. is located in the Midwest, it is generally benign. In California the threat of severe earthquake is taken for granted in much the same way as the nice weather. Personally, I prefer solid, un-shifting ground beneath my feet.
Other cataclysms Californians expect include wild fires. These are a serious, recurring, and potentially expensive threat. Dangerous winds from the desert feed the fires. In a few hours all that you posses can be destroyed. Life is precarious and one must be prepared to evacuate homes on very short notice. In the Midwest the most persistent threats are tornado and flood. These are every bit as destructive as wild fires and earthquake. Neither the west coast nor the Midwest has an advantage in this area.
What are some of the now and future problems each area needs to address? In southern California water and fuel are critical natural resources to consider. Southern California is vastly overbuilt. Drought conditions along the Colorado River and in the Southwest will require the rationing of water in southern California very soon. Water rights will take a commanding position as scarcity and agribusiness tighten the clamps on southern California’s water supply. Californians seem to be in a state of denial about a looming water crisis. It is real and needs to be addressed. Resolutions will be very costly.
Californians love their automobiles. Distance is measured in minutes, not miles. Californians spend a lot of time in their cars. Freeways are super sized and almost always at capacity. (Some of the nastiest drivers I’ve ever seen drive on those roads.) Gasoline prices were running about $3.65 as a minimum at Easter. Smog persists in the valleys despite emission regulations that are the toughest in the country. One will see some alternate fuel cars and many bio-fuel buses. One cannot fail to notice a plethora of very expensive cars that most Midwesterners would only view in a film. These status symbol cars require expensive fuels. Just how much will the Californian be willing to pay? The conspicuous consumption of their automobiles belies their vocal “save the planet” mantra. There is a disingenuous attitude most Midwesterners would spot a mile off, but that Californians fail to acknowledge.
The Midwest is not without its problems. There persists the feeling that the middle of America has past its heyday. Our population is aging; youngsters seek more exciting venues. Midwesterners have experienced a loss of manufacturing jobs, jobs that will never return. Transportation infrastructure desperately needs attention. Highways are insufficient; bridges and roads in disrepair. Travelers are advised to avoid Chicago’s O’Hare airport. Its problems are far beyond the need for new runways.
There emerges an undercurrent of sentiment that the Midwest is peripheral in today’s economy and culture. We have been passed over; we’re out of the loop. New Year’s Eve TV celebration coverage views its major cities as irrelevant. We are part of the rust belt and suffer psychologically from the loss of manufacturing, and meaning.
I am, of course, still skirting the real issues involved in a decision to move from my lifelong Midwestern home. Can I become a Californian? My views on southern California are entirely personal, idiosyncratic, and possibly unfair. However my perception of the southern California persona is critical to the decision making process. How much is vincible ignorance? Am I too old to change these opinions? Do I want to change them? Should I want to change them?
How do I perceive the average Californian? There is a superficiality I find discomforting. One of the first things I noticed is reinforced by watching the ads on TV. Image is all. Californians are conspicuous consumers. They are lean, and intolerant. There is nothing about the image that can’t be improved with a nip & tuck, a lift, a peel, fancy car, expensive—read, overpriced—home. TV ads show a populous obsessed with image. (One might expect that every Californian is just waiting to be discovered at the local Starbucks.) The appearance of prosperity and success passes for the real thing, but not all live the good life as you soon understand by perusing the re-sale and consignment stores that proliferate on the Pacific Coast Highway.
A Midwesterner’s expectations are more modest. Many of us may care more about the appearance of our lawns than our physiques. Maybe we’re genetically incapable of the hedonism of the southern Californian. Everything in California seems fast and shiny new. Cutting edge technology, bio-tech, impressive corporate headquarters abound. At the back of the Midwestern mind-set, is the fear that these, too, will pass away. The young may well embrace the edginess, but older Midwesterners proceed with caution. Somehow I can’t get past a discomforting sense that this “chic, tomorrow, and global” milieu might really be part of Disneyland. Something about California whispers ephemera.
Before I make the decision to uproot my life, these perceptions must be resolved through the lens of objectivity. It may be that it is too late for me to change so radically. There are private, family reasons in favor of such a move that I have not addressed herein. However I feel that it is important to determine whether or not I want to become a southern Californian apart from those reasons. How do I weigh family influences against personal prejudice? If family reasons for re-location ultimately prove transitory I might find myself stuck in a place I hate, financially poorer, and spiritually bereft. Resolution will take some time.
Hands down, southern California has great weather—boring, but great. Most Midwesterners think it is uniformly warm, but it is not. Near the ocean, temperatures range between the 60s and low 70s during the day. Evenings require a light sweater. The water is very cool. Surfer movies lead one to assume a skimpy bathing suit and surfboard are all you need for the sport. Real life surfers wear wet suits to keep warm. (Incidentally, the Midwesterner wants to know when these surfers work and go to school.)
The desert—and southern California really is desert—can be very hot. Rainfall is quite modest. The green of late winter too quickly becomes brown and sere. There are deciduous trees, but the stunning colors of the upper Midwest never appear. Palm trees are messy and ugly. The flowers of California are multitudinous and magnificent. Californians just take their nice weather for granted; no Midwesterner would. I’m sure I would miss the variety and persistence of green trees and fields that is our reward for enduring winter.
Although the Great Madrid fault that produced the largest magnitude earthquake in the continental U. S. is located in the Midwest, it is generally benign. In California the threat of severe earthquake is taken for granted in much the same way as the nice weather. Personally, I prefer solid, un-shifting ground beneath my feet.
Other cataclysms Californians expect include wild fires. These are a serious, recurring, and potentially expensive threat. Dangerous winds from the desert feed the fires. In a few hours all that you posses can be destroyed. Life is precarious and one must be prepared to evacuate homes on very short notice. In the Midwest the most persistent threats are tornado and flood. These are every bit as destructive as wild fires and earthquake. Neither the west coast nor the Midwest has an advantage in this area.
What are some of the now and future problems each area needs to address? In southern California water and fuel are critical natural resources to consider. Southern California is vastly overbuilt. Drought conditions along the Colorado River and in the Southwest will require the rationing of water in southern California very soon. Water rights will take a commanding position as scarcity and agribusiness tighten the clamps on southern California’s water supply. Californians seem to be in a state of denial about a looming water crisis. It is real and needs to be addressed. Resolutions will be very costly.
Californians love their automobiles. Distance is measured in minutes, not miles. Californians spend a lot of time in their cars. Freeways are super sized and almost always at capacity. (Some of the nastiest drivers I’ve ever seen drive on those roads.) Gasoline prices were running about $3.65 as a minimum at Easter. Smog persists in the valleys despite emission regulations that are the toughest in the country. One will see some alternate fuel cars and many bio-fuel buses. One cannot fail to notice a plethora of very expensive cars that most Midwesterners would only view in a film. These status symbol cars require expensive fuels. Just how much will the Californian be willing to pay? The conspicuous consumption of their automobiles belies their vocal “save the planet” mantra. There is a disingenuous attitude most Midwesterners would spot a mile off, but that Californians fail to acknowledge.
The Midwest is not without its problems. There persists the feeling that the middle of America has past its heyday. Our population is aging; youngsters seek more exciting venues. Midwesterners have experienced a loss of manufacturing jobs, jobs that will never return. Transportation infrastructure desperately needs attention. Highways are insufficient; bridges and roads in disrepair. Travelers are advised to avoid Chicago’s O’Hare airport. Its problems are far beyond the need for new runways.
There emerges an undercurrent of sentiment that the Midwest is peripheral in today’s economy and culture. We have been passed over; we’re out of the loop. New Year’s Eve TV celebration coverage views its major cities as irrelevant. We are part of the rust belt and suffer psychologically from the loss of manufacturing, and meaning.
I am, of course, still skirting the real issues involved in a decision to move from my lifelong Midwestern home. Can I become a Californian? My views on southern California are entirely personal, idiosyncratic, and possibly unfair. However my perception of the southern California persona is critical to the decision making process. How much is vincible ignorance? Am I too old to change these opinions? Do I want to change them? Should I want to change them?
How do I perceive the average Californian? There is a superficiality I find discomforting. One of the first things I noticed is reinforced by watching the ads on TV. Image is all. Californians are conspicuous consumers. They are lean, and intolerant. There is nothing about the image that can’t be improved with a nip & tuck, a lift, a peel, fancy car, expensive—read, overpriced—home. TV ads show a populous obsessed with image. (One might expect that every Californian is just waiting to be discovered at the local Starbucks.) The appearance of prosperity and success passes for the real thing, but not all live the good life as you soon understand by perusing the re-sale and consignment stores that proliferate on the Pacific Coast Highway.
A Midwesterner’s expectations are more modest. Many of us may care more about the appearance of our lawns than our physiques. Maybe we’re genetically incapable of the hedonism of the southern Californian. Everything in California seems fast and shiny new. Cutting edge technology, bio-tech, impressive corporate headquarters abound. At the back of the Midwestern mind-set, is the fear that these, too, will pass away. The young may well embrace the edginess, but older Midwesterners proceed with caution. Somehow I can’t get past a discomforting sense that this “chic, tomorrow, and global” milieu might really be part of Disneyland. Something about California whispers ephemera.
Before I make the decision to uproot my life, these perceptions must be resolved through the lens of objectivity. It may be that it is too late for me to change so radically. There are private, family reasons in favor of such a move that I have not addressed herein. However I feel that it is important to determine whether or not I want to become a southern Californian apart from those reasons. How do I weigh family influences against personal prejudice? If family reasons for re-location ultimately prove transitory I might find myself stuck in a place I hate, financially poorer, and spiritually bereft. Resolution will take some time.
No comments:
Post a Comment