I wrote this as a quick fill-in for a comparison/contrast essay for my English class I just recently finished. While the current essay stands some where around 9 or 10 pages I had initially planned to do more but ran out of time. That's not an excuse. I think the essay turned out well enough and it captures a lot of my negativity regarding California.
In case my Mom is reading this, the biker references are not about you and John! I promise! (If she does read this I'm probably in trouble. aye)
Ahh, the dream of California, my native land. It will always be remembered as the golden land where the sun would always shine, was home to John Wayne, and who’s employment opportunities seemed boundless. At one time, I would look to the North and laugh at the rain dwelling coffee-addicts who’s water was needed but not their way of life. Now, fast forward to today and you will see a very different picture. Those deciding between living in Seattle or Los Angeles should be aware that while CA used to be the epitome of the phrase “Land of opportunity”, it now lays rotten leaving Seattle as a gleaming testament to what California should have been. I should know, I finally had enough of the sweltering climate, dying mountains, and god awful commutes and moved to Seattle three years ago.
My disappointment might give you the wrong impression. You may be left wondering, “Does the sun still shine in Los Angeles or has it become a humid, wet land like Seattle?” No no, the sun still does shine, that has never been Los Angeles’ problem. The real problem is that the sun won’t stop shining.
Setting the uncomfortably hot summers aside (for now), let’s talk about the winters. Where the hell are the winters? I remember every year when I was growing up in California thinking that October would bring relief from the summer. Interestingly, October would come and the temperatures would slide down into the low-nineties. That’s an oxymoron in no uncertain terms. If it was an especially hot year, Halloween would even be uncomfortable!
Those native to Seattle might say, “Well at least you probably had some rain to break up the monotony.” Noooooooo. Nothing short of a miraculous act of God would cause any rain to fall in the dry valley of death. Whole winters would come and pass without so much as a drop. Nearly every Christmas was sunny, warm, and not even one beautiful fluffy, cumulous cloud floated above my head in the sky.
Seattle, on the other hand, is known for its rain. That’s the case that Californians always bring up against moving to Seattle. “I’m sure it’s quite nice but I hear it just rains so much there. I don’t know how they do it!” Yeah ok, the winters are a bit dreary but the summers are a magnificent sight to behold with literally only one or two weeks of ninety degree weather. Aside from that the sky stays sunny with healthy fully grown, ripe cumulous clouds softly floating above the horizon, over the trees and across the mountain tops.
If you live in Los Angeles, the only way to tell the time of year is to look at a calendar. There are no deciduous trees or any kind of nature that varies from month to month. The main reason for this is if you left the land to its own nature it’d be unlivable for humans. The water would be lost to the thirst of the ground and dry air. The vegetation that we humans have planted there would lose all color then rot and recede into the Earth from whence it came.
Seattle is self-sustaining. The amount of rain we receive keeps our whole community green and thriving. We receive so much water it actually runs off the mountains to the east forming a myriad of micro-waterfalls along the edge of the road through them. The brisk, clear water pools and collects into luscious rivers that feed into one of the several lakes sprouting beautiful green coniferous trees which provide homes to many deer and other peaceful wildlife.
Which is yet another difference. Everyone in Seattle lives near a large, clean body of water. Californians are right up against the Pacific but it is so polluted by run off and sewage that it is unusable for anything besides as a claim to having a beach.
Also, there is real wild life in Seattle. I grew up thinking that I should be excited to see a sparrow, crow, or chicken. Now that I live in Seattle however, I regularly see bald eagles, deer, jelly fish, etc. Creatures actually live in Washington and the reason is because Washington is livable and not akin to a decaying corpse whose only life is that of pestilence and bacteria.
But Los Angeles has it all, its residents say; Beaches, mountains, deserts… The whole of Southern California is a desert actually and the ocean beaches provide no solace. I have fond memories of when I was a child and I would go to the beach with my dad. As we’d walk across the busy city street on a sweltering summer day, excited to hide away from the heat for just a few precious hours in the cold ocean water, there’d be something in our way. A large metal sign, painted white with bold ugly black letters painted on it. It read: “Beach closed for swimming due to sewage overflow.” I would then become conscious of the of the exact constitution of the scent on the air.
Well if the beaches are bad at least they still have the mountains right? I’m afraid not. You see, the mountains are hours away from anywhere near Los Angeles, specifically Big Bear mountain. That’s the place to go if you are in Los Angeles and you want to go to the mountains. There’s a quaint city in the valley atop the mountain and it all surrounds what used to be a fairly large lake. Over the course of my lifetime’s visits however, that lake has shrunk to what seems like half of its former self. It’s like watching a friend die of thirst every time I return.
On top of that gruesome image most of the trees are diseased and dying due to being ravaged by the bark beetle. A special pest that showed up maybe 10-15 years ago and hasn’t left yet. The drive up the mountain’s switchbacks used to be filled with excitement and wonder as beautiful trees flew past the car in heavy numbers. It’s unfortunate that my more recent visits have taken more of a tone of grieving as I have passed each of the hundreds of trees I saw impacted by this pest.
The only other mountain that has a small town to visit is Mount Baldy. This is a joke of a mountain that Southern Californians use to make themselves feel like they have more than one that’s worth going to. Long story short, they don’t. All of the issues that exist with Big Bear exist two fold here. There is a lone river that’s easily accessible, no lake, and the trees there were ugly before the bark beetle. I don’t crave seeing them now.
In Seattle, mountains abound. To the east, the Cascades; To the west, the Olympic mountains; To the south, Mount Rainier. Not to mention Mt. St. Helens is just a couple hours south on the way to Portland. That’s the mountain that’s really a volcano! How exciting is that? I could completely forgive Big Bear for any and all of its transgressions if it turned out it was actually a large volcano that could suicidally erupt.
I’ve now been to the Cascades and, recently, went backpacking in the Olympics. Both forests put California’s best trees to shame even prior to being diseased.
As I mentioned earlier, just driving into the Cascades is a sight to behold. The sheer rocky edges of the road give way to numerous tiny water falls in the spring. Just the look of the rock itself is amazing. Beautiful gray rocks that look as though the hand of Michelangelo carved them himself by casting lightning bolts from the heavens. Yet he spared the trees; such glorious, beautiful trees. Any one of them could be from the christmas tree farms which package their best trees and sell them in parking lots in Los Angeles. In fact, the only quality trees I used to see in Los Angeles were those that were raised specifically to be sold as Christmas trees.
Buying such a tree that could have been cut and removed from such a beautiful setting is to slap a rush job of make up on a woman and push her out to walk the street. That’s what a christmas in Los Angeles reminds me of, but Seattle would never have that.
Not only are the best things to do in Los Angeles hours of driving away but the freeway systems are normally clogged. Now, I will say this to their credit— At least I could always figure out how to get onto a freeway and find my way home. Seattle’s freeway system of on and off ramps still leaves me feeling lost and confused at times and is one of the few reasons I long for at least part of southern California.
Once you do find a freeway in Los Angeles however, hold on tight! You will quickly approach speeds nearing those of only the fastest snails. I drove on the 91 freeway daily for two years of my life. There was one overpass I used to use in particular that you would literally come to a full stop on. Sitting still on an over pass 50-100 feet in the air that’s banked for turns does not feel very comfortable in a place who’s freeway bridges have been known to collapse during a sudden earthquake.
Most of these people are heading to their jobs in Orange County and, even though we all worked in Orange County none of us could afford to live there because the living prices were so grossly over inflated. What you then end up with are thousands upon thousands of people who have chosen to live an hour inland so that they can find affordable housing. When these people go to work in the morning the only freeway they can take is this relatively small 91 freeway. It’s size is necessitated by the protected wildlife areas that flank it such that highway resizing projects come far too late and too infrequently.
If Los Angeles were as compact as Seattle maybe all of this wouldn’t be so bad. Unfortunately, everything is spread out. Two of the most recent malls to be added to the inland empire are one story and a whole lot of walking. They built them out not up. Since the buildings are longer and wider, the distances between cities are also very large.
At least everyone drives fast though (outside of the carpool lanes at least). It’s not atypical for cars to reach speeds of 85 mph with no incident from the highway patrol. I’ve been passed on occasion in the middle of the night by a highway patrolman going faster than me when I’m already doing 85 or 90. Yet, the speeds add to the stress. The fact that I always felt as though I had to go that fast to make it to where I needed to be made me feel stressed and anxious. I didn’t realize how much so until I moved to Seattle.
While Seattle has its share of traffic issues too, they are fairly well managed. Rush hour is bad but that’s really it. Normally, you can get to anywhere in the city at a pretty good pace and I’ve never encountered true bumper to bumper traffic while living here.
Seattle’s freeway system is a joy to drive on. Although the speed limit is 5 mph lower than most in California, the freeways look so nice I don’t mind taking my extra time. There is lush foliage and greenery on all sides of me while I drive. Trees tower above the occasional over pass and shrubs cover the sides of many the freeway’s walls. A definite effort was put into designing the system such that it keeps the region looking as close to natural as possible.
The carpool lanes allow you to cut in and out of them at will. A godsend if you’ve ever been stuck behind a driver who’s only purpose in life is to get into that carpool lane so that they can drive not a mile above the speed limit. A sort of passive-aggressive law enforcer might be an appropriate term. In Los Angeles I’ve been stuck behind this person on so many different occasions, but in Seattle I just need to speed up and whip around them. I’m not a prisoner!
It’s the little things like these that really add up to the removal of any and all road rage I used to feel.
By now, we’ve covered a few key areas that are central to the draw of the City of Angels, Los Angeles. I’ve illustrated how the sunny weather is really just a death trap; how the mountains and beaches are poorly preserved remnants of mountains and beaches; and how the transit in Los Angeles lags behind that of Seattle. I can only hope my words will reach someone who may be considering a move to Southern California and promptly dissuade them from further interest.
