I was born and raised in California. When people find that out, they love to get analytical about California with me. About half of the time it's normal conversation, about half of the time it's people trying to convince me that California is bad.

I've observed that (1) most of the people who love talking about California aren't from California, that (2) they are usually only talking about a small part of Los Angeles County.

I can see why they don't like it. LA is weird place, as far as cities go. It's not urban at all, for lots of historical reasons, which makes it very inconvenient, unsustainable, and expensive. I personally love LA because it's home. Remembering my misspent youth Ktown, the fashion district, underground shows in the warehouse district, little Ethiopia. But it's not for most people, and that should be the expectation.

Instead, people have this expectation that they should love California (again, which means a small part of LA County). It's an idea that has been sold to them. It's not entirely wrong, there are many things to love about California. Just like there are many things to love about any place.

Then there is the type of complaint that frequently comes from people who moved to LA to work in the entertainment industry or the Bay Area to work in texh. They complain that people in California (by which they mean a small part of LA county or SF) are shallow or greedy or vapid or otherwise stupid. Again, California has those people, just like every place does. Of course, they will say California has MORE of those bad things and therefore something is wrong with California (again, read this as a small part of LA county).

What's really going on is a selection effect. These people are working with people in a very greedy industry, who are also largely transplants. The people doing the complaining are the people they are complaining about. I'm not sure if this fair, but people who move specifically for entertainment and tech industries aren't generally regarded as culturally Californian, at least not until they stop thinking of themselves as entertainment or tech worker first. Maybe the right way to say it is you will assume that persons stay is temporary. Tech is viewed as downright extractive, especially in the bay.

So while California does have many real problems, it's much more than just a group of transplants in two (admittedly huge) industries in one part of LA county and one part of the Bay. For most of us, California isn't an idealized place or a career goal. Its home and you take the good with the bad and try to make it better.

I left 10 years ago because the worst part about California, to be honest, is that it is in America. Many of California's biggest problems are American problems, and most places in America are incredibly similar despite how large of a place America is.