You’re speaking out of your ass and getting called out on it. You’re criticizing a state you’ve never lived in or experienced firsthand and dismissing those of us who actually live here. And you’re calling that “hostility.” Mmkayyy

Because sensationalized news isn’t an accurate representation of living here, and even with the occasional mudslides, a major wildfire affecting homes less than once a year (on average), and regular drought (that part sucks but is part of our normal weather cycle), California is beautiful, has just amazing weather, and offers so much natural beauty and outdoor activities that it’s worth it.

Everyone has to compromise on something to live where they live. I’m sure the weather in your state is absolute shite much of the time. That’s your compromise for living somewhere you can afford.

For nearly perfect weather year round, and all the aforementioned natural, scenic beauty, skiing, wine, beaches, mountains, hiking, big cities, agriculture, tech industry, deserts, national parks, national forests, Yosemite, the giant sequoias, the architecture, the landmarks, etc., we opt to live with regular drought and occasional major wildfires.

We used to live in Houston, which has had some of the worst flooding in US history. I am from Florida, which sees hurricanes nearly every year. I’ve been to Ohio, where it was just 34° below 0°. I’ve stayed in Michigan, where the wind chill in the winter is regularly -17°, and the lake effects snow stops everything. I’ve been to the PNW, which is arguably beautiful but super depressing with the constant drizzle.

I’ve spent more than a month of my life in Hawaii, which is amazing. But there’s not much skiing, and they don’t really have great wine. And it rains a lot there, too. Plus, it’s HUMID.

So, yeah. California, like every other place on Earth, is imperfect. But the trade-off is worth it.

Sigh… okay, literal Boomer.

(If you’re older than me, you’re a Boomer.)

Ah. But now that you said ‘78, you’re younger than me. Jesus, man. You’re a terrible Gen Xer.

It’s also called The Pineapple Express.

Umm… none of these is even accurate. We rarely get rain, we hardly had any fires this year, and crushing snow isn’t a thing. We get our water from the snow melt, so more snow = less drought. Oh and better skiing!

In SoCal, this is hardly a “gully washer.” It’s neither hard enough or deep enough.

I underhand that. But those of us who’ve never been to Canada and who are accustomed to the standard notation of city, state, country on a U.S.-based website were understandably confused. And I am merely saying that it’s not out of the question to find a scene like this in California. I myself have experienced scenery like this in Mammoth Lakes, Truckee, Tahoe, Placerville.

There are some breathtakingly gorgeous mountain-and-snow places in California.