Debate of the Day 6: East Coast vs. West Coast

Ah this is an easy one.  West coast and California in particular kick the east coast's a** (and everywhere else, too)!

California is the most progressive state.  We always lead the way in environmental issues.  We've also got great weather, beaches on the western border, mountains on the east.  We've got the best public university system in the country, including the #1 public school in the nation (that's right, Cal rules).  And some damn good private schools like Caltech and that one that's named after a color and has a drunken tree for a mascot.  We've also got great agriculture, which makes for some damn fine eatin'.

The New England states are okay, but let's face it, they're too damn cold.  West coast wins hands down.

Ha!  It's true...they are cold.

But I have to admit, I will always have a soft spot for New England.  I do love California (particularly the northern half) and I'm certainly glad to be back.  But...I do sometimes have pangs when I miss the east.  Well...spring and fall in the east.  And New York.  And the cliff walk in Newport, RI.  And Water Fire in Providence (oh, and the Cable Car movie theater).

I will always be a California girl though. 

The East Coast is dramatically beautiful across the seasons and offers a much greater sense of history, but I've gotta hand it to the West Coast for the weather, the progressive leanings, and its desert-mountain-beach-valley diversity.  I'm guessing I'll be a West Coaster for awhile....

Ok, I guess I gotsta add my two cents to this one.

I am glad that I, and those better than me, sacrificed so that we can all have the freedoms that we all take for granted. Prolly the biggest of those freedoms is free speech. So, because of this, you have a right to be wrong, Dana, you big dumbhead. ;)

But, seriously, I lived out in California, when I was stationed at NAS Lemoore. It was an awesome state and I loved it. However, if you aren't on the coast, you are in a desert wasteland or in a mountanous wasteland. The only city convenience is right on the damn coast.

Where I lived, smack dab in the middle of the state, it was farmland as far as the eye could see, but not good farmland like Arkansas or something, where it's all green. It's a frickin dustbowl of nasty dirt and pesticide to make the air quality one of the worst in the country.

Then, in this wasteland, middle area, if you need more than the basics of life, you hafta drive like 30-40 minutes to get to any real city like Fresno or Visalia or Bakersfield. I have ridden my motersickle all the way down to Big Bear and I got to see the endless wasteland for hours.

I remember days, this is the part that really killed me about Cali, when it would be a hundred and frickin seven. A friend and I would hop on our bikes and ride out to the coast to ride up and down to different beaches, such as Morro Bay and Pismo. By the time we got there, just a few hours later, it was frickin 50 supm degrees and the water was even freezinger. There is no surf out here In Florida, but the water is always like bathwater.

San Francisco, and even better, Monterey, are awesome places that are places everyone should see in their lives. They are unique and unlike any other place I've seen in the world. However, like I said, all up and down the coast and in the awesome mountains there are amazing places and things to see like Sierra Summit or the Sequoias or Lake Tahoe or San Fran or Monterey or the massive LA area with countless cool things to see or Big Bear or San Diego or the awe inspiring spectacle that is the Mojave desert, BUT, very few decent places to live that aren't plagued with insane traffic or crime. In my opinion, like the Frigid North, it is a great place to visit, but I would not want to live there.

So, in summation, people like Dana are wrong, but they have a right to be a dumbhead poopypants. Ah, freedom.

John

NavyJohn, you're frickin' nuts!

My office wrote a report about NAS Lemoore researching the contamination that needs to be cleaned up there, by the way.  Way to mess the place up, John.

Your comments mainly pertain to the central valley, where a very small percentage of the California population lives.  Fresno and the surrounding area I certainly agree, sucks donkey butt.  I don't like the central valley.

However, northern california, the northern portion of the valley (i.e. sacramento area), the bay area, the coast, the mountains, etc. etc. are all great places to live.  They rarely reach "a hundred and frickin seven".  The north central valley will every so often, but the coasts are obviously more temperate.  It's unfortunate that you lived in the central portion of the state, because that's the worst part, and it seems to have given you an inaccurate impression of California as a whole.

I don't know where you get the idea of insane crime.  I'll grant you that the Bay Area and LA area have insane traffic.  But there are a lot of places in the state which have neither.

In short, you're the big dumbhead poopypants!

Sorry, I really hadta go.

I did 'live' in the Central valley, but my opinion was far from limited to just the middle. I's been all over the state so I has seen the beauty.

The 107 was actually typical, but it's really not that bad out there because there isn't like a bjillion perecent humidity. When I went to Officer Candidate School, I went from 100 or so in Cali to just 75 in Pensacola, FL, where it felt hotter. I was pouring sweat off my face in FL.

It's ok for you to be frustrated Dana. I would be, too, if someone knew the truth that I just couldn't see.

So, who is judging this debate? Ok, I will then. East coast wins. Ohp, sorry, too late, I called it.

John

No no no.  America's wang does not beat California.  West Coast clearly wins.

Sorry, too late, I called it. ;)

Nope.  Ever since 2000 Floridians have been excluded from judging anything.  Ever.

Washington State / West Coast (but I shouldn't say that too loudly or more of you Californians will be coming up here :-P ).

No thanks, I prefer a climate in which it's not raining 95% of the time!

Edited by gjohnsen - Fri, 18 Apr 2008 03:55:31 GMT