Top Ten Great and Wonderful Things About Coastal Southern California

John Watson
November 6, 2015
Top 10

Some time ago I wrote a post about 10 reasons why California is not a great place to live. However, specifically the coastal area of Southern California within a few miles of the ocean does have its merits, albeit the benefits may not outweigh the detriments for many people.

Nonetheless, in defense of California, here are some benefits of Southern California that you can’t find anywhere else in the United States. Please note that most of this only applies to coastal Orange County, coastal San Diego, coastal Ventura county, coastal Santa Barbara county, and some (but not all) of coastal Los Angeles county; and does not apply to most of inland Southern California or much of the Los Angeles area!

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10 The Pacific Coast Highway (PCH)

Why it made the list One of the most beautiful and breathtaking roads in the entire United States, the PCH spans the whole western seaboard. You can take a drive down it and enjoy the beauty of California. Bonus if you have a convertible! You can put the top down any time of the year and take a drive down the PCH.

9 Attractions and Resorts

Why it made the list Being a touristy area, Southern California has many attractions; although, these are also found in other parts of the United States, especially Florida. Some of the attractions in Southern California include Sea World, Six Flags, San Diego Zoo, Knott's Berry Farm, South Coast Plaza, Century City Mall, and Disney Land (although, it does not measure up to Disney World of Florida).

8 Wealth

Why it made the list Being one of the most densely populated areas in the United States, and simultaneously one of the wealthiest areas of the United States, there is a lot of wealth. Nowhere else will you see so many luxury and exotic vehicles. Granted, most of these people don't own their vehicles, they are making payments which will continue until they lose their job, or they are leasing it.

Still, there is a lot of money in Orange County especially, which is a lot of business opportunity. It's only too bad the state will take most of your earnings through their exorbitant tax rates. Still, if you want to be around wealthy people, this is one of the few areas you will have your wish. If you don't mind hanging out in uppity, materialistic, worldly, and arrogantly pretentious atmospheres. Unless you get really lucky and and some rare good people who are not broke or washed out. And don't stray far.

7 Few natural disasters

Why it made the list Unlike most of the United States which are subject to hurricanes, tornadoes, blistering heat, freezing cold, blizzards, snow storms, ice, floods, and other natural disasters, Southern California is only subject to three: fires, droughts, and earthquakes.

However, most of coastal Southern California is not subject to fire risk, and droughts are most of a political ploy than anything real. (Liberals and government employees will argue about this with you.)

Moreover, earthquakes that have any real difference are very rare, only happening one to two times a century; and most of the coast does not even get minor earthquakes. If you don't go inland, you could live here for years and never feel an earthquake - not even a minor one.

6 Service Quality

Why it made the list One thing you will find in Southern California is that everything is more expensive. However, many times (but definitely not always), the quality is higher too, especially as you get into the pricier things. This is in part due to the need so serve wealthy clientele combined with a market that allows such high quality of services by charging higher prices.

Be warned, though. Many times you could be paying a higher price for standard or even substandard work and service; so be on your guard and vet the places before giving them your money!

5 Fresh Food

Why it made the list Although the northeast, southeast, and parts of Texas do also have great fresh food, most of the rest of the United States does not come close to the amount of fresh food in Southern California. The restaurants are top quality, although more expensive (and some very expensive), you do get what you pay for at many of them. California is known for its fresh seafood, fresh fruits, fresh produce, fresh dairy, fresh and high quality meat, and other fresh food.

Moreover, at some restaurants you get food so fresh it was literally caught or picked that very day, and they throw out anything not used that day! You pay a premium for this, and yes, it is a huge waste, a huge sad waste; but, the point here is that you cannot find this in most of the rest of the United States. Then there is also California Wine Country as well as California dairy farms, which are some of the best in the U.S.

4 Wide Range of Topography

Why it made the list (Pictured is Big Bear in Big Bear, California.)

Unlike many places in the United States, in Southern California it is a couple hours drive to the ocean, or the desert, or the mountains. The wide range of topography makes Southern California far from boring! Plus, with the perfect weather, most of this is enjoyable all year round!

3 No Bugs

Why it made the list Sure there are some bugs, but compared to the rest of the U.S., there are virtually none. Unlike the east coast, you can go outside without bug spray, because you will not be "eaten alive" by mosquitoes. There are a couple, but they are rare. You might see one at night once a month or so.

The same goes for cockroaches. Though they exist, they are not common in Southern California. This is because they thrive in moist, dark, and humid places. Since Southern California is dry, it is not hospitable to these undesirable pests.

Sadly, however, the downside to this is that Southern Californians don't know about lightning bugs (fireflies). Since fireflies cannot survive in dry climates, there aren't any here. One thing to miss about the east coast is going outside in the summer at evening time and seeing the beauty of lighting bugs lighting up the night!

2 Range of outdoor fitness activities

Why it made the list If you are an outdoors person, or even if you are not, there are so many things to do outside, and you can do them all year round due to the perfect weather. Skiing, surfing, hiking, biking, rock climbing, sight seeing, fishing, volleyball, swimming, running, sports, and much more.

1 Perfect Weather and Climate

Why it made the list It goes without saying that the weather is the number one reason to live in Southern California. If you can afford it, the weather is unmatched from anywhere in the United States - nowhere else even comes close! With mid-70s to low 80s weather all year round, sunshine almost every day of the year, long summers, and no humidity, this Mediterranean semi-arid climate of Southern California is as perfect as weather gets - anywhere in the world.

So there you have it, Southern California is not all bad. It does have its merits. However, do note that most of these benefits are derivatives of “the weather is nice” and also require that you have money – a lot of it, to afford to live here. And at that, the government will do whatever they can to take as much of your money as they can!

Also, in order to really enjoy SoCal, you need to spend a lot of money! Your wallet will shrink quickly, and the job market is horrible. $10,000 in savings is not enough to move here! I recommend to save at least $50,000 and have a job lined up as well before attempting to move to SoCal.

Hope you enjoyed! Now check out why Southern California is not so good a place to live and make an informed decision for yourself.

Top Ten Reasons Why California Is No Longer The Place To Be Or Move To