Orange County is truly a wonderful place to be. There is nowhere in the world I would have rather been raised. We are so lucky to have grown up here for so many reasons. No I'm not talking about because we're famous thanks to the tv show "The OC"... But because of so many other things:
1) Disneyland
Come on guys..... You knew this was coming, right? Disneyland. Even if you aren't an annual pass holder, and even though Disneyland is crazy expensive, chances are you've gone to Disneyland at least once if you've grown up here, or have at least had the option. If you haven't.... Get on that :) If I had it my way, everyone who wants to would have experienced the Disney Magic at least once. It truly is the happiest place on earth for those who are interested. Living within 15 minutes of the park and being able to hear and sometimes see the fireworks from around my home is so cool. Even if you can't go to the actual park, downtown Disney is a great hang out spot. It truly is all just magical. I could easily turn this article into one about how wonderful Disney is but that would be a whole other thing so I'm going to move on.
2) Culture
Southern California is a place that a lot of people want to be, and so we have many different kinds of people with different kinds of beliefs and cultures. Generally if you live in Southern California you have the opportunity to learn about all these different people and how they live. It's a pretty neat opportunity that I think a lot of us really take for granted. I have had friends of all different races, religions, and cultures and I can say it has definitely benefitted me as an individual, and has helped me gain knowledge I couldn't have gained in any other way.
3) Setting
The OC is also great because of the many wonderful places we are close to. We're close enough to big cities like San Diego + Los Angeles to visit often without having to actually live there. Sure we don't have all 4 seasons as dramatically as other places.. BUT, we're right by the beach, but also can get to the mountains or desert and even see some snow within a reasonable time period. We really are so much closer to these places than people think. How lucky are we? Extremely.
4) Accepting
GENERALLY (unfortunately not always) the people of Southern California have become a much more accepting group of people. Going back to point number 2, we have many different people here with different beliefs, cultures, lifestyles, and races, and as a whole, here in the OC I've seen much more acceptance than I have in many other places. Sure people definitely have arguments and disagree with each other, but it sure is better to have that than worse things that happen in other states or countries. Our acceptance is continuing to grow and I hope it never stops increasing.
5) EXPENSES
California has become so expensive that has become extremely difficult to live here. However, if you grew up here, you typically have a bit better of a chance because you've been making a California salary. It is so hard for anyone to move here based off of any other salary because it is seriously so expensive here. Everything. Even though I hate the expenses here, it kind of makes sense. As you've seen from my other points, this really is a wonderful place to live, you pay for what you get I suppose, though I definitely wouldn't complain if prices everywhere we're lowered.... Especially gas :)
6) Food
Again going back to my other points, we have so many different cultures here which means we get some WONDERFUL food. If you're like me at all, you really appreciate some delicious food. I can name at least one solid Mexican, Korean, Japanese, or any other type of restaurant that is within 20 minutes of my house. When I lived in Utah (sorry guys, I love you) there wasn't a single decent Mexican restaurant (Cafe Rio is yummy but it doesn't count) to be found and it broke my heart. Southern California is the place to be (in the US at least) when it comes to food.
I love the OC, and while I know I probably won't stick around here forever, it's a place I'll always cherish. A chunk of my heart will forever left here, and I will always and forever consider myself a California Girl, and as the Beach Boys + Katy Parry have sung, those kind of girls really are unforgettable ;)
