I intended to write this post about three months ago. So much for good intentions. Now we've been here for 3/4 of a year, so the only months we haven't experienced in California are the rest of May, June and July. I expect them to be hot, mostly.
When people learn that we've only just moved to southern California less than a year ago, they usually ask, "How do you like it?" or "What do you think so far?" My stock answer for this is "It's hit and miss. We like the weather." This usually gets a chuckle, and saves me from going into more detail.
In all honesty, we are mostly unimpressed with California so far. There are a lot of things that go into this, but here's the most important ones:
- Isolation, geographical. Things are so spread out here that it feels like just running errands is a major undertaking, not to be attempted without maps and three days rations. Forget trying to walk or bike to the library, the bookstore, downtown (what downtown?) -- no way. The only reason we are able to walk to work is because I carefully planned it that way, and we pay for it in that our housing location is less than desirable in many other ways.
- Isolation, social. Along with the geographic distances comes the social ones. It's hard to meet people here. Our friends from work and from choir are great, but there's only so many of them, and we usually feel like we're intruding on already-existing social groups. Plus, it's hard to meet up with them when they're also a 30 minute drive away at best.
- Weather. It's nice, yes. But too nice. Unnaturally nice. Always nice. I was raised in a temperate weather zone, and I am used to four distinct seasons. It is quietly unsettling to have it be "sunny and warm" every single day for months on end. In the summer, it changes from "sunny and warm" to "sunny and hellishly hot." Not my idea of fun. But at least it's not humid.
- Employment. Mine is fine, but Samantha's was supposed to be temporary. There's been no change, and not for her lack of trying (as her dozens of job applications can attest). There's just been no opportunities for her desired kind of position. This has put a crimp in our financial well-being as well -- not anything serious, but those credit card bills are getting paid off slower than I had hoped.
This is not to say that there aren't good things. My job was the primary reason we moved here and remains the primary reason we are sticking around for a while. I'm also a little more patient than all that, and quite willing to give our new home the benefit of the doubt for longer than a year. In addition, Samantha's fencing is on the up-and-up, with a good coach and plenty of opportunities for competitions. My singing opportunities continue to improve (including an exciting new development -- more news on this as events warrant). We are getting more of a chance to explore interesting areas and things to do outside the Valley. But these pros aren't outweighing the cons. Yet.
Moving here last August, we didn't picture southern California as a permanent home and place to start a family. Nine months in, that hasn't changed.