Jim Thompson wrote:
But Arizona _isn't_ SoCal. We still have some civility left (and room
;-)

Most of the people that I have met in southern California are great people
to be around. Even on the freeways in rush hour traffic most of the drivers
are extremely courteous. Indeed California drivers are among the most civil
that I have found in any city. You said that you went to MIT. I would take
a California driver over a Bostonian anytime. There are a few exceptions.
The anonymity of urban areas does allow the exceptions to survive but
fortunately they are rare.

SoCal is more crowded that I would prefer. And it has gotten more so in the
31 years that I have lived here. The population of Orange County has doubled
in that time. This small county now has twice the population of the entire
state of WV. On the other hand, the population provides the economic base
for the stores, museums, theaters, restaurants, etc. that I do like. Like
most things, there are trade offs.

On the other hand, the heat in most of Arizona would get to me. Except
for the higher elevations, the summers are too hot. I had a job that took
me to Tucson for long periods in the summer. Too warm. Even though there
are some great things to do outdoors in Arizona, we ended up spending most
of the time inside with the air conditioning. We did a little hiking in
the mountains around Tucson but that was it. The weather in SoCal allows
us to do outdoor activities during most of the year. We even have snow in
the local mountains during the winter.

The biggest thing that I miss in SoCal is lightening bugs.


Dan