Why do people who live in other states hate and place a bad stereotype on all people from So Cal?

Question

Every time I visit another state and tell people where I'am from (LA), all they do (especially in Nevada, Arizona, Oklahoma, Utah, and Missouri) is tell me how much they hate LA and the rest of California in general. It seems like everywhere you go in this country outside of California, people will go out of their way to be rude to you just because you are from California. I think that it is completely stupid that all these people think so bad of us. The truth is that most people here in So Cal and in the rest of the state are decent, hard-working, and laid-back. When I first moved here three years ago, I found it to be a MUCH friendlier place than where I grew up (SW Missouri). People in Arizona especially make me sick because they are always constantly bashing California and anyone who lives here. I know that So Cal has it's share of rude superficial a** holes, but you can find those types of people anywhere. So why do people in the rest the country choose to hate us so much?

Answer 1

This has always been where it is at. Since the Gold Rush, and again after WW II, people keep coming here California Dreamin'. Now Arnold is our governor. It is the heart of the entertainment industry. The movie stars are all here. All the high profile cases are tried here. (OJ, Robert Blake and Phil Spector). Everyone is looking to the west at us. We have 4 million people in LA alone. That is more than the whole country of New Zealand. We are usually the first to do anything, and the rest of the country folllows. The anti-smoking law in restaurants passed in 1993. It took a few years or longer for the other states to catch on. We are culturally diverse and are constantly evolving. Californians are laid-back, tolerant and knowledgeable. Not ignorant or back-woods. We have tourism with major theme parks that bring in people all over the world. (Disneyland, CA Great Adventure, Knotts, Universal Studios, Sea World, etc.,) We have hundreds of colleges and universities. The Dodgers, Angels and Lakers. Freeways and public transportation make everything geographically accessible. The beach, desert and mountains are in our backyard. We have every type of cuisine and ethnic foods on every corner. We have a mild climate. The weather is great. No shoveling snow. It is all here. When a state is this fast-paced there is going to be problems. As imperfect as we are, people continue to relocate here for a better life.

Answer 2

I moved to SW Missouri, and find the people to be much friendlier than those in So Cal. Much more laid back and wiling to help a neighbor.



I think the rudeness I experienced is the result of so much tension of having to make so much money to just survive! I had to work 16 hour days to get ahead in CA.



I think the reason So Cal gets such a bad rap is the media. Most of the people portrayed in the shows and movies are rich, rude, and ruthless. (or cops)



You and I know that people are basically the same. Some just have a harder row to hoe.

Answer 3

they are jealous and they have heard stories from their yuppie friends who actually did move out here (and moved next to a bunch of REAL californians like my family) and were tormented, hated, despised by everyone else in the neighborhood because they are just stupid and do not get teh concept laid back. These people were such pricks they would call the cops on many people on our block for the most rediculous things. the yuppies even sued my across the street neighbors for buying an RV. Which they kept completely in thier bcakyard. I got a MIP (minor in posessionof Alcohol) in my own backyard because of these freakin yuppies. sorry for the rant,, but people just dont get us, and they wont even if tehy try. it is a wierd thing, and it has to do with many aspects of why we have it so freakin good here in california. our weather is always summer

, our terrain allows one to go surfing, drive to mt high, tehn come back for the sunset sesh. The media starts here, new cars new products new ideas new legislation, if its cool and it works, it got tested in so cal and then only if we like it does the rest of teh country have a chance to get some, of whatever it might be. WE ARE SPOILED, WE LIVE IN THE APEX, WE MOVE, THINK, ACT and DO on a much faster timescale than any otehr place save new york city. WE WANT IT NOW and we GET IT, THEY wanted it yesterday and have to wait till next month. CALIFORNIANS RULE THE COUNTRY< OTHER STATES ARE NATURALLY JEALOUS

Answer 4

I'm not from there (have visited though) but I hear people talk it up and otters talk it down. I should note though that when people downtalk, it's for the whole state, not just SoCal. everybody thinks it's either paved with gold or just the opposite. When they talk it down it's always "too liberal, nearly the worst traffic in the world, all the women are fake in many ways, earthquake potential (those things are deadly), highest taxes in the country" yeah you get the idea. Hollywood plays up CA as about the only place to be. When they do, the not so good things aren't really brought up. You end up with the idea that if you're not near that, the place that you live in and the mini-culture of the place is worthless, or not as good. You end up with this idealized view of CA. then, you talk to people who come back from CA, ex-californians, students from CA, etc that it's really not all it's cracked up to be. This makes you want to rebel against the notion and fodder to do so with, making the perception of where you live to be equally as valid a place to live and be happy. "I'd rather stay in Hickville than deal with gang violence, rudeness, and horrific traffic."

Answer 5

I live in southern California, and when i travel outside the state i find people to be nicer then here in the LA area, i mean, that doesn't hold true for everyone every time, but its a generality. I really dislike the drivers in LA, they will seem to honk at anything.

and yeah, I mean TV has really portrayed southern California as being a haven for the rich and snobby, so the rest of the country is just going to think thats who is here.

Answer 6

It is jealousy and insecurity.



They hate us because we're the 5th largest economy in the world. They hate us because our farms are far more productive than theirs...we don't say "apples or oranges" in this state because we can grow both. They hate us because we go swim in the ocean in the morning, and ski in the slopes in the afternoon. They hate us because we are fashionable. We had shopping malls, automated banking, drive-thrus, and i-pods long before the rest of them... and they can't stand it.



And it's not just SoCal either. It's California. Period.



If you said you were from NorCal, they wouldn't like you anymore than before. They'd just come up with a new set of stupid stereotypes to hate on you:



"Superficial" becomes "Socialist"



"Self-absorbed" becomes "Hedonistic"



"Snootiness" becomes "Stuck up"



"Body Fascist" becomes "Tree-hugger"



"Hollywood liberal" becomes "San Francisco liberal"



And "Materialistic" becomes...um... "Materialistic"

Answer 7

lol I live in so cal and I can tell when an jerk is not a native californian. I just say "Your not from California are ya?" and usually I'm right. From blue collar to white we know how to enjoy life.

Answer 8

It is a place that people like to bash. Even when I was in northern Cali they bashed SoCal like you wouldn't believe. I was in St. Louis once and thought everybody seemed angry about something.

Answer 9

Jealousy.



You have to set an example. Show them that Angelenos are not the stereotype, and eventually they will change their opinions.

Answer 10

idk...but they can say all they want..they are just jealous of our beautiful weather and we have some of the coolest tourist places on earth...So Cal is heaven compared to anywhere else...

Answer 11

jealousy. they can't be us. never will. even if they tried. sounds stupid i know, but it's the truth. they're jealous that they don't have all the opportunities/looks/money we have. so be it. we barely know they exists anyway.

Answer 12

Ignorance.

Jealosy.

Pettiness

Nothing else better to do.

Answer 13

They are just throwing ***t.They don't have what we have.