Like I said, not all bad
I do kvetch a lot about living here, and I doubt that’ll ever change (face it, I’m an Easterner or Midwesterner, depending on how you define those terms–basically, I prefer living east of the Mississippi), but as I have said and written before, there are good things about living here in SoCal.
One of them is very noticable right now–the Jacarandas are in bloom. These are gorgeous trees with fern-like leaves and fantastic cascades of bluish-violet flowers in the late spring. They’re absolutely stunning, even in years like this one when they are not their best (and they are blooming late this year to boot).
I first noticed these trees the first May I was out here, when we went to Brentwood (LA) for the wedding reception of a friend. The trees line the streets there. Then I started noticing them down here. Now you see them in many neighborhoods. One in the front yard in spring can make a POS ranch house look like it’s actually worth close to the $600K they’re asking for it.
Okay, maybe not, but it does help the neighborhood aesthetics.