Conversations about living in California seem to have become more and more frequent around this household and several others I've visited over the past couple of years. I think on one hand, folks who live here have some legitimate concerns about the fate of our beautiful state - a lingering drought and over-crowding in several cities, which has led to increasingly worse traffic and housing built on shaky ground. Most of the stable land was developed long ago - and what I mean by stable is land which isn't prone to recurring floods, fires, mudslides, landslides and intense seismic activity. Developers and home-seekers have become desperate in recent decades and understandably so, to a certain extent. It is difficult to beat the weather, beaches, mountains, and other California phenomenon. I left the state for six years to live in Georgia, and although I had no intentions of coming back, I would not live anywhere else now that I have returned.

Even in the brown, crust-and-dust-laden mountains of Tejon Pass (due to our incredible drought), I still find myself in awe as I travel along interstate 5 and really think about this huge terrain which separates central California from southern California. Despite the fact that the San Luis reservoir is a mere shadow of its former self, it still reigns supreme as one of the most picturesque sights along highway 152.  

Yes, it's expensive to live here. But there's a reason for that. Beyond its natural beauty, the diversity I have experienced living here is incomparable. I know that New York City is extremely diverse, and D.C. as well, but this melting pot just seems better without all the snow, sleet and hot humid summers. If you want an island vacation but don't have time to hop over to Maui or the Bahamas, southern California beaches will hold you over nicely. Spoken like a true Californian? Perhaps. But numbers don't lie, and despite all of its obstacles, California's population isn't going to shrink anytime soon. And neither will my love for it.

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