the ups and downs of living in socal🌴💞

hi!! my names grace!! i’m 18 and i was born and raised here in socal!! i’m from orange county so im so unbelievably greatful and i think it gives me a pretty good stance on how life is here!! there are so many variables to it but here are my takes on why you WOULD and WOULDNT want to live here!!😚

✨THE UPS

-CONSTANT OPPORTUNITIES📈

i’m not kidding when i say you can do literally ANYTHING for a career here and MOST LIKLEY be successful!! there are so many people here who pride themselves on shopping small businesses only so this is the place to start your biggest business dreams!! i am a nail tech and i guarantee that i wouldn’t be as popular as i am without all the support from my friends and the community im in!!

-SO MANY ACTIVITIES🎢

this one is a stretch for locals bc we all end up doing the same things BUTTTT if your willing to find it there is ALWAYS something fun to do here. from theme parks to gardens to malls you won’t be bored AS LONG as your looking for stuff!!

-VIEWS LIKE THIS😻

i’m not even kidding. my parents tell me half the reason they stay here is because of how scenic it is here. the weather is literally enough to keep them here paying an extra 500k for our house. NOT EVEN KIDDING. THE WEATHER IS WHY ITS SO EXPENSIVE TO LIVE HERE!!!!!! where else in the country does it not drop below 55 in winter other than here ya know.

-THE BEACH + THE MOUNTIANS 🌴🏔️

i’m not a huge mountain girly yet BUTTT having access to both is another HUGE draw for people !!! the beach is where my heart is but i imagine the surfer/snowboarder’s dream is socal. people do these things called crawls where they surf in the morning and then drive to the mountains to snowboard or ski LIKE THATS INSANE AND THE MOST CALIFORNIA SHIT IVE EVER HEARD

-THE POSITIVE VIBE🫂

this comes in moderation but when your sat on the beach in the middle of summer with brazil by declan mckenna playing on a speaker not much can be bad in life. not even kidding 5 minutes in that setting make all the bad of living here worth it

😞THE DOWNS

-superiority complex👑

when your in a place where anything is possible also in the time of social media that we’re in, almost everyone here thinks they are a main character and it often comes off in an entitled way. you have to be able to get used to people being a little extra snarky and demanding

-unappreciative people🤬

i hate to say this used to be me, but people often do not have nearly enough appreciation for how beautiful it is here. half the reason we’re paying double to live here is because of the beautiful weather and fast access to almost everything you could ever dream of doing

-cost of living💵

when i say that this is one of the most important things about living here… I MEAN IT. gas currently where i live is 5.46 for the CHEAPEST. a gallon of milk is 6.56. rent is minimum 2k for a SAFE 1 bed 1 bad apartment. if your not from here or don’t have a 10k a month salary, it is impossible to survive right now.

-life in a bubble 🫧

since i’ve started traveling out of state a bit more in the past year, ive realized that californians often end up living in the bubble of life. since we have access to absolutely everything we don’t need to go anywhere to see much of any new. a lot of people from here don’t leave here for their whole lives. beaches? yup! snowy mountains? yup! perfect weather and endless beautiful sights and hundreds of places to go? you got it!! no need to go anywhere else!

-traffic🤢

if your trying to go anywhere from 2pm-7pm GOOD LUCK. to get to the beach from my house it takes 40 minutes with no traffic, now add some and it’s a 2 hour drive!!

-social media addicted 📲

i’ve noticed this a lot in myself, but people here are so social media centered. it’s often exhausting having to feel like you have to be an insta baddie to have guys like you. i hope that everyone can unplug and appreciate how amazing it is to live here!!

-40 million people👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

yup!! that’s how many people live in this state ALONE. you definitely can feel it especially in some rush hour traffic or at the irvine spectrum on a weekend. the increase in how many people live here especially recently has been INSANE!!

anyways, that’s all my local yap i have for today!! comment down below if you have any questions about living here!! ⏬😁

🌴 tags : #california #socal #lifestyle #life #review #real #embracevulnerability #springbreak #shareyourthoughts #travelwithme2024