veryfunny

Sorry to read that you are having problems adjusting but in some cases it will pass, really depends on your outlook. Either you give it your 100% or you give in and go home or else where.

There are many places to live, if you are getting really depressed them maybe it is time for you to move on.

Eitherway, I hope you find the happiness you are looking for.

deniseincarmel

Benjpie,

Hi. I grew up in North Carolina and wouldn't live in California, the southern part at least, for all the money in the world.

I'm sorry you're unhappy. I lived in Oregon one year and thought I'd died and gone to he@@. It's a different kind of culture, I suppose on the west coast.

I live in Indiana now and love it.

Hope you get it resolved and find a place you love soon.

lucylove

I moved to California in 1999, and HATED it for the first two or three years. I moved here from Cornwall, so it was a massive culture shock, and I felt all the things you are feeling now. It felt plastic and soul-less somehow. I still feel that sometimes, but I have also made it my home, so I can see the beauty in it as well. There are plenty of Californians who aren't plastic and fake and stuffed with cotton wool (that was the mental image I had when I moved here- cut into a Californian (not ACTUALLY cut, I am not a sadist ) and you would find cotton wool, not blood!) I have some great friends here now, some who are British, but many who are American.

weazie

Benjipe

I know exactly how you feel. I moved to San Antonio TX after living in Durham for 3 years. Immigration was so difficult and now im living here thinking- was this worth all the heartache and money??? Half the time when i wake up in the morning i feel like ive woken up in some kind of hell hole.

Regarding the majority of the advice for moving to somewhere you feel more comfortable- we are definitely planning on it ( my american husband hates it here too- in fact he would much prefer to live in England) when we have enough money. I was thinking San Fran, so hearing others talking about it is encouraging

Steerpike

I moved to San Francisco 24 years ago, after 6 wonderful years in London (before that, 18 uneventul years in the dreary Northwest of England!). I've loved virtually every minute of it, and I wake up every day happy to be here. As part of my job I've travelled around the US extensively, and also taken extensive road trips for vacations, and I have yet to find a place that comes close to San Francisco in terms of the atmosphere, the people, the attitude, etc. I've enjoyed the 'big city' excitement of New York and Chicago; the sheer beauty of Santa Fe; the wonder of Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon; the beauty and weather of San Diego; the desert beauty of Tucson; but nothing comes close to San Francisco in terms of a place to live, to return to, to feel comfortable in.

If I can be of any assitance, let me know (send me a PM) - I can give you plenty of advice about where to live, what the options are, etc.

When I first came to the US, I stated in Peoria, Illinois. I knew there was something about the work ethic and the optimism of the people that was 'right' for me, but Peoria did not exactly float by boat. I told people there I was going to California to look for a job, and they all told me I was nuts; "it's too expensive"; "full of weirdo's"; etc. I came anyway (in '83). When I got to SF, many people told me I was crazy to buy property there, but (after a couple of years of very hard work) I scraped together the $10k deposit on a $100k condo and never looked back. My point is, if you want to make it happen, you can do it. Don't listen to people who say it's not possible. At least, keep an open mind! I came here with zero money and no friends, and have a wonderful existence here. I wouldn't trade it for anywhere in the world.

Good Luck!

Poppy girl

I started here in Bloomington Il no wonder we love Cali no comparison

weazie

Thanks for the encouragment

veryfunny

You are so so so true with your comments.

Tracym

I agree.

veryfunny

I strongly suggest you watch the movie the "pursuit of happyness"

RoadWarriorFromLP

One key difference -- you won't find roundabouts in Corona.

Otherwise, sure. Faceless suburbia, designed around the car and the dream of tract homeownership. Unless you want to cocoon with the better half and the 2.2 children, not an optimal living environment. If you're a swingle, it's probably two steps removed from hell on earth.

The first question is why you chose Corona, of all places. If you can choose differently, I'd do so. (If you're tied to a job, then you may have to trade off a better locale for a longer commute. Try to plan the commute carefully, as traffic can and probably should affect your choice of residence.) If you insist on having brick buildings and can't accept the notion of stucco and parking lots, then you should probably leave California altogether. But assuming you just want a walkable neighborhood with a decent local bar, then you need to escape the manufactured suburbs of exurban LA, and find something closer in. Perhaps Claremont or Pasadena might work for you.

I'm American, by the way, yet I have empathy for your dislike of the Inland Empire. (They got it half-right -- it's inland, to be sure, but far from imperial.) It would be disingenuous to pretend that Corona-style suburbs are the exception, when they are often the rule. But there are exceptions, and you should look for them.

Xebedee

There is the expression which goes a bit like: "You cannot set sail when your eyes are on the shore".
You can, indeed, take your eyes off the shore, give it 100% and then come to a totally different conclusion.

There really should be books written about this stuff and handed out on planes.

Rushman

Yes.

deniseincarmel

[QUOTE=RoadWarriorFromLP;5700497]One key difference -- you won't find roundabouts in Corona.

We have lots of roundabouts in Carmel.

Merry Christmas

:Huey