[pct-l] Californians

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

Funny they should give me the California treatment when I'm living  
out of a backpack and look like a bum. I wished I had had the ability  
to buy an Oregon mansion back then, but I have never been able to  
afford California real estate prices either.

I had one guy insult me to my face. He asked me if I was enjoying  
Oregon. I had been battling the most deranged mosquitoes I had ever  
seen. I told him the mosquitoes were making it difficult for me to  
enjoy what Oregon had to offer. He took that as an insult toward  
Oregon and said that Oregon doesn't like Californians and that I  
didn't belong here.

A bit later, I went to the post office to forward my priority mail  
package. The clerk said that they couldn't do that. That forwarding  
wasn't intended for general delivery packages. I told him that most  
post offices went as far as to offer me the service even if I didn't  
ask for it. He argued with me and I got the feeling I was getting  
special California treatment (he could see my return address plain as  
day.) He finally said he would do it just for me, but I walked out of  
there wondering if I should have just paid to have them sent normally.

I worried that maybe my packages would get tossed in the "oops we  
lost it" pile. I hoped the clerk would be a professional. Thankfully  
he was and he even sent me a letter to tell me that he had been in  
the wrong about forwarding priority mail packages.

Still, I started to get paranoid about Oregon. I really liked Oregon.  
I thought the people there were really happy and friendly. I would  
love to live in Oregon, but I guess I would have to keep it a secret  
where I came from, even if all I can afford is blue tarp yurt in the  
forest.


On Dec 4, 2009, at 7:01 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> "Can you shed any light on this whole California treatment I sensed  
> I was
> getting from people in Oregon? Why don't they like Californians?"
>
> I'm not Ellen, but ...
> When I was a youth growing up in Oregon there was a certain dislike  
> felt for
> Californians who move up north and buy (for us) really expensive  
> houses.
> Their real estate prices were higher, and at that time at least, to  
> avoid
> paying capital gains taxes from selling a modest home in CA, they  
> would buy
> a house of equivalent cost in OR, getting a relative mansion.    We  
> had
> "Oregon Ungreeting cards" to send to out of staters to encourage  
> them to
> come visit and bring their tourist dollars, but not to stay.   I  
> imagine
> some of this overall idea persists.
>
> Not difficult to do an internet search and come up with some ideas  
> about
> this, such as:
> http://www.oregonlive.com/century/1970_intro.html