California

hey.

So i'm from norway, I have been living here my whole life.. I'm 14 years of age, and when I turn 17, i'm going to take one year of schoolarship in USA. Now i've only been there once, that was last summer, and i have to say.. I loved it! And i cant wait to get back? We took and airplane to san francisco, and then we traveled to santa barbara by car.. and further to disneyland in L.A. it was awesome.

Today i got some magazines with information regarding taking one year in another country.. And i didnt believe it when i saw that it was actually possible to live in california that whole year. It was like a dream come true, as i just love that state!

Now the problem is.. My mom wont let me go. she says "its too dangerous! too much crime! go to minnesota!". But heck, i wanna go to cali! the place i can live is called Woodland Hills, its right next to L.A, and when she heard that she was all "NO.", you know? What i want to do, is convince her that its not that much crime in L.A.. or maybe you guys could convince me to go to some other place within the USA?

my options are : Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio | Fergus Falls, Minnesota | Summerville, South Carolina | Venice, Florida | Woodland Hills, California |

the reason why im asking you gamespotters, is mainly becauseive gotten the impression that the majority of you live in the USA.

thanks in advance!

California is a wasteland of humanity and the universal center of of narcissism and vanity. Stay away from it.ProudLarry

hey.

So i'm from norway, I have been living here my whole life.. I'm 14 years of age, and when I turn 17, i'm going to take one year of schoolarship in USA. Now i've only been there once, that was last summer, and i have to say.. I loved it! And i cant wait to get back? We took and airplane to san francisco, and then we traveled to santa barbara by car.. and further to disneyland in L.A. it was awesome.

Today i got some magazines with information regarding taking one year in another country.. And i didnt believe it when i saw that it was actually possible to live in california that whole year. It was like a dream come true, as i just love that state!

Now the problem is.. My mom wont let me go. she says "its too dangerous! too much crime! go to minnesota!". But heck, i wanna go to cali! the place i can live is called Woodland Hills, its right next to L.A, and when she heard that she was all "NO.", you know? What i want to do, is convince her that its not that much crime in L.A.. or maybe you guys could convince me to go to some other place within the USA?

my options are : Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio | Fergus Falls, Minnesota | Summerville, South Carolina | Venice, Florida | Woodland Hills, California |

the reason why im asking you gamespotters, is mainly becauseive gotten the impression that the majority of you live in the USA.

thanks in advance!

escapeoftheape

First, congrats on your English skills. Better than most American born forum members.

As for spots to look at:

Minnesota would probably be somewhat similar toyoru native Norway. And if I were living abroad I would want someplae as different from home as possible. Ohio is better but still cold and snowy for much of the year (I understand).

Your other choices look like either East or West coast. I am from the midwest (Oklahoma) and, to me, there is somewhat of a cultural difference between those living East of the Mississippi and West of the Mississipi. Not a bad or good difference but a difference nonetheless. I guess what I am getting at is that you may have a different experience in the US if you choose Florida over California. If you liked Cali then you might choose the Western side of the US. IMO, Cali is kind of a classification unto itself when it comes to culture.

Best of luck. It's nice to hear from someone in another country that isn't bashing the US and, in fact, wants to come here.

P.S.-your chances of encountering crime in any particular state is probably the same regardless of where you go. Sure, there are bad areas but most every place is relatively safe.

Just remember that if you go to California absolutely everything will give you cancer.Bloodaxe726

yup its like mexico except instead of not drinking the water you dont wanna touch or ingest ANYTHING

Don't go to California. I hate california and i live here. syorks1

hey. thanks for all the answers! turns out i can actually choose ANY state I want! those listed in the first post were just "featured" in the magazine..

And when you say that you "hate" or "love" a state, please tell me WHY you hate or love it, and why it's better/worse than the other states! that would be great :)

I have a feeling that California is like the "real" USA.. the ones we see at movies and such. with huuuge schools etc! thats what i want to experience! Too bad my mom thinks there's way too much crime there.. but she said flordia was ok! whats the best city/place to live in florida? orlando? miami? and though las vegas looks awesome, i doubt its a nice place to go to school too etc!

also, do you recommend going to NYC? my mom said its the most exiting city in the US.. but that there's alot of crime there etc. i tried to tell her all that stuff about how its the "safest city in the world" etc, but NO. meh..

and Hawaii seems awesome! but i think i can recall my mom saying theres way too much crime there, too! but.. i mean, its an island! (or loads of islands) how bad can it be??

and though i absolutely loved san francisco, i dont want to live there.. and want to visit another city! a new one! i havent really checked out L.A, all we did there was go to disney land, so yeah.. keep coming with suggestions, people! that year is gonna be great :)

hey. thanks for all the answers! turns out i can actually choose ANY state I want! those listed in the first post were just "featured" in the magazine..

And when you say that you "hate" or "love" a state, please tell me WHY you hate or love it, and why it's better/worse than the other states! that would be great :)

I have a feeling that California is like the "real" USA.. the ones we see at movies and such. with huuuge schools etc! thats what i want to experience! Too bad my mom thinks there's way too much crime there.. but she said flordia was ok! whats the best city/place to live in florida? orlando? miami? and though las vegas looks awesome, i doubt its a nice place to go to school too etc!

also, do you recommend going to NYC? my mom said its the most exiting city in the US.. but that there's alot of crime there etc. i tried to tell her all that stuff about how its the "safest city in the world" etc, but NO. meh..

and Hawaii seems awesome! but i think i can recall my mom saying theres way too much crime there, too! but.. i mean, its an island! (or loads of islands) how bad can it be??

and though i absolutely loved san francisco, i dont want to live there.. and want to visit another city! a new one! i havent really checked out L.A, all we did there was go to disney land, so yeah.. keep coming with suggestions, people! that year is gonna be great :)escapeoftheape

California is about the furthest thing from the 'real' USA. Miami has a TON of crime. New York is extremely safe, and had the lowest crime rate of any major city. If you're interested in Nevada, look into Henderson or Incline Village. Don't go to Hawaii.

hey.

So i'm from norway, I have been living here my whole life.. I'm 14 years of age, and when I turn 17, i'm going to take one year of schoolarship in USA. Now i've only been there once, that was last summer, and i have to say.. I loved it! And i cant wait to get back? We took and airplane to san francisco, and then we traveled to santa barbara by car.. and further to disneyland in L.A. it was awesome.

Today i got some magazines with information regarding taking one year in another country.. And i didnt believe it when i saw that it was actually possible to live in california that whole year. It was like a dream come true, as i just love that state!

Now the problem is.. My mom wont let me go. she says "its too dangerous! too much crime! go to minnesota!". But heck, i wanna go to cali! the place i can live is called Woodland Hills, its right next to L.A, and when she heard that she was all "NO.", you know? What i want to do, is convince her that its not that much crime in L.A.. or maybe you guys could convince me to go to some other place within the USA?

my options are : Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio | Fergus Falls, Minnesota | Summerville, South Carolina | Venice, Florida | Woodland Hills, California |

the reason why im asking you gamespotters, is mainly becauseive gotten the impression that the majority of you live in the USA.

thanks in advance!

escapeoftheape

theres a good amount of crime in cali, but like everyone in the US chances are you wont get involved unless you seek it out (buying drugs etc)

Its odd that your norwegian mother wants you to move to minnesota. Do your people have some kind of ethnic connection to that state or something? Pretty rad

Stay out of South Carolina...everything is so spaced-out.

Not a lot of hot girls there either.

I live in New York btw, in Long Island. You should check out the Suffolk area in Long Island. Not that much crime there compared to Nassau.

Its odd that your norwegian mother wants you to move to minnesota. Do your people have some kind of ethnic connection to that state or something? Pretty radH8sMikeMoore

[QUOTE="H8sMikeMoore"]Its odd that your norwegian mother wants you to move to minnesota. Do your people have some kind of ethnic connection to that state or something? Pretty radB05T0N

yeah. Thats what I was pointing out. You did good.

california by FAR out of any of those choices.. seriously.. the southern states and the entire middle of the country is just nuts ( they elected george bush for god's sake ).. cali is the only option out of those.. if you could go anywhere in the US, go to new york. period.

Go to California.

By the looks of it, you are just north of LA, which is good since you arent actually in LA. ALso, you are pretty close to the beach, which means you can pick up surfing!

Plus, I just feel California has so much to offer in terms of culture and stuff. Florida would offer a similiar environment, but ultimately you would be confined to one area as I dont see the appeal of Florida outside of nice weather and beaches.

In addition, people in California (from my experiences) are a lot nicer than the rest of the country. Plus its the west coast, which is freaking nice.

And you essentially answered your own question to begin with: you loved Cal before, you wanted to go again, and now you have a chance to.

As for the crime, I cant help but feel thats typical European paranoia.

Souther California is nice, dont get me wrong, but if possible try to get to a place in Northern California I feel we offer more in terms of sightseeing, culture, and environment. Surf in Santa Cruz one day, walk across the Golden Gate the next, then go skiing in Tahoe the third day!

btw what kind of program is this? Exchange student? Work abroad?

Go to Florida. California's too weird. We even have our own Hollywood.:DDracargen

Now that's weird.

hey. thanks for all the answers! turns out i can actually choose ANY state I want! those listed in the first post were just "featured" in the magazine..

And when you say that you "hate" or "love" a state, please tell me WHY you hate or love it, and why it's better/worse than the other states! that would be great :)

I have a feeling that California is like the "real" USA.. the ones we see at movies and such. with huuuge schools etc! thats what i want to experience! Too bad my mom thinks there's way too much crime there.. but she said flordia was ok! whats the best city/place to live in florida? orlando? miami? and though las vegas looks awesome, i doubt its a nice place to go to school too etc!

also, do you recommend going to NYC? my mom said its the most exiting city in the US.. but that there's alot of crime there etc. i tried to tell her all that stuff about how its the "safest city in the world" etc, but NO. meh..

and Hawaii seems awesome! but i think i can recall my mom saying theres way too much crime there, too! but.. i mean, its an island! (or loads of islands) how bad can it be??

and though i absolutely loved san francisco, i dont want to live there.. and want to visit another city! a new one! i havent really checked out L.A, all we did there was go to disney land, so yeah.. keep coming with suggestions, people! that year is gonna be great :)

escapeoftheape

If you come to California, I recommend living in Santa Barbara or north of there. Dont get me wrong, LA can offer a lot but my experiences there have just been, well, not pleasant.

Las Vegas is not a good place to live. The culture up there is just different from the rest of the country in that nobody really gives a damn about everyone else. Its fun to visit for a days to get your rocks off, but even after three days you get weirded out.

Hawaii actually has the lowest percentage of crime, if you can believe it. my sister is going to school there (she is getting her masters, wooO!) and loves it. There is a good amount of anti-white sentiment but the crime is really low. I will be honest ,however: a good amount of the major cities in Hawaii look like third world countries. Stay on the outskirts and you will be fine. And, like you said, its a load of islands and you can travel to them for relatively cheap (ether via boat or plane). However, its not mainland, so if you want to visit "neighboring" states it will cost a bundle.

Again, I highly recommend the northern half of California. It is really close to a lot of good stuff. Furthermore, you could go to Oregon and even Washington if you wanted to. If you dont want to stay in San Francisco (I dont know why you wouldnt, its the most laid back, clean, major city I've ever been to) there are a lot of cities around it you could stay in. Sacramento would also be a good place. Just stay out of the central valley, however.

If I had to chose, I would limit my choices to the amount of access they grant me to other areas. Las Vegas would be bad because, well, thats the only place to be in Nevada. San Francisco or New York would be good as they are in close proximity to all sorts of areas on the West and East coast respectively. In New York you could look around the city, head down to Boston to see a Red Sox games, and there is a lot of early American history and culture there. San Francisco would be nice for similiar reasons, but the culture would lean more towards art and history.

I am a little biased; I am from outside San Francisco and I love it

Las Vegas is not a good place to live. The culture up there is just different from the rest of the country in that nobody really gives a damn about everyone else.mrbojangles25

Las Vegas would be bad because, well, thats the only place to be in Nevada.mrbojangles25

I take it you've never been to Nevada, or if you have, you were in Vegas for a day or two. Nevada is a very nice state, with several nice areas besides Las Vegas.

[QUOTE="mrbojangles25"]Las Vegas is not a good place to live. The culture up there is just different from the rest of the country in that nobody really gives a damn about everyone else.B05T0N

Las Vegas would be bad because, well, thats the only place to be in Nevada.mrbojangles25

I take it you've never been to Nevada, or if you have, you were in Vegas for a day or two. Nevada is a very nice state, with several nice areas besides Las Vegas.

Oh, I dont doubt that. I do like nevada, didnt like Las Vegas too much.

But while Nevada might have several places to go, other states could offer dozens of places.

And ya, I definately see how you might percieve Californians as unique to the US, but its in a good way I assure you.

again, thanks alot people! My mom is even more mad now.. because this is all i have been talking about the last couple of days :P cant help being exited.. and yeah, its an excange student program! If i even MENTION california to my mom now, shell flip! seriously.. i started reading up posts from this thread loud 2 mins ago.. and yeah.. dont want that to happen again!

the reason why i dont want to go to san francisco, is simply because i've been there before! i want to experience NEW places :) I have been thinking abit about New Jersey, or Connecticut or something lately.. i want to live in a "normal" place, and at the same time be able to travel to NYC in just a matter of minutes, or hours.. i dont know. what are your thoughts about this?

so california is pretty much out of the question for my mom right now.. she's furious! it has been the place i have wanted to go the most since the beginning, but it seems like i'm gonna have to get more "responsible".. i'm lazy as.. well, yeah. and she doesnt want to send a lazy brat abroad! she's afraid the family i will be staying with might hate me :P i'm not really good at doing my duties at home etc.. i swear i'll get better if that what it takes to be able to live in cali for a year, though.

cant wait to get away from all the people around me! and my parents :) that'll probably change.. im 14 now. i guess its normal!