>>14
I am guessing you must live in one of the decent areas of SoCal. Sometimes I call it Sh*tCal though. I currently reside in one of the "Tijuana Zones". The main "problems" here are people driving with no license and no insurance, running red traffic lights, and performing "hit and runs". Oh, and those guys who stand outside the fence of Home Depot, can't forget about those guys.
Some places around here really do look like Tijuana. There are entire strip malls where almost all of the signs are in Spanish. There are some apartment blocks where you'll spot at least a handful of low riders, sometimes with Mexican banda music blaring out the purple-tinted windows. If that music won't get to you, then maybe the hot Tijuana sun reflecting off of the chrome spoked rims will.
However, there are non-Tijuana areas around here, and I do know where to find some of them. It is truly a treat to see a non-Tijuana Zone once in a while. These places help me feel that I actually still live in the United States.
Anyway, that's just how the view looks like from this side of Southern California (Northern Mexico).
PS --
A part of me cannot wait to escape this sh*thole, granted that I ever get that chance. Northern California sounds amazing. It's just too bad it's earthquake country up there. Supposedly there's supposed to be a real "big one" to hit there soon.