The Golden State.

"Go west young man your future is untold / You can find your dreams on the California coast / Go west young man your future is untold / Far away..."

The above lyrics are from the Anti-Flag song "Go West" off of their 2008 album The Bright Lights of America and it is one of my favourite songs by the band. Of all the American States - and all of North America really - California has always been an interest of mine. There are tons of places I would like to travel to/visit, domestically (Vancouver and Nova Scotia being the big two, although it's always been a dream of mine to visit every provincial capital/major city in Canada) and internationally (London, Tokyo, Sydney, Chicago, Rome, Moscow, Berlin, Amsterdam, etc., coming to mind immediately), but the State of California has recently caught my attention in a big way, so big that I am going to dedicate an entire blog post describing my affinity for it.

Statistically, California is a marvel. With a population of an estimated 37 million, more people reside in the State than in the entire country of Canada. Off the top of my head I can name many major cities found in the state: San Fransisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, Berkeley, and San Jose. The state is big, and has a diverse landscape, bordering Oregon in the north (which has a climate not too different from what we get up here in the Toronto area) and Mexico to the south (which has a much hotter and dryer climate).

I've been thinking about California a lot lately and as I get older I would love to visit the State in the near-ish future. In this post I just wanted to let you all know what it was about California that I find so fascinating (in no particular order):

1) The climate - I am of the belief that a good (i.e. warm and sunny) climate generally makes for a happier person. Living in a country that is generally cold/miserable for a good 3/4-1/2 of the year, I find the prospect of living in a place that manages to have a temperate climate all year round to be very attractive.

2) Academia - what many people don't know about California is that the State is home to some of the best academic institutions (universities) in the world. California Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, and University of California, Los Angeles frequently making top national and international university rankings. As someone in university, and who plans to be so for the next few years I would love the opportunity to attend one of these institutions.

3) West coast culture - California is, in case you didn't know, situated on the western coast of North America. I have never been to the west coast and would love to have the opportunity to experience its culture. From what I have learned about the west coast (gathered mainly from popular culture), the lifestyle there seems to be more relaxed and less manic and busy as life in the East. People seem more easygoing.

4) The beach - while I am not a huge fan of the beach, I feel like if I lived in California I would be forced to maintain a healthy lifestyle and get into fit physical shape. Everyone in California just seems to be attractive (I don't know how true this assessment is, again I am getting most of my ideas on California through popular media), and I would simply feel socially pressured to fit the mold.

5) Outside Lands Music Festival - a more specific reason, San Fransisco is home to an epic three day music festival this year that features some awesome artists including: Muse, Arcade Fire, The Black Keys, Deadmau5, The Shins, MGMT, Arctic Monkeys, Ok Go, and Foster The People. The summer concert line-up for Toronto this year sucks, and is completely lacking in any big music festivals - the only one really being Edgefest, but the only two bands of note are Rise Against and Tokyo Police Club (two bands I love no doubt, but Edgefest is in no way similar to Outside Lands in terms of scope and sheer awesomeness. I also don't count North By Northeast due to the decentralized structure of the event. Hell, even Montreal has Osheaga, Toronto has got squat this summer in the big music festival department).

6) IGN - another specific example, IGN is an online magazine (website) dedicated to writing about and covering one of my favourite hobbies - video games. I follow IGN quite a bit, and the editors at the site just seem to have such a good time doing what they do. It seems like they get to go to work everyday and hang out with their best friends, writing on and sharing something they are all mutually passionate about. If I were to have a "dream job", being on IGN's editorial team would definitely be a good contender. IGN is also based out of San Fransisco.

7) Creativity - I am not going to spend too much time writing on this one as the State's dominance in modern popular culture is fairly self evident, but I think it's worth noting that California is probably one of the more creative areas in North America, and this allows many individuals to being able to "break into" the industry of media (be it film, television, music, or what have you). An obvious example of this is that the crux of the entire film industry, Hollywood, is found in the state (as well as the television industry to some extent, although New York is another main television hub). The liberal attitude found in California creates a haven for some of the most progressive and creative people in North America. Many bands and artists (musical, theatrical, and fine arts) are formed and founded in the state.

California just seems intriguing to me in general. I plan to visit the State at the first chance I get. As "Go West" describes, it just seems to have a good atmosphere for you to find yourself. An expansive, creative, cultural, and academic hub of North America, and a seemingly relaxed place where life isn't too hectic or stressful (as is common in a lot of places with a warmer climate). The above list is in no way exhaustive, as I am constantly learning more about the State, and like any place California has its share of problems - but why focus on the negative? I'm not sure if I'd necessarily want to live in California but I would definitely want to plan a trip or two there. I would probably try to go to San Fransisco first, as it is the city I have learned the most about and it sounds like it'd be the most interesting to me.