Beach Life in the San Diego Area

Here's my pictorial perspective on beach life in the Carlsbad area of San Diego.

Californians are FAST Drivers

I decided to write some more about my observations of living here in California as compared to my former life in Boston. I haven't done much of this recently, and there are still rambling thoughts about how different it really is, even after being here 2 years.

Californians are FAST drivers. You can't deny it. I noticed it right away when I got here and it is still obvious to me. Now don't get me wrong - I drive pretty fast myself, having spent time in the Midwest (Michigan) where all the roads are straight (not completely, of course) and Boston. The problem in Boston is that the roads are all small and curvy, and traffic gridlock prevents you from driving as fast as you want. So frustrated Bostonians make up for that by being some of the rudest and most aggressive drivers around (I can tell you that Europeans are actually worse).

If you have driven in New England you know these things about Boston drivers:

• They ignore stop signs and street lights
• They cut in and out without ever using their signals - why bother?
• Tailgating is a sport, no matter what your speed
• Rotaries are the most fun of all - the first to get around the fastest wins, and who cares about the lanes
• Pedestrians take their lives in their hands then they cross the road, which they do wherever and whenever they want, plus they ignore the “walk” and “don’t walk” signs anyhow
• Horns and middle fingers are the favorite form of expression, no matter what the situation, and even more vigorously if the driver is at fault
• They don’t stop or slow down to let folks pull in from a side road or parking lot
• They zoom up the side of the road or on the far side of a waiting line of traffic in order to cut in up front since they don’t want to wait in the line
• Left and right turns are made from the wrong lane, and u-turns in the middle of the road holding up traffic or illegally are expected
• They pull out into traffic and move across two lanes to get where they want, no matter how it inconveniences everyone else or holds up traffic
• And so on. You get the idea

I don't "commute" because of my real estate business, but I am on the freeway a good bit, especially to and from LA fairly regularly, and I can attest to the fact that CA drivers are fast...other than the slowdowns for accidents, highway chases (what's the deal with that??) and huge volumes of traffic at rush hour. People are driving 80 in the slow lane...well, there really isn't a slow lane, since there are so many of them and folks just drive wherever they want and can. But fast drivers are also on the secondary roads. And it's not just young drivers or those with sports cars, but a good percentage of drivers in general (I saw a guy the other day who had to be in his 70s or 80s and he was faster than the best of them)...and on all the roads. And the SUVs are some of the fastest (which, BTW, there are a lot of here - everyone seems to drive a big car or SUV, or a high-end import).

But I like the roads here overall. It's easier to drive fast. And I keep up as best I can.

Take a Tour of Rancho Carrillo in Carlsbad, CA

Here is a tour I put together for Rancho Carrillo, a master planned community in Carlsbad in Southern California. It's not an area I know especially well, but it offers a well-planned neighborhood with a range of housing and prices, a neat historical park, a swim center, and some gorgeous views despite being inland by a few miles.

If any one reading this has comments about this community, I'm sure there are some readers who would like to hear. Or perhaps someone who is planning a relocation, is considering moving to the San Diego area, and is looking at Carlsbad homes for sale.

If you have any feedback on the tour, let's hear it!

Have a great weekend. Need something to do - check out the local entertainment in San Diego.

Jeff

Possible Area Code Change for 760

Yikes. What are they talking about here. A new number? A bunch of new numbers? When will this happen. WILL it happen?

Yep, the California Public Utilities Commission's Telecommunications Division is looking into some changes since we are running out of phone numbers in the 760 area code. You have probably already heard about this, but perhaps not.

I have been through this before when I lived back east. And I'm kinda surprised this has not come up out here til now. One of the changes we went through (actually a couple of times) was to add new area codes in the Boston area - this happened more than once. It took some getting used to. But another thing that happened at a different time was we were then required to enter the entire number (including area code) even when dialing within the area. Now that was weird. But we got used to it. 1+area code+7 digit number.

So then I came out here and, lo and behold, I just dial my 7-digit number...no 760 needed (although every now and then on my cell I need to use it). I still have a tendency to add the 760 from time to time. Guess it's for practice.

Well, a planning meeting was held in October 2006 and as a result they established public meetings - there is one in Carlsbad being held on the 21st of this month. It appears there are a couple of options that they expect to issue a decision on at the end of 2007 - one option is to add an area code, 442, and they will decide which side of the split line gets to keep 760 and which gets the new number.

You can read more about the proposed changes and questions on the CPUC site.

The Weather Here Can Be Strange

The weather here can be strange, but I still really like it. Guess I'm still adjusting from the weather we used to get back in Boston.

Yesterday for example. I had to go to a meeting in Carmel Valley. It wasn't raining where I live in Carlsbad nor did it look like it was going to, but I ran into wet roads in Del Mar (no rain, but the drivers were still acting like we were in the midst of a downpour...so typical).

Then I had to run to San Marcos to show some properties after lunch, where it was sunny and clear. On the way back to Carlsbad I ran into the tail end of a shower but nothing to brag about, but got home and my wife said it had been pouring rain for 15 minutes, then suddenly stopped. This sort of thing seems to happen regularly (well, when we get rain, which is rare). While it was odd, the nice thing is that we did not have an entire gray day of rain (or week of rain) as it used to do so often in Boston.

And despite this, I sure am glad to be here, and not back there, or in the mid west...or worse, upstate NY where they have had more than 9 feet of snow in the last week or so in some areas.

Yep the weather here can be strange but I sure enjoy it. And today, Valentine's Day, is barefoot weather. I love it!

Last week we had a gorgeous sunrise one morning - see the pic above that I took from my backyard.

And then the next day the view was completely different (see on the right). And people back east say - don't you get tired of the same nice weather all the time in Southern California?

Nope, I sure don't.