Proud to be a Californian

There are many things to love about living in California but every once in a while, I am reminded of some new reason why I really couldn’t live anywhere else. I recently read Single State of the Union: Single women speak out on life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. As the title suggests, it’s a collection of essays by and about single women and with almost every essay, I found something to which I would say, “Yes!”. But there was also a lot to which I said, “Gee, I don’t really have that problem,” and I think it’s largely because I live in California. There’s a reason why ‘alternative lifestyles’ are more common out here; Californians, as a species, tend to be less judgmental than people elsewhere in the country. I simply can’t imagine anyone I know here suggesting that it was odd for me to buy a house without being married (well, I do have a colleague who repeatedly mentions it but it is more “How could you possibly afford it alone?” than anything else). Heck, I can’t even remember the last time someone I know implied that there was anything ‘wrong’ with my single status. I have felt somewhat slighted by a certain coupled friend who doesn’t ask me to do the same things that she asks other coupled friends to do, but given that I am closer friends with her than her husband, I can sort of understand that (of course, on the other hand, I have had little opportunity to become better friends with her husband because of that). But I have never had to endure the kind of crap that routinely happens to a friend of mine who lives in New England – he’s been called everything from selfish to immature to pathetic by “friends” who all think there’s something wrong with him because he doesn’t fit into the pattern they expect. As if I needed a reason, other than the Patriots, to think New England sucks...