Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Alice Arrives in Wonderland

Hello everyone, isn’t it great to be in California?

If you hesitated when asked this question then I am assuming that you haven’t like me, spent the last three years in North Carolina. If you had then you would know for a fact that it is fantastic to be here.

I kissed the ground when we crossed the border from Arizona a month ago with our two dogs, Tiny and Rhino and a third one, picked up from the freeway that we were hoping to reunite with its owner. My husband James had just completed eight years of service in the Marine Corps and we couldn’t get away from his previous duty station fast enough.

I, being British, had found the South even harder to cope with than he had and couldn’t wait to be back in my idea of civilization. I’m not going to bash on North Carolina but I do think that as a young person it is important to examine the older generation where you live because that is your future if you stay there.

Californian women in their forties and fifties are strong and sexy. They eat healthy food, ride horses on the weekend, enjoy trips to wineries, the theater, concerts. They’re interesting to talk to and fun to be around. Most of the middle-aged women that I encountered in the South were riding motorized carts around Walmart.

But enough about that because I don’t want to talk about the dark side any more. In fact just thinking about it gives me palpitations. Instead I want to talk about my new life in California where the climate is, as my husband describes it, “room temperature” and the land is so fertile that you can see your food growing from the road. Here in Fallbrook every tree groans with oranges, lemons and avocados. This means that I am literally never more than ten yards from a living source of cocktails and dip and what a comforting thought that is.

Our current location is temporary as we are planning to buy in San Diego proper but it is a great place to decompress. It also appears to be overrun with my fellow countrymen although I am yet to meet them. The clues are in the grocery stores where Marmite, Branston and Cadbury stand proudly on the shelves next to the more exotic (well at least to me) taco shells and salsas. Major market, a locally-owned joint on Main St appears to be our unofficial headquarters with not one but three sections devoted to treats from home including frozen bangers and Cornish Pasties. I know the Brits are there in force because whereas usually the offerings for expats consist of a couple of static, dusty cartons of Birds Eye Custard, these products are flying off the shelves. Someone bought out all of the Irn Bru last week.

It's been a month since we moved and already I am blossoming here, stuffed with avocados and sunshine. The copious quantities of guacamole that I am consuming may make me fat but by God I will have glorious skin. I have scrubbed, bleached and cajoled the dark dye out of my hair and drenched myself in fake tan to simulate the California glow. Like the majority of people here, I am happy and it shows. I’m blending in, assimilating, becoming almost indistinguishable from the locals.

Or at least I will be once I find a good dentist…

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Todd Gloria gets cash from McDonald's franchise owners

Phil's BBQ owner for Larry Turner

Hello everyone, isn’t it great to be in California?

If you hesitated when asked this question then I am assuming that you haven’t like me, spent the last three years in North Carolina. If you had then you would know for a fact that it is fantastic to be here.

I kissed the ground when we crossed the border from Arizona a month ago with our two dogs, Tiny and Rhino and a third one, picked up from the freeway that we were hoping to reunite with its owner. My husband James had just completed eight years of service in the Marine Corps and we couldn’t get away from his previous duty station fast enough.

I, being British, had found the South even harder to cope with than he had and couldn’t wait to be back in my idea of civilization. I’m not going to bash on North Carolina but I do think that as a young person it is important to examine the older generation where you live because that is your future if you stay there.

Californian women in their forties and fifties are strong and sexy. They eat healthy food, ride horses on the weekend, enjoy trips to wineries, the theater, concerts. They’re interesting to talk to and fun to be around. Most of the middle-aged women that I encountered in the South were riding motorized carts around Walmart.

But enough about that because I don’t want to talk about the dark side any more. In fact just thinking about it gives me palpitations. Instead I want to talk about my new life in California where the climate is, as my husband describes it, “room temperature” and the land is so fertile that you can see your food growing from the road. Here in Fallbrook every tree groans with oranges, lemons and avocados. This means that I am literally never more than ten yards from a living source of cocktails and dip and what a comforting thought that is.

Our current location is temporary as we are planning to buy in San Diego proper but it is a great place to decompress. It also appears to be overrun with my fellow countrymen although I am yet to meet them. The clues are in the grocery stores where Marmite, Branston and Cadbury stand proudly on the shelves next to the more exotic (well at least to me) taco shells and salsas. Major market, a locally-owned joint on Main St appears to be our unofficial headquarters with not one but three sections devoted to treats from home including frozen bangers and Cornish Pasties. I know the Brits are there in force because whereas usually the offerings for expats consist of a couple of static, dusty cartons of Birds Eye Custard, these products are flying off the shelves. Someone bought out all of the Irn Bru last week.

It's been a month since we moved and already I am blossoming here, stuffed with avocados and sunshine. The copious quantities of guacamole that I am consuming may make me fat but by God I will have glorious skin. I have scrubbed, bleached and cajoled the dark dye out of my hair and drenched myself in fake tan to simulate the California glow. Like the majority of people here, I am happy and it shows. I’m blending in, assimilating, becoming almost indistinguishable from the locals.

Or at least I will be once I find a good dentist…

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

"Kidnapped in California"

Next Article

California in My Rearview Mirror

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader