As a native Californian, my sworn enemy is the state of Texas. Thus it gives me great pleasure to see that the state of Washington is tied with Texas in venture capital funding. Soon, Seattle, will rule the world! Okay, maybe not. But I love Oren Etzioni’s comment on comparing Silicon Valley to Seattle:
Mr. Etzioni says Seattle has at least one advantage over its storied counterpart in California. “People aren’t distracted by too much sunshine,” he said. “They sit in their offices or garages and get creative.”
…you should not advertise your origins too much in the state of Washington. It’s not so bad in Seattle, but beyond the metro area Californians are nearly universally despised, mainly for raising house prices beyond levels any mere local can afford. I’ve never lived in the state myself, but my parents retired to Wenatchee from Florida (!) and my mother later moved to the west side of the Cascades. Anecdotally, the locals in Wenatchee hate Californians even more than minorities and homosexuals (and given how right-wing the local politics are, that’s saying something).
Since I have family in the Seattle area, I hope for their sake the area continues to do well. But from the comment you quote I can tell that Mr. Etizoni has not spent much time in the area. True Seattleites enjoy life regardless of the weather, and as this ex-Floridian knows, it’s easy to take sunny days for granted when you live in such a climate.
“As a native Californian, my sworn enemy is the state of Texas.”
What did we Texan’s do to deserve ‘enemy’ status? Could it be the number of Californian’s moving to my lovely city of Austin!
Don’t forget, Dave, ‘Ya’ll Come’!
Eric’s right. The saying around town is that there is no bad weather, only inadequate clothing.
“Mr. Etizoni has not spent much time in the area.”
Only 17 years.