Upscale Community Living
Southern California
Area Info
There is so much to Southern California that it makes you dizzy just thinking about it.
When most people think of this region, it's Los Angeles that first comes to mind. The two-county metropolitan area (Los Angeles and Orange Counties) sprawls over nearly 6,000 square miles, and includes 122 incorporated cities. Many of them are firmly embedded in the American imagination: Malibu, Santa Monica, Hollywood, Beverley Hills, Newport Beach. Actually, each of these communities has its own separate character and history...they just happen to have grown up very, very close to one another.
Still, they share the same sun, surf, and shopping image so strongly associated with Southern California. And there is much truth to that image, but there's also much more. There are actually wilderness areas within this huge megalopolis; there are important manufacturing and high-tech companies, and some of the best theaters, restaurants, symphonies, and museums in the world.
This eclectic character extends along the coast in both directions from Los Angeles. To the south, San Diego offers many of the same amenities as Los Angeles, in a more compact (and some would say, more appealing) package. To the north, the coast is dotted with smaller communities like Ventura and the toney, well-preserved Santa Barbara, one of the most popular destinations among Southern Californians themselves.
Inland, beyond the mountains that surround Los Angeles, the area's reputation for contrast continues. The Mojave Desert—not much more than an hour from downtown Los Angeles—is a parched and silent region of austere beauty. Yet even here, there is contrast: the golf courses, spas, and restaurants of toney Palm Springs.
Articles
News from the Orange County Register
News from the Orange County Register
Local News from San Diego Union-Tribune via Yahoo! News
Church draws big crowds, big gripes
Mar 21, 2010 7:16 am
The Rock Church is on shaky ground with some of its Liberty Station neighbors over traffic generated on Sundays when as many as 12,000 people attend day and evening services.
Comfortable fit: Boot Roundup & Shoe Repair
Mar 21, 2010 7:12 am
On Broadway in Chula Vista, Boot Roundup & Shoe Repair looks like a hole in the wall, stuffed with shoes, cobbling material and equipment.
SDSUs Love Library said to be at risk
Mar 21, 2010 7:07 am
Nearly 180 public university buildings in California used by tens of thousands of people have been judged hazardous to occupy during a major earthquake, including libraries, classroom buildings, stude...
Package found by fire station was harmless
Mar 21, 2010 1:16 am
A suspicious package found outside a city fire station in Hillcrest Saturday prompted police to close some city streets before investigators determined it contained a harmless noisemaker.
Panda enthusiasts gather for real-life look
Mar 20, 2010 8:31 pm
More than 50 self-described panda lovers gather at zoo, turning their passion into a social event some say they will not forget.
Volunteers come to the rescue of pets
Mar 20, 2010 9:46 am
For animals who no longer have a home, a rescue group can mean a second chance at a good life. The volunteers take in dogs and cats, horses and rabbits who have been abandoned or whose owners can no l...
Struggling Postal Service says big changes needed
Mar 20, 2010 9:31 am
Six-day-a-week mail delivery and easy access to the corner post office have long been about as certain as death and taxes. But as the U.S. Postal Service increasingly slips into debt, an end to Saturd...
Tea Party to protest health bill downtown
Mar 20, 2010 7:46 am
DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO: Tea Party protesters will be staging a demonstration against health care reform tomorrow at Horton Plaza.
City libraries begin cutting hours
Mar 20, 2010 7:18 am
Beginning today, weekends and Mondays wont be the same for many San Diego Public Library users because of recent budget cutbacks.
Feral cat colony looking for home
Mar 20, 2010 7:18 am
An animal-rescue group volunteer is hoping to find a new home for a dozen feral cats living in the garage of a three-unit apartment complex damaged by a recent fire.
