10 Reasons Not to Live in Southern California

After living in Arizona for the first eighteen years of my life, I followed my family out to Southern California and attended college. I've been here six years now (and I plan to relocate very soon) and I've concluded that it's a much better place to visit than to live. Here's my 10 reasons not to live in Southern California.

1. Traffic/Freeways
Southern California (or, SoCal as they call it) probably has the worst traffic congestion in the country, maybe even the world. With nearly 30 freeways, So Cal does its traffic reports by freeway numbers, not names. You'll hear things like, "Sig alert on the 10 has you backed up all the way down to Sunset Blvd. on the 405, where the 101 is starting to gain momentum again after the crash off the 23...". There are few areas in Southern California where people use side streets to get around. Unless you are running to a gas station, grocery store or coffee shop close to home, chances are you'll be traveling down a freeway, going no more than 40 m.p.h. most of the time. Don't even try to get anywhere fast between the hours of 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Rush hour brings even more congestion on the freeways. The worst part is, many of the accidents that happen are due to people talking on their cell phones or gawking at a pulled over car on the side of the road. If Southern California drivers knew how to pay attention to their own driving, instead of slowing down to see why Joe Schmo's flashers are on, there would be less congestion.