The NorCal Versus SoCal Rivalry

By Feliz Moreno, Nick Ostiller, and Michael Erkelens

NorCal

The relationship between Northern California and Southern California is like a sibling rivalry. But clearly everyone knows NorCal is better.

Southern California commonly thinks it is a significantly better place than NorCal only because there are more movies filmed there. However, as a lifetime NorCal girl, I adamantly disagree.

The rivalry goes back to the end of the 19th century when the city of Los Angeles began to grow too big for it's water supply. This meant that water was funneled from NorCal and the Colorado river. Northern Californians have resented their lower half ever since.

I love to listen to the reasons SoCal residents think their half of the state is better. One of the top reasons listed is almost always the beaches. Maybe they do have a handful of nice beaches, but NorCal does too.

Not to mention, we have Yosemite National Park, Lassen National Park and Redwood National Forest. If you still aren't sold on the fact that NorCal has more natural beauty, I have two words for you: Lake Tahoe. Meanwhile a majority of Southern California is desert, so have fun feeling like you are in an oven if you want to live there.

Not only is the geography and the scenery better, but the people are more down to earth. SoCal has too many rich, snobby celebrities and people who do little more than tan and go to the beach. And as soon as you cross into the south side of the 35th parallel it's like people forget how to wash their hair. And the bro population down south is a lot more prominent.

Not to mention that when California was Mexican territory, the government would have to bribe people to live there. Nobody wanted to live in a desert wasteland in the middle of nowhere. Thus, L.A. became a refuge for criminals and outcasts.

NorCal on the other hand was settled in 1849 when the Gold Rush brought people West. Not only did NorCal have the prosperous resources, but it also had the prosperous minerals.

San Francisco has always been the place to be. Its location on the bay made it accessible to trade routes from all over the world. The city has welcomed a huge number of immigrants over the years and has been home to a diverse community and the Golden Gate bridge. The only other American symbol signifying the American promise land as well as the Golden Gate is the Statue of Liberty.

The Bay Area has served as the creative inspiration for many authors, poets and other intellectuals. It was home to movements such as the San Francisco Renaissance and the free speech movement.

SoCal may be able to lay claim to Hollywood, but it can also claim the 1992 Rodney King riots. Los Angeles is also the 10th most segregated city in the U.S. as of the 2010 census. How nice.

And if we are going to talk about Los Angeles, we have to talk about the smog. As an asthmatic, my lungs suffer just thinking about that city. We also can't forget about the traffic. Even native SoCal residents have to admit we have them beat in that aspect.

SoCal may have Hollywood, but NorCal has the capital city. The capital may have changed locations five times, but none of those locations was in the south. We govern SoCal. We also have the Bay Area. The Bay Area - which is too expansive to be narrowed to a city - has a vast amount of resources and also harbors the Silicon Valley. Do I need to reiterate the importance of the Silicon Valley to American technological development? I don't think so.

We also have more sports teams. We have the Raiders, the 49ers, the Giants, the A's, the Warriors and the Kings. So what if most of these teams suck most of the time, what is great is the variety.

And the fans are loyal. SoCal may have the Los Angeles Lakers and the LA Dodgers, but they also have the San Diego Chargers so lets not get too cocky.

If NorCal didn't supply all of SoCal's water, most of Southern California would be desolate and barren. So NorCal is the land of fresh air, fresh water, food, trees, cool people and the best weed in the nation. I don't know how it gets any better. Oh, that's right, it doesn't.

Feliz Moreno is a sophomore English major and editor of the Opinion section.

SoCal

Southern California or Northern California? Is this even a question? Clearly SoCal is much more awesome than its northern counterpart.

First, it must be made clear we are not saying that northern California is a bad place in any way. Most SoCal kids that go to school here at Santa Clara clearly like it enough to leave their home to spend four years up here.

What we are trying to say is that having lived in both areas, we are much more qualified to describe the much more "awesome" nature of SoCal over NorCal. 

It would stand to reason that the better location would attract a larger amount of residents. SoCal's population according to the US Census Bureau is 23,418,460, while only 14,874,227 people reside in the north. In this argument we are using the 35'46 N parallel line, which defines a border marking the transition between the locations commonly referred to SoCal and NorCal. 

Despite the much higher cost of living in SoCal, people choose to remain in the area. Why is this? The economic size of the two regions, when looking at the mean household income for the allotted counties above and below the 35th parallel, shows that the average SoCal income is about $49,000 compared to NorCal's $47,000. 

The major distinction is in value creation, according to the California government. Despite major companies with superior company valuations being headquartered in the north, the southern region of the state equates to an economic addition of roughly $1.1 trillion, while NorCal has an economic value of about $700 billion. 

That would make SoCal the second largest economy in the country behind the state of Texas. NorCal ranks fifth on this list. 

Now to a subject for which SoCal is continually vilified. According to UC Davis and the Center for Watershed Sciences, despite the increasing population of Southern California, it remains one of the lowest per capita consumption in the state. 

Yes, we know we take it from different places: about 50 percent from NorCal and 50 percent from the Colorado River. Yet the majority of that water is being purposed for agriculture, which feeds the entire state.

What about our sports teams? Not only do they help solidify the amazing legacy and place that is SoCal, but they are so much more dominant than NorCal teams. Los Angeles was given the incredible honor representing our nation to the world for the 1932 and 1984 summer Olympics. 

The Dodgers, who just beat Tim Lincecum and the Giants last night to maintain their first place standing over San Francisco, have won the World Series five times in Los Angeles. The Angels defeated none other than the Giants in the 2002 World Series.

The basketball comparison should not even be mentioned because it is so one-sided, but we'll talk about it anyways.

The Lakers, who defeated the Warriors in each of the four times they played this season, have won 11 championships in Los Angeles. The Warriors have one title during their 40 years in the Bay Area. The Sacramento Kings have none. While the Lakers and Clippers are currently in the playoffs, the Warriors and Kings are watching from the couch. Typical.

The only Kings that are in the playoffs are members of the Los Angeles hockey team, who defeated the same squad that knocked out the San Jose Sharks a few weeks ago.
The Anaheim Ducks are the only California team to ever win the Stanley Cup, which they did in 2007. NorCal may have the Oakland Raiders, but they were the Los Angeles Raiders when they won their last Super Bowl.

As far as physical location goes, SoCal has NorCal beat. Big time. Yes, we know it's green up here, but what else is there? SoCal offers every landscape imaginable apart from rainforest.

You can traverse rolling hills or explore sprawling valleys. There are deserts of soft sand and beautiful rock formations, all just a short drive from the Mediterranean climate that the rest of the country wishes it had.

When it comes to beaches, Norcal is no match for SoCal. SoCal beaches continuously rank among the world's best and host not only world-class surfing, but the water is warm enough for people to enjoy swimming in it.

With annual average temperatures around 68, compared to NorCal's 57, SoCal's weather is superior. In SoCal, 78 percent of the days in a year are sunny with an annual average temperature in the 70s. How nice is that?

If these aren't enough reasons why Southern California is better that Northern California, well then you're in luck because there's one more: We don't say "hella."

Michael Erkelens is a senior marketing major and photo editor of The Santa Clara. Nick Ostiller is a sophomore communication major and editor of the Sports section.