I vividly remember the drive from my native San Diego to Humboldt State University and Arcata, Calif. I recall it in such detail because the variety of the surroundings my family and I traveled through for the 13-hour trip made quite a lasting impression.

We took the 5 North to the 101 North, and as we did I passed by San Marcos and San Clemente. I saw the towering industrial sections of Long Beach and the long, dry wasteland that is the Grapevine. Once I began to notice city names like Avenal and Lemoore, I also realized that I was no longer on the coast. Though largely playing it cool, I was giddy at the prospect of college.

It was clear that I was joining an institution, a place renowned for strong minds and legendary recreation. The assumptions and preconceptions ran rampant in my head for 500 miles as I passed through the multitude of vastly different places HSU students come from to go to school.

After taking classes at HSU for nearly two years, I continue to wonder, “Why had we come?”

The number of students at HSU who hail from Southern California is around 1,500, a figure that represents approximately 19 percent of the student population. According to HSU data, most of those students are from Los Angeles and San Diego counties.

So I made my way across campus to find fellow Southern California natives, looking at people primarily from below the northern borders of San Luis Obispo, Kern County and San Bernardino. What had brought them to this area and how did they feel about HSU and their new home in Arcata?

Nam Nguyen from Los Angeles said he liked it because “it was away from home, and a change from the cement.” He referenced the beautiful scenery, and said that he could entertain the notion of living here some day.

Errin Samuëlsz from San Diego said, “I expected to find a lot of environmentally conscious people.” Samuëlsz thought that Arcata was “a nice town for going to school.”

“I was a Navy brat, I was used to transitions,” said Joshua Tribble from Coronado.

“It was the farthest state school away from San Diego,” said John Cross, implying that this was important to him. Cross, originally from Carlsbad, didn’t feel the need to visit the school before coming. “I had never even been up here before I came to school.”

I was under the assumption that I was the only one who didn’t feel like visiting before I arrived, but I met others who had decided to skip the visit. Perhaps it was the enthralling HSU videocassette set to the tune of Green Day’s worst song that clinched it.

I wondered how bad it could possibly be, despite the weather, which is a turnoff for some people. Annual average rainfall in Arcata is more than 40 inches a year, and the average temperature is 59 degrees.

I asked Anna Kenah if she was bothered by the weather, which is much different from that of her hometown, Rancho Pallos Verdes. “Definitely,” was her response.

Megan Sutherland, who came from Anaheim, echoed Kenah’s sentiments: “It rains a lot.”

Patrice Williams of Rialto, in San Bernardino County, also agreed. “I don’t like the weather.”

The weather does get to me at times, but it is nice to see rain on occasion, especially since San Diego saw virtually none during several previous years. While the water from the sky was a deterrent for some, it was also a factor that attracted others in the first place.

Caesar Angel-Rivera from Los Angeles appreciates the weather. “Nice and cold,” he said. “My allergies weren’t acting up.”

After he said that, I realized that my sinuses had not acted up once since I’d relocated to the Arcata area.

“I dig the rain,” said Cross.

Lina Ochoa from Los Angeles agrees. “I was looking forward to the rain when I got here,” she said.

Ochoa is not bothered by the rain, but she lamented the absence of skilled drivers in Arcata. “The way people drive around here is ridiculous–they reinforce the California roll,” she said, in reference to drivers’ ignorance of the red four-letter sign. “They can’t even figure out if it’s a one-way street or not.”

Despite their driving deficiencies, the local folks seemed to be well-regarded by many of the Southern Californians interviewed for this story.

“Everyone is way less materialistic,” said Cross. People walk around and say hi.”

Kenah offered concurring sentiments. “People are nicer and more individualistic,” she said.

Angel-Rivera believed that the difference in attitudes was profound. “I was freaking out about how nice they (the people) were.” He had heard different things before coming to Arcata.

“I knew they hate LA or Southern California,” he said. “And all they say is ‘hella.’”

Jene Matzkamin said she had heard the usual stereotypes regarding “hippies and potheads.”

Matzkamin did not seem thrilled to be attending school in the area. I inquired as to whether or not she could live in Arcata for any length of time. And she shook her head, giving me a stare that seemed to say, “When pigs fly.”

Personal politics played a factor in some students’ choices. Collette Gantenbein from Big Bear Lake said, “Most of California is way too conservative. I was looking for the opposite.”

Gantenbein related to me that her parents had attended HSU, so she did not meet with many surprises.

I found that in a general sense, the people I talked to sought solitude, among other things. Tribble described some of his criteria for a university: “Quieter, less drama, a small quiet community.”

Ryan Ruiz from San Clemente also found HSU and the surrounding area to be pleasant and mellow. “Nice and isolated,” he said. “No distractions. There’s not 100 things happening.”

The difficulty in tying all of these comments together is the same difficulty inherent in describing the state as a whole. When I traveled close to the entire length of California on my own journey, I wasn’t looking at one state; I was looking at quite a few. The sociology of California is as varied as its landscape.

But even in this small area, we Southern Californians are not birds of a feather; we come from all walks of life. It pleases me that we can coexist at HSU and at the very least, get together to gripe about the long commute.