Northern vs. Southern California- The Definitive Comparison 

I’m watching this video as a spectator from Central California

Central Californians just be chilling between the two.

11:07 that was absolute me. me living in Chicago - "i love distinct seasons" after living in California - "no I don't"

I went to make a sandwich while you were naming off the companies in NorCal, and when I came back, you were still going lmao

Santa Cruz native here! Definitely, we are hanging on to that counter-culture spirit although it is changing due to a lot of Silicon Valley employees living there. Overall, the city has the lowest income to cost of living ratio in the country, meaning it is harder economically to live there than anywhere else. Go Slugs!

This is a great video! I just moved from LA to SF and this couldn’t be more accurate. I love both areas, but NorCal takes the win for me

SACRAMENTO!!! All the serial killers are from here!! Woohoo!!!!

I love the Bay Area.

Northern California besides Yosemite is some of the most beautiful scenery ive ever seen. Lassen national forest feels like youre in Northern Canada, Mt Shasta was unexpectedly spectacular, we had to stop just to take a look even tho we had no plans to stop on our roadtrip. loved the frontier feel to it.

I’m from SoCal but I love NorCal too. All of California is amazing and no other state comes close.

When you visit LA like I have a million times you will be suprised how accurate grand theft auto 5 depicted LA

And much love to ALL of my Cali natives. Blessings to all who read this comment 🙏🏾

I’m from Sac. As soon as you said vs. San Diego I knew we lost 😂

I’m from NorCal and was completely foreign to Sacramento till about 2 years ago. Just wanted to say that Sacramento is probably the nicest big city I’ve ever been to it’s very clean there are many many good places to see and it is so historic just being there makes you feel all that history rushing through you. And there is countless things to do and see. I used to live in San Jose for 25 years but my next stop is for sure Sacramento

I never understood how the Hollywood/Beverly Hills stereotype of vanity and vapidity somehow became a blanket description for all of the Greater LA area. The overwhelming vast majority of SoCal is comprised of working class cities like Long Beach, San Pedro, Santa Ana and Inglewood.

Southern Californians don't care where you're from or where you're going!! It's funny how we know and have coworkers from literally every state and we never bash or talk down on anyone! I'm now in Texas and these people are so into trying to out due California (Which will never happen!)

This has probably been the single most comprehensive comparison video on the state of California I've ever seen in my life. Not being a CA native, but wanting to move there, I spend as much free time as my schedule will allow trying to glean as much information as I possibly can so that I know what I'm talking about and feel good about the decision I ultimately wind up making.

Shout out to Cow Town, AKA, City Of Trees, Sac Of Tomato. NORCAL all the way. When in doubt, just block the aqueduct and NORCAL will always win. Ha ha. California is a win win all around. The most beautiful and diverse state in the union. Even though I retired in Florida. With pride, I always tell people California has everything. From desert to ocean, from meadows to mountains, from cities to country. California does have all four season. I've been through all of California, without a doubt we have 4 seasons. If you don't like one season, just drive a little within the state, the weather can drastically change for ya. Hella love your videos, wish it would have popped up on my RU-vid sooner. Good stuff Maynard!

I saw “keep Santa Cruz stoned” and thought: “Accurate” 😂😂😂

NorCal native here but got much respect for all my fellow Californians. We for real the best state.

I drove from Silicon Valley to Santa Cruz along hwy 1 during my first visit to CA last year and it was amazing. Definitely going back asap

I feel like the real rivalry is between the coast and the mountains

Loved this. I grew up in NorCal (16 years) then lived in SoCal for 16 years and am now back in NorCal. Loved both places but the nod goes to NorCal. However, I'm retiring in the Central Coast so I can observe both from a distance and occationally visit both as well. Well done video!

Just found this channel, absolutely LOVE every video I've seen! Great work, King!

Add Green Day to the NorCal bands.

As a CA native, I avoid both LA and San Francisco but Santa Barbara & San Diego are pretty nice. (Good video Kyle. You actually had me laughing at several parts!)

I must say, I've always enjoyed your videos but the fact that you said Steely Dan is your favorite is simply amazing! Thank you for all of the awesome content!!

There's no rivalry between us NorCals & SoCals, I love my fellow Californian Natives! 🐻☆

as someone from Mountain View, CA this is an amazing comparison. Truly. 10/10.

I'm from the desolate northern Calif area near Red Bluff. Orange County is a conservative stronghold next to totally liberal LA. The airport there is "John Wayne International." When you stand in the Bay Area and look past the Golden Gate bridge toward the setting sun and the Pacific, it is truly awe-inspiring. California is a really beautiful state once you leave the cities. I would recommend that every American take at least one drive from San Francisco up the coast to Crescent City. You will be stumbling all over yourself to find the right superlatives to describe the wonder.

I have no problem with SoCal. I love all of California. I feel like we are more alike than different but for some reason, there’s always transplants that go to LA then SF and say “oh it’s sooo different” lol nobody up here in NorCal cares for that shit. If I’m feeling beachy, I go to SoCal. If I’m feeling outdoorsy, I’ll go to NorCal. It’s simple but that’s what’s great about Cali. Best of both worlds.

This is a cool video, interesting perspective from someone in the middle of the state. I love both parts of CA having grown up in NorCal and lived in SoCal for school and visiting very very frequently. Really speaks to the variety of experiences and cultures across the state.

When I was a medical intern in the 1970s I had a resident who was born in California but had moved away to practice in a rural location in another state. He was now back taking specialty training. I told I couldn’t wait to get out of California; too many people. He said: why do you think there are so many people here? Here it is 2020 and I’m retired and I’m still here (in SoCal).

I'm a Northern Californian (5th generation) and I have to agree on Southern beaches are wonderful! From pebble beaches to the softest sand I ever felt! The water is noticeably warmer than up here, as well. I love our beaches here, especially Monterey, but Southern California has much more comfortable and pleasant beaches. IMO

As a Sacramento native it’s nice to hear people appreciate it so much because it’s insulted a lot as a “cow town” and “undeserving of the capitol” :)

In 2009 a meteorological research team determined that Oakland had the best climate in the country and I agree. Rarely colder than 50, rarely hotter than 90. I don’t ever want to leave

Dude, I only found your videos a few days ago and have been going through your entire catalog. Have been loving your content so far but when you named Slayer the greatest Heavy Metal band of all time you got 10000000% of my respect!!! Ahah Steely Dan fuckin rocks too!!

No mention of Green Day from Oakland

Brilliant vid. Your enthusiasm is infectious ✅

Thanks, this was very informative and interesting!

Love the channel bro! Hope u succeed in RU-vid

I'm from Europe and from my point of view it seems like NorCal vs SoCal is kind of like an introvert vs extrovert analogy ! 😂 - Big tech nerds in the north vs muscular dudes with fancy cars in the south. - Scenic views and national parks vs Crowded beaches - Chillier weather vs Mediterranean paradise - productive, high gdp cities vs Sports hubs and music artists - etc... Maybe I'm wrong but that's the vibe it gave me ! Great video regardless, keep up the good work

Your channel is gold sir, thank you!

Amazing information and videography, thanks for sharing.

Attention: no one from southern california cares or is even aware of any “rivalry” while NorCal definitely does care. It’s very one sided argument where one party is way into the subject and the other literally doesn’t think about the north at all, whether good or bad. I’m from coastal California so I’m from both areas

what a great comparison! nor Cal all the way! Although I would say San Jose can be exciting too! Great local music scene... and the SJ sharks, we may not have a Stanley cup but our games our fans are the most loyal! go sharks!

Incredibly helpful. Thanks!!

This is definitely a great video/guide for those who have never experienced California's two states. And you are totally right, I'm from LA and I'd always rather be in San Francisco.

as someone from san jose, I can't say you're wrong but it still hurts. there is some stuff to do there. the downtown is nice especially during christmas when you do christmas in the park. there's also the winchester mystery house

80s & 90s bay area underground rappers, are living legends.

Your videos are like Factopedia...filled with facts and you present them with a balanced perspective...thanks a lot... Whenever you get time please do a video on tech companies moving out of California or something on Bay Area vs other future tech hubs of the USA

That was cool! thanks for the detailed comparison.

I’m from the central valley in Tulare County (near Sequoia National Park)! It’s so interesting to here someone’s perspective on the state as I don’t fit in with either the North or South

All and all I think we can say that California is better than any other state. Really it's very much like a Country.

This is an excellent video. Interesting which cities you chose to match up, but still. I think people get a pretty good idea of the populated parts of the state. I know you've done a video now on the Central Valley, which was really cool. Can you do a video on the far Northern California (State of Jefferson) area and one of that very weird part of California around the Salton sea? And maybe discuss how the foothill / mountain towns are very different from the rest of California, both northern and southern? You're doing a great job of showing the diversity, but I still think people are unaware of just how intensely culturally diverse California is. Some parts of the state are hard to differentiate from Appalachia, and some parts seem like living on Mars. As crowded as the state is, there are so many out of the way tiny little desert towns and foothill towns and beach enclaves... It's not all wall-to-wall people. I know you know this, but not sure everybody else does.

I just moved back to my home state after 11 years in Texas. I'm a Bay Area native so I'm glad Nor Cal got the win. SoCal is thought to be the better part of the state by the tourists and the rest of the nation. I love Southern California though too.

As a NorCal native, you're information is 💯 accurate. Respect 🙏🏾✊🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

Sacramento imo is in the top 3 best cities in California. Relatively low cost of living and tons of outdoor stuff to do. Tons of wildlife, and great food.

I could watch this channel all day😂 we’ve gotta have a serious conversation about music but other than that i love this channel lol

Great analysis. Native of Fresno originally. You nailed it. Always enjoyed Visalia. I missed the cultural component comparison like opera, symphony, and theater. Thumbs up!

You live in Fresno County? I just moved to California from Michigan. This Video helped me get to know my new state! Thanks! And on the east coast of the US, LA is hyped up. Its not as good as you hear in northeastern states and the Midwest. San Francisco is actually better, crazy? I thought SoCal would be better, but NoCali is. AND I NEVER KNEW THE WATER WAS FREEZING

So glad to hear you mention Primus.

love your videos. thanks!

Thank you for this. Very interesting.

california as a whole do be epic tho

I lived in San Diego for a long time and would one day love to move back, but I'm living in Tennessee now (my actual home state) and my favorite way to describe SD to people here who have never been is "it's what you think Southern California is but without the bullshit"

Geography King you are 100% accurate, as usual, LOL! You nailed it, concise, entertaining and educational, all in one!

I spent my childhood in the bay area and lived outside LA as an adult. I have traveled almost every nook in CA and I think you gave this a really fair review. Alot to love about both ends of the state.

I’m from Oakland and work in San Francisco and yes the summers can be cold in SF 🤣🤣🤣

I’m moving to Silicon Valley from Texas so I’m very excited, great comparison!

Great video as usual! I had a 4th grade teacher who was a German war bride. She had lived with her American husband for 2 years in Germany and then moved with him to his hometown of Alturas California. She told us "Alturas, means altitude in Spanish!" She thought it would be warm weather, palm trees, swimming pools, bathing suits and movie stars as neighbors! Ha ha it turned out to be high, dry, cold with lots of sage brush, cowboys and mile after mile of empty country. She said she almost went crazy at first but learned to love living in the empty Northeast corner of California..

I'm loving this channel.

The Bay Area has the best weather in the world. Its not too hot not too cold its always somewhere in the middle year round

Most excellent video, dude!! (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure goes to SoCal). You got all the good stuff right, except you underscored Orange County. OC is a dream come true (and no, I don't even live there), it might deserve it's own video 😉

I LOVE me some Steely Dan! Great video, Kyle! As a resident of the Central Coast, I never know whether I am a part of the NorCal or SoCal aglomeration. I think culturally we align more with SoCal, but we have a more NorCal-esque climate. What would you classify the Central Coast as?

Thank u. I am moving to UC Davis or SD this year and this really helps

This is the only comment section related to America that doesn’t bash California. I used to live in Palo Alto, but now live in Cape Town, South Africa. It’s great here, but I plan on moving back ASAP

Nice info. Now I want to move to NoCal. :-) Another comparison category could have been universities.

Great comparison, and I agree with all of the assessments (even the painful one - go Giants), but did you really count Steely Dan as an LA band?

These are really fun videos for me to watch. One error though; for Rosamond you displayed a map for the Rosemont area of Sacramento. Oops! 😂 Oh well, it was still a great video. 😎☀️

Santa Barbara is the southernmost part of NorCal attitude wise while simultaneously being the most northern looks of LA

I love my home in the central coast. Lots of cowboy country and surf n skater activity. Big Sur and Monterey and Hollister. I got love for all of California. Yeea Santa Cruz mentioned! Woo!

I like this, it’s a good comparison but also depends on how much weight you give the categories. I have to say I disagree with the food aspect, San Francisco has some of the best food I’ve ever eaten, consistently. But I am sure loving living in Los Angeles and building a fun, dynamic life there in the sunshine!

Santa Cruz 😍😍😍😍😍 🌺👍👙🐚🦀🌵🌴🎡🎡🎡🎡

@Geography King I used to live in LA, I loved it but it was so dirty and the traffic was horrible! I live in Florida now and I have noticed that SoCal and Florida are very similar, so could you please do a SoCal vs Southern Florida comparison!

In the winter, people in one part of california, people have hot chocolate, their fireplace on, and snowy roads. While in another part, people are swimming in outdoor pools, sitting on the beach, and eating ice cream.

Great comparison!

I appreciate the nerdism of all your vids with how you present the facts in a very intellectual and objective manner backed up with interesting pictures and little known stats. At first I thought you were just some guy that likes to travel but I figured out real quick that you’ve got some serious education. Like you, when traveling, I want to know the details of the places I visit such as the economy (why are the people so poor, so rich, what are the largest markets, why is everything so cheap, so expensive?), the geology, the culture, the history, etc. You nail all of this. The slight peppering of your opinion makes it more interesting so we (the viewers) can get a first hand opinion from someone that’s been there. If someone receives no intellectual stimulation from they’re travels, it’s as if they’re just a monkey in a crate being shipped around the globe. When the monkey returns home, it’s still just a monkey in a crate that’s learned nothing. Most people I’ve known travel this way. Also, I’ve often pointed out that there’s little variation between many cities because one Bed Bath & Beyond shopping center is just like the next so it doesn’t matter what city you’re in. This is the first time I’ve heard someone else say that. One request: if you could quickly show a map of the places you’re talking about (santa barbara, santa cruse, etc) it’s nice because then I don’t have to pause the video to them up to see exactly where they are in California.

Always wondered bout California great video bro ✊🏾

Basically Asian-vibe California (San Francisco) vs Latino-vibe California (LA)

I wish my high school geography teacher had this kind of passion and knowledge

This is a fun video…I’ve been to both L.A. and San Fran, and the north is what does it for me, even the inland areas are pretty neat.

I know the bands I'm about to say are primarily punk/metal, but I thought I'd share a little more music knowledge. Bands from NorCal include Green Day, Deftones, Papa Roach, AFI, and many others. Bands from SoCal include Tool, Korn, Rage Against The Machine, Avenged Sevenfold, System of a Down, and many others. Also, (according to eventbrite) Sacramento is the fastest growing music scene in the US, while Los Angeles is slowly shrinking as far as the music scene goes.

That was pretty accurate. I've retired from Bay area. Still missing the weather.

Great job, a very fun and well-researched comparison. California truly has it all! Two more considerations: 1. SoCal has sensational Mexican food. 2. SoCal is more diverse (like NYC) than NorCal. Hasta!

@GeographyKing I'm from Germany and one of my favorite places in California was Sequoia National Park. Is it considered North or South California?

McDonald's did not start in Los Angeles, it started in San Bernardino California.

Shoutout to San Mateo County!!!

BEST CALIFORNIA SUMMARY I'VE EVER HEARD!!!!! MOVED FROM SAN JOSE/TURLOCK IN 77' TO MPLS MINNESOTA & CAN'T STAND MINNESOTA TO THIS DAY & REGRET EVER LEAVING CALI...... Sad To Hear About All The Economic Hardship & Homeless There Now......

Great video!! Hope to move to California one day! ☀️