Look Out Toyota, Here Comes The Good Enough Chinese Car

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by cali yaris

@ nookandcranny:

Singling out Marin County with an anecdotal story or two is a misrepresentation at best.

I was raised in Marin and still have many, many friends there. None of them give a hoot about "car prestige". Doesn't mean there aren't people like that living there, but your sweeping generalizations are unfair.

Are you trying to suggest with your statistic about BMW ownership that everyone who buys a BMW is buying it for the label? It's a beautifully designed brand, awesome to drive and reliable.

The logic of including everyone in one bucket because of some single fact, statistic or story is just not valid.

/ rant

// Former Marin County Resident

Reply

From a Former Marin County Resident

I agree that there many, many unpretentious people in Marin, and many of them are natives. I would also say that among the wealthiest residents of Marin, many of the most down to earth people are natives. However, I think to deny that our consumer culture is eroding what you describe (and I see as the wonderful Marin of old) is, I feel, somewhat disingenuous. Unfortunately, I think negative effects of or consumer culture are prevalent in other parts of the Bay Area as well.

I think the worst thing about the post you replied to is that it only illustrated a negative about Marin without any of the positives. I am so used to interactions (in person and over the phone) with those who know Marin intimately and know how I feel about Marin that I occasionally forget to shift gears on the internet where the audience has no idea the totality of what is in my head re Marin.

I have great affection for Marin. If I ever moved back to California, I would only live in Marin or within a 40 mile radius of Truckee. Marin is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful suburban counties in the U.S. (and I've seen many of the most beautiful in many parts of the U.S.). Fortunately, much of what makes Marin accessible and enjoyable (trails, parks, etc.) was put into place, IMO, when the government was much less Orwellian. I also think, if you don't have children, you have more options re lifestyle than if you do have children (but this is likely true in many places). Without the potential constraint of school location, you can choose to live in a beautiful, rural part of West Marin and be less affected by regulation and NIMBYism. I can understand that, being a native, you would have even more affection for Marin than I do and would be offended/insulted if someone pointed out a perceived negative without any positives. I apologize for doing that.

I think that natives don't need to 'seek' (for lack of a better term) as much as newbies do. I think this is true of Marin and of other places. Natives have long established ties with people who see them 'inside out' and whether the have 5 dollars, 5 million, or 5 billion or what they do or don't spend their money on. It is immaterial, you almost universally don't care about these things. I think if you are single and childless you can choose your own level of engagement or disengagement at will -- your own level of 'plugging in' -- and it mostly concerns just you.

However, if you (collectively) are a, (for lack of a better term) 'school age family' (any couple with children or single parent with children) some sort of integration (even if the children are home schooled) is pretty much necessary. A healthy aspect of this in Marin is that the weather is so nice so much of the time, and it is so beautiful, that kids can gravitate outdoors. They can enjoy their surroundings, influenced by nature, with great access to their surroundings that has long been in place (as I mentioned before). Marin, and other like places in the Bay Area, used to be more like this. There used to be more unfettered access. As CDPs have become incorporated towns and cities, more regulation and NIMBYism has crept in.

One can avoid this to a certain extent by living in a place like Tam Valley -- close in and unincorporated. You can still have a garage sale whenever you want sans NIMBY regulations. You can remodel your house and only have to deal with the county -- avoiding (IMO) restrictive city issues....but then on weekends in the summertime the extent of the traffic from the 101 exit, past the Buckeye, out to the ocean cannot be adequately described, it must be experienced to be understood. I think there is still less, for lack of a better term 'social real estate stratification' in Marin than in other like places, and that is a good thing.

I come to my perspective, not just from living there, but from spending quite a bit of time there over many years before I ever moved there. I also look at Marin, although not as a native, from a socio-economic perspective similar to that of many natives and residents overall. The town I was raised in, and the town my mother and aunt were raised in (in different parts of the Bay Area) each have a higher median family income 2005-2009 than any town, city, or CDP in Marin County other than Tiburon, Stinson Beach, and Dillon Beach.

DaVinci said that "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication". I think this applies to Marin and is one of the reasons one sees more 'man made beauty' in Marin than in many other places.....better not to distract from the natural beauty. This is also a positive (but IMO minor) reason one sees so many BMWs in Marin. I don't think most people in Marin own BMWs for down to earth reasons -- including all of the reasons you mentioned. I think most people (not most people you know or are related to, but rather most people in general) in Marin instead own BMWs to fit , to 'keep up with the Joneses', to be perceived as having a certain level of taste and success, and as a cultural accessory.

I also think that Marinites take the foodie culture too seriously, thus the stratification of grocery stores/markets that I eluded to in my reply to Bronsin. I think the line between appreciation and insanity in these arenas that are a part of the consumer culture within Marin, the line of demarcation, is a matter of opinion.

I think that newbies glom onto the foodie culture and the car culture in Marin to feel anchored and if a family (in any way you want to define it -- and all is wonderfully okay in Marin) with children is trying to assimilate these anchors can be, right or wrong, 'some of the grease'. They can also be an extension of the person's station, which I think is part of what Bronsin was eluding to in his post that I replied to.

A personal example of the environment the consumerism has created in Marin -- I was at a meeting a couple of years ago in Marin re a bunch of high school kids who had just traveled to another U.S. state to participate in a charity event. The kids, parents, organizers, etc. were all at this meeting. One of the parents thanked the organizers for "taking the kids out of the bubble" and almost everyone laughed.

Our culture is becoming more corporate, more mobile, and more portable. There is a book called "Next Stop, Reloville: Life Inside America's New Rootless Professional Class that discusses this portability and some of the resulting effect on our culture.

[tooter]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

One can avoid this to a certain extent by living in a place like Tam Valley -- close in and unincorporated.

I highly recommend living in an unincorporated area. My wife and I chose a similar location and have never regretted it.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by tooter

I highly recommend living in an unincorporated area. My wife and I chose a similar location and have never regretted it.

Definitely. I used to own a house in another similar town (in the Bay Area, but not in Marin county) that was unincorporated for many years. Then the town incorporated, pushed by a few non native to California 'we know what's best' Harvard grads.

I said to myself, this is not going to end pretty, there is not enough sales tax revenue to fund services......fast forward to now. They are wondering how they are going to pay to repave many roads. I have a feeling the resolution will be a parcel tax levied against owners of any real property. I'm glad I sold that property

Each of our 50 states seems to have some part of the puzzle wrong. I don't know what the answer is. If each state could have the 'don't sweat the small stuff' attitude and part of the natural beauty of California, the academic results of some northeastern states, and nearly everything else about Texas, I would be happy. However, that combination is probably a pipe dream.