Oh no. It’s happened again. Please. Not again. This happens every time I think I’ve made a new friend. Every time I courageously introduce myself to a new classmate or coworker. Every single time.
It always begins like this. We smile at each other. You just laughed at my joke. Good, this is going well. I shall try and keep up this self-deprecating wit. You ask me what my name is. Internally, I feel my heart quickening. Okay, here we go. It’s show time. Continuing to smile, you ask where I’m from. I could practically implode from the anxiety. Alright, it’s now or never. The big reveal. 
I give you my answer. Your smile drops. Your eyes flitter awkwardly. Too awkwardly. You begin to lean away, cringing from my existence. “Um, yeah, it was nice meeting you! I’m sorry, I have to go. I think my entire family just died at this exact moment.” You scurry away before I can even try to valiantly salvage this wasted friendship.
I sigh. I can never stop this from happening. They always find out in the end.
They always find out that I’m Californian.
Now, it is no secret that Californians are not exactly adored by the Oregonian public. This is a stereotypical assumption — naturally there will be many who could not care less, but there is certainly a hefty number of students who theoretically sharpen their pitchforks at the presence of a wretched Californian.
It’s an odd thing to be a Californian. Out-of-state students represent 35% of the total population at the University of Oregon, rivaling the 52% of Oregonian residents by a small amount. Perhaps more damningly, from a report from fall 2013, 4,852 of the 8,443 out-of-state students are from California. That’s a large number. And it has only increased as the years have gone on.
There are obvious reasons why Californians have flocked out of the Golden State.
California’s budget cuts and financial deficit have forced its residents to seek college education out of the state — and the UO, quipped as UC Eugene, is a particularly popular destination. Most peers I know didn’t even get into any schools of their choice in California despite perfectly good grades. I certainly didn’t. Additionally, the UO is more than happy to accept Californians by the shedloads. Why? Because we (reluctantly) pay triple the tuition than in-staters do.
Ludicrously, this is also the reason why we are leaving our own state. The California universities also crave the insanely high tuition prices that out-of-state applicants provide.
But I can see why our presence both distresses and irritates Oregonians. This is not our state, of course. Luxurious megaplex apartments have dominated and disregarded the landscape of Eugene in order to accommodate the influx of Californian students. Oregon was a state once unknown and virtually untouched before it suddenly shot up into cultural relevance. The quaint and quirky authenticity of Oregon is undoubtedly changing. And the overwhelming arrival of Californians has had, probably, something to do with it.
But, is it all necessarily bad? Although the sanctity of Oregon’s alternative culture and people may seem threatened, California has brought the state a lot of publicity and attention. This has allowed artisan businesses, shops and festivals to flourish under a brand new audience. Californians wildly eat up the Oregonian nature, from its windy coast, Crater Lake, Portland and beyond. This advocation and promotion of Oregon’s natural features could ignite more public funding and support for preserving the state’s parks and wildlife. Perhaps we’re not entirely terrible for this state.
I get why Californians might not be a popular addition. I really do. Who knows? I might feel the same if the situation was reversed.
But remember, it’s not entirely our fault. Most of us had to leave California in order to pursue a higher education simply because our state couldn’t provide us with universities to go to. Most of us have had to take on painful loans or compressed work schedules in order to pay for our terribly high tuitition. And that’s not to say that Oregonians don’t have to bend to these demands too.
Just remember that Californians are not trying to disregard or hurt Oregon. In fact, we love Oregon for its endless quirks, uniqueness and originality. We really do. Oregon is our home now, too.