Back when I was California dreamin', I was ashamed of Montreal and Quebec. The language issues, the Quebec trying to separate from Canada. the endless businesses closing up shop and moving away from Montreal and because I lived IN the city at this time I literally saw the vibrant city that is Montreal turn into a cold cold not quite ghost town, but close.
Boarded up small businesses where I lived. Empty office buildings everywhere in the downtown core. This was in the mid 1980s. Even as a child in the 1970s, I could see Montreal was a special rockin' place. And all that went away in the 1980s.
There was a lot of cool and positive imagery of California in that time. Karate Kid moving from New Jersey to California. Clark Griswold going to Wallyworld for a family vacation. (Yeah, you dont really see California all that much in that movie, its the constant mentioning of Wallyworld that you know Wallyworld and consequently California, must be a nice place to visit) etc.
I had visited Greece at least 5 times by 1987 so I equated Greek summer weather and the beaches with California. And obviously California beaches were better because going to Surf City there is a Girl/Boy ratio of 2:1. All the muscle cars drag racing, etc...
Montreal was my home town, but it was an embarrassment. Canada seemed to hate us. Americans, those that knew where we were and who we were always thought that we were weird for speaking French... Not a good image.
I always loved NYC, but NYC always had this all business, no time for anyone and anything vibe to it. Too fast of a life. Sure, if you could make it there, you could make it anywere, but NYC would chew you up and spit you out. California was chill. Greece was chill. California WAS the place to live. You could make money, tons of it, but you could actually enjoy it too.
But something happened. I did a 180 degree on Montreal and embraced the language issues, embraced that Quebec IS French. PHOQUE the English and the rest of Canada. I saw that even if Montreal's business side crumbled and there was practically nothing left of it, Montrealers and Quebecois KNEW how to have fun. I found that my Greek DNA for the lust for life and living and enjoying was very very much alive with Quebec culture and the French people. And as Montreal and Quebec slowly picked up the broken pieces and re-invented our economics, I in turn was proud of Montreal, the Province of Quebec, AND the East Coast. I started preferring NYC and Boston to LA, SF, San Diego, etc (Mind you, I have been to NYC and Boston many times and Im sure THAT helped for me to connect to NYC and Boston). If I wanted the beach life, The Caribbean, Jamaica, Florida are ON the East Coast. Greece is not THAT much farther away than what California is anyway.
I sooooo want to visit and swim in the Pacific Ocean though. But its so clear to me now that the Mediterranean is where my soul belongs.