Here are some of the pics I took.
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Catalina island in the distance.
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And to think, that area in its native setting had none of those palms. Every single one transported in. Latitude wise LA is just as far south as Birmingham Alabama. Gives hope to some of you others in the deep south not currently covered in palms.

Good grief look at the smog out on the ocean!! I had to look twice to see Catalina Island.

Sorry if it seems like Im bashing your pics US Marine. I know you share a passion for palm trees just like the rest of us here and southern California was probably your most recent and best bet for being around them. Its just that why people would chose California over Florida blows my mind. With the exception of the hill in the photo those pictures could just as easily be taken anywhere on the Atlantic coast of Florida. Speaking for Jacksonville Beach where I live thats all we have, palm and banana trees. Driving through town all you see are buildings and palm trees.

Ive been to both states, all over California and all over Florida. Personally, Florida fit my bill the best.

Really? Calif fan palms are not native to LA? Im not sure i believe that. Anyway there is a very good reason for Calif over Florida. No humidity. How about no hurricanes?

Ah ha!! Thats the real question. California Fan Palms are native only to the desert southeast of California. There are no native palms to the California coast including Los Angeles and San Diego.

I agree that humidity can be oppressive to some in Florida and those from outside but what I really cherish from California is its mountains, deserts and Redwoods. The palms are really just like reconstructive surgery as far as Im concerned.

In all fairness Florida has gone through a bit of reconstructive surgery as well. lol

Thanks for posting. Any idea what kind of palms(or Traveller's Palms) those are in the first pic on the right side right on the beach in front of the homes? I see two Cali fans, and then some mystery trees...

I honestly was thinking the same thing about the smog in the Catalina Island pic.

Personally, I love Florida as well, the only turn off to me is hurricanes and all the gators and snakes. I would not want to be outside working in the yard and have to worry about being dragged into the canal by an alligator, or reaching under one of my palms and being bit by a poisonous snake. But then again, I live in Michigan, and it certainly is not for the year-round beautiful weather. We only get beautiful weather half of the year. The other half is crappy. I'd still like to move down to Florida though...

To each their own.

Lol. Yes there is a lot of smog in LA, but your forgetting how huge that city is and how many cars. And to be honest there are very few palms native to Florida, even Miami which is almost in the tropics. All those coconuts etc were also brought in to Florida, how is that any different? You must not have been to california. Palms everywhere from the coast, to desert to in land valleys. The one palm that is native here is now native all over california. Believe me I know, they grow like weeds all over with no help, even through cracks in streets.

As far as these pics being like anywhere in florida, I'll agree. You can't see all the z10 palms that I did,huge kings, kentias, fishtails etc. Not to mention all the other tropicals plants and trees. These pics are from far away and only in that one place at that beach, of course you can only see the most common palms, such as washy's, cidp's, queens as they are by far the most planted and grow fastest there. People often forget, Califrornia and Florida have two very different climates. And I think thats the neat thing. You get to see a mix of different plants here not just palms and tropicals. And I ahve also thought about moving to Florida but the more I compare the two the more I am not sure.

@ islandbreeze- Those are actually giant birds of paradise. I found it interesting they are more common than bananas there.

- US_Marine

i think i can see a Archontophoenix or 2 in the background. Can you?

The smog you see above the ocean is due to Santa Ana winds. During the months of Oct, Nov thru January we get lots of Santa Ana winds blowing from the desert areas. These winds push the smog from inland areas to the coast. Once the onshore flow takes over, the smog above the sea vanishes. Coastal L.A doesn't suffer from smog, the air is nice and clean because of the ocean influence; we have a constant supply of fresh Pacific air.

California Fan Palms are indeed native to Southern California. They grow like weeds.

Hi
To me the really outstanding feature of California is the climate zones everything from mountains to desert to subtropical. Certainly some of the worlds most spectacular scenery and besides you had Ahnold as governor!!lol
All we have is Donald and Disney lol gary