Prudievillians, I've never been to Santa Clara, CA, but I have reason to believe it's the best city ever.

Let'e go over some of things that make Santa Clara better than your town:

- headquaters of the San Francisco 49ers and many Silicon Valley enterprises such as Intel, Sun, and NVIDIA

- median income per houshold is $80,048. Males have a median income of $58,641 versus $43,131 for females-- but wait, ladies! There are 103.6 males per 100 females. But those 3.6 males are fought over like a stack of hotcakes at a church dinner after Lent.

- Santa Clara has 3 sister cities Izumo, Shimane, Japan, Coimbra, Portugal, and Pisa, Italy, but it still the sexiest (Coimbra's dark, lucious locks don't offset her aloofness).

- it's a stone's throw from the beautiful Santa Cruz mountains and Monterey Bay (both places I've been to, and holy cow, they're breathtaking).

So, you see Santa Clara has us outclassed on many levels. What we need are some boots on the ground (maybe Gucci) to report from downtown Santa Clara. Is anyone reading this currently in Santa Clara, or can you at least see it out your car window on the 101?

Some leave their heart in San Francisco. I say, "¡No-- Santa Clara!"

Not to quibble with you yggy, but I am completely and totally in love with Santa Rosa!

Location for the films Shadow of a Doubt (Hitchcock!), the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Cujo, and Scream (among many others) the 1930-1940s architecture gives me goosebumps! There is a tiny little seed in my mind that I may end up there someday.

Move to Santa Clara, we'll be neighbors! :)

Sorry, Ygg, i don't need to go to Santa Clara because i've been to Grimsby (England)

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Wait - no hot cakes during Lent? Does the Vatican have a position on French Toast or waffles?

The median home price in Santa Clara is around 508K - when you factor in the median income - it's better situation than San Fran or San Jose. San Jose has that neat "Do you know the way to San Jose" song though...

I've driven though it, and it's gorgeous. What's the ocean temperature in July up there?

54 miles from Santa Rosa to downtown SF. I could live there!

I think I would take a place like this over a similarly priced unit in NYC, which would depressingly be like a 375 sq ft studio.

For this amount of money, you could get probably a decent 1 bedroom. God, that's so much nicer in Santa Clara!

Tell me, do you know of any ex-New Yorkers who melted or went blind from all the sunshine?

I must say I love Santa Rosa. Just love it. I had a friend who lived there for a while and I spent WAAAAY to many nights on the floor of his apartment. Probably should have helped out with the rent... bygones.

Anyway, while I know of no ex-New Yorkers going blind or melting from the sun, I do know a Dane who can not get enough of the state of California. Yosemite blew his mind. While jogging in Golden Gate park, he was amazed to find people smiling and waving at him. He tends to walk around with this pole-axed look on his face... I think he's got the California bug.

So worry more about this strange disease that causes you to smile at strangers, to stroll around town in shorts and sandals, and to enjoy leisurely cups of coffee on sidewalk cafes. Once you get the bug, it is damn hard to go back east.

AC - I grew up a few miles down from Yosemite; the Merced River that flows through it also flowed through our property. We went there just about every weekend in the summer to visit with the international tourists and serve as unofficial tour guides; it was so much fun. When we said "we're going to the park" - that was the park. I'm sure you'll understand what I mean when I say every other place pales in comparison.

Did The Dane almost have a heart attack when he came out of the tunnel and was suddenly face-to-face with El Capitan and Half Dome? I've had new visitors almost pass out from the sight. California is all about the love; that year round sunshine makes it pretty hard to be bummed out. Don't worry, you'll get used to being in a perpetually good mood and being filled with inexplicable goodwill toward your fellow man.

...and an obscure movie reference that likely no one will "get"...

I'm guessing Santa Clara would be a better place than Santa Carla, what with the vampire infestation and all.

Lost Boys.

What do I win?

Mer, I do believe he gaped. It was winter and everything was glistening with snow and ice and he just HAD to climb up to one of the waterfalls (I can't remember which, but not Bridal) to see the icicles. When we went again in summer he didn't like it so much because of all the people. It made it hard to pull over so we could look at our leisure. I'm not that old, but I do remember when you could go and not be trampled by stampeding tourists.

...the applause of the people and fame forever...