Editors’ note:

This is part of an on-going series of posts on the Valley’s creative movement and its counterpart the central valley brain drain. We’re tracking down former Valley residents (with a preference on educated “creative class”-types) and finding out what they’re doing, why they don’t live in the Valley, and what it would take for them to move back.

If you are part of the brain drain and would like to participate, answer the questions you see below and send them to valley.notes AT gmail DOT com. We’re working on tracking down a more diverse array of participants (i.e. not our classmates) but alas, you have to start somewhere!

Please give us ideas on how we can improve this series. We admit that this is sub-scientific, but we’re finding the answers enlightening nonetheless.

Brain Drain Chronicles: Madeline, 27

Name: Madeline

Age: 27

Where did you attend high school? Clovis High School

What is your educational background?

B.A. Literature in English with a minor in Vocal
Music and Spanish Literature from U. C. San Diego.
Master’s in Library and Information Science (MLIS)
from San Jose State University.

What is your current occupation?

Youth Services Librarian II, San Jose Public Library

Where and how long did you live in the central valley?

First grade–12th grade (1986-1999). I consider Clovis
my hometown.

Where do you live now?

Los Gatos, CA (Silicon Valley).
Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley?

I always felt judged in Clovis… for not being Christian enough or conservative enough or middle America enough….

What are the secondary reasons?
No major university, lacking diversity (or least a supportive environment to encourage it), car culture, chain store culture, suburban sprawl, poor air quality.

Actually, the heat never bothered me…
What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley?
Close-minded, flat, religious, uniform, hot

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what changes/acts of God would need to occur in order for you to move there?

The fact that God factors into this sentence is so
telling…

I think the entire culture of the Valley would need to change before I’d feel comfortable there. If it suddenly filled with progressive people, I’d make an easy transition back.

If you do not currently live in the central San Joaquin Valley, what price would make it worthwhile?

A higher paying job couldn’t lure me back. The Bay Area pays me well enough, and my current high cost-of-living seems worth it considering the amount of beauty and culture I regularly experience here.

Feel free to add any comments.

I do love to visit the Valley. I feel like I’ll always have a special bond with the friends I made in Clovis, especially those who went away for college, experienced something new, and returned to experience Clovis in a new light.