Editors’ note:
We found a very special treat in our in-box today, yet another reader submitted survey for our on-going series of posts on the central valley brain drain. We are exploring why people leave and what would help them move back home.
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.
Reader surveys help us increase the diversity of our interviewees. We’re never going to be scientific, but we’d like to include a variety from all ages, neighborhoods, interests and backgrounds. Thank you Tom for taking the time to share your perspective!
Name: Tom
Age: 63
Where did you attend high school? Tulare Union High School
What is your educational background? BA Asian History UC Santa Cruz; BFA Photography San Francisco Art Institute. Also attended Fresno State, College of the Sequoias, Mills College.
What is your current occupation? Semi-retired
Where and how long did you live in the central valley? From 1955 to 1976 in Tulare, and Fresno.
Where do you live now? Oakland.
Why do you (don’t you) live in the central San Joaquin Valley?
1) Never had much luck finding work.
2) Frustrating creative environment.
What are the secondary reasons?
The Bay Area is a nice place to live. Great weather. Good art scene. More liberals. More book stores and theater.
What are the top 5-10 adjectives that come to mind when you think of the central valley?
Limited, Hot, foggy, fertile, reactionary, narrow (at least then), xenophobic.
What changes/acts of God would need to occur in order for you to move back?
People joining the world of the 20th Century, their reaching the 21st is too much to hope for.
What price would make it worthwhile to move back?
Being able to make a decent living from my art…
Feel free to add any comments.
I still have friends from those days in the valley. It might be a nice place to visit, but it’s been 20 years, so I’m not likely to do so. I doubt that any of us will be living there much longer (age).
