---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I started with California, and I did not…"
description: "\"I started with California, and I did not like it. I flew over to Seattle, and I did not like it much. I felt like Iowa is the place - I like the people..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/anonymous-1_california_i-started-with-california-and-i-did-not_269317.jpg"
---

#  I started with California, and I did not like it. I flew…

![“I started with California, and I did not like it. I flew over to Seattle, and I did not like it much. I felt like Iowa is the place - I like the people and the environment.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/anonymous-1_california_i-started-with-california-and-i-did-not_269317.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/anonymous-1_california_i-started-with-california-and-i-did-not_269317.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/anonymous-1_california_i-started-with-california-and-i-did-not_269317.jpg)

> “I started with California, and I did not like it. I flew over to Seattle, and I did not like it much. I felt like Iowa is the place - I like the people and the environment.”

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He describes moving across states, feeling disconnected until finding a place that fits his values and community.

**In simple terms:** Search for belonging across locations.

Key Takeaway

Seek environments that align with personal values.

Themes

migration community identity

Mood

contemplative hopeful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- relocation decisions
- college choice
- career moves

Key Concepts

place attachment personal growth

Questions to Reflect On

- What criteria define your ideal environment?
- How do you adapt when expectations differ?

A Different Perspective

Ideal places may still have hidden challenges.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[California](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Iowa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iowa/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Seattle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seattle/)

## Related quotes

> [I like Iowa. I know Iowa. I've spent some time in Iowa. Good people in Iowa. It's a great state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-o-malley/i-like-iowa-i-know-iowa-i-ve-spent-some-time-in-iowa-good-people-in/)

[Martin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-o-malley/)

> [While Donald Trump is showing some strength in places like Iowa, it's just not enough to get him close to getting the electoral votes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burton/while-donald-trump-is-showing-some-strength-in-places-like-iowa-it-s/)

[Bill Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burton/)

> [When I started in California, people would say, 'Enterprise who?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-nicholson/when-i-started-in-california-people-would-say-enterprise-who/)

[Pamela Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-nicholson/)

> [I won the youth vote in Massachusetts and in California. I did very well with it in Ohio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-won-the-youth-vote-in-massachusetts-and-in-california-i-did-very/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [I used to live in Seattle, as did Jimi Hendrix and Bruce Lee. I lived near the arboretum. Very often I would take walks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-used-to-live-in-seattle-as-did-jimi-hendrix-and-bruce-lee-i-lived/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [In college, you always say you're looking for a home. I found my home in Seattle before I did in college. So that's why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquill-griffin/in-college-you-always-say-you-re-looking-for-a-home-i-found-my-home/)

[Shaquill Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquill-griffin/)

> [I love going back to cities where I had a strong fan base - like San Antonio, Minneapolis - those were really good fan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-hart/i-love-going-back-to-cities-where-i-had-a-strong-fan-base-like-san/)

[Bret Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-hart/)

> [In China, I lived in a dormitory, and the government paid for everything - food, buses. In Iowa, I had to run after the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-china-i-lived-in-a-dormitory-and-the-government-paid-for/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [We have a long tradition in this state of caring for our neighbors - it is truly an Iowa value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-have-a-long-tradition-in-this-state-of-caring-for-our-neighbors-it/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The goat, for us, is an image that's stuck in our heads since we were kids, coming from Iowa people are like 'Beware the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-goat-for-us-is-an-image-that-s-stuck-in-our-heads-since-we-were/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Let us tackle the big issues with bold ideas that transform Iowa to accomplish our shared mission to grow Iowa, and realize our shared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-us-tackle-the-big-issues-with-bold-ideas-that-transform-iowa-to/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Quality, affordable housing is a key element of a strong and secure Iowa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/quality-affordable-housing-is-a-key-element-of-a-strong-and-secure/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I know that in Ames, Iowa, they fancy themselves being experts on the wind, but in Lubbock, Texas, we'll put our wind up against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-leach/i-know-that-in-ames-iowa-they-fancy-themselves-being-experts-on-the/)

[Mike Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-leach/)

> [Our family was very fond of the University of Iowa. We thought it was a good place to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-van-allen/our-family-was-very-fond-of-the-university-of-iowa-we-thought-it-was/)

[James Van Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-van-allen/)

> [What I will stand up for is what I think is right and for the best interests of the citizens of the state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-judge/what-i-will-stand-up-for-is-what-i-think-is-right-and-for-the-best/)

[Patty Judge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-judge/)

## More by Anonymous

> [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

[Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More California quotes

> [Everyone in California is from somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/everyone-in-california-is-from-somewhere-else/)

[Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/)

> [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/)

[Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/)

> [We need to incorporate that age-old concept of redemption into the work that we do in the criminal justice system in California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/we-need-to-incorporate-that-age-old-concept-of-redemption-into-the/)

[Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/)

> [The Urban Literate Southern California Sub-Group of the Early Atomic Period has not yet produced a distinct body of folk music of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hinton/the-urban-literate-southern-california-sub-group-of-the-early-atomic/)

Sam Hinton

> [California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/california-is-a-place-in-which-a-boom-mentality-and-a-sense-of/)

[Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/)

> [Many militarists would like to see California's votes vanish from the national electoral system, which would then become more Republican.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-swanson/many-militarists-would-like-to-see-california-s-votes-vanish-from-the/)

[David Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-swanson/)

> [When I started in California, people would say, 'Enterprise who?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-nicholson/when-i-started-in-california-people-would-say-enterprise-who/)

[Pamela Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-nicholson/)

> [Take one round-trip flight between New York and California, and you've generated about 20 percent of the greenhouse gases that your car emits over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/take-one-round-trip-flight-between-new-york-and-california-and-you-ve/)

[Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/)

> [These French-style caramels are handmade in California. It's always hard to give them away!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/these-french-style-caramels-are-handmade-in-california-it-s-always/)

[Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/)

> [The D.C. playbook is obsolete. It's time for the people of California to bring the agenda to Washington, not the other way around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-de-leon/the-d-c-playbook-is-obsolete-it-s-time-for-the-people-of-california/)

[Kevin de Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-de-leon/)

> [While there is an attempt by the Trump people to say that California isn't really America. California certainly seems like America to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frum/while-there-is-an-attempt-by-the-trump-people-to-say-that-california/)

[David Frum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frum/)

> [I'm from California, but my father, who passed away when I was young, was from Newark. When I was kid, we would go back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-daly/i-m-from-california-but-my-father-who-passed-away-when-i-was-young/)

[Carson Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-daly/)

> [“God will break California from the surface of the continent like someone breaking off a piece of chocolate. It will become its own floating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ruby/god-will-break-california-from-the-surface-of-the-continent-like/)

[Laura Ruby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ruby/)

> [You could have a hit in California that no one had heard of in Oklahoma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanda-jackson/you-could-have-a-hit-in-california-that-no-one-had-heard-of-in/)

[Wanda Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanda-jackson/)

> [My first encounter with yoga was in 1969 with my older brother Doug. I was thirteen years old, and he was eighteen. He'd learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-swensen/my-first-encounter-with-yoga-was-in-1969-with-my-older-brother-doug-i/)

[David F. Swensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-swensen/)

[Browse all 2,036 California quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I started with California, and I did not like it. I flew over to Seattle, and I did not like it much. I felt like Iowa is the place - I like the people and the environment.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Anonymous"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-started-with-california-and-i-did-not-like-it-i-flew-over-to/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "California"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-started-with-california-and-i-did-not-like-it-i-flew-over-to/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/anonymous-1_california_i-started-with-california-and-i-did-not_269317.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/anonymous-1_california_i-started-with-california-and-i-did-not_269317.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/080/anonymous-1_california_i-started-with-california-and-i-did-not_269317.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I started with California, and I did not like it. I flew over to Seattle, and I did not like it much. I felt…” — Anonymous",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Anonymous",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I started with California, and I...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-started-with-california-and-i-did-not-like-it-i-flew-over-to/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-started-with-california-and-i-did-not-like-it-i-flew-over-to/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
