As students approach their final years of high school, an important question lingering in the back of everyone’s minds are “Am I going to go to college?” and if so, where?

For many of the California born-and-raised  residents, the perfect college may be a change of pace in a state across the country such as New York or Pennsylvania. On the other hand, some may not be ready to give up living in the best state in the country.

I can’t even imagine living somewhere in the United States other than California because, personally, I think it’s the best. Granted, I haven’t been to all 50 states, but I’ve seen and heard enough to make a decent argument.

First off, California has the absolute best weather in the country, period. With sunny skies and beautiful beaches, why would you want to live anywhere else? On average, the day to day temperature in most parts of California averages around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the perfect temperature for just about any activity like swimming, surfing, a walk in the park, or even lounging in a pair of sweatpants. On top of that, who wouldn’t want to wear flip flops all day every day?

Los Angeles is one of the biggest and most popular cities on the west coast, and there’s a reason. The City of Angels not only has beautiful beaches and fun tourist attractions, but also serves as the home to many celebrities that are often seen doing casual day to day things.

Disneyland is also located in one L.A. area in Anaheim, California. Disneyland is the perfect way to experience fun, magic, and the Californian culture to get away from it all.

For all of the music lovers out there, the west coast is the place to be. Big music festivals such as Coachella, Sasquatch, Warped Tour, and Electric Daisy Carnival all happen on the west coast.

California is well known for the famous UC chain as well as many renowned schools such as Stanford, USC, Cal Poly, Loyola Marymount, Saint Mary’s, and more. Schools such as Stanford, UC Berkeley, and UCLA are especially regarded for STEM subjects, This maybe why over 10% of UC admissions come from out of state. Some of the biggest technological and scientific discoveries occurred in California at one of the UCs. For example, UC Berkeley, which is ranked #11 on the list of top science colleges in the world on colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com, saw the discovery of biofuels, the poliovirus, breast cancer genetics, and many more.

So if you can relate to anything I just stated above, or if you just really love saying “hella” and eating In N Out, the west coast is for you.