Mission Viejo Misconceptions: Not All L.A. And Beach Parties

MISSION VIEJO, CA — California living can mean many things to people — but there's one thing that Mission Viejo folks can't handle — it's saying we're part of Los Angeles.

Yes, Mission Viejo is in close proximity to Los Angeles—just 49 miles as the crow flies—but residents aren't happy when thrown into the City of Angels.

Resident Maureen Austerman talked about the way that is assumed when visiting other places.

"I lived in a couple different states for a few years," she wrote. "If you said you were from California they always assumed Los Angeles as if it wasn't a huge state with many different kinds of places."

Other top misconceptions are that everyone who lives in California is a liberal, and endures a constant daily threat of earthquakes.

Patch asked this question on Facebook: What's a misconception that people have about California that drives you crazy? Over 900 people responded to the question. Here are some of the results:

"That we all surf," Keli Horton said.

Riley Hendricks wrote that her beef is when people think all Californians are millionaires or movie stars.

To that, Sandra Munson suggested that if you live in California, people from other states assume that you see movie stars every day.

In Orange County, one of the greatest misconceptions of all is that all women who live here live like the "Real Housewives of Orange County."

"Before I moved here," resident Sherry Resquer wrote, "I thought all moms/wives were stay-at-homes and hung out at the beach all day!"

Getting real, Jessy Wendorf discussed the myth that California is a dirty state with homeless and drug issues.

"It's like that across the nation," Wendorf wrote.

To that end, Caroline Boykins suggested that California does have a large homeless problem.

"In LA it's out of control," she said.

Danielle Campbell wanted to dispel the notion that Californians are "laid back."

"Coming here from another state and dealing with traffic and the amount of people, and did I mention the traffic and how fast people have to get from point A to Point B, I have yet to find the laid back-ness."

Patch asks: What's a misconception that people have about California that drives you crazy? Tell us in the comments.