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As a pale and winter-weary East coaster who escaped the latest snowpocalypse by just one day, I felt like I had landed in Shangri-la when I stepped off the plane in San Diego last week.

My oversize suitcase and I shuffled past the baggage claim carousels and through the sliding glass doors. Outside, I gasped. I felt like Dorothy opening the door of her house after it had landed in the technicolor Land of Oz.

My friend Lois, who picked me up, probably thought I was a little wacko as I waxed poetic over the palm trees while stripping off layers of sweaters. "You can't imagine what it's like back home," I babbled as Lois nodded politely.

A different world.

Ahh, California. The Land of Sunshine and Up Talk. Where orange is pronounced aw-range and every sentence is a question. Where people shiver if the temperature drops below 60 degrees.

Given the numbing cold we've had this season, it was the best winter ever for an East coaster to visit California. Every day was a golden, sun-dappled gift.

I texted my family. "We need to move here. Who's in?" I got four little thumbs up icons in response.

The week ended too soon. As I flew home to reality, I contemplated the ways a temperate climate affects human behavior. Here are some of my observations.

Californians are not fixated on the weather forecast.

Here in the East, the weather forecast rules our lives. I watch it on morning TV, sometimes at noon and definitely at night. I switch on our news and weather radio station when I'm driving the car. The weather forecast governs my agenda, my plans for the week and my emotional status.

It also provides an excellent foray to small talk when you're standing in line buying your milk and bread. In the summer we've got "How 'bout those Phillies?' In the winter, it's "How many days were you out of power?'

I don't mean to minimize the weather issues Californians face: earthquakes, fires and mud slides, all terrible. But for the most part, it is blue skies and sunshine. Every day.

No one listens to the forecast in California. It's not necessary. Chances are excellent that the weather will be some kind of fabulous every day.

Meteorologists just might be superfluous.

Sorry, California weather people, but you've got the cushiest job ever? I mean, like, ever? Just look out the window.

East coast meteorologists have to be on their toes. What with the weather maps to draw arrows on, the Nor'Easters from the south and the Polar Vortexes from the north, they've got their hands full. And just let them miscall a storm. That frays our collective nerves like you can't imagine.

Just listening to the five-day forecast can be traumatic.

"Sleet and freezing rain, followed by snow and back to freezing rain, with temperatures dipping into the single digits by tonight. Predicted snowfall could be a few inches or up to a foot, depending on the track of the storm. Icy conditions will make driving hazardous. And we're watching another system headed our way."

In California, you've got something like this.

"We've got a sunny day on tap here in the valley, followed by sunshine tomorrow and Wednesday. Thursday, look for sunshine that should last through Friday. The weekend is looking good, with sunshine likely both days."

Californians are really, really nice.

Here in the East, we are snotty, aloof and sometimes outright hostile. In California it seems that everyone woke up on the right side of the bed and is having an awesome day. Plus, they want to make sure your day is awesome. So they might tell you more than once to have a good day.

Bus drivers. Restaurant workers. Airline personnel. They're all so damn cheerful.

Here on the East coast, crankiness is the norm. I didn't come across a cranky Californian my entire stay.

I concluded that this all makes perfect sense. What's there to kvetch about when a good portion of your state looks like this.

Or this.

And this is what I came home to.

I am dreaming of you, California. I can't wait to come back.

- Helene Cohen Bludman

Helene Cohen Bludman blogs at Books is Wonderful about the quirks of midlife, parenting adult children, modern culture and, or course, books. She left a career in marketing to become a full-time writer.