OK, since I've said I'm a CA girl and no one else is stepping up, I'll start it.
I grew up in Bakersfield, CA, sometimes called the Armpit of CA. That's because it sits about in the crook (if you look at the map). Or, it could be b/c it smells. Lots of dairies around that place. Bakersfield's roots are heavy in Country Western. Merle Haggard and Buck Owens are from there. Courtney music probably put it on the map. Agriculture is also heavy. Carrots, broccoli, onions, potatoes, almonds, olives, cotton and oranges are grown there or the surrounding areas. Just look at a bag of Bunny Love Carrots, they're from Bakersfield. The movie, The Onion Fields, is a true story out of Bakersfield.
Bakersfield is just about 2 hours from everything, LA, the ocean, skiing, mountains. I think it gets such a bum rap b/c it just cannot shake that country image. In the spring, purple lupine and orange poppies grow in the hills surrounding the area. It looks like a beautiful carpet. Las Vegas is only 4 hours away. That's where I was born.