That’s a very lovely area, imho, still!
Before a local Park Ranger shared that there had been sightings of three mountain lions running around the area, we went on a full moon hike in one of the local parks.
Rattlesnakes have also shown up in local city parks where kids play.
No snakes in Hawaii? That’s another plus for Hawaii! :)
Several years ago while looking for something else, I stumbled across a Hawaiian singer on YouTube and became an instant fan.
Keali’i Reichel - E O Mai
https://youtu.be/koQqT0dnq9c?list=PLooeW7EzXxkX-1_ppow4J6X2VGPZCR1To
Keali’i Reichel - If I had words
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti5Dwu2uIK0
First moved there in the late 70's.
Wife and I still debate whether we dodged a bullet getting out of SoCal in 2006 when we had the chance or not. Was tough, being both born in SoCal and not knowing much else other than my few excursions.
Our neighbors had proved impossible to live next to; SF Valley white trash that brought along their hard partying lifestyle. Me, being me, I pushed back and ended up with them getting a restraining order.
Luckily for us, I had a job offer from a new company in Hawaii and we said to hell with California. As things worked out, we surfed the real estate price curves rather well. Poor people that bought out house ended up selling for over a $200k loss. Would have loved to find out if it involved the lowlife rednecks next door and the constant parties.
Events since then have only convinced us that staying would have been more and more miserable watching our native state swirl the toilet bowl.