“Cali, great place to visit,” said the famous East Coast rapper the Notorious B.I.G. It’s difficult to measure the proportion of innovation, opportunity and excitement happening here in California to any other place or time.

Chico State happens to be located in what many people call the “greatest state” in the “greatest country” in the world. We as students and natives from all over the state not only live with the benefits of growing up here, but are also bestowed with the opportunity to educate ourselves and drive the future of this global powerhouse state.

It’s worth noting how most inhabitants of the other 49 states can’t enjoy vacations like Disneyland during the summer and Tahoe during the winter (obviously except for Nevada) without leaving their state or traveling too far.

Most people in other states also can’t drive or walk to serene beaches as beautiful as California’s, or consume fresh agriculture grown right here, or see entertainment icons in concerts, events or appearances like it’s possible to here; it’s also possible that kids who grow up here don’t fully realize the amazing place in which they live.

Surely as these California children grow they can appreciate their home, but growing up in or around metropolises of San Francisco, Los Angeles or San Diego gives these kids the impression that the rest of the world operates like these places. This belief would lead to confusion when people from other areas ask Californians what it’s like living there; it’s simply life as they know it.

The Golden State is composed of much more than urban environments; as the eighth largest individual economy in the world, the whole state depends on its small rural communities, stable-sized towns, growing cities, global character cities and everything else in between.

Everyone from garlic-y Gilroy to the technological center of the universe in Silicon Valley and back to college towns like Chico, San Luis Obispo and Davis, form one of the most romanticized lands ever.

Of course California is the reason the West Coast beats the East since it is such a large place with each segment unique and important to the whole. This individuality makes it important for even the most loyal and devoted Californian to know how their worlds and lives differ so greatly to those of different places.

This realization comes more from real world experience and exploration than basic learning. Traveled and educated experts would likely agree that nothing in the world compares to life in this state culturally, politically or opportunistically, but that the rest of the world must be seen and experienced too.

The next most popular and populous American region of attraction of the Northeastern states doesn’t compare, being stereotyped for cold, unfriendly, busy environments among several highly-populated states and hardly ever called a “paradise.”

These areas are also urban living in between spacious rural areas but hardly provide an entertaining or warm atmosphere, or perks like Cali’s entertainment industry or welcoming culture.

Neither can the Southern states, Central American region or Northern belt of states compare to the Golden State’s prominence in quality aspects of living. If one wants an exciting, comfortable and entertaining lifestyle, one state comes to mind.

Unfortunately, the cost of living and overpopulation remain the growing variables that discourage everyone from living here. This, however, doesn’t and won’t prevent those who can run this country from coming here, hopping on the 21st century gold rush and changing the face of this state to their wishes.

Through all the developments and changes in California in the past, present and future, this state will remain one of the most interesting, beautiful and surreal places to live. Realize how lucky it is to live here because the world may never see a place like it again.

Sean Daly can be reached at [email protected] or @sdaly3orion on Twitter.