There is one big problem with The Other Dan's definition of Northern California - it makes it seem as if Berkeley, Davis, and San Francisco are the only parts of California that can truly be considered Northern California. After all, I live in a suburb of Sacramento and the air is polluted (although not as much as LA), the open spaces have been consumed by housing developments, and I still have yet to meet someone who isn't vapid or hollow around here. It only gets worse as you get further up north. Sure, the air is cleaner up there, and spaces sure are open, but the people are mostly hicks. After all, the far north of California is where the police dabbed pepper spray into the eyes of protesters with a Q-tip to make them shut up. The people there are conservative and scary.