My theory is that people who love to read deep books prefer the mountains to the beach. A recent poll shows this correlation. My question is: Why?

Let's get some things out of the way first.

I spent 8 years around a upper middle class microcosm of culture at a church I used to attend. The church was rather seeker-friendly and many of the attenders were new/immature Christians. Their faith was shallow. So I thought of them as shallow in general. Many of them were California transplants. California transplants get to buy the expensive houses in the nicest neighborhoods here, because a $400K-500K house in CA buys 800 sq ft, but in my state it buys 1500-2000 sq ft.

These shallow Californians often take vacations to Palm Springs or Cancun, or went on cruises to warmer waters. It's as if they're saying, "I really don't want to live here, I want to live in California, but I can't afford it anymore, so I'll just vacation there now as much as possible."

So this is the environment I spent 8 years in.

One thing I learned from my poll is that people have different ideas of beaches! It's funny to me. You can either think of the coasts of the Pacific Northwest or New England--colder and rocky, wild. Or you can think of California or the Carribbean--sandy, warm, blue-green waters, brilliant sun. Or you can think of the southern Atlantic coast--calm, warm, sandy, gentle waves.

My final answer -

"Well, I can tell you one thing--this poll has opened my eyes to the reality that people get different images in mind when they hear "beach." 🙂 I find it interesting, though not necessarily surprising, that those here with beach preferences are largely *not* thinking of warm, sunny, California beach culture. For whatever reason, California is what I think of when I hear "the beach," even though I have never lived there.

"Another interesting question would be to ask where you all grew up and how that correlates to your preference (beach/mountains), but I don't have time for that kind of undertaking. 😂

"So. Here's one theory. People who live in colder climates read more and deeper, because there are days when it isn't sensible to go outside. People who live in warmer climates spend more time outside being active. And when they do pick up a book, they want it to be a fast, easy read, because the outdoors are calling.

"There are obviously going to be more layers than just that, but that's my starting place. 🙂"

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