Name that paradise

Even with the political madness gripping the place, California has a lot going for it - Mediterranean climate, an incredible variety of landscapes, and world dominance in a couple of profitable industries. You could spend a lifetime just drinking the local wine and dining on the distinctive local cuisine. In those ways it's a lot like Italy, but there's another country that it resembles more.

To all that good stuff, add in a vast chasm between the rich and the poor. The split is very clearly along racial lines. The majority of darker-skinned people, who speak a different language, do the menial labor and traditional servant work like house cleaning and nannying. The minority whites live in secured compounds with fences and guards to secure themselves against gangs of violent predators.

Now you've got it -- it's South Africa. Cape Town is still worth visiting, but in the end it's just a lot like Santa Barbara.