I've lived in California all my life and was in San Mateo during Loma Prieta. How close you are to the epicenter has a strong effect on what you experience (it's undoubtedly more complicated than that but distance is a big factor). Last night's was 14.8 miles away from me and although I woke up, I didn't hear earthquaky sounds and shaking was moderate. Thought my partner had just flopped over in bed harder than usual. By contrast, a few years ago we had a 3.1 centered about 1.5 miles away that really made me fear it was a big one. The house jumped and stuff swayed, and I was just thinking I'd better get next to the bookcase when it stopped.