Culture Shock-please explain (Fairfield: house, organic, living)

[DogLady321]

Okay an east coaster here who lives in a liberal small town in VT who's big into eating organic food. Grew up in Fairfield county CT.
I have my ideas on what culture shock i would experience but want to hear it directly from folks who have moved to CA from New England.
Please detail for me what culture shock i would experience moving west?

[LDDiamondGirl]

Well, have you seen Sideways?

The unpretentiousness of the central coast of California will not be culture shock to someone from a small liberal VT town who eats organic food. Maybe sticker shock, but not culture shock.

However, California is huge. New York is also huge. Each has micro-burbs, cities, towns and communities which are uniquely unlike one another. Night and Day, as they say.

Your question is a difficult one to answer unless you are specific about exactly where you are moving to in California. For instance, I have written several posts on here where I talk about my own culture shock. I have experienced it greatly myself when I moved to the central coast of California after having lived most of my life in metro areas both in the midwest and in So. Cal.

This area is way too rural, and way too laid back for my liking. I am about to list my house after living here only 2 years and I can't wait to move. I feel like I've been unplugged for 2 years. It's like I now have a dead battery which I can't wait to re-charge.

So, you see, it all depends on what you're used to.

[Luke9686]

Like the previous poster said, I think it all depends where in California you move to. In general, most of California is a liberal, healthy state. We like our organic foods here also. I lived in New England (Boston) for a couple of years, and I can recognize some differences. I think the main difference will be the quaintness (sp?) of new england. All the old style architecture, distinct four seasons, beautifull fall colors, etc. In California, it seems everything is in a strip mall, and most of the buildings are fairly new. There are only two seasons. Summer with endless sunshine, and the rainy season with a little less sun (for most of the state). If you like eating at those nice little Italian joints like they have up there, forget about that here. Most likely it is in a strip mall. That's what got me about Cali. But you can't complain about the weather. And people here are much more friendly, depending on where you move to.

Oh yeah, and no accents, or Red Sox.