West Coast vs. East Coast

[sehnsucht5150]

Its pretty interesting to see the different views here. I live in PA and travelled the whole US back in may, particularly to get to california and check out as much as i could within a few weeks. When I left pa i didnt have any interest in any other places than CA, but of course drove through them to see how it was. Driving through NM, AZ, NV was definitely unique, something I'd never want to live in. When i got to Las Vegas i stayed for the night then left, heading for cali. Seen all i needed to see in a day there. The longer i kept driving into cali, the more i was hoping things would change. I vividly remember going through SB saying after i get through here i hope it starts to change, then i got to Riverside and not a whole lot changed. Got to SD and i liked it there, headed up the coast. One thing that bothered me intensely was that its so brown in a lot of areas, when i got to LA it wasnt nearly as green/interesting as i imagined, but maybe it was just a culture shock to me. As far as people thats strictly individual, most of the folks out there were pretty nice to me and as far as driving/rudeness, i didnt have a problem at all and i drove at all times of the day and night. In the east coast hills are everywhere, you drive on them, around them, through them, out there its spread out to where youre on a lot of flat ground and you look out at brown mountains, yeah there's some hills and im absolutely sure if you spent some time you could find similar terrain to EC, but driving all the way up the coast to SF was very nice (especially weather) but a little boring especially coming back down on route 5 to see what that was like (tried to get everything in! lol), it felt like being in a mad max movie with the oil rigs powerlines and not a damn thing anywhere around. As far as the east coast vs. west coast, to stereotype is kind of silly, there's lots of nice folks in each, you cant compare the east coast only to nyc and dc, nyc is a beast of its own and rarely resembles the rest of the EC. EC is very green, lush hills, WC dry in a lot of places and brown. People are rarely different on either coast if youre near a big city youre probably more likely to be on a faster pace, regardless of coast. I know if i were to live on the west coast it would definitely be near the ocean, anywhere else feels dessolate to me.

[absurd_planet]

I thought the East Coast had beautiful geography.
Montreal down to NY city is the only piece I experienced on that trip, but I really enjoyed it.
That being said, I didn't feel that NY was a nice looking town in any capacity other than the architecture. The natural landscape surrounding Los Angeles and San Francisco is incredible. On a clear summer day, if your positioned on one of the rooftops downtown in S.F, you can simultaneously witness windsurfers, market street humming along with hoardes of bodies, streetcars etc, as well as people sitting at the parks below you and far away the famalies having picnics in tiburon and the marin coastline.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

Don't move to California because you think it is more laid back. We lived on the east coast (DE, VA, and DC) before moving to California, and while there are some differences, I agree that the laid back thing, at least in my experience, is a myth. Maybe it would be if you moved from a demanding career in NYC or DC and took a less stressful job, maybe in a smaller town, in CA, for example, but that's a lifestyle thing, not a regional difference. Not to say that there aren't differences - I think there are - but overall I think you can find the same sorts of vibes on both coasts, depending on where you look.

I love both coasts and could be happy living on either, but if you want a change of pace and can find a job (or can take the financial risk of looking for work at that time) then by all means go for it. I should also note that we moved for a job transfer, and while I thought I'd like some parts of California, I didn't think I would like LA (where we first lived). I bought into a lot of the more negative stereotypes and just thought it wasn't for me. Turned out I absolutely loved it. On the other hand, a lot of people have unrealistically high expectations about the state, and they sometimes are really disappointed when it turns out that CA is like any other place, at least in the sense that it has its positives and its negatives, same as anywhere else.

Wash DC native here: born/raised; I left for Calif back in 1978-----------never to return even for a visit.

I have been living in Arizona since 1989; that stated, if I had to leave Az and was only offered the choice of California or DC again-----------Calif would still win hands down.

[asielen]

Originally Posted by bayarea-girl

Mach50, have you driven in LA? LA drivers aren't very nice and don't always don't let you in when changing lanes, they often flick you off and curse, there is a lot of road range in LA.

I think it all comes down to driving styles. I drive at least 40 miles in LA everyday yet I never get flipped off or cursed. You just have to get used to the way people drive here. Traffic never moves at the speed limit, it is either going 30mph over or under the limit. It just comes down to common sense, enter the freeway are freeway speeds and don't slow down or cut people off when changing lanes. Those two things seem to cause the most problems.

Not sure about the East Coast, it seems though that even when visiting people there who have lived there for most of their lives they still have trouble with traffic and rude drivers.

[krudmonk]

Originally Posted by absurd_planet

San Jose to the south, in truth never a ''city'' to begin with, has not done much to shake the image if an overgrown farm town.

Hahaha, yes, this whole "Silicon Valley" thing will never catch on. Orchards forever!

[ElliottJM]

when someone says west coast it seems like everyone just thinks of San diego, LA or san francisco. but theres a crapload of other places. I do think that atleast san diego and SF are more laid back than some of the east coast cities of been too. but any large city is going to be more hectic than a smaller one. Portland oregon is west coast and very relaxed and there are alot of smaller towns in norcal that are very relaxed and i love them. Look at the towns north of sf on the coast like santa rosa, and petaluma or look at lake tahoe or even around sacramento. they are smaller but relaxed areas with closenit communities but near larger cities for conveinance.

[ElliottJM]

Originally Posted by sehnsucht5150

Its pretty interesting to see the different views here. I live in PA and travelled the whole US back in may, particularly to get to california and check out as much as i could within a few weeks. When I left pa i didnt have any interest in any other places than CA, but of course drove through them to see how it was. Driving through NM, AZ, NV was definitely unique, something I'd never want to live in. When i got to Las Vegas i stayed for the night then left, heading for cali. Seen all i needed to see in a day there. The longer i kept driving into cali, the more i was hoping things would change. I vividly remember going through SB saying after i get through here i hope it starts to change, then i got to Riverside and not a whole lot changed. Got to SD and i liked it there, headed up the coast. One thing that bothered me intensely was that its so brown in a lot of areas, when i got to LA it wasnt nearly as green/interesting as i imagined, but maybe it was just a culture shock to me. As far as people thats strictly individual, most of the folks out there were pretty nice to me and as far as driving/rudeness, i didnt have a problem at all and i drove at all times of the day and night. In the east coast hills are everywhere, you drive on them, around them, through them, out there its spread out to where youre on a lot of flat ground and you look out at brown mountains, yeah there's some hills and im absolutely sure if you spent some time you could find similar terrain to EC, but driving all the way up the coast to SF was very nice (especially weather) but a little boring especially coming back down on route 5 to see what that was like (tried to get everything in! lol), it felt like being in a mad max movie with the oil rigs powerlines and not a damn thing anywhere around. As far as the east coast vs. west coast, to stereotype is kind of silly, there's lots of nice folks in each, you cant compare the east coast only to nyc and dc, nyc is a beast of its own and rarely resembles the rest of the EC. EC is very green, lush hills, WC dry in a lot of places and brown. People are rarely different on either coast if youre near a big city youre probably more likely to be on a faster pace, regardless of coast. I know if i were to live on the west coast it would definitely be near the ocean, anywhere else feels dessolate to me.

as far as the brown hills thing. they are golden hills cos we are the golden state but if you stopped in SF you missed out in Northern california. Im from norcal and barely consider SF as part of norcal. i mean theres yosemitee, lake tahoe, the redwoods, great skiing etc theres ALOT more to california than the 3 big cities. and i've lived alll over california and i mean AAAALLLLL over california. the brown hills is mostly socal desert.