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I feel that here on the East Coast (NJ where I am from), people tend to be more work oriented and they do very little with their lives on weekends. I feel that whenever people in NJ have conversations, it's always focused on school and work and nothing else. I visited the West Coast and people tend to have conversations about their actual lives and not just jobs and school. Here in NJ, some people I talk to give me East Coast vibes (where they always direct their conversations to boring things like work and school), while there are a few laid back/chill type of people that give me vibes of the West Coast, because they talk about their actual lives and not just jobs and school.
Hmm... I live on the East Coast (Boston), and travel frequently to the West Coast (San Francisco / Silicon Valley). I think that both coasts have a very strong work, and productivity focus. I think that it may feel different because the West coast areas that I visit are "high tech" versus the East coast having more of a banking / healthcare feel. Whether you're in midtown Manhattan, or Redwood City, you'll hear a ton of people talking about work 24/7.
Hmm... I live on the East Coast (Boston), and travel frequently to the West Coast (San Francisco / Silicon Valley). I think that both coasts have a very strong work, and productivity focus. I think that it may feel different because the West coast areas that I visit are "high tech" versus the East coast having more of a banking / healthcare feel. Whether you're in midtown Manhattan, or Redwood City, you'll hear a ton of people talking about work 24/7.
I agree. I'm in the Bay Area often, and from what I can see it is extremely work-oriented and career-driven for college-educated white collar professionals. Work and school do pop up a lot in conversation. And on both coasts, the other big topic for casual discussion is -- surprise, surprise -- the cost of housing and real estate.
But stay at it long enough, and you can make small talk about sports, movies, travel, kids (if you have any), music, neighborhoods, cars, whatever. I think that's true anywhere.
I can only speak to my experiences in Southern California and here I think that people strive for much more of a work life balance than the east coast. People work hard, but play hard as well. We don’t live to work, we work to live.
I live in the far eastern part of Tennessee. Fairly rural area. There's really no workaholic or keeping up with Joneses type attitude that you find in major cities. The culture is very conservative and family/free time oriented.
I don't think so. People on the east coast take little weekend trips just as much or more often than people on the east coast. At least that was my experience in LA and DC - people play hard on both sides imo.
I know a young woman who worked for years in the music industry in New York. She had an opportunity to get a transfer within her company to L.A. Her salary would have increased greatly.
She turned the offer down because she had previous experience working in their L.A. Office on loan from time to time and said she wouldn't have been able to stand the competitiveness, cutthroat attitude, non-stop work and absolute marriage to the job. Her office in New York was nothing like that.
It could be it was just that particular office but it does go to show that the stereotypical laid back Californian does not exist everywhere there.
I know a young woman who worked for years in the music industry in New York. She had an opportunity to get a transfer within her company to L.A. Her salary would have increased greatly.
She turned the offer down because she had previous experience working in their L.A. Office on loan from time to time and said she wouldn't have been able to stand the competitiveness, cutthroat attitude, non-stop work and absolute marriage to the job. Her office in New York was nothing like that.
It could be it was just that particular office but it does go to show that the stereotypical laid back Californian does not exist everywhere there.
Any über city like LA or NYC is going to be full of cutthroat career types.
I know a young woman who worked for years in the music industry in New York. She had an opportunity to get a transfer within her company to L.A. Her salary would have increased greatly.
She turned the offer down because she had previous experience working in their L.A. Office on loan from time to time and said she wouldn't have been able to stand the competitiveness, cutthroat attitude, non-stop work and absolute marriage to the job. Her office in New York was nothing like that.
It could be it was just that particular office but it does go to show that the stereotypical laid back Californian does not exist everywhere there.
The laid back Californian attitude definitely does persist at least where I live we are much more focused on being outside, and enjoying the weather. People definitely work, but you would really get the vibe that many don't work, and question how people even provide for themselves here. lol I think it has more to do with the weather as well even from NorCal to SoCal the weather is slightly better for being outside in SoCal.
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