east coast v west coast (San Diego, Oceanside: neighborhoods, movies, school district)

[jksouthbay88]

At work I noticed East Coast people say that "I talk fast"
I was told that when I went to DC,Pittsburgh,and Cleveland last year.

[RD5050]

I would say it pays to spend some of your life on each of the two coasts, since they both have great things to offer.

The east coast is filled with many big cities all located near the coast, such as Boston, NYC, Phila, Washington DC, and many others. All are within driving distance. So you can easily take day trips from one city to the next. The terrain is much more flat, so driving is easier. Within all of these big cities, you'll find many intellectual centers, colleges, and museums. Also, the east coast is filled with many historic sites (Valley Forge, Independence Hall, etc), dating back to the 1700's and earlier. Weather has all four seasons, so you will have extremely hot summers, milder spring, beautiful fall leaves, and snow blizzards during icy cold winters. Houses vary in style from older brick 2 or 3 story townhouses (approximately 25 homes connected together on a single block, sometimes called "row homes") to two-story single family homes (sometimes called split-level), to twin homes (two connected houses). Most city blocks are laid out in a very straight grid-like design with streets running either east-west or north-south.

The west coast (specifically CA) is a much more of a fun place to be. The weather is mild all year round. The beaches are much nicer. The scenery is beautiful. Most of the high-rise office buildings tend to be new and very modern. Everything is more spread out. The terrain is more mountainous, so you have to drive up and down huge hills everywhere along the coast. Driving feels more dangerous here, since they have much higher speed limits. People driving 70 MPH and faster is very common on CA highways. Most houses are typically 1-story single family ranch houses. Streets are less grid-like, due to the mountainous terrain. Many homes are high up on top of mountains (sometimes called "Vistas"), and others are down in valleys.

[JakeDog]

Originally Posted by ShockaSlim

I dunno about that. Better outdoor activities? A lot of stuff that is done on the West Coast can be done on the East Coast. In New York State alone we can do all of that stuff. But I do want to move out to California. I love Western New York, but until they can fix this state up and stop catering to those who live in NYC I will stay far away from there.

Alpine skiing on the East Coast? Surfing? Wearing shorts in winter? Sorry but the outdoor life on the West Coast is SO MUCH BETTER it isn't even comparable. And I've lived on both.

[BENZBOY15]

I grew up in San Diego and frequently visit Darien, Ct and here are my observations:

East: Materialistic, snobbish, stuck up, very liberal (and yet not open to any other ideas), because they're right and you're wrong. Rat Race. Stepford Wives to the max. Country Club culture, parents are religious about getting their kids into a 'prestigious' school so they can brag to their friends, not benefit their kid.
Can't relax now! Even if you're on break, always check email, work....well why don't you just work instead of playing b-ball with your 5 year old. Very racist....but we're liberal, so it's okay to be racist.

That sums it up pretty nicely.

West (Southern California): Very Materialistic, but there are rich people who aren't and many upper middle class people that are. We don't have a stick up our ass every where we go. We have good schools, we just choose which ones are BEST FOR THE TEEN, not best for the parents conversations at the country club. Perfect weather (77 TODAY, FEBRUARY 8). Out door activities, nice, but lazy people. "I'll get there when I get there." "Closed for surfing." A lot of drugs, either openly accepted or given a wink and a nod and a turn of the head. Weed is basically legal. Socially liberal, fiscally conservative, a lot of "ron paul" types. Anti-Tax and Anti-Govt. are the biggest themes.

SoCal is WORLDS BETTER than the east coast for an unlimited number of reasons.

[Tony from Europe]

West is muchhh betterrrrrrrrrrrr,especially CALIFORNIA

[BENZBOY15]

Originally Posted by Tony from Europe

West is muchhh betterrrrrrrrrrrr,especially CALIFORNIA

Especially San Diego.....

[cmdreset]

Oh please. you chose one of the wealthiest New York suburbs to call the East Coast?

That's like saying Beverly Hills or Rancho Santa Fe is the West Coast.

Originally Posted by BENZBOY15

I grew up in San Diego and frequently visit Darien, Ct and here are my observations:

East: Materialistic, snobbish, stuck up, very liberal (and yet not open to any other ideas), because they're right and you're wrong. Rat Race. Stepford Wives to the max. Country Club culture, parents are religious about getting their kids into a 'prestigious' school so they can brag to their friends, not benefit their kid.
Can't relax now! Even if you're on break, always check email, work....well why don't you just work instead of playing b-ball with your 5 year old. Very racist....but we're liberal, so it's okay to be racist.

That sums it up pretty nicely.

West (Southern California): Very Materialistic, but there are rich people who aren't and many upper middle class people that are. We don't have a stick up our ass every where we go. We have good schools, we just choose which ones are BEST FOR THE TEEN, not best for the parents conversations at the country club. Perfect weather (77 TODAY, FEBRUARY 8). Out door activities, nice, but lazy people. "I'll get there when I get there." "Closed for surfing." A lot of drugs, either openly accepted or given a wink and a nod and a turn of the head. Weed is basically legal. Socially liberal, fiscally conservative, a lot of "ron paul" types. Anti-Tax and Anti-Govt. are the biggest themes.

SoCal is WORLDS BETTER than the east coast for an unlimited number of reasons.

[gichicago]

My generalized view:

In East, people are more in your face, thick skinned, rude (or in thier own words "real"), which is accepted since you know where everyone stands, and have nothing to hide. Little more cynical, and glass "half empty" personality. Seem to be stimulated more by work, conversation, and getting stuff done.

West coast folks are typically more pleasant, more laid back, but not as much as the south or midwest. Not as much emphasis placed on work, or career. People I worked with actually didnt talk about work when eating out for lunch; after work drinks, what a novel concept! San Fran is a weird anomaly, as the atmosphere seemed similar to what you would find in East, along with a sense of smugness.

[so-cal so-confused]

Hello All. I see there are quite a few opinions in regards to the whole east coast -west coast debate. Well I have lived in San Diego pretty much all my life and now my husband wants to move to Connecticut where he lived for a few years a while back. I moved out there with him for five months a few years ago and absolutely hated it. It was complete culture shock, the people were by far the rudest people I have ever had to deal with. The state is so old, I just don't understand what all the snobbiness is about. I put my son in kindergarten there, and believe me the schools here are way better then they are out there. The teachers were so rude to the kids and they were more like bad babysitters than teachers. You had to pay to go to any beaches or parks, and then pay an additional fee to actualy go into the sand area and water part. It was very strange. I also have never had to deal with people who are shocked when you smile and say hello, or have to tell the grocery store employee hello with no reply back, I'm used to them saying hello to me first. I guess there is no such question "Can I help you out to your car or with your groceries?" out there. I really don't want to have the same experience I had last time. So is there anyone out there that can tell me about some good experiences they've had, and please not people who have lived there all their lives and never experienced a "normal place" like San Diego?

[bbjr]

so-cal so confused,

I am from the Northeast (just outside of NYC) and lived here my entire life, and I totally agree with you. My wife and I have been vacationing in So-Cal (mostly in San Diego) every year for the past 5 years and we are planning to move there within the next 8-9 months. I can recall our first time vacationing in in San Diego and how wierd it felt to us that everywhere we went people smiled and said "hello". Anywhere we went from eating out at fast food restaurants,to upscale restaurants the service and the politeness was just always better. Something as simple as paying for gas at a gas station the clerk behind the register would always smile and greet you "good morning" or "how are you?" Here in NY the clerk would act as if you were bothering him for purchasing fuel at his gas station. I hope that moving to SD is not too much of a culture shock for me and my family. Another thing that I noticed about Californians is that nothing seems to be of any urgency,Californians always seem to be relaxed and never in a hurry, I can remember this past January we were again vacationing in SD, it was a week day, around 8:30am at a Starbucks in Mission Valley, the line was to the door, but know one seemed to care that it would take 15 minutes to get their coffee, people were just standing in line conversating with each other cool and calm, even the Starbucks staff behind the counter seemed to be in no rush, polite but in no rush. If this picture had been at my local Starbucks in NY the patrons would be looking at there watches yelling and complaining or would have simply walked out angry. I really enjoy the relaxed attitude of Californians but is this the right enviroment to raise children? do the children in California apply this laid back relaxed attitude to their school work? Do you think the children would grow up to be less ambitious and less carreer minded? How do the schools compare to NY schools from a learning stand point? If the education system is as good or better in California then I would agree that all in all California is a better place to live. Better weather, nicer people, prettier scenery, slightly lower cost of living,more ethnic diversity,less racism,cleaner streets and landscapes better shopping malls,and way more activities within driving distance.
CALIFORNIA HERE I COME!!!!!!!!