What do people who grew up in the Western US think of the Eastern US? (houses, neighborhood)

[Jdawg8181]

Originally Posted by kidphilly

Fair enough; you are probably right in that the cold probably resonates more for people in more temperate climates, the NE gets all 4 seasons but the cold is probably the part most top of mind different


The South does have some differences food wise, becoming less so in the larger metros and some of it can be very good. Food is really getting better everywhere pretty rapidly IMHO


CA and the northeast are my tow favorite areas of the country but this country has many great areas outside of it.




One thing I feel like I am noticing more is that while the NE historically has been considered more stuffy and provincial I am finding more and more folks on the west coast giving off more of an elitist attitude like the there is WC and then everything else. To me this has become a lot more common in the last 15 or so years; that attitude can be annoying but in general love the WC and have had amazing experiences there over the last 30 years for work leisure and a year living in CA


I see you are from SD, another great area and to me just enough different to make it a really interesting change from LA or even the OC

I find Californians think CA is the best and that everyone loves it out there and wants to live there … contrary, I don't really like it and I don't want to live there and many other people feel the same.

[jas75]

I think people may have more realistic appraisals of other parts of the country today than was the case a generation ago, when I was growing up in southern California. There was no easily accessible Google Maps to get a quick visual representation of faraway places, and long distance phone calls were an expensive luxury. The US east of the Rockies (and the South in particular) was often depicted as an expanse behind the times, with extreme weather, a rigid social structure, and with limited opportunity compared to the more privileged and enlightened West Coast.

Having lived in the South for over 20 years with no regrets, I never bought into that characterization of this very complex region which has so many great attributes and is constantly evolving ... and hopefully in the more digitally connected era of today, people are able to look beyond the simplistic stereotypes.

[elchevere]

I grew up and lived on the East Coast through grad school, moved for work and lived up and down the state of CA for 33 years, and just moved back East 2 years ago. Here are my observations of what West Coasters think of East Coasters from my dealings:

Some felt they are: Rude, direct, loud, “horn honkers”, nosy with too much focus on career and where one went to school, judgmental, “oh you must be from NY”, offensive, and with respect to humidity—it was thought of as similar to the Forbidden Zone from Planet of the Apes. These types rarely spent any time on the East Coast, and even associated Chicago with being on the East Coast. Some of this group, from my experience, were transplants—not all native West Coasters—and are overly politically correct.

Others from out West digged the energy level of East Coasters, can appreciate sarcasm, have a great time when they visit back East, are not as easily offended, might actually have family there (direct or in laws), also tend to be more driven with respect to career and education, and will be the types who also enjoy LA (as opposed to those that hate LA or tell you, “we’re not LA”).

Conclusion: mixed bag...and, to no surprise, not everyone from the West Coast is from there. Many, not all, who moved from non urban and rural areas will naturally dislike the East Coast because of its urbanity and diversity. Those who moved from urban centers will be more inclined to enjoy the East Coast more....this also applies to West Coast natives who grew up in urban v non urban areas there. Some West Coasters found East Coasters to be elitists, but I found the opposite to be true.

That’s my experience—aside from living in CA I traveled the entire region on business.

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by supfromthesite

The West is way more liberal in my opinion.

If that's true that's scary.

[Bert_from_back_East]

Originally Posted by NDak15

If that's true that's scary.

The West is more liberal than the East.

For example, more people in the West, aside from the large Mormon and Muslim contingents, have divorced parents and grandparents. As a result, a larger percentage of Westerners are more open to and accepting of divorce and remarriage than Easterners, especially Midwesterners and Northeasterners, who generally approach dating, relationships and marriage more conventionally. Also, aside from Florida, swinging, open relationships and polyamory are much less common in the East than the West.

Here is another example off the top of my head — people in the East do not usually name their children “New Agey” names, opting for more traditional nomenclature instead. Anytime you meet someone with an odd name or who possesses a peculiar spelling variation of a traditional name (e.g., “Ashly,” “Kaylynn,” etc.), that person is almost always from the West. If you haven’t already inferred, this phenomenon is especially acute among non-Hispanic whites.

Finally, the West, in particular Southern California, is credited with popularizing the American megachurch movement, which offers a radically different approach to Evangelical Protestant Christian worship relative to what has been considered the norm for much of American history. Although most megachurches are typically conservative in belief and doctrine, the form of worship is very liberal and non-traditional. For example, some of the larger megachurches in Orange County, CA allow you to eat breakfast at an on-campus cafe while listening to the preacher’s sermon of the day over the intercom. Try explaining that one to a Methodist in Lackawanna County, PA!

[TacoSoup]

Originally Posted by elchevere

I grew up and lived on the East Coast through grad school, moved for work and lived up and down the state of CA for 33 years, and just moved back East 2 years ago. Here are my observations of what West Coasters think of East Coasters from my dealings:

Some felt they are: Rude, direct, loud, “horn honkers”, nosy with too much focus on career and where one went to school, judgmental, “oh you must be from NY”, offensive, and with respect to humidity—it was thought of as similar to the Forbidden Zone from Planet of the Apes. These types rarely spent any time on the East Coast, and even associated Chicago with being on the East Coast. Some of this group, from my experience, were transplants—not all native West Coasters—and are overly politically correct.

Others from out West digged the energy level of East Coasters, can appreciate sarcasm, have a great time when they visit back East, are not as easily offended, might actually have family there (direct or in laws), also tend to be more driven with respect to career and education, and will be the types who also enjoy LA (as opposed to those that hate LA or tell you, “we’re not LA”).

Conclusion: mixed bag...and, to no surprise, not everyone from the West Coast is from there. Many, not all, who moved from non urban and rural areas will naturally dislike the East Coast because of its urbanity and diversity. Those who moved from urban centers will be more inclined to enjoy the East Coast more....this also applies to West Coast natives who grew up in urban v non urban areas there. Some West Coasters found East Coasters to be elitists, but I found the opposite to be true.

That’s my experience—aside from living in CA I traveled the entire region on business.

There’s a lot of truths in this statement.

[moshywilly]

My mom was not born in the US, but came to the San Francisco Bay Area as a 7 year old girl, grew up there, met my dad at 29, then moved to New Jersey (their previous NJ neighborhood) in 1993. The only reason why she lives in NJ is really because of my dad, but otherwise she misses the West Coast a lot and would have no desire to live in the East Coast if she did not meet my dad. My mom always said to herself that she would never want to move out of California, but she ended up doing so. The reason my mom and dad didn't settle in California is because my dad is really bad fear of earthquakes and he said he prefers snow over earthquakes. Also, my dad already bought his house as a single man, which was the house he lived in after graduating college and getting his job.

Things my mom says about the East
1. Terrible climate
2. Ugly drab scenery
3. People are ruder out here
4. People were racist in suburban NJ back in the 1990s
5. People are not as physically attractive out here
6. People do not dress nice and do not take great care of themselves
7. Houses are either generic or ugly

Things my mom says about the West
1. Climate is somewhat perfect (in the SF Bay Area mainly)
2. Beautiful scenery
3. SF has a better charm than NYC.
4. More LGBT than the East (especially during the 1980s)
5. More physically attractive people
6. People dress nice and take better care of themselves
7. When it rains in SF, SF still has a happy vibe
8. Beautiful Mediterranean houses


All the things my mom said is 100% true in my opinion

[LINative]

Originally Posted by SunGrins

I grew up in the midwest and now live in the southwest. Having made that transition, it seems that one thing that stands out (beyond the obvious climate and such) is how the culture and society in the east are more judgemental than it is in the west...speaking in general terms. There seems to be more of a need to be in other people's business and to have or express an opinion in the east. In the west there seems to be more of a "clean slate" attitude -- people are OK until they prove otherwise. In the east it seems less so -- there is less benefit of the doubt and more caution, if not suspicion, with strangers. It might all come down to the judgement thing but I haven't seen that as much after moving away from the midwest.

I have no idea since I have only lived in the New York area my entire life but the bolded would make sense from a historical perspective. Historically, one of the reasons people moved west was to get away from family, legal and cultural situations they not like back east and start anew.

However, on the other hand I get the impression that the more eastward states are more traditional culturally. Sometimes that is a good thing, sometimes not. I think this is even more pronounced in 4 season areas where traditions begin to develop around the seasons (at least it is like that in the Northeast).

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by Bert_from_back_East

The West is more liberal than the East.

For example, more people in the West, aside from the large Mormon and Muslim contingents, have divorced parents and grandparents. As a result, a larger percentage of Westerners are more open to and accepting of divorce and remarriage than Easterners, especially Midwesterners and Northeasterners, who generally approach dating, relationships and marriage more conventionally. Also, aside from Florida, swinging, open relationships and polyamory are much less common in the East than the West.

Here is another example off the top of my head — people in the East do not usually name their children “New Agey” names, opting for more traditional nomenclature instead. Anytime you meet someone with an odd name or who possesses a peculiar spelling variation of a traditional name (e.g., “Ashly,” “Kaylynn,” etc.), that person is almost always from the West. If you haven’t already inferred, this phenomenon is especially acute among non-Hispanic whites.

Finally, the West, in particular Southern California, is credited with popularizing the American megachurch movement, which offers a radically different approach to Evangelical Protestant Christian worship relative to what has been considered the norm for much of American history. Although most megachurches are typically conservative in belief and doctrine, the form of worship is very liberal and non-traditional. For example, some of the larger megachurches in Orange County, CA allow you to eat breakfast at an on-campus cafe while listening to the preacher’s sermon of the day over the intercom. Try explaining that one to a Methodist in Lackawanna County, PA!

You're thinking of California. I'm thinking of the inner mountain west. I lived in Montana and Wyoming for a total of 24 years and knew enough people from Idaho, Utah, and rural Colorado and there's no way in hell what you're describing is accurate.

[ABQConvict]

Originally Posted by SunGrins

the culture and society in the east are more judgemental than it is in the west...speaking in general terms.

Definitely my experience, as well. The East, at least in urban/suburban areas is surprisingly conformist and traditional. Varying from social expectations will get attention. Not necessarily negative attention, but being a free-spirit will tend to make one stand out.

Originally Posted by Jdawg8181

I find Californians think CA is the best and that everyone loves it out there and wants to live there … contrary, I don't really like it and I don't want to live there and many other people feel the same.

I get along well with Californians, but there are a notable few who have an intensely offputting 'California is superlative in all categories and everyone who appreciates something that is not in California is either ignorant or lying to themselves.' This kind of attitude is not unique to Californians, but it is a little too common to be ignored. Even other places with notorious homers, like NYC, temper their enthusiasm for their hometowns/states with a healthy amount of self-deprecation and/or appreciation for the fact that other regions could have something to offer (and obviously there are Californians like this, too).

Originally Posted by supfromthesite

The West is way more liberal in my opinion.

I would say the West Coast is a little bit more liberal (politically), than the Northeast, but way more libertine.

The interior West is less liberal than the Northeast, but way more libertarian.

liberal =/= libertine =/= libertarian