Advice for a west coaster moving to the east coast

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends where on the west coast and where you’re moving. Yes, New Yorkers are direct and life is faster paced there.

If you mean you’re moving to DC, people aren’t really that direct and life is a lot more suburban. You’ll probably be shocked at how black and white DC is (you’re going to miss the Asian and Mexican people/food/culture of the West Coast) and how starkly divided the city is along socioeconomic lines.

California isn't divided among socioeconomic lines?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are nice in stores and such, like compared to seats Coast EVERY STORE in California is a Trader Joe’s

If you already own in California, don’t sell. We did and now can’t afford to move back.

There are a lot more reasonable options of commute, school, community here on East coast than places like Bay Area and LA. Because public schools are better funded, it’s not just Palo Alto that has decent schools, even more middle class places have good schools (imagine it South San Jose had all GS8 or GS9, that’s like Burke here). That makes for a much more nuanced spectrum of neighborhoods and less private school over all.

Yes, summers are hot and humid, but assuming you work a 9-5 it’s mostly just weekends. Which means you head to the pool every weekend. And Atlantic oceans are very swimmable with much warmer water and hot sun, vs LA where only surfers in wet suits really get wet.

NP. Are you saying they are nicer here then in the west?

Sorry no WEST coast is nicer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are nice in stores and such, like compared to seats Coast EVERY STORE in California is a Trader Joe’s

If you already own in California, don’t sell. We did and now can’t afford to move back.

There are a lot more reasonable options of commute, school, community here on East coast than places like Bay Area and LA. Because public schools are better funded, it’s not just Palo Alto that has decent schools, even more middle class places have good schools (imagine it South San Jose had all GS8 or GS9, that’s like Burke here). That makes for a much more nuanced spectrum of neighborhoods and less private school over all.

Yes, summers are hot and humid, but assuming you work a 9-5 it’s mostly just weekends. Which means you head to the pool every weekend. And Atlantic oceans are very swimmable with much warmer water and hot sun, vs LA where only surfers in wet suits really get wet.

NP. Are you saying they are nicer here then in the west?

NP. There’s a lot of rude customer service in East Coast stores, in my opinion. Get used to that. Store clerks are generally friendly and chatty in California.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends where on the west coast and where you’re moving. Yes, New Yorkers are direct and life is faster paced there.

If you mean you’re moving to DC, people aren’t really that direct and life is a lot more suburban. You’ll probably be shocked at how black and white DC is (you’re going to miss the Asian and Mexican people/food/culture of the West Coast) and how starkly divided the city is along socioeconomic lines.

California isn't divided among socioeconomic lines?!

It’s just less obvious b/c Latinos aren’t black.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends where on the west coast and where you’re moving. Yes, New Yorkers are direct and life is faster paced there.

If you mean you’re moving to DC, people aren’t really that direct and life is a lot more suburban. You’ll probably be shocked at how black and white DC is (you’re going to miss the Asian and Mexican people/food/culture of the West Coast) and how starkly divided the city is along socioeconomic lines.

+100

East coast is black-white. And the white population is very Italian or Irish Catholic focused. You’ll miss all the amazing Asian, Mexican and Middle Eastern food!! But, you’ll get good soul food, and great Italian food.

East coast is preppier, more intellectual, more conventional, more competitive, more honest with bigger, brighter, and more opinionated personalities.

[Anonymous]

CA transplant to the east coast. I picked DC because it seemed like the best compromise. Weather is milder than New England, DC as a city is a small town compared to NYC etc.

My biggest complaint about being in DC in my 20s though is that it was a revolving door. So many people are here for internships or grad programs and then they leave. So it can be hard to find a solid group of friends.

Now that I'm in my 40s with young kids, people who are still here will likely stay put for a while.

[Anonymous]

Where? NYC or DC? Yes. NYC is actually nicer than DC - DC people are a lot more insecure and judgmental.

Raleigh? You'll be FINE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends where on the west coast and where you’re moving. Yes, New Yorkers are direct and life is faster paced there.

If you mean you’re moving to DC, people aren’t really that direct and life is a lot more suburban. You’ll probably be shocked at how black and white DC is (you’re going to miss the Asian and Mexican people/food/culture of the West Coast) and how starkly divided the city is along socioeconomic lines.

+100

East coast is black-white. And the white population is very Italian or Irish Catholic focused. You’ll miss all the amazing Asian, Mexican and Middle Eastern food!! But, you’ll get good soul food, and great Italian food.

East coast is preppier, more intellectual, more conventional, more competitive, more honest with bigger, brighter, and more opinionated personalities.

DP. I have noticed this too! I think something about the energy brings out a spark of life in people that i really love

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Geographic stereotypes are like any other stereotypes- there’s a kernel of truth to them, but it certainly doesn’t describe EVERBODY and EVERYTHING. If you have good job prospects, go for it! If it doesn’t work out, it won’t be because of some worn out trope about east coast vs. west coast.

I'm an east coaster who ended up at a graduate school fair at UCLA. I just about died laughing hearing the recruiter from Yale Law explain to a young Californian that flip flops are not professional attire. The girl looked at her earnestly and replied, "But what else is there?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Visit during the winter and see if you can handle it. I'm from CA and now live in DC area. The weather is my biggest regret.

As far as personality, there is a wide variety of people. It is a little more conservative here as far as workplace attitudes.

I'm from CA.. lived there for 40 years. I can handle the DC area winter. It's the humid summers I can't handle. You can bundle up in the winter, and now even wear a face mask without getting funny looks. But what can you do in the summer? You can't shed your skin, though sometimes, I feel like doing exactly this in the summer.

I do find that the east coast is much more into "what do you do" than the west coast.

Brogrammer culture has made West Coast “what can you do for my company?” It’s so mercantile now.

well, that's like saying "here in DC it's "what agency do you work for". Not everyone in DC works for the feds, and not everyone in CA is a programmer. You have to be joking. Most of the people I know in CA aren't programmers, and I lived there for 40 years.

[Anonymous]

You will pass people in the street who when you smile and say hello, will simply stare back at you, silently, as if you are a martian.

Signed someone who has lived on both coasts.

[Anonymous]

Terribly humid summers And watch out for ticks. Mice in your home can happen here too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Visit during the winter and see if you can handle it. I'm from CA and now live in DC area. The weather is my biggest regret.

As far as personality, there is a wide variety of people. It is a little more conservative here as far as workplace attitudes.

I'm from CA.. lived there for 40 years. I can handle the DC area winter. It's the humid summers I can't handle. You can bundle up in the winter, and now even wear a face mask without getting funny looks. But what can you do in the summer? You can't shed your skin, though sometimes, I feel like doing exactly this in the summer.

I do find that the east coast is much more into "what do you do" than the west coast.

Brogrammer culture has made West Coast “what can you do for my company?” It’s so mercantile now.

well, that's like saying "here in DC it's "what agency do you work for". Not everyone in DC works for the feds, and not everyone in CA is a programmer. You have to be joking. Most of the people I know in CA aren't programmers, and I lived there for 40 years.

My point is that its still about work, which was PP was referring too. California used to be more laid back.

And brogrammers aren’t really programmers, usually their rich frat boys who are into marketing and venture capital and dupe geeks to program for diluted shares.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Visit during the winter and see if you can handle it. I'm from CA and now live in DC area. The weather is my biggest regret.

As far as personality, there is a wide variety of people. It is a little more conservative here as far as workplace attitudes.

I'm from CA.. lived there for 40 years. I can handle the DC area winter. It's the humid summers I can't handle. You can bundle up in the winter, and now even wear a face mask without getting funny looks. But what can you do in the summer? You can't shed your skin, though sometimes, I feel like doing exactly this in the summer.

I do find that the east coast is much more into "what do you do" than the west coast.

Brogrammer culture has made West Coast “what can you do for my company?” It’s so mercantile now.

well, that's like saying "here in DC it's "what agency do you work for". Not everyone in DC works for the feds, and not everyone in CA is a programmer. You have to be joking. Most of the people I know in CA aren't programmers, and I lived there for 40 years.

My point is that its still about work, which was PP was referring too. California used to be more laid back.

And brogrammers aren’t really programmers, usually their rich frat boys who are into marketing and venture capital and dupe geeks to program for diluted shares.

Sure, there are those in CA, but that group is not that big. How many venture capitalists do you think there are in CA? Lot more than here for sure, but still a tiny percentage of the overall population in CA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You will pass people in the street who when you smile and say hello, will simply stare back at you, silently, as if you are a martian.

Signed someone who has lived on both coasts.

+1

Many people on the east coast don't say hi even when you say hi to them. There is just this blank stare. It's the weirdest thing.