Anonymous
12/01/2025 11:52
Subject: Transfer due to weather?
Anonymous wrote:What is it about SoCal that people don't like - curious? I'm on the east coast and dream of living in SoCal (didn't grow up in the east coast, but rather in the midwest)
I lived in LA for a year and was happy to leave and come back to DC. It felt overwhelmingly immense, and the traffic was suffocating and impacted every aspect of life. It felt like rush hour never ended. And I ended up hating the lack of seasons. There was no variety and every day was the same as the previous. And the cost of living was insane. The gas and food prices were bonkers. I was relieved to come back to DC. It's not like we don't have bad traffic and a lot of people and high cost of living here, but it was just so much MORE there and pushed past what I could tolerate and enjoy.
Anonymous
12/01/2025 11:05
Subject: Transfer due to weather?
I’d have her do up a plan for transferring. Research which classes will transfer to preferred college, any cost differences, what being a transfer student might mean (are there scholarships? Housing issues coming in a second year?), etc
If this is a temporary/homesick thing, maybe the research will make her want to stay. If it’s not, she’ll have the info to make an informed decision (school A might require an extra semester bc fewer classes transfer than school B)
If this is a temporary/homesick thing, maybe the research will make her want to stay. If it’s not, she’ll have the info to make an informed decision (school A might require an extra semester bc fewer classes transfer than school B)
Anonymous
12/01/2025 00:25
Subject: Transfer due to weather?
Anonymous wrote:What is it about SoCal that people don't like - curious? I'm on the east coast and dream of living in SoCal (didn't grow up in the east coast, but rather in the midwest)
The immensity of it, the traffic congestion and the lack of mass transit. If I could get around there, I’d like it.
Anonymous
12/01/2025 00:20
Subject: Transfer due to weather?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:She may change her mind.
OTOH, if this is California, it is a very different culture. I am a Califonian and a lot of people are drawn to it but it's definitely not for everyone. It's not like the east, it has its own unique culture, it's a tough place to adjust to, lots of people don't like it, and I think it's better to leave than try to fit in if you don't (at any age). If it's a southern school, also a very different culture and may not be tenable.
I’m guessing it’s Southern California. My DD did not really like SoCal either. She left and transferred to a NorCal school. As an east coast person, I rolled my eyes when DH would claim that Northern and Southern California are like different states. NorCal seems to have more in common culturally with Oregon and Washington than SoCal. The negatives about SoCal that I’ve noticed is an almost obsessive focus on appearance and looking instagram ready at any moment , and lack of serious intellectual thought except for art, music or film. I also prefer the more natural state of the NorCal beaches.
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There is a rich, variegated, global non-white culture in SoCal that doesn’t conform to this stereotype. But I prefer living in NorCal, too. SoCal is just too overwhelming for me.
Both can be really challenging for someone coming from back East. It can be more difficult to unlock social life in CA than you might think.
Anonymous
11/30/2025 23:51
Subject: Transfer due to weather?
What is it about SoCal that people don't like - curious? I'm on the east coast and dream of living in SoCal (didn't grow up in the east coast, but rather in the midwest)
Anonymous
11/30/2025 19:57
Subject: Transfer due to weather?
DDs friend is considering leaving a school in Boston because she already dislikes the cold and it isn’t even cold yet. She didn’t have any real world comparison and I think had a romantic notion of cold weather. She dislikes it
Anonymous
11/30/2025 19:52
Subject: Transfer due to weather?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:She may change her mind.
OTOH, if this is California, it is a very different culture. I am a Califonian and a lot of people are drawn to it but it's definitely not for everyone. It's not like the east, it has its own unique culture, it's a tough place to adjust to, lots of people don't like it, and I think it's better to leave than try to fit in if you don't (at any age). If it's a southern school, also a very different culture and may not be tenable.
I’m guessing it’s Southern California. My DD did not really like SoCal either. She left and transferred to a NorCal school. As an east coast person, I rolled my eyes when DH would claim that Northern and Southern California are like different states. NorCal seems to have more in common culturally with Oregon and Washington than SoCal. The negatives about SoCal that I’ve noticed is an almost obsessive focus on appearance and looking instagram ready at any moment , and lack of serious intellectual thought except for art, music or film. I also prefer the more natural state of the NorCal beaches.
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What you say is sort of true about early 20s kids who are in LA trying to make it in creative or looks-based industries…but not really college students.
Anonymous
11/30/2025 19:46
Subject: Transfer due to weather?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:She may change her mind.
OTOH, if this is California, it is a very different culture. I am a Califonian and a lot of people are drawn to it but it's definitely not for everyone. It's not like the east, it has its own unique culture, it's a tough place to adjust to, lots of people don't like it, and I think it's better to leave than try to fit in if you don't (at any age). If it's a southern school, also a very different culture and may not be tenable.
I’m guessing it’s Southern California. My DD did not really like SoCal either. She left and transferred to a NorCal school. As an east coast person, I rolled my eyes when DH would claim that Northern and Southern California are like different states. NorCal seems to have more in common culturally with Oregon and Washington than SoCal. The negatives about SoCal that I’ve noticed is an almost obsessive focus on appearance and looking instagram ready at any moment , and lack of serious intellectual thought except for art, music or film. I also prefer the more natural state of the NorCal beaches.
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Holy stereotypes. Northern california is a lot colder weather, more techy, and more expensive. Southern California is filled with "intellectual thought" in the sense that it has top medical institutions, one of the best mathematicians alive resides here, and we have one of the best research institution on the planet-Caltech. We also happen to acknowledge that there's more to life, because we have nice things like Mountains, Beaches, and amazing diversity nearby that allows us to do things other than be grumpy.