I am a born-and-bred California girl. For 11 years, that is. If you know me at all, you know that California is forever my home, no matter how long I live anywhere else.
When I moved from Los Angeles to Nashville, Tennessee, and then to Charlotte, North Carolina, and now to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, my life changed dramatically. Not for better or worse. Just for the different. Some things I love and some things I don’t, but in the end, I’m so grateful for my experiences of moving from place to place as they have allowed me to grow, explore and experience things I never thought I would.
I recommend to anyone who has the chance to move to do it. Just pick up and move to a new place. The experiences will forever change you for the better. With all of this, though, the West Coast is drastically different from the South, and anyone who has spent any significant amount of time in both places knows this to be true.
1. People in the South are more outgoing, even when walking down the streets.
There is something to be said about the sheer happiness people appear to hold in the South. Yes, everyone has their bad days, but in general, people that you don’t know in the South are more willing to say “hi” than those in Los Angeles. This isn’t to say that people on the West Coast aren’t outgoing, but their perspectives are just different.
2. The West Coast beaches will forever be better.
Growing up in Los Angeles, I spent a lot of time at the beach. When I moved to the East Coast, I found that I no longer liked the beach. I dreaded family trips to the beach, as my mom knows to be true -- we've cancelled so many trips to Amelia Island, Florida, that I'm beginning to think my mom will never make it there (sorry, Mom, I love you). There is just something about a beach that doesn’t have humidity. It’s wonderful. I miss it. Los Angeles beaches might not always be the cleanest, but they are definitely more enjoyable than the humidity-ridden beaches in the South.
3. The lifestyle in the South goes at a slower pace than in the West Coast.
Don’t get me wrong when I say this. This is not a bad thing, but something I have grown to love. In California, I was always at dance camp, Science Center camp, or doing some other activity. When I moved to Nashville and then Charlotte, I found that I no longer felt the need to be doing something all the time. I love the fact that I can hang out at home or watch Netflix without feeling like I am missing out. Even though I am the type of person that likes to stay busy -- probably too busy at times -- I definitely love the relaxed feeling of the South.
4. The food will never be similar.
Again, not a good or bad thing. One of the biggest things I have come to learn is that the food will never be comparable because it's just so different. Maybe that is just because I love food, but still, the food is so different! I have lived in the South for a decent amount of time now, and I am still getting used to all of the Southern food. Although I will probably never get used to grits or all of this fried stuff Southerners love so much, some of it is actually pretty decent, even if I have to go to the gym more often to work it off.
5. Traffic in the South is so much better than on the West Coast.
I may miss a lot of things from the West Coast (In-N-Out, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Winschell’s, Benihana, Tama Sushi -- RIP -- and the list goes on), but one thing I don’t miss at all is the traffic. The fun fact that people spend around three months of their life in traffic is not true for Los Angeles. Try doubling that number, then quadrupling it, and you might be able to get close. Seriously, though. The traffic in the South is so much better than in California, and I wouldn't trade it for the world!
