I grew up in a small town in Connecticut, but decided to YOLO and move to San Diego for school. I knew it was going to be different, but I didn't know just how different it would be. Understandably, going from the Northeast to Southern California was a bit of a culture shock at first, but I got used to it. Here are nine tell tale signs that you are a Northeasterner living in the West.
1. You got yelled at for pronouncing "Oregon" wrong.
If you're from the Northeast, you probably pronounce it "Or-eh-gone" because THAT'S HOW IT'S SPELLED. However, the "correct" pronunciation is "Or-eh-gin" and you will be verbally assaulted if you dare use the first one.
2. You have a severe craving for Dunkin Donuts that cannot be satisfied.
With a few exceptions (downtown San Diego and several LA locations), there are no Dunkin Donuts locations out here. Starbucks is NOT the same and cannot cleanse my soul the same way Dunkin can. America runs on Dunkin after all.
3. You get frustrated when you can't drive ten minutes and be in another state.
Back home I could be in New York state in ten minutes, New York City in 45 minutes, and Massachusetts and New Jersey in less than two hours. Here, if I leave San Diego at noon and drive North for six hours I will still be in California. The vastness is out of control.
4. You were shocked by the amount of avocados consumed here.
Sure we eat avocados on the East Coast too, but the consumption is quite expansive here. I never saw anyone eat an entire avocado plain in Connecticut, but in my past three and a half years in San Diego I've seen it all.
5. You miss being able to watch live TV events when they're actually live.
Watching programs three hours after everyone else has seen them sucks.
6. You met more Hawaiians in a week of living here than several years of living in the East.
It definitely has to do with the proximity, but in Connecticut, I don't think I ever met anyone from Hawaii. Before moving to San Diego, the only Hawaiian I knew was Tito from Rocket Power.
7. Christmas doesn't feel like Christmas.
Decorated palm trees are weird, lack of snow is weird, 80-degree weather is weird. Ice skating at the beach is cool and fun but makes me feel like a traitor.
8. You laugh when you think of your beaches back home because they're way better here.
East Coast summers are awesome and there's no body of water I love more than Long Island Sound, but our beaches are LAME. A. The sand is coarse AF and peels a layer of skin off of my feet whenever I step foot on it. B. The waves are nonexistent. If you want to have any salt water fun, a boat is pretty much a necessity.
9. You can't find any pizza that's up to your high standards.
There's no doubt about it; the East Coast has the best pizza. I don't know why and/or how, but it is a concrete fact. Every time I want pizza and have to settle for Domino's, a part of me dies inside.
Both the East and the West are awesome - never change either of you.
