Mid-August I was laying on my floor in between a pile of tank tops and a mountain of shorts; these articles of clothing made up about 90 percent of my wardrobe. As I sat there, packing up my life to move from Southern Arizona to the middle of the midwest, I had a major realization. I didn’t own a jacket. I had a sudden vision of myself walking to class in the middle of a blizzard wearing only the light sweater that usually stayed buried in the back of my closet throughout the year and began to panic as it hit me that I was leaving everything that had ever been familiar.
Most of my friends were getting ready to move into their dorms in Arizona, and the ones that were going elsewhere were mostly heading to one of our neighboring states. I was leaving for a school that was practically unheard of in my city, located in a state I had been to twice. It was at this point that I began questioning my sanity.
Almost two months into the school year, I can definitely say that leaving my comfort zone and heading to the “flyover” states was the best decision I ever could’ve made. Here’s why the “west coast” is not “the best coast,” but the midwest is (totally) the best.
Colder weather = warmer people.
I know, it seems counterintuitive. But when you make the move to the midwest you being to notice that people aren’t just nice, they’re really nice. Nice to the point where you start to question their motives. You wonder if you ever really knew any nice people back home because everyone you know now just seems way friendlier. If you drop a quarter, three people will rush to pick them up for you. People will hold the door open for anyone and everyone until the last person in the building leaves. If you forget your ID, debit card, and keys in a classroom while taking a test (hey it happens!), before you even have the time to file a police report you will more than likely receive a facebook message with a location to reclaim your valuable items- because identity theft is rude and a midwesterner would never steal your belongings!
FOOD
Both a blessing and a curse, the midwestern cuisine you’ll experience will leave you wondering how you ever enjoyed food before. When I first started telling people I was moving to the midwest I got a lot of weird looks and responses from people who believed I would actually be living on a farm. While I can say that I definitely do not live anywhere that remotely resembles a farm, having agriculture be such a huge part of the economy here provides us with some of the most fresh and satisfying produce in the country. Also, I’m not sure what my existence was before discovering cheese curds. While I have to fight a bit harder than an average west coast student might to avoid the freshman 15, I’ve never regretted a single curd.
Lakes
Sure, the west coast might be home to the Pacific Ocean, but oceans are salty, filled with sharks and probably a hundred other animals that want to eat you, and overcrowded. Beaches come with a dozens rules preventing you from having fun, and you can’t bring your dog to most of them. There are literally thousands of lakes in the midwest, meaning the restrictions are much less limiting. Lakes are never too basic to instagram several times a year, and in the winter you can ice skate on them. Take that oceans!
Seasons
The desire to wear uggs, drink pumpkin spice lattes and curl up by a fire as soon as October hits is pretty unfulfilled when the temperature forecasted for the month happens to be in the 90s. It’s hard to feel the fall vibes when you’re sipping on an iced latte and fanning yourself on the way to class. Moving to the midwest allows you to ask your parents for a whole new wardrobe, and they have to agree to keep you from dying of frostbite. Clothing items that you used to laugh at begin to fill your closet, you learn terms like “North Face,” “Patagonia,” and “vest” as well as the functions they serve, and you realize that socks are in fact a wonderful gift. Leaves change colors here, and you can venture through a pumpkin patch without suffering a heat stroke from standing in direct sunlight for too long.
My home will always be the west coast, and I’m sure I’ll feel jealous in a month when I start to see Snapchat stories of Arizona’s 70 degree winter and always-sunny skies. Regardless, while I still don’t own a parka, and I choose to think of winter as a mythical season that will never actually arrive, I don’t regret for a second my move. For any coasties trying to step out of their comfort zone for the best four years of your life there’s only one option — head to the best, it’s the midwest!
