Last August, no one would call me your typical California girl. I don't like the beach, I would prefer freezing over sweltering weather and I actually like it when it snows and rains. But moving to Wheaton, Illinois, for college definitely had me thrown for a loop. Coming back for summer has inspired me to do my new neighbors in the Midwest who might be thinking about moving to my hometown a favor and give them the necessary precautions of culture shock I never had. California might only be a four and a half hour flight away, but it might as well have a few countries between it and Chicagoland.

Besides the weather, the people here in SoCal are radically different than my new friends in Illinois. I think the single largest factor in character that seems to distinguish itself across the board is that of hospitality. Everyone on the beaches and in the outdoor shopping malls is here for themselves, their group of friends, their world. These worlds aren't impossible to enter, but don't expect to be invited in. The best you can reasonably hope for is to be assigned to one through a church or school. In the Midwest, my experience was that every home you went into became yours, metaphorically.

I get that this might seem like a small, even insignificant, comparison. But it really made all the difference for me in such a huge transition. Up until last fall, I had never lived outside of California, and I now have spent 14 years living in my current house. I knew no one at Wheaton College, but no one has ever made me feel at home faster than the families at my church who invited me into their homes, the friends who visited me at the end of my hall, and the professors who took me and my classes to dinner. California has its perks, but there's nothing like the smile of a stranger, a moment of human connection easily defined as a miracle in my region.

Los Angeles is a blast, and San Diego is beautiful. You get used to seeing a lot of different people from many walks of life, and hear amazing stories. Lots of smart people walk the streets, but lots of dangerous ones do, too. The weather might be boring, but it is generally what most people would call ideal. There are mountains, valleys, lakes (somewhat dry right now, though), ghettos, and mansions. There are beaches, deserts, and gorgeous national parks. Capitalism is at its best and worst, but the enormous population testifies to just how worth it life in SoCal can be. Just know what you're getting into; there's no place like home. No matter where I am, Cali will forever be mine.