It’s tough moving to a new city: nothing is like home and everything seems inadequate. So why is it, for example, as difficult for someone to move to Chicago from New York as it is for someone to move from New York to Chicago? In the end it’s a matter of preference. We desire the things we grew up with and we hold on to the memories of old, fighting the differences that arise at a new location. No matter where you are from, you will probably find yourself saying the following when you move away from your hometown.
1. “We have better food back home.”
Try telling a kid from Chicago that your New York style pizza is better than his deep dish. Good luck convincing a former resident of Buffalo that you have better chicken wings than Anchor Bar, it won’t go well. You will always have the foods that your town makes better than any other—but really no one makes better wings than Anchor Bar.
2. “The weather here sucks.”
It sounds silly, I know. You would think that a northerner would move to South Beach and be grateful for perpetual 80 degree sunny days, but it doesn’t always work like that. After a while they’ll miss the leaves changing colors in the fall and the snowy holidays and skiing weather. On the other hand, bring someone from California to Cleveland and you will hear complaints about the cold the minute it dips below 75 degrees. So basically, September to April.
3. “There’s nothing to do here.”
There’s always something to do, no matter where you go. However, when you move, you have to learn the new things to do in your new city—and that takes time. Sure you know every great restaurant or music festival back home, but I guarantee there are concerts and places to dine wherever you end up; you just may not know of them yet. Regardless, bring a farmer to the city and he won’t know what to do with the millions of options around him. But if you send him back home, he’ll show you a good ol’ time with his tractor and his 40 cows.
4. “It’s too dangerous here.”
Yes there are different levels of crime in every city. And yes, Los Angeles is more dangerous than New Hampshire or Portland. I won’t blame anyone for thinking that way, especially if they lived in a rural community for 18 years before finding themselves in the center of a metropolis. I will say, it’s ironic to hear a kid from Chicago talk about how the dangers of Cleveland.
5. “The traffic here is terrible.”
There are different types of traffic and you are only equipped to handle one. California traffic is a pain for anybody that doesn’t live in California. Trying to drive through Baltimore during rush hour? Forget it. And let’s not forget about the "Mass-holes" driving in Boston. I apologize in advance for not being able to drive well on paved over one-way cow paths that don’t follow a grid system. I guess I’ll just have to yell mean spirited mad-libs to the drivers who cut me off there.
6. “We don’t have to deal with that back home.”
If you live far enough in the North East, you have little concept of tornado alley. Hurricanes are storms with names to everybody not fearing for their lives near the Gulf of Mexico. Earthquakes are almost common in some areas, but if you don’t live on a fault-line you might think that the world is coming to an end when the Richter scale fails to reach 4.0.
7. “Everyone has an accent.”
No. I’m sorry, but YOU are the one with the accent. Your South Jersey “a” and your southern drawls stand out worse than Versace jeans would on "Eight Mile." Not saying you have to change it, but don’t go pointing fingers saying I have an accent when you’re in my city.
8. “I need _______.”
Being from Buffalo, I have withdrawal issues when separated from Tim Hortons. If you left the West Coast, you may be dreaming of an In & Out burger until the day you get home. There will always be the place that you will think about while you’re away—Please put a Tim Hortons in every major U.S. city for all of us who have moved from Western New York, we really need it to function.
Despite disagreeing about aspects of each of our hometowns, we can always agree that our town is better.
