Los Angeles to San Francisco. It's 381.9 miles, a 12-hour train ride, a 6-hour drive, and 1-hour flight, but it might as well be worlds away. Growing up and Southern California and moving to Northern California for college has made me familiar enough with both to tell you the biggest differences between the two parts of one state.
1. Beaches
"Let's go to the beach!" Back home in SoCal, this is a question typically asked by bored teenagers on a hot summer afternoon when there isn't a cloud in the sky and it's at least 80 degrees outside. Here? People start throwing the idea around when it's 70 and the sun is out for about an hour. The water back home is literally trash, but the waves are good and the water is refreshing.
I can't even tell you about the water in NorCal because each time I've gone to the beach I've worn three layers. Despite all of this, I can honestly tell you that some of my favorite memories here in San Francisco have been on the beach way after sunset, surrounding a bonfire dug in the sand and made out of beer boxes.
When people think about California, they think of sunny beaches and palm trees that scream SOCAL. Sorry NorCal, but SoCal wins this one.
2. Weather
Goodbye Cali sun, hello Karl the Fog. That's right, in SF the fog is such a constant presence it's been given a name and its own Twitter account. I was so used to every single day
As I'm writing this, I have to tell you yesterday was hot enough for me to wear a dress and today I wore a lined jacket. Since San Francisco weather changes so frequently, I had to learn how to dress to accommodate to it. I could leave in the morning dressed like I'm heading into the tundra and come back sweating, with the sun beating down on you, wanting nothing more than to just change into shorts and lie in the sun.
Since a sunny day is a good day, SoCal takes this one too.
But living somewhere colder has taught me a lot about...
3. What NOT to wear
I could write a paper about this issue that I consider one of the biggest challenges in my life. Layering. LA life blessed me with the privilege of only having to own ONE jacket that I only broke out in late winter or as a fashion statement. I have five now.
Nothing in the world could have prepared me for actually needing to wear a jacket and dress for the colder weather. This plays a huge part in how people dress in these two cities. The overall aesthetic and style of LA and SF are so different. There's so much more to do with your clothes in a place that calls for more of them.
Since this category is a personal preference, so no judging will take place. You do you and work it either way.
4. City life
Los Angeles has a population of over 3 million while San Francisco is home to 864,816 people. LA is much more spread out and wide and SF is so much smaller and taller. I could point you in the direction of anything in San Francisco, but asking me about where anything in LA is will get you nothing but a blank stare and an "Uhhhh.." that trails off for minutes. Everything you would want to do in San Francisco is 45 minutes away by bus at most, making you feel like there's more to do.
I've spent so many weekends just going from place to place in SF. In LA, don't drive anywhere unless you're planning on staying there for a while. Entire days are made out of being in one place because of the size of the city. I could drive for an entire hour and stay in one place, which is usually stuck in traffic. The only downside of San Francisco city life is that everything closes at 10 pm.
Since there's so much to do in San Francisco, I think it deserves this category. If you're looking for hustle and bustle come to SF. If you want a more chill time, LA's your place.
And most importantly,
5. Slang
One word, one meaning: hella.
This word alone gives NorCal a win.
It's a tie!
You can't helo but compare a new place to the one you know best. Both cities, with all their differences, are home to me, and that's what really matters.
But completely off the record, this entire time I kept wanting to write NOcal.
