<p>NYC isn't superior to CA in every way. What that person was trying to get at was silicon valley, the center of technological innovation!</p>
<p>I don't know if you should so much be worried about "East coast culture shock" as "William and Mary culture shock"! What I mean is that while there are actually probably quite a few places on the East Coast that are cities, by the beach, laid back, whatever...the colleges you picked I think will definitely be a culture shock. Small LACs on beautifully manicured grounds in the middle of NOWHERE always have me looking for the exit, hehe :P.</p>
<p>The only one on that list I ever visited was W&M. It was weird because none of the girls were wearing jeans...everybody was kinda "dressed up". It was also really quiet and peaceful...which I guess is good...and then Williamsburg was a tourist haven, but unlike Manhattan Beach, there's nothing to do there. LOL. The whole area is very quaint and historical. Definitely too much of a culture shock for me...and I'm from Maryland. I always thought Boston College (campus...not the surrounding area) would have a similiar vibe.</p>
<p>But anyway, you are really lucky to have gotten into all those schools. They're all AMAZING and you'll get a great education at them.</p>
<p>I spent 21 years within 40 miles of NYC. I worked in NYC as did my sister and brother. I have also lived in Chicago, LA, Atlanta so I have a pretty good idea about cities in the US.</p>
<p>its definately true that social changes start on the west coast. i live in the midwest, so im not bias :)</p>
<p>Do not trust the opinions of anyone who calls California, "Cali." Obviously, they have not spent much time there.</p>
<p>From this native Cali girl who lived in upstate NY:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Buy your winter clothes in the East. The clothes are different fabrics, filling, etc. and are better suited to the climate. Use second hand shops if needed.</p></li>
<li><p>Learn to spray your shoes with waterproofing. Wet toes/socks are horrible.</p></li>
<li><p>The East is a bit more formal, be sure to have some "nicer" clothes for the few occasions where you'll need better than jeans and a hoodie.</p></li>
<li><p>You WILL adjust to the cold. I detest the cold, but on my first Christmas home from Syracuse, I had to practically strip at the airport. It was about 60 degrees and I was hot.</p></li>
<li><p>Consider the size of the campus. If your only transportation will be your feet, will you want to hoof through a spread out green (snow) space?? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Enjoy. You will find wonderful cultural, food, climate, and other differences. Congratulations on your acceptances and bravery to venture out of the Cali-centric West.</p>
<p>NYC is #1 except in the areas of movies and modesty.</p>
<p>You'll find the Northeasterners are a bit more confrontational, direct, and abrasive (they aren't necessarily like this intentionally...it's just the way things go there). They also tend to be quite proud and defensive about their hometowns (the NY/NJ crowd which infests every decent college in the country isn't shy about telling you NYC makes every other city seem like a village).</p>
<p>The good news is that Brown and BC each have a pretty high % of students from California and other non-northeastern states. Certainly William and Mary would have a majority of Virginians, who seem to be not-quite Southern if they are from the DC area, and not-quite Northeastern if they are from elsewhere. So they would seem to be a fairly easy bunch to deal with. I'd guess Vassar would be the one with perhaps the biggest culture shock potential...but even it would be a breeze compared to, say, Rutgers.</p>
<p>I love Manhattan Beach. Great boutiques. A Starbucks almost right next to a Coffeebean. Kitten. Barbie K. True Religion. The Beach. The Beach. I should go there tomorrow morning.</p>
<p>:]</p>
<p>I've live in CA, NYC, Andover MA, in China and I've traveled lots. There is no place that has CA's weather or close. I love NE foliage and the first snow, There are many things I love about NYC and I'd love to live there for a long time, but the weather isn't even close. When I went home for breaks from MA I was always startled by the unrelenting sunshine, the clear blue skies, that a sweater was unneeded in January. </p>
<p>I wished I liked other things about CA as much as the weather but I don't so I'll probably never live there full time again. But I will always escape there in winter for a dose of sun.</p>
<p>Brown, BC, W&M, and Vassar -</p>
<p>Vassar is the most 'different' on the list. I personally would be drawn to Brown or BC. W&M seems cool, but I wouldn't be able to stand the climate, 90 degrees with 90% humidity sucks, at least in my opinion. But I'm from Michigan, and I <em>shock</em> enjoy winter and things like that. BC is in Boston which would be cool, but Brown is the best school on your list, BC the 'worst'.</p>
<p>What school do YOU like? That is the real question.</p>
<p>I grew up in California (NorCal), went to school in NH and that was culture shock. But more due to the preppy privileged conservative nature of the school than a general east coast thing; returned to California to finish my undergrad; move to the east coast for graduate school and have lived out east ever since.</p>
<p>As for weather, I like that the east coast has four seasons, not just wet season and dry season.</p>
<p>I also find that people on the east coast are generally much friendlier than Californians. Like genuinely friendly -- willing to talk to a stranger, answer questions. I don't know what the smaller towns are like but the cities I'm most familiar with, Baltimore and New York, are so much more pleasant than the Bay Area or LA as far as the people go.</p>
<p>After I was on the E Coast for awhile CA started to look strange to me. People less engaged in community. Few traditions. Everyone is from somewhere else be it the MW or Korea. There is less neighbor interactions. Schools are bad and they only do something about it in rich towns. Everyone's an iconoclast. Californians give the least to charity and many have million dollars plus homes and high end cars (much more popular in CA) and make their kids go to UCs.</p>
<p>barrons: "Nyers are too busy trying to be cool Euros."</p>
<p>What an asinine thing to say.
imbecile</p>
<p>East coast-west coast well my sister went to school in westchester,ny called LI,ny her family home until post college 2 months after graduation they(her and friend moved to la and shortly afterwards(5-6 months later)moved to Laguna(my home.....i consider my old town my old sleepaway camp and laguna my 3 homes b4 i consider My new town a home) big difference but my sister hated snow w/ a passion and as u can imagine that was a problem if u lived in NY</p>
<p>haha lesmizzle i love your location...You know youre from Long Island when....</p>
<p>It can be a big change when experiencing a different coast, both in terms of weather and people. I have lived for about 4 years each in (chronological order) Boston, NYC, LA and San Francisco (currently residing). They are all great cities, but each have a different feel.</p>
<p>It's a good idea to experience the East Coast if you're from California at least once in your life. Even if you are longing for home (as was the case for 9 out of 10 California transplants I knew) you will be grateful for the different experience, especially in college.</p>
<p>This is basically the best thread I've ever seen on CC. I've lived in Manhattan Beach my entire life and I am currently a freshman at Wake Forest in North Carolina. As far as adjusting I definitely agree that people on the east coast (although I hate to generalize) tend to not be as laid back about certain social issues which is actually one of the the things that probably bothers me the most. I also agree that people dress a lot more conservatively and as another post said get dressed up a lot more than most people in mb do. As far as weather, you will miss it, but you also have the opportunity to experience different types of weather. I can't even tell you how excited I was when we had a snow day here. Jackets I also agree should be bought when you get to whatever school you choose. I would also get a lot of long sleeved shirts before you come. I knew that I wanted to go to college on the east coast, mainly because I felt like I didn't appreciate california as much as I thought I should. Now I do, but not necessarily in a way that makes me regret coming here. I love the feeling I get now when I'm home. I feel like I've really expanded my mind and overall, feel like I've lived life more. By the way I'm Costa right?</p>
<p>It's different. Guys that work at 7-11 wear ties.
People from the rural area are genuinely nice, the city people are so rude. Sorry for the generalization but it was definitely my impression.
I had a heart time getting use to the New England accent. I seriously did not understand what they were saying. It can be frustrating when you have to report a car stolen.</p>
<p>anyone go from norcal to socal here? experience much of a difference?
im going from the bay to la next year and am curious if theres a difference in the overall atmosphere.</p>
<p>"barrons: "Nyers are too busy trying to be cool Euros."</p>
<p>"What an asinine thing to say.
imbecile"</p>
<p>I have to agree with Barrons here. But you gotta respect Kafka's brilliant and logical rebuttal.</p>