<p>thats funny... I just moved from CT to CA and I am just starting to fit in after a year. People are really different.</p>
<p>^^ There is a huge amount of people from the Bay area who live in LA and vice-versa (Southwest flights from Oakland to Southern California leave every 15 minutes) So they are more similar than different (especially when compared to the rest of the country)</p>
<p>Some broad generalizations would be that Bay area people are food and wine obsessed while LA people are weather and beach obsessed. The neighborhood you live in LA or the Bay area also affects the overall atmosphere.</p>
<p>Why would you leave cali :'(</p>
<p>Was definitely weather shock back in the day, but I don’t know a sole who was happy to have weathered the E. Coast top schools for the opportunities they got.</p>
<p>My daughter wanted the away experience so she went from Calif to Brown. Brown was a great experience for her and she didn’t comment on any culture shock, the student body is from everywhere. It has a casual and laidback vibe in general, although there are definately some girls who are sharp dressers. She found the first year adjustment hard, but not because of being East so, much. Just not having your own network of close friends, she picks them carefully. And the courseload was hard, partially her own fault. By sophmore year she found a group to room with who had similar academic interests and everything else was smooth. </p>
<p>The weather didn’t bother her at all and all she used were her snowboard jacket and a cute cloth 3/4 length coat she bought on sale from J. Crew at the Providence Mall. Knit hats yes, I don’t think she ever got boots. She found it milder than expected, but the winter may have just been mild ones her years.</p>
<p>The city is immediately accessable, but the college has a semi isolated feel as it sits on a hill the otherside of the river from downtown. On college hill there are some good little neighborhood streets with cafes and such. DD got around by bike for classes and shopping. She liked to bike the East Bay trail along the coast for exercise and to get out of town. Often biked to Newport, that takes a few hours. You can bus it home.</p>
<p>The academics are fairly intense, I suppose it depends on what you take. She absolutely loved her major. The opportunities for research with your professors is astounding, it is usually just a matter of expressing interest.</p>
<p>*I personally think people are friendlier in California than in the East Coast. Although you may argue it depends on the individual, *</p>
<p>Yes…it’s not 100% either way…but Californians overall are friendlier people.</p>
<p>There are definitely some cultural differences and some cultural similarities. Of course you will meet a range of people wherever you go. Depending on where you find yourself, both the east and the west have a great deal of cultural diversity. To my East Coast eyes, the landscape is very beautiful but the culture of the west seems rather thin and somehow atomized. There does seem to be a greater friendliness, but less neighborliness. More playfulness, but less commitment. More ideas, but less work at making them happen. Not universally true, of course. Silicon Valley’s achievements have been amazing. But I have had a strange sense that despite the cheerful friendliness, there can be a sense of isolation and loneliness out there that’s hard to break through. In the east, sometimes it feels as if it’s harder to get close at first, but once you do, there’s a greater sense of trust and commitment. But of course everywhere, people are people, so this is purely anecdotal!!</p>