<p>Yes, folks from SoCal who go back East come to appreciate good public transit.
Traffic can be bad in SoCal but often you can mitigate it by knowing how to go and when to go...the former not always being terribly obvious. (You go south then north to go east? Yes...sometimes.)</p>
<p>I did notice that there was public transportation (Metro??) in LA when we were driving around, but I was not sure how extensive it is or where exactly it goes.</p>
<p>Generally, not very good. I do know that kids in Pasadena take buses into LA. Its certainly not like Boston</p>
<p>My kids (we live in L.A.) took the Metro and buses for kicks but not to actually get anywhere if that makes sense.</p>
<p>So much does depend on the individual, but I do agree that adjusting to a different culture, climate & foods is part of getting used to living somewhere new. From HI, most kids go either to CA, WA, OR followed by the east coast & a few in the midwest.<br>
I have heard of folks adjusting easily & having a hard time adjusting to each different place. So much depends on the individual. Much also depends on rural vs. urban in adjusting.<br>
A positive attitude really makes all the difference. College is a great time to try new & exciting things & try out new options.</p>
<p>LA is so spread out that buses really aren't tenable unless you're going on a straight line. People who have to take 2-3-4 buses lose incredible amounts of time with the transfers, not to mention that unless you're taking an Express from someplace to, say, Downtown, the buses are caught in the same traffic that the cars are. The subway is slowly growing but still very developmental, i.e., the lines don't extend far enough to soak up major amounts of traffic. Some of the non-LA cities like Santa Monica and Culver City have very good bus systems but they cover only the Westside. However, a number of their lines do terminate at UCLA, which is helpful for students getting their from off-campus apartments that may be a distance away.</p>
<p>Much of the west does not have very good mass transit--SF with Bart & limited connecting bus service is a notable exception. LA is trying to grow some transit & has limited bus & shuttle service serving USC & a light rail system that goes out near Pasadena. Davis has it's own bus system, paid for thru student fees that helps students get between campus & housing & points of interest. Don't know much about much other transportation in the west.</p>
<p>An important note about cars on the West Coast, especially CA. They will not stop for people walking through crosswalks. The "look both ways before you cross the street" idea is incredibly necessary here. Don't go if you see a car coming. I'm a CA native, and the first time I was crossing a street near Williams College, I was amazed that the cars stop for the walkers. Very strange.</p>
<p>Another note comes from a friend from NC. She was somewhat terrified the first time I drove her somewhere and switched three lanes at a time. (Hey, it was late and there was barely anyone on the freeway!). She had never been on a highway with more than two lanes before. By the end of the year she wouldn't grip her seat every time I switched lanes, but it took awhile.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The subway is slowly growing but still very developmental, i.e., the lines don't extend far enough to soak up major amounts of traffic.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I have yet to use the subway once. Seriously.</p>
<p>I want to...just for the novelty.</p>
<p>To give some perspective on going from West to East (hey, who knows...it may help!), I'd have to say that the biggest change really was the density of everything. I was so used to the sprawling suburbia that is the LA Basin that I was shocked to live in places where you could actually not have to spend 45 minutes just driving to the doctor's office. It's really interesting looking back at my East Coast time and realizing how little time I spent commuting.</p>
<p>Please feel free to PM me if you'd like. S did the East- to West-Coast thing. He's a senior this year at Mudd. :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
the first time I was crossing a street near Williams College, I was amazed that the cars stop for the walkers.
[/quote]
Don't expect that to happen in Boston.</p>
<p>"An important note about cars on the West Coast, especially CA. They will not stop for people walking through crosswalks."</p>
<p>LOL, coming from Boston and NYC I had the exact opposite experience, cars screeched to a stop if I put a toe near a crosswalk. I had a hard time getting used to it! (This was 20+ years ago however.)</p>
<p>Coming from NoVA to Madison one of the things that I noticed was that people, including young people, thanked the bus driver when they got off. AND, the bus drivers usually responded "your welcome." THis usually occurrs on the non-campus routes. On campus the buses are often too crowded for people to feel kindly towards the driver or the driver to the students. </p>
<p>Good bus transportation here especially close in. University students and employees have free bus passes.</p>
<p>My experience too, mathmom. After driving Manhattan to NJ and back twice a day for a couple years, I became a somewhat "assertive" driver. When my H and I ended up in West LA some years later, he was appalled when I tapped my horn to warn some pedestrians not to step into the street as I was approaching (something I considered the prudent thing to do in NYC if you wanted to actually move your car through an intersection.) Can't do that here, he told me, you gotta stop for pedestrians who step into the crosswalk. It took ssome adjusting. Then again, this was also about 13 years ago so maybe driving habits have changed since then.</p>
<p>visiting boston nyc and dc, from sf, I spent time reminding girls that it was different on the eastcoast and its walkers beware, unlike SF, where cars do stop for walkers, do pay attention, but where walkers walk SLOW across the street, don't get me started</p>
<p>To Wis75, yes that is actually a very big issue. It's so difficult because essentially Ontario and Quebec have enough votes that even if every other single province or territory voted another way, it wouldn't matter which means politicans cater to those two provinces and it creates a lot of resentment.</p>
<p>I've actually never heard a canadian say 'a boot'. There is a canadian dipthong or some such thing that makes some canadians and northern americans say 'a boat' but I've never noticed. But then again my accent is quite varied being that I've lived abroad and quite close to the states so who knows!</p>
<p>The "Canadian" pronunciation of "about" reflects the Scotch-Irish origin of a majority of settlers in and 19th Century immigrants to southern Ontario and the Maritimes. I don't think it's universal in western Canada.</p>
<p>I agree with the earlier post- in LA, smaller bus lines are more efficient and certainly cheaper if you're a student. There are ways to get a student pass for Metro, but it's a headache. Anyways, it's three dollars for a day pass, whereas the Santa Monica lines are as low as 25cents with a UCLA ID. They're very frequent too, so even if you miss one, there's another one at least 15 minutes away. The subway is awesome- if you happen to be going somewhere along the line. It goes to such a limited area that generally won't take you where you're going. You'll need to transfer onto a bus line, which defeats the convenience/speed of a subway in the first place. They've been talking about expanding the subway to the westside, but they've been talking about it for decades. However, they DID extend the subway to the San Fernando Valley (Warner Center), and to Pasadena, and they're in the construction stages of extending it to east LA. So it's coming...even if it's really slow.</p>
<p>Here in the Boston area, cars don't necessarily stop if pedestrians are crossing the road; in turn, pedestrians are notorious jaywalkers. We deserve one another!</p>
<p>I and NYC visitors were amazed when we decided to go for an early morning stroll while in Vancouver. The lights turned green, but there was no car on the road. We East Coasters decided to cross. A couple of locals waited patiently until the lights turned red.</p>
<p>Noone has mentioned seasonal affective disorder as a problem - but I think it warrants a mention! For us Southerners, sunlight starts early and ends late. I have heard of kids from Austin having trouble adjusting to the shorter days and lack of sunshine is places such as Maine and Mass.</p>