<p>Yeah don't worry. It's a school in the south with a "northern" feel...if that makes any sense to you</p>
<p>my roommate first semester in boston was from NC. about the 3rd week in we were talking about being a little homesick and missing friends and such. and she said "people just arent southern". someone mentioned the random smiling/waving at strangers and more southern mannerisms and stuff that just doesnt happen up here. shes transferring back home next semester. she wasnt from the middle of nowhere in NC either.. she was from a suburb of charlotte where a lot of people were "transplanted"</p>
<p>i laughed when she said the dining hall pizza was good. and she didnt know that there was a difference between real pizza and dominos. not to be steriotypical but she likes papa johns (puke in my mouth right now). a couple of people from my HS went to unc/duke and they had no trouble adjusting though. i personally dont think i would like life at a slower pace, and i like the cold in winter</p>
<p>Hm. Well I live in Louisiana, but I spend all of my summer and winter vacations with family in California. I'll say that the differences are huge. Not necessarily betweeen the people I hang out with, if you are open you can find like minded or interesting people in any region of the country, but between the feel of the community.
In Louisiana we monthly have huge issues with religion controlling everything, such as a few weeks ago when the Christian club sued my prinicipal because a Just For Jesus rally wasn't made a mandatory school holiday (it was basically a big great awakening-esque tent revival open only to Christians. The sad thing is many schools did cave and make it a mandatory thing to attend for students, even though it was on a school day). There is also a very obvious conservative majority, and racism is rampant, there are only two black kids out of 70 in my school's English IV AP classes, although the school is 65% African American, and this is considered normal. Although a ton of people don't fit this description, the underlying feel of the community is this.
The feel of California is so different that I know many of the very sheltered students at my school would have a complete culture shock.</p>
<p>This thread rocks because it poses a concern that plays a huge role in the college selection process but that often times, it's overlooked (ahem my case).</p>
<p>Anyway. I'm very patriotic. I mean... really patriotic. At random times throughout the week, my brother and I would blast out stuff like "Proud to be an American" and sing along and stuff. You get the picture. </p>
<p>I know I will have no problem finding that in say, Montana, but does patriotism exist in the Northeast? I have never been there so I wouldn't know. But you know... is it there? Or is it like nonexistant? Or would it be considered weird beyond belief? Obviously this is generally speaking.</p>
<p>Thanks guys!</p>
<p>As an international student ^ My main concern was going to an area where people would accept you and like you inspite of your differences. Coming from India i have prepared myself for the culture shock i'll face but it would make me really unhappy if i don't make friends.
My father who lived in the US for 12 years specifically told me not to apply to the south because of the racism there. Also i am a die hard liberal.
My mother who went to the US after her marriage to my father disliked the time they spent in Chicago but loved living in Baltimore.<br>
So that made up my decision of applying to most places in the north east near the boston area.</p>
<p>I know this is a bit off subject, but..</p>
<p>Dbate!! I wanna call you out..haha. I'm just curious what your response is to jsmall's arguments.</p>
<p>In the Midwest, one has to keep in mind that Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois are all here, all of which are cold, relatively liberal states. I'm not sure about the others, but the only thing a New Englander would have to get used to here in Michigan is the economy.</p>
<p>What would Easterners have to deal with when moving to Cali (curious since i applied ed to pomona)?</p>
<p>Is california anything like 2pac and Dre's song "California Love"?
YouTube</a> - 2 Pac feat. Dr. Dre - California Love / SUBSCRIBE TO US NOW!</p>
<p>I'm actually wondering the same as collegehopeful, I'm from jersey looking to go to california (USC). I have a ton of different friends and I'm not really worried about racism or anything thee (I'm black) just wondering mroe or less what should I get used to. As it is alot of my friends say I act kind of like a californian (however that is), but I think that's just because I chill and am laid back alot more than some of my friends.</p>
<p>I live in northern New England. It is not crowded here, nor is it racially diverse, and all of our pollution comes from coal-fired power plants in the midwest. <g></g></p>
<p>I know a kid who went to a private VA college of the type that used to be known for the "gentleman's C" and so forth specifically because he wanted a more conservative environment. He couldn't take the dominance of the drunken, racist frat boys--his mother's observations, not mine--and transferred after a year. I know another kid who is home from the first semester at another private southern school. This kid has been troubled by more overt racism than ever experienced here and also by evangelical Christian attitudes and remarks (the kid is Jewish, and latina racially although not by upbringing). The two kids I know who went to Florida had no issues as far as I know. Those are literally the only kids I can think of who went South recently. </p>
<p>The rest all stayed in the Northeast, or went to the midwest (Iowa, Minnesota, Chicago, Ohio, so diverse locations) or west. No issues for any of them, either.</p>
<p>I have lived in the midwest and spent considerable time there, one way or another. I've also spent some time on the west coast, and lived and gone to school abroad. I would observe that with the exception of Chicago and Minneapolis, I've encountered considerably more overt racism and anti-semitism there (not to mention anti-intellectualism and anti-Catholicism, and I'm neither Jewish nor Catholic) than on either coast. Or maybe that's just my husband's family and their friends! <vbg> My observation is that in the non-urban midwest people are "nice" as long as you conform and are not identifiably different from them racially, ethnically, or religiously.</vbg></p>
<p>I spent a year in Tennessee working after college and then returned to NJ. My mother kept saying "I can't believe it" for 15 minutes while I was driving. When I stopped the car to ask what she couldn't believe, she said, "Your driving is so much better and slower than before. Plus you just stopped to talk to me instead of yelling back the question!" After 6 months she started complaining about my driving and I did get a speeding ticket or two. Going to school in the South after growing up in the North does have benefits to society.</p>
<p>We have lived all over the USA and I think it would be much more difficult to GO TO the northeast. Here in the midwest, people are so laid back and VERY friendly and helpful. A lot of my kids' friends would get eaten alive in NYC or Boston! Not saying it's BAD, but the midwest kids just seem, on the whole, more naive, and the people here in the Midwest care much more about their neighbors and strangers as a whole. Sorry....</p>
<p>NativeNJ- I'm with ya. I grew up in the northeast, went to college and law school in the midwest, lived in Dallas for 28 years and have now lived in TN for 18 months. I get culture shock everytime I come back to the northeast. It's hard for me to adjust to the pace and the abruptness of everyone (I stopped calling it rudeness). When my paralegal got yelled at by the counter person at the Philly airport while she was trying to order a cheesesteak, I said, "Welcome to my hometown!"<br>
I think Tennessee is perfect. There are enough transplants to give it some diversity, but everyone is SO NICE!<br>
I don't think Texans should try to go to school in NYC or Philadelphia.</p>
<p>So any comments on NYC'ers going to schools like USC, Stanford, Pomona? How well would we fit in? I was hoping well. I am pretty laid back and lazy. Lying around in the park with friends is my form of physical activity. I always look foward to summer and I always end up being somewhat depressed in the winter. Would I be happier there? Are Cali people accepting?</p>
<p>I also like 2Pac more than Biggie. Will that help me in fitting into CA society.</p>
<p>I think East coast going to West coast wouldn't be that bad of a transition.
Of course, I am nor cal and live in the anomaly known an San Francisco =P
Mind my opinions because I'm still in high school.</p>
<p>The times I've been to socal, people are very nice, and very pretty.
I think that Californians in general are very accepting, especially in the large cities where you can come across any type of person imaginable.</p>
<p>Collegehopeful, I think you would LOVE socal, the weather is amazing there, especially the summer. This summer I went to visit socal colleges, the sun was out, and the campuses looked gorgeous.
And it wasn't like crazy hot, humid weather, just really bright and it was the perfect time to nap under the shade of a tree or something.</p>
<p>my sister's friend went to uchicago but eventually transferred to loyola marymount. she hated it in chicago, had trouble making friends, and was too west coast in fashion and music tastes to adjust</p>
<p>mizzou-mom, you are talking about the difference between people from an urban environment and people from a suburban/rural environment. </p>
<p>I can assure you that if you experienced life in the northern part of New England--Vermont, Maine, most of New Hampshire--you would find it vastly different from New York and Boston. Life in most of the midwest isn't like life in Chicago, either.</p>
<p>Our 2 cents-
When S. was looking, there were several southern schools that may have fit his criteria, but they were pretty heavy on greek life. This wasn't something he was interested in socially.
Second, and more important, the southern schools were less appealing due mostly to the weather. He's a runner, and hates the heat. 28 degrees here the other day, and he was out running in shorts...</p>
<p>lspf72, what about Duke?</p>