<p>So I live in Upstate NY, and I really think my top college choices are USC or Berkeley, and well, I'm kinda nervous about moving across the country, can anyone calm my fears?</p>
<p>I am from Upstate NY, went to undegrad in Mass., and immediately afterward went to Stanford.</p>
<p>My advice is to be prepared for culture shock. That always happens when one moves to a new region. That even happened when I moved to Mass., which was only about a 3 1/2 hour drive from my hometown.</p>
<p>Northern California differed from Upstate NY in that it was :more diverse, had more Asians and Hispanics, more obvious gays, was more laid back and more into liberal politics and environmental issues. I have not lived in Southern California, so can't comment on the differences between it and Upstate NY. However, all Californians say there are big differences between northern and southern Californians, so of course, there will be big differences between southern Calif. and Upstate NY.</p>
<p>Go there with an open mind and be flexible. Know that it's normal to take a few months to figure out and to adjust to a new environment. Realize that the skills that you learn at age 18 or 19 about adjusting to a new environment and making friends in a new situation will serve you well for a lifetime.</p>
<p>I actually lived in CA for a while and settling in the east coast has been quite an experience for me. It was a culture shock since VA is a conservative place. But I made my own friends and I live in a liberal dorm, so things have been better.</p>
<p>think about how hard it is to adjust for international students who flew all the way across the pacific or atlantic ocean...there is not that differnece between ny and cal both speak english(may not be true for cal but a lot of people do...)and stuff maybe weather might be the only big difference...</p>