Is California That Different from the East Coast?
@DeborahDiane (40357)
Laguna Woods, California
May 16, 2016 10:24pm CST
When our youngest daughter was visiting here recently from her home in Delaware, she commented that visiting California was so different from the East Coast that it was like going on vacation to a foreign country that just happens to use the same money and the English language.
She said this after her husband asked if he should wear slacks to a beach restaurant where we were planning to eat before spending the afternoon at the beach. We assured him that his knee length swim trunks and a t-shirt would be fine in the restaurant ... that teenage boys even wear their board shorts to school so they can go straight to the beach and surf after school without needing to change.
I know we are casual here in California but, other than that, are we really like a foreign country to the rest of the nation? After all, about 1 out of 11 Americans currently live in California! 
15 people like this
18 responses
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
17 May 16
It's the continental tilt. All the loose people tumble into our state (raising the prices of housing in the process). I wish the rate of moving west would slow down or stop. We're full already!
5 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 May 16
@ElizabethWallace - Ha ha! I love the continental tilt theory as to why so many people move to California!
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
18 May 16
@JohnRoberts We are all immigrants here. My family came in the late fifteen early sixteen hundreds, but they too came from somewhere else. I just wish there was a law that all people who came here from somewhere else were required to take English classes. It would benefit them and the country if they did.
3 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
17 May 16
Amen to that! We are overflowing and it's primarily immigrants.
2 people like this
@CrazyAnimaLady (279)
• United States
17 May 16
We're pretty darn different here in California, but I'm in norcal and socal seems like a different country to me. lol
5 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
17 May 16
This has always been the case. Warmer climates and cooler climate change the culture. I remember when people in NoCal wore hats and gloves outside (and not just when it was cold). At the same time, in SoCal no one wore hats or gloves, except on Easter Sunday.
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
17 May 16
Yes, I am SoCal and NoCal is definitely an alien civilization lol!
6 people like this
@CrazyAnimaLady (279)
• United States
17 May 16
@ElizabethWallace Up here anything over eighty is boiling and is totally hated. And we don't consider it cold until puddles are ice.
4 people like this
@Marcyaz (35316)
• United States
17 May 16
It is a whole different culture when you live on the East Coast and then go to the West Coast. In California it is much more relaxed in what you wear when you go out for a casual day or evening. In the East Coast you don't go to a restaurant or to school in just any old thing like in California.
4 people like this
@Marcyaz (35316)
• United States
19 May 16
@DeborahDiane
Definitely not as many.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 May 16
@Marcyaz - I agree that there is more pressure to dress up when you live in the East. There are certain restaurants and places on the West Coast that are dressy, but not as many.
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 May 16
@Marcyaz - I agree that there are only a few places where I have to worry about dressing up here in California. Even our church is a one where most of the women where slacks and sweaters, and the men where Hawaiian shirts in the summer.
@LadyDuck (472433)
• Switzerland
19 May 16
@DeborahDiane Exactly, there are places where you can dress-up to go out, which is not the case in most places in Florida. I remember that even at the Sheraton and the Marriott in Fort Lauderdale, people dressed in the evening like they were on the beach.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 May 16
@LadyDuck - Thank you for saying that California is more sophisticated. I think it depends on where you are and what you are doing, but there are definitely some upscale places where people dress-up here.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 May 16
@LadyDuck - Casual clothes are pretty normal here, too. There are a few exceptions ... for example, if you are having dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel or someplace like that. However, 99% of places here are pretty casual.
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (51131)
• United States
17 May 16
I have never been to California. I wouldn't think that it would be that different, but maybe.
4 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
17 May 16
It is very different, far more sophisticated, but very casual. People are more independent and move often.
6 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 May 16
@Tampa_girl7 - I have to admit that I was very surprised to hear my own daughter say that the two coasts are so different. I need to ask her what she meant.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 May 16
@ElizabethWallace - I think you summed up some of the differences very well ... that California is sophisticated, but very casual. People here are independent and move often, too.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
18 May 16
It has pretty much always been that way it seems to me. The whole west coast is quite different than back east (and the mid-west). Even the oceans are different. The Atlantic coast is much calmer as far as surf goes. I am glad of the differences.
3 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
19 May 16
@DeborahDiane There is nothing in the US like the west coast.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 May 16
@JamesHxstatic - Yes, the oceans are different, I agree. When I was growing up in the Midwest, I couldn't wait to grow up and move to California. It has always seemed like Paradise to me ... even though my husband and I moved to Texas for a number of years, because of his job.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (184373)
• United States
17 May 16
It is different for sure,,,but I don't know if I would go that far. I guess other than the extreme dryness, the thing that surprised me the most about California...is that central and Northern California are really quite cool in places. However, like 10 miles away it is very warm. There are so many climate zones.
3 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 May 16
@snowy22315 - There are a number of different climates in California ... mountains, desert, coastal, wet areas in the north, dry areas in the south, etc.
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
17 May 16
Our weather people really earn their money. They report on several different micro-climates each day.
4 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 May 16
@ElizabethWallace - I agree. It has to be extra hard to be a weatherman or woman in California!
@hereandthere (45643)
• Philippines
17 May 16
yes, knee length swim trunks and t-shirts to a restaurant and board shorts to school sounds really casual to me! is it the same in florida? and hawaii?
3 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 May 16
@hereandthere - I would guess that it is the same in Hawaii, but I don't know about Florida.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
17 May 16
well, 't least he asked, eh? poor dear, i'd been'n the same boat's him. that bein' said, durin' brandin' season folks're prone to showin' 'p't eatin' places quite disheveled 'n nobody seems to mind :)
since i aint ne'er been out yer direction, i can't honestly say?
3 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
19 May 16
@DeborahDiane no ma'am, i'd not do well there't all 
. i'd've the need to be heavily sedated jest to make't from the airport to yer house, lol.
i lived'n nashville fer some time back'n the day 'n that 'twas more'n 'nough "big city" fer me.
. i'd've the need to be heavily sedated jest to make't from the airport to yer house, lol.
i lived'n nashville fer some time back'n the day 'n that 'twas more'n 'nough "big city" fer me.1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 May 16
@crazyhorseladycx - Ha Ha! I love the description that you would have to be heavily sedated to make it from the airport to my house! I guess 12 lane highways are not right for you! LOL (And I'm always complaining that they need to add more lanes to handle all the traffic!) 
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 May 16
@crazyhorseladycx - I have to admit that I am not sure you would like the crowds, 12 lane highways, heavy traffic and long drives. It takes a while for anyone to get used to.
3 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
3 Oct 16
@TheHorse - Yes, there are ways that California is different, but not always in the ways that other people think.
@just4him (318927)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
17 May 16
How is that possible? Your state would be overcrowded. California is different. When I lived in San Diego, they didn't even like foreigners - people who came from other states. They preferred natives - born and raised in California. That was my experience when I lived there.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 May 16
@just4him - Yes, it is amazing to know that one in eleven Americans live in California, isn't it. I agree, it does make our state very crowded, especially around San Francisco and Los Angeles. People who were born in California are very proud of that fact ... but the number of people from other states far outnumber the natives!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 May 16
@just4him - No, I am not a California native, although I have lived here a total of about 20 years. I grew up in Missouri, moved to California when I graduated from college, lived here for four years, then my husband and I moved to Texas for 25 years, and we moved back here to California 16 years ago. I loved many things about all the places we lived, but I especially love living in Southern California.
1 person likes this
@just4him (318927)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
19 May 16
@DeborahDiane Are you a native?
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 May 16
@JudyEv - Yes, it does make a difference whether we are doing something in the city, especially San Francisco, or whether we are in the country or near the beach, here.
1 person likes this
@Dena91 (16797)
• United States
17 May 16
When we visit family out there it certainly seems different than the east coast. That said when I moved from the northeast to the southeast it was a complete change too. That's what I love about our country, each state and region has their own things that make them unique from each other. Have a blessed day
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 May 16
@Dena91 - It is true that our country has many regional differences!
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
17 May 16
Our beaches are much sunnier than the east coast. We have the surfer mentality. Another comparison is the Gulf coast is different from east and west coasts.
3 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 May 16
@JohnRoberts - Ahhh! Yes, our beaches tend to be very sunny, especially in Southern California where it rains so rarely (although we could certainly use a little!)
@beenice2 (2967)
• Sackville, New Brunswick
19 Feb 17
@DeborahDiane Very interesting. One of my brothers lives in California, and he finds it too hot in the Summer time.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 Feb 17
@beenice2 - In that respect the two coasts are very different. We almost never get cold enough, even for a light dusting of snow, although it has happened a couple of times in the past 20 years.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 Feb 17
@beenice2 - I can see how someone from Canada might think that. We moved here from Texas, however, and it was MUCH hotter in Texas, so we enjoy the California summers. It all depends on what you are used to.
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 May 16
@jstory07 - I agree that people throughout the U.S. are more casual than they used to be.
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
28 May 16
I've never been to your state but from what I see in movies, on TV and news you are different. You are warm, the east coast has winter even in the south, maybe not snow but too cold to swim. A lot of places require clothes instead of swimsuits. You are a long way away, like a foreign country....
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (222313)
• Walnut Creek, California
30 Sep 16
@DeborahDiane I think abut this too. And our "Spring" occurs in February.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
29 May 16
I do feel amazed sometimes, when I am walking on the beach in January wearing my "heavy" winter clothes of a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, while other people are experiencing blizzards and wearing down jackets.
2 people like this
@sathviksouvik (19919)
•
17 May 16
Thanks Deborah for the share. The picture is very good and place must be beautiful too.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 May 16
@sathviksouvik - We love living here in California. It is a beautiful state!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40357)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 May 16
@sathviksouvik - Thank you. I think California is a pretty great place to live!
1 person likes this
@sathviksouvik (19919)
•
19 May 16
@DeborahDiane Thanks Deborah for the share. Yes the pictures show California to be a great state.
1 person likes this
