<p>I am an international student, and I’m planning to apply for colleges both in the east and in cali. Some of my friends really don’t like the west coast, because they think that its full of pot-smokers and in general people aren’t as nice as in the east coast.</p>
<p>is there really a huge difference in general lifestyle between the east coast/midwest and the west coast?</p>
<p>As a west coast student who is studying on the east coast my general opinion would be that people smoke less weed on the east coast, but west coast people are MUCH more friendly. That said, I don’t smoke weed and have met plenty of great people on the east coast. Just apply to schools that you think will be a good fit, there will always be a wide range of people.</p>
<p>nah, people down the eastern seaboard smoke pot and are sometimes not nice too. </p>
<p>the east coast has some of the best universities/lac’s in the country and world, but the west coast also has top schools (stanford, ucla, berkeley, etc). if you’re trying to avoid a college full of pot smoking slackers, look at the individual school and not the coast its on.</p>
<p>west coast is warmer, and many people prefer the weather there. if you prefer 4 seasons and like to see snow, the northeast/upper midwest might be better for that. or if you want to come out east but like warmer weather, there’s plenty of good colleges down in virginia, the carolina’s, florida, etc. </p>
<p>warmer weather means a more laid back attitude and fun in the sun time…colder climates up north means more time indoors. also, the east is more known for the ivies and small LAC’s, which are often stereotyped as being full of rich new england prep-school kids (but the ivies are way more diverse than many lac’s in my experience). west coast is more known for its top public schools, like much of the UC system.</p>
<p>I’m from the midwest (the middle) and i prefer it over either coast. I find that the people are much more trustworthy and normal. The east coast is definitely stereotyped as being more “old money”, prestgious and stuck up. The west coast is known for being laid bck and taking little seriously.</p>
<p>The Northeast definitely falls into that sort of “rich WASPy” area stereotype… but not in EVERY area. But the fact of the matter is there are a lot of affluent people there, and most of them happen to be WASPs. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but there’s a reason the stereotype of the area being rich-white-man’s-land came to be.</p>
<p>The Mid-Atlantic is much more southern than New England. People are generally laid back (except in DC), and they’re friendlier (people complain of Washingtonians (including the suburbanites) being unfriendly, but that’s just because they’re always rushing somewhere and don’t stop to look at the people around them).</p>
<p>The South is where you’ve got that great southern hospitality. Some people unfortunately still have this idea that the South is full of racist rednecks, but in my experiences it really isn’t. Atlanta for example is a pretty diverse city if I’m not mistaken (it certainly seemed so the few times I’ve visited). People here (and in the Midwest and Mountain areas) are REALLY nice if you’re not pretentious. </p>
<p>And ah the West Coast. As a Washingtonian currently in Cali, it’s a pretty chill place. Supposedly the Pacific Northwest (Washington and Oregon) is very laid back and has lots of outdoorsy types. It’s also beautiful. As for California, it seems that the stereotype is that Northern Californians are more down-to-earth than Southern Californians, and SoCalers have a lot of SoCal pride (warmer weather than NorCal, supposedly more beautiful people, etc). People here seem pretty nice, but not much more so than I’ve noticed in DC.</p>
<p>Hehe, I think that a lot of the people who complain about DC are the ones who like to drive really slow and act clueless. And then they wonder why we get mad at them. The deal with the east coast south is that if you go into really backwoodsy desolate godforsaken places you’ll see some crazy racist rednecks with trash from 30 years ago in their front lawn along with their last 5 pickup trucks, but in the cities/suburbs it’s not like that at all.</p>
<p>This is true, at least the first sentence. I have actually found people in New Jersey to be friendlier than those in Washington State, where I previously resided. </p>
<p>Also, I find the South and Southwest far more beautiful than the Northwest. It all comes down to taste.</p>
<p>I don’t know how people on the west roll, but we on the east coast like to eat children.
That witch from Hansel and Gretel was totally an east coat native.</p>
<p>I’ve been across almost all the US and lived in a fairly evenly-distributed five states.</p>
<p>From my experiences, here’s what I found:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>People on one coast tend to think of those on the other to not be as nice. This is all due to some major cultural differences. Once you’ve stayed around for a year or so, you’ll notice that people on both coasts are nice, albeit in very different ways.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes, there is a lot more weed going on in the west, but it’s not non-existant in the east. This is especially true at my college (UC Berkeley). Whereever you go, decide to give that place a visit and see if it’s right for you. Yeah, weed happens down in UCLA also, but the vibe is quite different.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>It’s really just a significant cultural difference that you’ll quickly adapt to. On one end, both coasts (generally) speak the same language and consider themselves equally American. Yet, when places are separated by more than 2000 miles, there’s ought to be significant cultural differences. 2000mi is the distance between Germany and Greece! They call each other strange and far away places ;)</p>
<p>There’s a thread dedicated to this exact topic in HS Life forum. Actually it’s separated into four different threads: East Coast, West Coast, South, and Midwest.</p>
<p>Any region is generally accepting if you go to a big town. Small towns in the US, regardlesss of location, tend to be more homogenous than big cities so naturally they’re not as open. I’m not saying they dislike international students but rather, they’re not really used to people who aren’t like them.</p>
<p>In big cities, you tend to have a huge mix of cultures, ethnicities, nationalities and heritages.</p>
<p>West Coast rocks (coming from somebody who goes to school on the East Coast). Seriously, after not seeing the sun for a few weeks, the East Coast suddenly becomes a lot less attractive.</p>
you realize the East includes Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, right? east coast doesn’t mean snowy cabin in Vermont</p>
<p>i like the weather here in the mid-atlantic…in the fall, it’s crisp and cool the leaves change color, in the winter, we actually get snow, then it gets warm and rainy in the spring, and finally hot in the summer. I can’t imagine living where it’s warm or hot all year round. </p>
<p>if you’re worried about fitting in as an international student, go to a large university as opposed to smaller college in a small town. whoever said smaller places will be more homogeneous was right…people on both coasts are welcoming and friendly, just look at the individual college. and don’t forget about the Midwest/South, there’s good colleges there too</p>
<p>Guys its absurd to stereotype the whole Northeast as waspy. I’ve lived in the Northeast my whole life and I can tell you that Wasps make up maybe 1-2% of the population and live in only the richest towns. You guys are talking about the Northeast like Wasps are a noticeable part of every day life. They are not at all. You would have to go seeking out a Wasp enclave (like prep schools, select rich towns, etc.) to even really come across people that meet this stereotype. Would you ever call cities like NYC, Boston, Newark, etc. waspy? No, they are extremely diverse places. Most of the Northeast is still middle class towns.</p>