NY vs CA

jason's cousin, melissa & her sweet family, just moved to idaho about 4 months ago. she did a fun post about the differences between idaho & california.

it was so fun to read & it has inspired me to do a TOP 10 list of differences between california & new york! especially because we get asked ALL the time what are the differences between california & new york?

don't get me wrong...i loved the snow. but, i'm not sad to see it go. 

1. the weather. obvious! but, seriously, the weather is nuts is NYC. i have come to realize you have to earn your seasons. you have to make it through winter to earn spring & then through summer to earn fall. in california 97% of the time the weather is well pretty perfect! at least by my standards of weather taste. you know you have lost some of your california street cred when your feet are raw from wearing flip flops because it has been that long. flip flops use to be my most favorite thing to wear! currently, not so much!

2. public transportation is a crucial part of life in the city. i realize this is not true outside of the city, it is much like california. cars driving in traffic. however, here, where we are, we have just a few options for getting around town. our feet (sometimes you just DON'T want to walk one.more.step), the subway (train), the bus (totally not like taking a bus in LA) or a taxi (far to expensive to be doing all the time). Although, i don't miss driving all that much, sometimes i do miss the convenience of hoping in a car & just going. and to be honest, public transportation is not much faster than sitting in the nastiness of LA traffic. for example, my commute to work is about 3.5 miles & takes me 35-40 mins! my old commute was 33 miles & would take 40mins-1 hour. now, i get that i am not driving BUT i am also smushed on a subway between people touching, pushing and sometimes sweating on me.

 

3.  rent is killer in NYC. jason & i both have wondered how SO many people can even afford to live in the city. california is obviously, not a low rent state. but, new york makes california seem reasonable. jason has slipped and said multiple times "we have to pay our mortgage." funny, short of. let's just say we could be purchasing a $700,000 dollar home for the amount we pay each month. painful. yes, there are cheaper places. guess what you get with many of those more affordable locations? house guests, rats & roaches. uh, will pass! Oh & we might as well of purchased a home because they asked us more questions than we i actually bought a condo in CA.

4. this one will be a combo. no in-n-out (or target or nordstrom for that matter). enough said. seriously, though, they do have the shake shack. which is the burger everyone in NYC compares other burgers too. it's good & definitely gives us a slight ease on our in-n-out cravings. hands down, nothing tastes like in-n-out. with that said, an enormous perk of new york is we just don't really eat much fast food. in california i felt almost forced sometimes to eat fast food because CA lacks healthy, quick-stop options for dining. in new york, they have make your own salad bars on literally every other block (if not more). LOVE that.

5. road trips in new york mean leaving the state. how awesome is that? we definitely want to take advantage of all the amazing places that are just a few hours away. boston (we really want to go back), D.C., philly, rhode island. we could get all the way to north carolina in the same time it takes to go from LA to SF.  not to mention the in-state hot spots, the hamptons, niagara falls...now we just need to find the time to knock these adventures off our list.oh-almost forgot to mention the fist pumping state that offers up jersey shore each summer! we have to go to the shore at least once, just to say we've been. fun fact - did you know jersey shore is the entire coast of new jersery? not just one section of beaches? anyone going to the california shore this weekend?

6. california is SO chill compared to the pace of NYC. new york is constant hustle & bustle. the bars are open until 4am, two full hours later than in LA. not that we care. however, the young crowd of nyc cares & lives up every minute of those extra two hours. restaurants are crazy busy at 9pm at night. some restaurants you cannot get a reservation until 10:30pm. the streets are always jam packed with people weaving in & out of each other like the 405 freeway. with the hectic pace comes so-much-noise. constant honking (you can tell the no honking $350 fine signs are very effective!), constant street traffic & constant sirens. it feels like your days are on fast forward here...they just GO! not a BIG fan of that because i feel like i can't savor the moments.

7. customer service is TERRIBLE here. wait let me rephrase this. hmmm. okay, so high-end establishments have exceptional service. however, your every day places, grocery stores...starbucks, have non-existent customer service. to the point i have said hello and gotten no response. to the point that when kristen, linds & erica were out here a lady laughed in our faces for asking her where we could find a public restroom & then told her co-worker "these stupid girls asked me where a restroom was!" to the point where jason & i stopped in a place to grab a drink & the cashier said to her co-worker "i told you **bad word here** stay away from my register" then looked at us and said "what do you want?" OH-okay. toto i don't think we are in california anymore. always remember (as said by MANY new yorkers! they are not rude people. they are direct). i my opinion, i think it is just rude.

 8. NYC offers amazing entertainment 7 nights a week. jason and i have definitely taken advantage of the fabulous shows that happen just two (express) subway stops away from us almost every.single.night. on Broadway. we have already seen about 7 shows. and still plenty on our list of must-sees!

 9. when we first were here looking for places, our broker said don't worry too much about the kitchen or if it has laundry. people here go out to eat or order in almost every night & they just send their laundry out. at which point, the lady showing us the apartment, said she is completely right! i always send my laundry out & i don't have anything in my fridge right now. plus, when you do grocery shop, they will just deliver it to you. my response - sassy - but just kinda slipped right out "so, does anyone in NYC do anything for themselves?" Oops. We have been here for 7 months now. And, we have sent laundry out, only because it really is cheaper than using the building laundry which is $5 a load. madness. but, i do my own grocery shopping & we eat at home 3-4 times a week. even if we wanted to eat out every night, we wouldn't. it is at least $50 a meal for dinner, for the two of us! and we don't drink! we could never save a single penny if we were eating out like that all the time. not to mention, i really enjoy cooking & eating at home! and hello people? just do your own grocery shopping.

10. And drum roll please...the ONE thing i know will eventually break my husband and finally return me to CA. brace yourselves people...it's a BIG deal and he is not kidding. if the lakers air in our area, which only happened about 20 out of 82 games, they do not come on until 10:30 or 11pm at night! that three hour time change has been a killer in my husband's sports watching profession. how can his fanhood truly continue when he is so far away?! he has been forced to watch the nets & knicks, two of the worst teams in the league!

so there you have, our TOP 10 list of NY vs CA. this list could truly go on & on but for now...it will stop here. hope you enjoyed it!

happy sunday to you all!

AND go LAKERS! we actually get to watch them play today!