Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Calfornian vs New Yorkers
During my recent trip to California, I have realize that even though we all live in the same country there is a different culture in California than in New York. In New York, everything is very fast pace. Most New Yorkers that I have been surrounded with during my life has been very keen on time. We strive to achieve top speed with efficiency when we work. But when I visited my uncle and aunt in San Francisco, it was really different. Their view of time is that time is plentiful and they should take their time with everything they do. An example of this culture shock is the difference is the speed in when people are walking around the streets. Our usual pace of walking in New York is speed walking and it would always seem like we are in a rush to get somewhere but in California, the people has a very slow walking pace like a turtle. Another example of the culture difference is the way drivers treat pedestrians. In New York if you jay walk and a car is coming, the driver is probably honking at you and probably speeding up until they really need to brake. But in California, the cars actually stop for you even though you don't have the right of way. There was actually a different sense of politeness in California than in New York, While many New Yorkers are irritated by tourist asking for direction, Californians love giving directions and at the same time recommending the tourist places to go. It was quite an experience to see the different culture we have in United States. Just because we all live in the same country doesn't necessarily mean we have the same culture and life styles.
7 comments:
Wow didn't know that culture can be so different in another state! Now I really want to visit California :]
I definitely agree and I have seen this myself when I was in LA. People were very polite and they came off as very content with life, unlike here, where people tend to look upset or just too busy with themselves!
I definitely agree the view of time! I feel like i'm a mechine, do everything as fast as possible. Time is always not enough for me. We always will say or hear other people say "sorry" "excuse me" when we walk on the street, especially in the early morning, everyone is in a hurry.
It's hard to imagine living in the same country but the different culture. thank you for messaging that.
That is very true. I also visited San Francisco and LA for the first time, last summer. I did notice that people are much more laid back in the west coast. They do seem to view time as being plentiful.
My cousins have lived for long periods of time in both California and New York and they ended up settling in California. They also stated that people are more laid back in Cali. I think it goes back to the notion that New York is so much busier and people are always constantly on the go here. I want to go to California and I have a feeling that I would end up liking it better because of the laidbackness.
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