Lowbar

East vs. West Coasts

Having lived for many years on both coasts I feel I am qualified to make certain distinctions between the two. Specifically, on the East Coast, I've lived in Washington DC, North Carolina and I've spent good amounts of time in Boston. On the West Coast I've lived in San Diego, Orange County and San Francisco.

Bathroom etiquette:
On the East Coast if there is a bank of urinals and a person is urinating at one of them, an east coaster will go into one of the stalls to urinate rather than stand next to another gentleman. West coasters have no qualms about peeing in stereo.

Bars:
East coast bars are loud. The people yell at each other to communicate. West coast bars may have loud music but loud conversation can be construed as you've had too much to drink and unless you want to get the stink eye from the bartender you may want to tone it down.

Beer, wine and other drugs:
People from the West Coast are veritable connoisseurs in comparison to their East Coast counterparts in this arena. There are infinite styles of beer, wine and weed to choose from. On the East Coast you'd be lucky to find a bar that features any taps of beer that are not made within a 100 mile radius of the bar. As a result West Coasters have come to expect freedom of choice and are disappointed when travelling East. Conversely it is easy to spot the West Coast visiting East coaster who goes with the default Bud or Bud Light.

Architecture:
Here the East kicks the West squarely in the teeth, with the exception of Washington DC. The West Coast is just too young and has suffered through many years of horrendous architecture styles. The East Coast in comparison can have an 18th century church next to a Mies Van Der Roh-esque skyscraper offering a feast for the eyes.

Government:
They both suck in slightly different ways but the fringes, outside of the major metropolitan areas have the right idea. New Hampshire has arguably the freest state in the nation. Northern California/Southern Oregon has been a hot bed of liberty and secession for years. California will probably implode faster than New York but they're all based on the same failed economics (but I digress).

Mating:
There are more women to men on the East Coast and vice-versa. This makes getting a date much easier on the East Coast as the women are slightly more aggressive. Dating in California is more of a communal thing, i.e., groups intra-dating between members. Because of this, picking up women in bars in California is almost non-existent. I have only seen this occur a few times whereas on the East Coast it is commonplace. Women have the luxury of pre-qualifying their suitors through friend references, which they do not enjoy to such an extent in the East.

Dress:
No surprise here, Californians are still more laid back in dress than they are in the East. The difference is subtle however. In the East men will wear checked dress shirts whereas in the West a t-shirt will do. In the East men will wear dress shoes with jeans, the West: sandals. Women seem to wear more high heels and hose in the East.

Attitude:
In the East men like to be "johnny on the spot", what can I do for you? etc. In the West the attitude is more wait for the person to tell you what they want and then give an informed answer if and only if you know what you are talking about. There is much less B.S. in the West.

Service:
East Coast generally beats the West on this one, probably due to the attitude reasons mentioned above although when service is bad on the East Coast it's really bad.

Cops:
Believe it or not, West Coast cops are much more intrusive into the lives of citizens than East Coast ones, although both are pretty bad. West Coast cops are a bit more militant and there is a more palpable police society there.

Beauty:
It's hard to argue that the sun setting under the Golden Gate Bridge is more beautiful than the vast sandy beaches at Ipswitch, Mass but I'll go ahead and give my preference. The West is stunning, almost too much so. It's hard to take it all in. The East Coast is beautiful but it seems that one has to seek it out a little harder.

posted by Howie Hardcore @ 12/04/2009 12:00:00 PM