The signs are clear

This past week, I traveled to New York on business. I had been back east since moving west, but this time, in particular, the signs were all there... I've become a west coaster. Let's review:

  • Tolerance for heat? Gone. Especially the east coast favorite of "HHH" weather - hazy, hit and humid. Last Tuesday, I basically wilted in the NYC heat and it was the coldest day of my brief trip there. On Weds, it hit 95 and, despite having grown up in this sort of weather, I was done with it. I guess it's more of a testament to the miracles of nature and how we're able to acclimate to the areas we live in. For now, though, if it must be hot, let's do dry heat, k?
  • Apparently, I no longer jaywalk. Or I have to remind myself to do so. I was walking to meet a friend in NYC and the sign said "don't walk." So... I didn't. If you've never been to/lived in NYC, this may mean nothing to you. If you do, you're probably going "You're the pedestrian that, at best, I laugh at and, at worst, want to slap!" But yeah, I have apparently lost my hurry while on two feet.
  • Also, it felt weird to me that the game was on after work. I walked into the bar and the Yankees-Red Sox game was on... and I had already had dinner. I am so used to the bulk of the sports world being done and over with before dinner it was disorienting (though, jet lag certainly had something to do with that).
  • This is going to sound snobby, but it must be said: we have to teach NYC about a good cup of coffee. For a long time, I celebrated the "average Joe" coffee in NYC served in diners, donut shops and more. And, yes, I know many New Yorkers who need their morning Starbucks fix. But the third wave hasn't quite hit the shores of the east coast, from what I can tell anyway.
I don't mean to say this in any way to slam New York or the east coast. I can go on at length over the need for more neighborhood diners, better pizza and bagels, real heavy rail transit systems and more in the West. Similarly, if this was a true pro-con on either coast, I could list things I have here (default rental apts are climate-controlled with a dishwashers, significantly easier access to hiking trails, moderate climate) that win in the west.

It's just, for me, those things listed out helped drive home that I've embraced my new left coast city and its lifestyle. I grew up knowing the northeast. I adjusted to the ease of southern life. We're adaptable... and it appears I've adapted to west coast living.

Comments

Bill Lysse said…
I am afraid that I will like Seattle so much when I am there in July that I may never want to be on the east coast again.
thayer said…
Yay, West Coast rules!

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