For the first 18 years of my life, I lived in San Jose. If you didn't know where that is, it's in Northern California or referred to as being in the Bay Area or Silicon Valley. It's somewhat a small city, filled with great food, boba, and people. From the start of high school, I knew I wanted to go to college in Southern California. It was a goal of mine from the beginning. It's extremely common for students from Northern California to want to go to college in Southern California.
I was ambitious to leave home for college because all I wanted was to create new experiences for myself. My home will always be San Jose, but I had already gotten to experience everything there. I moved to Fullerton in August 2016 with a drive to immerse myself in anything new. At first, it was hard because I missed my family so much. I was close with my family, so leaving them was hard. My parents raised me to be an independent person, which helped me a lot living on my own in a new place. I stepped out of my comfort zone the most I ever have before.
Now let's get to the important part, which is better? I love both regions of California, their pros and cons sort of outweigh each other. Southern California has literally almost everything. There's a plethora of amazing food, drinks, and things to do. The weather is always nice, maybe a little too hot, but there are so many beautiful beaches here. There's also more of a night life here, which I prefer because I'm a night owl. Let me get started on the number one problem with living here, TRAFFIC. It makes it so hard to go anywhere with so much traffic, that I'll wait till night time or the weekend to go somewhere. Even on weekends, there will be traffic, but much less. On to Northern California, the traffic there isn't nearly as bad as Southern California. There's a lot to do there if you're going to San Francisco, Santa Cruz, etc. The weather there is perfect; it can get hot but other than that, it will always be a cool 70s. From someone who has gotten to live in both regions of California, there is a difference in the atmosphere and people, especially. I love going back home every now and then because it gives me this feeling of warmth and nostalgia, nothing can replace it. But for now, I have to say Southern California is the place to be if you're young and looking for new opportunities.
Despite the differences between Northern and Southern California, nothing can beat living in California itself.
