College Students! discussion

Do you or have you ever lived on the west coast? If you liked it, what was your city/town like? I'm going to be moving with in the next year, and I would like to stay on the west coast but I would like to hear about places people have lived. Things to include: location, population size, local culture, weather, things to do.. okay thank you guys!! really appreciate it

I'm from the Seattle area, Redmond (home of Microsoft) to be specific. I love the west coast, though suburban life got pretty boring for me. I wish I could have spent more time in the city (now I'm at school across the country). Seattle and the surrounding area does have a decent public transportation system, which is good. I just love the atmosphere...it's so chill. Seattle is so great...there are so many different things, but it isn't so overwhelmingly big that you feel lost. And the weather is nice and moderate...it doesn't get very cold, and it rarely gets extremely hot. It does rain, but it hardly ever pours...it's more like a constant drizzle (that's why Seattlites don't frequently use umbrellas...we'd constantly be opening and closing them), and then you really appreciate it when the sun comes out. I'm in upstate NY now, and when it rains you get soaked. Seattle isn't like that.

I'm not sure if you were considering the Seattle area or just California or something, but it's great.

Hope this helps! :)

I live in Gearhart, a small town on the northern Oregon coast. Not sure about exact population but it is mostly vacation houses which means that in the winter it turns into a semi-ghost town but we locals have it to ourselves. Weather is very wet during the winter and less wet during the summer, but when the sun does come out it is gorgeous! Really isn't much to do in my town but read and be a homebody, but there are a lot of local hiking spots and outdoorsy stuff if you brave the weather.
I went to school in Ashland, southern Oregon, and loved it. The town is also kind of small but there is the college population, and it is also the home of a Shakespeare festival and that brings in a lot of people. There are a lot of hippies and the town has kind of a "granola" vibe but there are plenty of college kids and Shakespeareans to balance them. Weather is pretty mild but has defined seasons and is much dryer than the coast.

I'm a Virginia resident but I was born in Los Angeles and my dad still lives out there, so I go there quite a bit. I'm from South Bay, so there isn't quite so much Hollywoodness as the Northern area, which you might like or dislike depending on your tastes. I can't say much else about culture as I think there's a little something for everyone. If you want it, you can probably find it. I mostly hang around the beaches* and walk or bike along the strand, though I go to the theater occasionally (not nearly as much as in VA). Also, since I'm an outdoorsy sort of person, I spend almost as much time out of LA as in it at places like the Mojave preserve, Death Valley, and Joshua Tree among other things. As for the weather, it's... SoCal. Seventy degrees and sunny (unless it's June gloom) with a mild to strong breeze pretty much year round.

*The beaches are all very different. Two of my favorites, Venice and Santa Monica, are right next to each other, but Venice is very alternative with lots of (licensed) graffiti, a skate park, street vendors/artists/musicians and beach-side shops selling all kinds of crazy things like life-sized copper statues of the Terminator, and LOTS of kush doctors. Santa Monica is more upper class and ritzy. It's got an outdoor gym, a huge chess area, a little amusement park on the pier and has mostly of resorts and such along the waterfront. My absolute favorite beach is Hermosa, which has a very chill atmosphere. It's a great place to catch some waves (especially in the winter) or play some beach volleyball.

Hope that helped.

Ooh..I'm going to Los Angeles in 13 days! Any places I should be going, Kristie?? We are staying in Marina Del Ray and so we definitely plan on going to Santa Monica and Venice beach.

Depends on what you want. I'm not well-versed in West LAian, but it's definitely got the touristy sorts of stuff (Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, etc) that people look for when they go to LA. It's worth going to if you've never been before - you're bound to see something interesting (last time I was on Hollywood Blvd, there was a guy dressed as Spiderman climbing around on the buildings). Abbot Kinney Blvd is pretty cool if you like window shopping and good food. Um... I can't think of anything else right now because I mostly hang around Hermosa, Santa Monica, and Venice when I'm there, haha. If you do somehow find yourself on a South Bay beach and you like "Irish" food, go to Hennessey's Tavern (there's one on Hermosa, Manhattan, and Redondo... but it seems they shunned West LA).

Heh, I don't think that was very helpful. Sorry. :p

Also, just a warning... the Santa Monica pier is not as close to Venice as it looks - it's a little over two miles. I know too many people who've made that mistake and have had to cut their day short because they practically walked their feet off.

Sounds like we are right on target then with what we are going to be doing! I just want to spend like a day or so doing the touristy stuff because I've never been there but the rest I just want to chill at the beach and go out to cool bars.

Thanks for telling me that about the pier because we were definitely thinking it was closer!!

I've lived in California my whole life. Haven't once been outside of Cali. I can tell you cities I've lived in. First there's my hometown, Sonoma. Small town, good place to raise kids as my mother says. If you are a wine lover, it's the perfect place. But if you are a recreation type person, I wouldn't bother. Not much to do. There many different elementary schools, 2 middle schools and one high school.

Napa is a good town too. Lived there about a year or two. Also known for its wine. I think recreation wise its ok.

I now live in Walnut Creek. A city look, but small town resources. Lots to do; movies, shopping, dining, etc. Many different Barts around. San Francisco is 30-45 minutes away , longer if there's major traffic. Walnut Creek is a great place to live in.