What I Learned Living on the East Coast

By Dara Ereshena on February 12, 2013

I am an L.A. baby.

Top of the Hollywood Sign

I was born and raised in California and decided that maybe I should make a change. And boy, did I make a change. I moved away from sunny California to attend Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. Where is South Hadley, Mass., you ask? Yeah, I don’t know either. All I know is that it is not L.A. As I complete my final semester here at MHC (cue waterworks), I have learned some major and key differences between L.A. and New England. This is what the East Coast, specifically Massachusetts, has taught me:

“Wicked” is not used solely to describe a witch. It is used for every describable moment. (That was wicked awesome, eh Mark?)
Boat shoes are acceptable to wear despite not being on a boat, or near any water.
In L.A., if you are covering your ‘bathing suit parts’ you are considered clothed. This is not the case on the East Coast.
You can no longer go out with just a light sweater after September.
Fall exists here, West Coasters!
But so does winter…
Cars do not like pedestrians, or other cars.
Vera Bradley, Lily Pulitzer, J. Crew, Ralph Lauren.
If it snows, that is a reason to drink.
If there is a hurricane, then you should drink.
If it is finally warm enough (50 degrees), it’s time to drink, people!
It is not acceptable to wear UGGs in the snow (which I continued to do for 2 years…).
It is acceptable to wear North Faces everywhere (which I follow, religiously).
It doesn’t matter how good you look when you leave, you will have the same red nose, red-cheeked look that everyone else at the bar has.
If you leave the house without a scarf, you are an idiot.

East Coast, you have given me four fabulous years here and I am forever grateful.

Mount Holyoke College, winter 2013

Despite how it may seem, I have loved living here. The people I have met are crazy, but so am I. The debate of East Coast vs. West Coast will never be settled because they are so profoundly unique and awesome. But I will probably never live on the East Coast because I hate the cold. And don’t go “Oh yeah, it’s because you are from L.A.”Four years in Massachusetts and I have never ONCE heard someone say, “Oh I just love this 28 degree weather with snow on my face. I wish I could stay out here all day!” So it has been real East Coast, stay classy, stay cold.