Is Atlanta really Different from California?

The age old question that many of us are wondering, which coast is the best coast? Is it the West or the Dirty South? 

The long distance between the Golden state (California) and the Hollywood of the South (Georgia) alone presents a variety of cultures and traditions that only a few can understand. Like the cool calm collected and valley girl accents to the country and slow sountern draw accents.The two states couldn’t be anymore different, yet so similar in ways of hosting melting pot cities and the entertainment hubs of their coast. As a Californian, moving to Georgia to attend Clark Atlanta University was a huge adjustment compared to my life in Fontana. From the mannerisms, people, accents, and even the music; I knew my bubbly cheerleader – like personality was in for a suprise.

Let’s start of by identifying the obvious, the ACCENTS! I love the accents in Atlanta, the language is definitely one of a kind and can take sometime to understand.  It’s smooth and slow enough to understand, but when interacting with a person from the city, you get a rhythmic mixture of  Chinese and English, which is hard to comprehend….even for the people of Atlanta. 

The transition for students from the west coast to the southern HBCU world can mostly be described as each person waving with a smile and saying “How ya’ doin?” As people from the west coast usually learn to tend to themselves and only smile at people who they know, the saying “don’t talk to strangers” becomes literal. In comparison to the south, where most people tend to one another and care for the well-being of all, hospitality is taught from birth.

The west coast mannerisms could simply be stated as be nice, but not “too friendly” and not trusting everyone. However, as in the south many are friendly and are willing to help.

A perfect example of the differences would be, if you ever stop to ask for directions on the west coast what occurs in comparison to the south. As many are afraid to speak to strangers because of “DANGER”  asking for directions is not appropriate, just use your GPS! In the south, as the hospitality always seems to be around, asking for directions is not a problem! People are more than willing to help.

The difference of personalities is the key factor in understanding why this occurs. As people from the south are taught to be kind and traditional ways are still valued, the west coast has become over modernized with the idea that being nice to someone can be taken advantage of. People from the west coast can be classified as “having an attitude” because of being less open about helping. In comparison to people in the south, who would be glad to help anyone with open arms who seems to be in need. As the west coast is broadcasted on television as “air-headed” Beverley Hills, 90210 people who do not seem to care about anything in the world besides the beach and shopping, it may be true!

Mannerisms are taught by your parents, but in the surrounding area that each person is thrown into, their ways are changed. As people from the west coast act completely different from the south. The traditional ways of “black people” seem to be preserved more in the south than the west. The idea and word of “Black-American” can be completely viewed upon as the citizens of the west coast. As the ways of the world are changing and becoming more modernized the people who allow themselves to be consumed by the “west coast is the best coast” may have to think twice and realize that the south actually has it better when it comes to how to treat people!

• west coast