Us vs Them

When I left California a little over 2 and almost a half years ago I had not idea that I would be moving to one of the last places in the country where a Californian would relocate to. THE SOUTH. Cue scary music. Not saying there is anything wrong with the South, but I would be lying if I said there wasn't a stereotype of the region, just like the stereotypes about California. For the record, I am not a hippie, I don't go to war protests and I am not blonde. Nor do I drive a convertible or own a tiny dog.

My experience in South Carolina has been very positive. It is so completely different from where I grew up that it's hard to describe it. It's the little things out here that make the difference. Check out some of the little things that make such a big difference to me:

1. Sidewalks are not standard. The newer neighborhoods have them, but most of them don't
2. Everything is green here. All the time. So the state doesn't catch fire once a year
3. You don't hear languages other than English very often
4. People can ride in the back of pickup trucks and not wear helmets on motorcycles
5. There are a limited number of Starbucks'. And the ones we do have are very large. Like banks or a spa. Oh, and there aren't any 24 hour ones either
6. People have yards here and houses that don't overlap one another
7. Staying on the house note, there is no stucco here. I didn't know vinyl siding was plastic until I touched it one day
8. You can shoot fireworks into the sky! This one is still amusing to me. I love the risk these people are taking, they could set something on fire!
9. Barbecue is not a fourth of July event. It's an art. Everyone has a favorite barbecue sauce as well. Did you know that there are different kinds of barbacue sauce from different regions? Memphis, Carolina, Kansas City, Tennessee Whiskey, Carolina Sweet, and it goes on. All are good, I am partial to the Carolina Classic and Sweet sauces. Oh and barbecue is not hamburgers and hot dogs, its pulled pork, preferably on a bun with coleslaw on top. Sometimes its ribs. But mostly Boston Butt (which I think is actually a shoulder)
10. You can't buy alcohol in most counties on Sundays. Get your drunk self to church!
11. There are no cows. This really disturbs me, I should be within 15 minutes of a dairy

The reason I bring this is up is because I was having a conversation with a co-worker who was born and raised here about why I probably wouldn't go back to live in California if given the chance. And for the first time, I said "they" when referring to Californians. I know, not that big of a deal right? Wrong, this is me, the same girl who cried when she handed over her California drivers license to get her SC one. I have also stopped referring to CA as "home" for the most part. As in "yeah, back home it doesn't rain in the summer". It's "yeah, in CA there isn't too much lightning". The "back east" phrase still follows me around, but people give me some slack on that one. I still have a hard time knowing where I am geographically.

I can't explain how this little shift happened or why. I do miss CA, don't get me wrong, but not as much as I used to. I have actually read things in the paper about SC and been pretty proud that its my home state. All places have pros and cons (except Tennessee, which I have never been to, but for some reason I am completely obsessed with. They have no cons)and I am pretty happy with the little state we call home.

Here are just a few things that have stolen my heart from California:

1. Aforementioned pulled pork. I didn't know such yumminess existed!



2. Bridges! We have such wonderful views of rivers and trees and harbors from all of the bridges here. Best of all is the Ravenel Bridge, linking Charleston to Mt Pleasant.


3. Southern accents! I wish I had one, they are so cute! When I am old, I want to talk like Paula Deen. Which is impossible because she is from Georgia, but still, close enough.

4. Downtown Charleston. Joe and I haven't explored it too much, but I really do love it. The houses are glorious!


5. I don't really have a picture for this one, but I like that Charleston feels like a small town. The whole area is about 600K people, whereas the Sacramento area has about 2 million people, which is half of our entire state! But you have tons of things to do here, and you are only a few hours away from more stuff should you run out here! I love that we can drive to Atlanta or Charlotte or Jacksonville in the same amount of time it used to take me to drive from Sac to LA!

I guess you can say I am letting go of what used to be and embracing the here and now. While my birth state will always be special to me, I now have room in my heart for a new state. But, check out this lovely panoramic I found on Wikipedia of Sacramento, when I look at it, it feels like looking at a photo of a long lost friend.