East Coast vs West Coast -

By Griffin Cappiello

This is an independently submitted op-ed for our Quill section. Views and statements made in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Tower.

This summer, I made what many back home would call the questionable decision to leave sunny San Diego, CA, and travel across the country for the humidity of the nation’s capital. They called me insane, but I knew what I was doing.

Now, after two months in the District, I think that I’ve learned enough to proclaim myself as an expert of both East Coast and West Coast cultures.

I’ve spent a considerable amount of time—or a solid five minutes of brainstorming for this article—compiling a detailed pros and cons list of the best each coast has to offer. Please note that I’m not outright endorsing any coast—I’m not that crazy. I’m simply offering up my observations for your consideration.

Pro: Politics – I figured I should preface this by acknowledging that I am a politics major. It’s pretty tough to find a better city for school when I’m looking at making a career out of political connections. That said, DC also gets bonus points for the reality tv show that is election season. Even a non-politics major would be entertained.

Con: Food – If anyone knows of any good Mexican restaurants, please please please let me know. And no, the Chipotle across the street does not count. By no means am I saying DC has bad food. But when it comes to accessing some killer tacos, nothing beats the best Southern California has to offer, especially the ones you can get from street vendors outside sporting events.

Pro: Public Transportation – I’ll admit, the Metro kind of blew my San Diegan mind when I saw it for the first time. SD could never dream of having any sort of mass transit system like that, and don’t even get me started on LA. The best thing they have to offer is the Disneyland monorail.

Con: Weather – While the weather actually hasn’t been awful the past few weeks, I still miss 75 and sunny practically year-round. Even when it did rain, it wasn’t really that bad, although my fellow Southern Californian friend did wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of thunder thinking it was the rapture, so maybe I’m just a bit more well-adjusted.

Pro: Seasons – Even though I miss the weather back home, I must admit that it’s pretty cool to finally get to experience seasons for the first time in my life. I actually understand what it means to see the leaves change colors! Seeing those same leaves on the ground also gives a new perspective to the idea of “fall”—maybe I should’ve stuck with a Californian “autumn.”

Con: Music – Now, I would never dream of endorsing a side in the iconic rap beef, but I must say, I do prefer the West Coast to the East Coast style. Adding on recent events, like Kendrick’s decimation of Drake in their beef, and P. Diddy’s arrest, it’s pretty clear to me that the West probably took this one.

Pro: History – I admit, it is really cool to have colonial history basically everywhere you turn on the East Coast. It’s definitely an upgrade from the West Coast’s history: Spanish church, Spanish church, and hey, would you look at that, Spanish church.

Con: Beach – Come on, you had to know this one was coming. The most SoCal thing of all SoCal things, nothing says West Coast like a day at the beach. DC could never dream of topping this one.

Honorable Mention: Sports – When I first thought about writing this article, I was still hoping that the Padres would make a postseason push and potentially make the World Series, giving me reason to chalk this one up for the West Coast. Instead, they lost to the Dodgers (boo) and I put off writing this article since I was so upset. Now my two least favorite baseball teams are playing in the World Series, and I could not care less about it, so I guess this one can go either way. Take your pick.