What's it like living on the west USA?

what? the top 10 states by population density are all on the east coast?

California, Oregon, and Washington are full of small rural towns. California is huge and the other two are big compared to most northeastern states. If you live where everything is not a concrete jungle you will notice season distinctly even in California. I have that a half-hour from the coast.

Life is different on the West Coast vs New England, but not just for the reasons you mentioned, but also culturally.

There are LOTS of small rural towns and areas on the West Coast. You just don't know about them because they rarely make the news.

We definitely don't have the extreme changes in weather on the West Coast that you have in New England in whatever town/city that we live in. But we can get to a change in weather if we are willing to take a drive. For example, for winter areas in California look up Big Bear or Mammoth Mountain ski area.

It's not that cheap here, you are correct about that. Unless you want to live in a lousy area like El Centro, CA.

The West Coast isn't for everyone, but it's a very big area and not as one dimensional as you might think.

It's a weird statistic because of how packed cities like NYC, Philly, DC, Boston, etc. are. It vastly skews the stat when the states are, in comparison, far smaller than the Californias of the world–states where you can go for hours and not know whether you're in a new city or the suburbs of the one you just left.

You can go on a nice Sunday drive and you're in the mountains / Amish country in Pennsylvania.

sorry, the east coast is way more dense. these two regions have the same number of people. So idk why OP is "turned off" by population density...

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Any city in CO beats every city in New England.

The west is still a place to escape to that probably begins with its frontier days. For that reason there is a shared attitude that we’re all visitors and no one has grounds to question another persons choices.

I’ve never lived on the east coast but compared to Chicago, Dallas and a few other places I’ve lived there are fewer limits based on status or pedigree. Those places weren’t oppressive, by any means, but the west is more relaxed by comparison.

We are thinking of a nyc to la move. I would have to be alert and working at 630am.. just dunno if I can truly swing that

From Fresno to Bakersfield.....

Selma

Sanger

Reedley

Fowler

Kingsburg

Chowchilla

Armona

Lemoore

Corcoran

Coalinga

Visalia

Exeter

Hanford

Tipton

Earlimart

Parlier

Tulare

Delano

Porterville

Wasco

Taft

Only Visalia with any real size there.

In Fresno and Bakersfield you are never more than 20 minutes from out in the sticks. Farms all over the place.

Mountains an hour away Iif that, the coast a couple hours away. The Mojave Desert not far away. We have it all right here.

The OP is from "New England" which is the 6 states from Connecticut up to Maine. Much of New England is rural.

"New England" is NOT the same thing as the "East Coast" and is NOT nearly as densely populated as the area from New York City to Washington DC.

The West Coast (California, Oregon, Washington) has a population density of 162 people per square mile. The population density of New England is 210 people per square mile.

en.wikipedia.org

New England

New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Cana...

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If you stay out of the large cities ie Seattle, Portland, SF, LA, their suburbs and population corridors ie Willamette Valley, etc, there is still a lot of open spaces albeit is so much more expensive than when I lived there.

>You can go on a nice Sunday drive and you're in the mountains / Amish country in Pennsylvania.

You can do the same in California. Whenever you are, Lake Tahoe, or Yosemite, or Big Sur, or Point Reyes and the beautiful Mendocino coast are just a few hours way. In fact, even the larger cities in California feel like they're somewhat blended with the nature unlike NYC, Boston or European capitals. Less so in SoCal, as the landscape around LA is scorched and doesn't always feel like 'nature'. Sacramento is split in two by American River which is surrounded by an awesome natural park (one of the best places in the world to run, I wish there were something more to love about Sacramento). Bay Area is pretty urban, but you're never too far from the ocean, mountains, estuaries and all that stuff.

Oregon and Washington are way less populous than California.

You are 100% correct. Do not move West

It's So Cal and the rest of the world. So Cal is sunny all the time and you can run in a T every day. The beach in So Cal is 200 miles long. There's 100,000 active Olympians, NFL, NBA, MLB players from all over the world who have relocated to So Cal permanently.

Except the OP likes cold weather and snow. Not so interested in running in a t shirt every day of the year.

I've been to:
Reno, Chicago, Fargo, Minnesota,
Buffalo, Toronto, Winslow, Sarasota,
Wichita, Tulsa, Ottawa, Oklahoma,
Tampa, Panama, Mattawa, La Paloma,
Bangor, Baltimore, Salvador, Amarillo,
Tocapillo, Baranquilla, and Perdilla, I'm a killer.
I've been to:
Boston, Charleston, Dayton, Louisiana,
Washington, Houston, Kingston, Texarkana,
Monterey, Faraday, Santa Fe, Tallapoosa,
Glen Rock, Black Rock, Little Rock, Oskaloosa,
Tennessee to Tennesse Chicopee, Spirit Lake,
Grand Lake, Devils Lake, Crater Lake, for Pete's sake.
I've been to:
Louisville, Nashville, Knoxville, Ombabika,
Schefferville, Jacksonville, Waterville, Costa Rica,
Pittsfield, Springfield, Bakersfield, Shreveport,
Hackensack, Cadillac, Fond du Lac, Davenport,
Idaho, Jellico, Argentina, Diamantina,
Pasadena, Catalina, see what I mean-a.
I've been to:
Pittsburgh, Parkersburg, Gravelbourg, Colorado,
Ellensburg, Rexburg, Vicksburg, Eldorado,
Larimore, Atmore, Haverstraw, Chatanika,
Chaska, Nebraska, Alaska, Opelika,
Baraboo, Waterloo, Kalamazoo, Kansas City,
Sioux City, Cedar City, Dodge City, what a pity