Skip To Content
    This post has not been vetted or endorsed by BuzzFeed's editorial staff. BuzzFeed Community is a place where anyone can create a post or quiz. Try making your own!

    Moving From California To New York: 20 Life-Altering Facts

    Everything you need to know about the (other) Great Migration.

    20. Parallel parking is the new “parking.”

    19. You start incorporating new, local slang into your vocabulary.

    18. Nightlife continues long past 2 a.m.

    17. ...But you can kiss goodbye the fantastical sight of bacon-wrapped dogs sizzling on a portable grill as you stumble out of a dance party in the wee hours of dawn.

    16. And on the subject of food, let’s just get this out in the open now: good Mexican food doesn’t exist here.

    15. The moment you realized NO SALES TAX ON APPAREL OR SHOES (less then $110)!!! Had you walking through SoHo like:

    14. You learn how “casual attire” translates in East Coast terms.

    13. Adjusting to new climates...

    12. Begrudgingly lumping your actual hometown in with San Francisco or Los Angeles, since most New Yorkers aren’t familiar with Fresno, or Humboldt, or Long Beach, or Monterey, or...

    11. The unspoken kinship you feel when you do meet someone from your area in NYC.

    10. The realization that during short flights on the East Coast you could be in another STATE.

    9. And on the transportation tip, you will be walking more. A lot more.

    8. But no amount of walking could possibly offset the temptation of food on LITERALLY EVERY STREET in New York.

    7. This mandatory Facebook/Twitter/Instagram post for when you go home to visit:

    View this video on YouTube

    Via youtube.com

    Because nobody says it better, and nobody ever will.

    6. If you want to explore “nature” (no, not Central Park) be prepared to make serious moves.

    5. Waiting in line for a minimum of 30 minutes at the grocery store will become completely normal.

    4. When it comes to menu items, folks basically equate “California” with avocados (i.e.: the California at Bare Burger).

    3. You will be exposed to an even wider spectrum of ethnicities and nationalities than you thought possible. Has you on 125th Street like:

    2. Do NOT hyperventilate when you hear yourself refer to California as “Cali.”

    1. But DO bask in the oh-so-comforting knowledge that, whether in your first home or your adopted one, you will always be in one of the coolest and most coveted places in the country.