The California Experience: A Comparison to the Midwest

Life in the Bay Area has certainly been different from what I’ve been used to. Especially when I lived in the state of Missouri for seven years before high school then suddenly needing to move here. Now that I’ve had a taste of the California experience, there’s been some key differences.

Diversity within people is a very clear difference. Alameda County in general is the seventh most diverse county in the nation with a diversity index of 75.1 in 2020, but did I know that when I moved here? No, thus I was absolutely stunned at the sight of more than five Asians in my first class alone. For context, Greene County, Missouri’s diversity index is a meager 31.3. Although there was some diversity where I grew up, it was few and far between. Now of course, Missouri’s demographics are much more indicative of the country as a whole, but now having lived here for several years, it’s odd going to my friends’ Instagram posts and seeing the absence of diversity.

Another big thing here is the aspirations for college, and in turn how competitive schools around here are. Back in Springfield, Missouri, it wasn’t out of the ordinary to just go to Missouri State University, as it was a commutable school (I would’ve been shooting for Ivy Leagues, but that isn’t the focus). Here in the Bay Area especially, it feels as if everyone is shooting for the top colleges possible, and due to that everyone around me is taking APs and honors courses to their fullest extent. Some of these college-wise competitive aspects have certainly lingered on me, as now it feels weird seeing people even going anywhere outside of CSUs or UCs. Back in Missouri, I would’ve been an exception with where I wanted to go, but now, I’m very well in the average crowd. 

Of course, there are even more differences, from how my old home was the biggest victim of the Delta variant of COVID due to people’s refusal to take proper precautions, to how extracurriculars there were run extremely differently. You would not see students run clubs there the way they’re run here. By the time I left, there was hardly even an interest in boba (I was often the only person visiting the local boba shop at the mall), but now, there’s a solid variety of places to go to.

Looking back, I would certainly be interested in how I’d see Missouri if I were to return. However, no matter how different it looks to me after living in California, I will always look at it with positivity.