I heard a bit on the morning show Z100 from Ghandi. It went something like this:
"Here's how I describe the east coast versus the west coast. On the east coast, people are kind, but they're not very nice. On the west coast, people are nice, but they're not very kind. Example - New Yorkers will help you dig your car out of a pile of snow, but they won't say a word to you while they do it and they'll leave without saying good-bye. On the west coast, they'll just abandon you."
I thought this assessment was funny enough, very accurate. No one has ever helped me shovel anything here. I can count a few times I've been helped by random strangers in NY. Thinking about this, I decided to put together a list of all the differences you'll find when coming to a new place, specifically NY vs. CO.
Colorado Pros in comparison to Long Island:
1. Obviously, the #1 pro of living in CO is the access to trails and outdoor activities. Less than 30 minutes to multiple trails. The ability to not have to drive over the GW Bridge or any bridge to go for a hike is amazing. Sometimes it would feel like you were trapped on an island because it was such a hassle to leave it at all.
2. Longmont and Boulder have the best farmers markets I've ever seen. Lots of fresh produce and local artisans.
3. Mexican food I am told is better here. I honestly wouldn't know the difference in quality or what is considered authentic, because I rarely ate it in NY and hence have a low tolerance to spice. But, I've enjoyed most of the mexican food I've had here. Burritos are the go-to breakfast food in CO.
4. Croissants. Along, with mexican, the next most frequent food I see a lot here is french based. I've probably eaten way too many croissants since moving here.
5. As everyone knows, the air is very dry here. This could be a plus or minus. The biggest plus for me is that I've never had to deal with ticks or fleas. There are ticks here, but not like on LI and I've never seen one. I do miss the rain sometimes though.
6. Power lines are mostly below ground versus above ground. We lose power very rarely in CO.
7. The wait time at every doctor appointment I've had here is usually less than 10 minutes or right on time. Compared to NY, the average wait time would be an hour and sometimes longer.
8. I've never been cat-called here.
9. Some neighborhoods have houses with gardens on their front lawns. Long Island tends to have more manicured lawns even without HOAs.
10. All the wildlife.
11. All the wildflowers.
Colorado Cons in comparison to Long Island
1. Food:
-For me, the #1 con is pizza and italian food. It is abysmal here. But honestly, that's any state outside of the tri-state area, not just CO. There are a couple of passable places in the state, but nothing like home. No monday night pasta night deals. No Mario's or Gino's. There are not very many italians here.
-Along the same note as above, italian bakeries are also missing or any bakeries in general. I would give anything sometimes for a fresh baked italian semolina loaf from Mario's Pasticceria and a white box full of cookies tied with a red and white string, just like on the Sopranos. The cake is also very bad here. It's hard to explain, but something's missing. The best cake I ever had was Custom Bakers of Island Park. I miss that place from my childhood, long ago closed.
-Bagels. Again, bread is just not that good here. I am going to say it probably has a lot to do with the low humidity.
-Chinese, Indian, Thai is also not great....basically anything that isn't mexican, french, german or pub food.
-There are some foods not found in CO grocery stores. I didn't realize these were NY specific until leaving. Breakstones, Polly-O, Ellios frozen pizza, poland spring water to name a few. As well as ravioli stores and delis.
2. Basements are not a norm in CO. Radon exists.
3. People seem to wake up earlier here. Work starts earlier, 8 instead of 9.
4. Everyone else also wants to enjoy all the trails, so you have to wake up extra early to beat them as well as the thunderstorms.
5. I miss having snow days off work. People still go to work when it snows no matter how much. NY would have a few snow days a year. (Pre-pandemic).
6. There is a more visible homeless and drug addiction problem here. There are panhandlers at traffic lights in CO, that I never saw on LI. Not to say LI doesn't have issues, but it is more hidden. For example, you may come across a stealth camp deeper in the woods off trail on LI, but not in plain-sight in a public park or a sidewalk camp seen from a busy road.
7. Meth seems like a bigger issue here. Never even heard of meth until I moved here.
8. I love wildlife, but you do have to be aware of bears, rattlesnakes and mountain lions when hiking. Is long island the only place without those? I'm more afraid of ticks on LI in comparison though.
Some other random differences that I've noticed (not necessarily good or bad):
LI vs Co
-Oil heating in houses versus gas heating. It took me awhile to realize I never saw oil trucks in the neighborhoods making deliveries to houses.
-I don't think I ever saw a roundabout until I moved here. I go through 5 on a 10 minute drive to Costco in CO.
-Despite all the car break-in complaints in CO, no one has alarms on their cars.
-Jalapenos in everything in CO.
-No one eats eggplant here. It's a common ingredient in NY.
-Sometimes you may meet someone who has never heard of a garlic knot.
-Food lingo: heros versus subs versus hoagies, soda versus pop, sneakers versus shoes
-More diverse names in CO. NY has numerous Michaels, Christophers, Josephs and Pauls versus for example, Harrison, Chad, Joel or Tucker. I never met anyone with those names in NY.
-More catholics in NY.
-People tend to be more polite, less gossipy and stay out of your business in CO. Neighborhoods don't have as much as a community feel. People may take more offense to rudeness.
-No accents in CO.
-Clothing is brighter in CO compared to the black of NYC. I guess you need to be found if you fall off a cliff hiking!
-Houses don't have pools.
-I've never seen a greeting card/lotto store in CO.
-Dunkin Donuts and 7-11's are not as popular as in NY.
-Someone who has never been to NY will always mention Times Square first as the place they want to see. When in reality, no one in NY likes to go there. On the other side, someone from LI who has never been to CO will probably think everyone lives in the mountains. When in reality, the front range towns look like any other suburban town, but with a distant view of the mountains.
and lastly,
-mountains versus oceans
Both are beautiful in their own ways. Sometimes, I think Washington or Oregon would be a better fit for me. Best of both worlds.
So in case you've never left the place you grew up in and always wondered what it's like out there. Yes, things are different on the outside, but you are still the same person wherever you go.
I know this wasn't a hiking post, but I added it anyway.
