From SoCal to NorCal

Special thanks to LIanna, Mrs. Moneypenny, and Aunt Debbie 

          First of all,  no one is from Cali. We're from California. Anyone who says they're from "Cali" is a liar. What most people that are not from California don't know is that there is a huge difference between being from Southern California and Northern California. When asked, most people will say where in California they're from.  
          My roommate is form NorCal and I am from SoCal. I have traveled up California before, but never with a die hard Northern Californian. When I went up with my her to visit her family, I learned a lot about how different we actually are. She's from a small town where your nearest neighbors are a few acres away and I'm from a city where you'll probably never meet the same stranger twice. Here is what anyone from SoCal needs to know about our Northern counterparts:

1. People from NorCal will let you know they're from NorCal. People who are not from California don't really know that we don't all live next to celebrities. When people think of California, they think beaches and LA, not rolling hills and countryside. NorCal doesn't have very many big cities, and they will let you know that that's the case. 
2. Some people in NorCal want to divide the states in two.  They really don't like us stealing their water and food, so a small group of NorCal residents are very adamant about splitting off from us. 
3. They refer to their freeways and highways differently. In SoCal, you take THE 5 or THE 105. In NorCal, you take 5 or I-5 to wherever you're going. 
4. Friday Night Football is a community event. Whether you have kids in high school or not, you go to the high school football games on Friday nights. It's their way to make up for a lack of sports teams. 
5. They will always love Disneyland. Probably the only reason they will ever put up with us is because we have Disneyland. It's probably the only reason anyone puts up with us. 
6. The better drivers come from NorCal. It's no secret that SoCal has some pretty bad drivers. We don't always notice because we're all bad drivers down here, but when people drive down, they are definitely more cautious.
7. You probably don't know a small town until you travel North. There are hardly and "blocks" and your nearest neighbors are five acres away. Downtowns consist of a few, family owned business. 
8. They want their water back. Some of the water that we use in Southern California comes from the Sierra Nevada mountains, which are located in the North. Next time you come across someone from Northern California, thank them for their water because I guess we use too much of it.

          Unfortunately for my roommate, I will always hold to my belief that SoCal is the better place to be. It might be more expensive, but we will always have Disneyland.