This school year, I took the opportunity to visit Philadelphia and Los Angeles with other Central journalists. I had an amazing time on both trips and would take them again in a heartbeat. I really enjoyed certain parts of both Philadelphia and Los Angeles, but ultimately would rather live in Philadelphia if I could. This is all based subjectively on my experiences, and I do not mean to offend any West Coast lovers, but rather state my observations.

The main difference I immediately noticed between LA and Philadelphia was the contrasting homeless populations. In Philadelphia, I felt like I saw a normal amount of homeless people for such a big city and really didn’t think much of it. However, Los Angeles’ homeless population was much more apparent and even concerning in comparison to Philadelphia. Naturally, there is going to be a larger amount of homeless people in LA than Philadelphia because of their higher total population, but what I saw seemed to greatly exceed that expected increase. After researching, I learned I wasn’t going crazy and found the main root of the problem. There is more homelessness on the West Coast because there are more causes of homelessness to begin with: expensive housing costs and poverty. Philadelphia is far from being a perfect city, but it does a much better job of managing homelessness than LA by having more available shelters, programs and affordable housing. A lack of affordable housing correlates with higher rates of homelessness overall. Many homeless people in LA have to sleep on the streets at night because they cannot get shelter. In comparing the two coasts, New York City has more people safe in homeless shelters than the states of California, Oregon and Washington combined.

Another distinction between LA and Philadelphia that caught my attention was the varying levels of prices. I liked that Philadelphia was a lot more affordable than LA when it came to pretty much everything, especially food. You could find good food for a relatively cheap and affordable price without having to look for too long. You can still find cheap food in LA; it just may be harder to come across. Overall, I just really like how spending money frugally is easier to do in Philly than LA.

Another take of mine that is sure to spark controversy is that the East Coast has better weather than the West Coast. Personally, most of the West Coast is too hot and muggy for my liking. Summer is amazing, but not when it’s every season. Most of the East Coast gives you the feeling of all four seasons in a year and usually has cooler temperatures. Maybe Nebraska’s weather has lowered my standards, but I am content with cool temperatures and even rain almost any day.

Finally, I prefer the layout of many East Coast cities to those of the West Coast. Many East Coast cities are compacted together to fit the small parameters they had to be built on. The narrow streets and tall buildings almost amplify the cultural immersion that you get in cities on the East Coast. You are condensed into a smaller space with people from all kinds of backgrounds and almost forced to interact with each other, giving people a sense of unity whilst building the city’s culture. I would prefer living in a city on the East Coast because they are more compact and defined than cities on the West Coast.