Moving into SLO for the first time can be quite the adjustment, especially if you come from an urban area. Even though calling this little college town home is an immense privilege, it really makes you realize how much of a city kid you are in comparison. Here are some definite signs you came to SLO from the city:
1. Being able to see the stars at night makes you really excited.
While it’s great to see the city lights at night, light pollution is a huge bummer. There’s nothing like looking up at the SLO sky and seeing a brilliant canopy of twinkling lights above you.
2. It’s weird not hearing sirens all the time.
You usually don’t notice their absence until the first ambulence or police car zoom by and then you realize you haven’t been hearing them all day, every day.
3. You don’t mind living in a cramped apartment with a ton of roommates.
It’s like city living but better: You get to live with your friends instead of your family!
4. Nobody understands you when you talk.
You forget that not everybody speaks the slang of your hometown–it takes a while to get used to the blank stares you get when you slip up and say a word that makes no sense here.
5. You wish there was a better public transportation system to get you around.
Because there’s nothing more frustrating than watching one of those double-decker buses pass your stop when they can’t fit anymore people.
6. It’s unsettling how dead it can be at night.
Even if it’s 4 a.m. downtown in a city, lights are on, people are out and there’s energy in the air. If you’re out in SLO at 4 a.m., the most you’ll hear on a weeknight are crickets. And chances are, you’ll be stuck in the dark, too, because good street lighting doesn’t seem to be a thing here.
7. You sometimes pretend you’re walking through a city when you’re walking downtown.
This works especially well when there are lots of people out and you have coffee in hand.
8. You never get used to the smell of livestock drifting across campus.
Although that’s probably everyone, to be honest.