California is one of the most populated states in the U.S., so it would make sense that the regions are divided into two: Northern California and Southern California. While for most states, different regions just separates the land and resources that differentiates one from another but for the Golden State, the North and Southern regions defy two completely diverse worlds that only have one thing in common: being a region of California.
While some of the differences include weather, food, style, activities and attitude, one of the main and most crucial differences (in my opinion) is the Men. Yes, the men differentiate one region of California from another.
For those who don’t know, I am a Southern California native, and recently made the trek from the sunnier portion of the state to the Fog City: San Francisco, many might call me crazy but I wanted a new experience. So living in Southern California for the past 15 years (the adolescent years), I truly got to experience and experiment (in a totally PG-13 way) with boys from SoCal.
Those who don’t live or have never visited Southern California, the stereotypical So Cal boy, who surfs all day, has blonde hair, washboard abs and might get confused with an Abercrombie & Fitch model is a tad far from the truth. Don’t get me wrong, those boys definitely exist (they are located on Ocean Boulevard in Laguna Beach, Calif., if anyone is looking) but those aren’t what ALL SoCal boys consist of.
Boys from Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Orange County do tend to have more of a laid-back vibe than boys from other parts of the U.S. hemisphere but their laidback vibe could lead to their own set of problems. First of all, being laidback and “chillin’” all the time is not the greatest feature in a potential partner. Their need to always be relaxed and having a good time can be problematic during times of crisis in your relationship or when you need to make the step from “just friends (with benefits)” to more than that.
This is one quality that males in the Bay Area or Northern California region don’t seem to acquire, which once again can cause it’s own set of issues as well. While always being easy-going isn’t great, Mr. Serious and Tense isn’t also the cutest thing to go to dinner with. Maybe it is the lack of fresh air (due to the city) that NorCal boys lack or just the stressors that come with living in a huge metropolitan city like San Francisco, that causes Men in S.F. to not be approachable.
Other qualities that differentiate the male kind from SoCal with the NorCal men are attitude, style and most importantly confidence. From the beaches of Southern California, men of all shapes and sizes walk around with an air of arrogance, which whether present or not, can be detrimental in a dating partner. Confidence is a quality that we all look for in a potential mate, whether it’s for one night or one year, it is an attractive trait to acquire. From my rather vast experience in the southern region of California, boys and men have a surplus of this quality, whether it is appropriate or not. This high amount of self-assurance and self-acceptance can lead to a man who thinks he can do better than you and will prove that with his actions.
While no woman wants an unsure, insecure man, we also don’t appreciate you taking longer than us to get ready and we definitely don’t appreciate your selfie’s getting more likes than ours.
On the opposite side of the confidence spectrum is where NorCal boys reside, they seem to lack the self-assurance that SoCal boys reek of. This can also be a huge turn-off, especially if you constantly have to be reassuring them of their worth and how much you care about them and blah blah blah.
So in the end, I realized by writing this article that there is no perfect man and that if there is, they don’t seem to reside in the Northern or Southern regions of the beautiful state of California. But the most important thing about a man or woman is how they treat you as a person and if you are able to connect on a deeper level than the physical attributions.
From a girl who has (unfortunately) seen the good and bad in boys from both parts of the Golden State, there are some good men hiding near the Coast and some riding their bikes along the Golden Gate Bridge, so no matter where they are from, men will vary. You just have to find your cup of tea.