When we set out on our grand adventure, we originally had California in mind. Living on the East Coast all of our lives we definitely heard our fair share of stereotyping of the West Coast and especially about Californians.
In our travels we have found that no matter where you are, there are amazing people who are diverse in thought, in culture, in background and more. When we set out for California so many people told us that people in California were ‘crazy liberals’ or pot heads, or all about vanity, or any other number of labels.
Matt and I are dead set against labels. We find them completely useless and harmful. Once you apply a label to a person or an area, you miss out on so much.
One of our very first days in California we ended up in a small town outside of San Francisco. We were at a small event to watch the inauguration of President Obama. There were people of all races, of all religions, of all occupations. We met doctors and farmers all in this little tiny town with a main street that you would miss if you blinked.
We were in Seattle, a place where people told us that everyone is depressed, yet some of the happiest people we’ve ever met were in Seattle, and it turned out they mostly LOVED the cloudy days.
We were in Arizona during the immigration debate and didn’t notice at all, people of all races and backgrounds were enjoying being neighbors and friends. People went on with their daily life, sure there were a few protests here and there, but they weren’t what the news showed or what newscasters wanted the rest of the country to believe about Arizonans.
We were in Oklahoma City, a place in which I thought would be far from what we would ever really enjoy. We’re a bit hippie and I always though Oklahoma City was – well far from that. But then, our Uncles drove us around and showed us all of the fun things to do in OKC. The diversity of the city that we had no clue about. We went to vegan restaurants and I got to go to the most famous raw vegan restaurant in the country – right in Oklahoma City. And the people there? Just like anyone else, they have families, friends and live the best life they know how. Just like the people in Venice Beach or Jerome, AZ.
We have been living in Utah for the past couple of months. We didn’t know what to expect, we were told by so many that Utah was this very odd state, with weird liquor laws and a lot of religion. But when we got here, we found the same thing as we’ve found in every other place we have visited – people are people. We’ve met Mormons, Buddhists and Atheists while living here. I haven’t noticed that there are any weird laws (more weird than any other state) and we have come to really love the state.
I could go on, but the same is true for each city we have visited, there are amazing people no matter where you live. And it doesn’t really matter what you believe, where you come from, and what you do. You just have to have an open mind to learning about people and be willing to find common ground, the rest is easy.
This is why it is hard for us to leave every city in which we visit. We end up coming to love each place and the people in it. It’s one of the greatest joys of traveling full time.
