The great divide

Its been almost a week after coming back to my old little town Blacksburg, located in the Appalachian mountain range in Virginia. And now after seeing a lot of places in US, I can better judge the regional divide here - how people in the East differ from those on the West coast. Life on the West seems like the fast and the furious - its a much more happening place, partially bcoz I stayed in the city as against the town here. People there are generally the working class - mid aged who spend weekends partying and slog during the weekdays. They also tend to take a lot of risks and seem to be engaged in outdoor activities. Converse to that, life on the East is slow-paced, everything takes its own sweet time. People generally stick in their homes especially due to the colder temperatures. Its a retirees paradise here with living costs much more affordable than on the West. Gas prices too differ by almost a dollar. But i must mention that such an atmosphere is good for academics and research - no doubt Virginia Tech has such great research work (pun intended - there's not much one can do here!) a breeding ground for PhD's.

Feels nice to get back to school next week, with 2 courses to go and the atmosphere all charged up - Go Hokies!!