Baby, You Can Drive My Car

Prior to my move west, one of the things about which I was most apprehensive was driving—specifically, on the freeways. Just the sight of the freeway meters was enough to instill a little fear in me.

I found driving in Southern California to be more stressful, probably because it's always so congested. Drivers there seem a little more brash, which is unhelpful when you're dawdling along, trying to get familiar with the roads. I don't anticipate driving down there very frequently, but I imagine I'll be doing it with my heart in my throat every time.

Up north, however, that stress has dissipated a lot. Sure, the freeways are still busy, and some of the highways consist of seven lanes—I'm used to about four—but driving around the Bay Area is still less chaotic. Even though I'm still a little unfamiliar with some of the roads, I'm comfortable navigating them, which is not something I thought would come easily. I get too easily stressed about silly things.

Some things I've picked up in the past couple of weeks:

* For the most part, nobody really signals. This is primarily true at traffic lights, but also extends to freeway exits and stop signs. Signaling appears to be reserved for changing lanes and the occasional turn.

* Nearly all traffic lights have protected left turns! These little green arrows are seriously underrated. As an added bonus, traffic lights are generally accompanied by little white signs that indicate whether or not U-turns are legal at this particular intersection. I'm growing accustomed to making U-turns, too—New Jersey is jughandle city, so I made them less frequently there.

* Everything is very well labeled. I think this is less true down South, though I didn't drive around enough there to be certain. On freeways, there are signs posted every mile or so, listing the upcoming three or four exits, as well as the distance to them. These signs prove helpful if you're in the left-most lane, and have just two miles to get over to the exit in the middle of rush hour. Additionally, since those signs alongside traffic lights can be hard to read, there are often larger signs posted about 500 feet before an intersection, bearing the name of the upcoming street.

I'm not someone who uses her GPS very often, and the prevalence of signs makes me feel comfortable without non-stop navigation. I'm prepared for my exits miles ahead, I know which lane I need to get into for the correct freeway entrances, and I know which roads are coming up. Preparation makes me the happiest camper.

So rush hour can be stressful, and the roads are congested and wide, but overall, acclimation to driving in California has been easy and relatively seamless. Look at me go!