At first glance, it makes little sense to leave endless sunshine for dense fog. Still, many Southern California natives are braving the weather and trekking to San Francisco for the art, the openness, and a complete change from the home that they know.

Nicole Meldahl, 23, is a history major and is entering her fifth year of living in San Francisco. The Pasadena native strongly disliked living in Southern California and became interested in the Beat Generation of 1950s North Beach in high school. She said she, “moved up here to follow Jack Kerouac and his On The Road excursions.”

“I love it up here. Everyone’s really friendly and they’re all very unique. It’s just a friendly, open environment,” said Meldahl, who insists she is “never going back” to Southern California. Her favorite parts of the city are Dolores Park and the thriving literary environment.

Students also move to the city as a result of university impaction.

Drew Girard, a 22-year old philosophy major, came to SF State four years ago because it was the only college to which he was accepted. Though the area is different from his home in Laguna Hills, Girard said he prefers San Francisco and there are “not any long term plans to return” to Southern California.

“The city sort of has its own personality and being…a lot of really interesting people with a lot of interesting, wonderful things going on to be a part of or just to observe,” he said.

Peter Cable, 23, grew up in Vienna, Va., before moving to Ventura, Calif., two years ago. After one year in Los Angeles County, the liberal studies major dove into the streaming northbound current to San Francisco.

“Living on the East Coast, it’s sold to you: Californication. That’s why I moved to Southern California, then I realized that’s not where I want to be, so San Francisco was my second choice. It’s the best, I love it here. People’s outlook is different [than in Southern California], I think, their way of looking at life. It’s a little less materialistic,” Cable said.

Although the number of Southern Californian students has increased in the past 10 years, Bay Area natives still make up the majority of the student body, according to Jo Volkert, associate vice president of Enrollment Planning and Management. 55 percent of incoming freshman in 2006 were from the Bay Area, 19.4 percent were from Southern California, 5.6 percent were from San Diego, and 19.4 percent were from other areas. Volkert said she expects the 2007 data to be “roughly the same.”

But records also show that in the past decade, the number of non-Bay Area freshman has increased from 516 to 1,450, whereas the number of Bay Area freshman showed a much slower increase, from 1,445 to 1,808.

Nevertheless, not all Southern California transplants fall in love with the city, and some return home after one or two years.

Freshman Katie Kirk, 17, moved from Mission Viejo to San Francisco with a group of her friends to attend SF State. They chose San Francisco because it was close enough to visit home but far enough away to be independent, she said.

“It kind of was divided in half of people who know they’re going back home and people who know they want to stay up here, and I want to go home,” she said.

Kirk wants to stay in San Francisco for college, but plans to return to the family, friends, and Disneyland she is currently missing after graduation.

“The people make wherever you are. Since [my friends and family aren’t] up here, that’s half the reason that I would want to go home.”

Whether they stay here or not, 18-year-old freshman and Bay Area native Mitchell Zekhtser’s opinion is that people move from south to north to experience the unique style of the Bay Area.

“It’s so diverse and there’s so many opportunities for every type of person, any type of style of anything. I mean, look at our school: there’s nobody who looks the same, and no one even cares. Everyone can have their own different type of style. No one judges you here. Everyone’s just happy being themselves and everyone’s friends with one another,” he said.