You may be from Southern California if...
You say: "I am so cold right now"
...and that's because it's below 65 degrees. Most of us living in Southern California just don't know what real cold is.
You indicate directions by saying: "THE >>insert freeway number here<<"
In Southern California it's not uncommon to hear a phrase like, "Take the 5 to the 405 and get off at Sunset Blvd." We've adopted adding "the" before our freeway numbers. Don't ask why, we just do :)You know what Carmageddon is.
Yep. Carmageddon. It's a thing. And if you're from Southern California you've probably heard of it. A while back, the 405 Freeway was closed a few times due to construction. The residents of Los Angeles who frequently (and dependently) use the 405 termed it Carmageddon...and it was awful.More than 75% of your closet consists of tank tops, shorts, and flip-flops.
When it's close to a 100 degrees in February, and you technically live in the desert, what else are you going to do but pack away your light sweaters and break out the tank tops?You say "no worries" on a regular basis.
It's no secret that people in Southern California are known for being relaxed, go-with-the-flow type of people. Some would say that translates to being perpetually late, dressing casually, or having a laid back attitude toward life. We would just attribute it to a "beach-living" mentality that says, "It's all good, go with the flow."
You love In-N-Out.
In-N-Out is an obsession for almost everyone who lives in Southern California. You're probably familiar with phrases like "animal style", "double double", or "protein style" and, chances are, you have an unhealthy addiction to their secret sauce.Find yourself thinking it's "normal" to see celebrities--everywhere!
For the rest of the U.S., it's not typical to be out to lunch and see a celebrity sitting two tables away. For us in Southern California, it can be a common occurrence, especially if you hang out at Hollywood hot spots like Nobu Los Angeles, Tavern, Pizzeria Mozza, or the ever-popular Intelligentsia.
Use the word "like" more than, like, necessary in a, like, sentence.
It's true. For us in Southern California, we like the word like. It, like, naturally drops into, like, conversation. It's like, weird.
As a second-generation native Californian, I thoroughly enjoyed your California series! We do have a slightly strange lifestyle here, but it’s what we know, and we’re happy with it. A perfect day consists of waking up to sunshine, going to the beach (by freeway, of course), and having In-and-Out Burgers for lunch !!
This is like, so me, dude!
Guilty… dude.
I was raised in Southern California but have lived up north in the Gold Country for 25 years. I still use “dude”, In-N-Out is just as popular up here, we used the Freeway numbers as well, traffic is bad but not “carmageddon”, and everyone uses “like”. We have our own lingo up here, like “going up country” which means using rural roads to head to Lake Tahoe, and “flatlanders”, who don’t know how to use the 2-lane highways, especially on canyon roads and refused to pull over when there are more than 3 cars behind you. And no one gets cold at 65 degrees :D.
Even though I’m in Virginia now, I always think it’s too cold during winter and wear shorts and tank tops any chance I get.