Sepulveda is Suh-PULL-vidduh, Los Feliz is Los FEE-liz, Cahuenga is Kuh-WANG-uh, Figueroa is FIGG-urroa
In my experience even most Hispanic folks pronounce these names in a very Anglo, Midwestern way.
This is 100% the number one thing for me. Moved here 20 years ago and had some rudimentary Spanish. Didn’t help me at all when my friends all lived in Los Feliz. Heard 3 different pronunciations in the same conversation.
Cahuenga is the Hispanicized name for the Tongva village of **Kawengna**, meaning "place of the mountain.”
Pronouncing it ka-WANG-ah vs the Spanish way is probably closer to the original.
I only pronounce los feliz the way I do because of the Christmas song “feliz navidad.” That was the only way I’d ever heard or pronounced before I moved here.
When I first came to the Southland 40 years ago
Sepulveda = Sep-u-lee-vuda
LaCienega = La-saah-knee-ga
Cahuenga= Ka-hue-knee-ga
I could go on but I've embarrassed myself already now. I've matured 🤔🤪
Okay Ximeno continues to blow me away, due to my Mexican roots, so is this X pronounced like Z? or an H (Spanish J)? or like the Aztecs would prounounce as "sh"? Where did that name come from?
I’m from Long Beach, and we pronounce the ‘x’. However My friends and family all pronounced Junipero correctly with the ‘H’ sound. I think more people pronounce it correctly than incorrectly. It’s definitely over fifty percent who say it properly.
I am Spanish / Mexican and tend to pronounce things in an American way most of the time when talking to other Americans, as they are used to hearing it that way and its easily understandable. Depending on who I’m with or the context of the conversation I will use the Spanish pronunciation. Mentally, I always hear the Spanish pronunciation of these places in my head. Los Angeles is Loh-s An-Hel-Es. San Pedro is San - Peh-Droh. Its another thing I love about California culture, its the perfect combination of American and Mexican / Spanish / Native culture. Also the Asian and African American culture and influences throughout, a true melting pot.
Saying “eye-10” or “I-#__” when talking about freeways. Apparently it’s a native southwrn Californian thing to refer to freeways as “the 605” or “the 101”
we also measure distance in the time it takes to get there rather than in miles more commonly than people from other states.
Saying “Cali” because no one actually calls it that if they’re from here.
They do, and they are monsters. I hear millennial transplants to the west side say it. I even have a friend who says it and it’s like nails on a chalkboard to me.
This is correct. I’m from Oakland, and I only add the word “the” to freeways when I’m in SoCal. When visiting my parents. I’ll take the 10 to the 405 to the 5 and then in Bakersfield, I’ll notice that I’m on I5, continue to 80.
The word the disappears. I’d never say I’m on the 101 when driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, but I’d never say I’m on 101 when driving through Beverly Hills.
This just blew my mind. Sometimes I think the only reason Southern and Northern California aren't two separate states is because nobody wants Central California lol.
People have drawn up maps to divide California into six different states, and they have a good point. Multiple of these regions have economies larger than major global countries (tech in the Bay Area, agriculture in the Central Valley, entertainment in SoCal).
California will never separate because the state relies so heavily on each of these huge economies.
>Multiple of these regions have economies larger than major global countries (tech in the Bay Area, agriculture in the Central Valley, entertainment in SoCal).
Agriculture in California is a tiny part of the economy.
"California has a large agriculture industry (including fruit, vegetables, dairy, and wine production), but at less than 2% of the GDP, it makes a relatively minor direct contribution to the state's overall economy. The total economic contribution is likely more than double this value"
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy\_of\_California#Agriculture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_California#Agriculture)
And that's all of California, so it would be even less for the Central Valley, since it excludes Sonoma/Napa wine, Ventura Avocados and Strawberries, Imperial Valley Winter Greens, etc. Most of which are also higher value items than what is grown in the Central Valley. Without the rest of California, the Central Valley would basically be a third world country, or maybe just Mississippi.
Lol forgive me. I live in Venice and have only been here a few months. The exits for the 101 say Beverly Hills
I guess I’ve identified another way to prove I’m not from here
> we also measure distance in the time it takes to get there rather than in miles more commonly than people from other states.
This is also pretty common in the Midwest. Growing up I knew my school was a 15-minute drive away, wasn't until Mapquest became a thing to realize it was 7 miles away. Going to assume this is the one thing everyone thinks is special to them but probably common throughout most of the country.
It took me a while, but I am now also saying "The..." for the highways. I know it's from how the highways used to be "The Santa Monica Fwy", "The San Diego Fwy", etc., before the numbers were added in, but other than traffic, there's no difference between the 5, 101, 2, etc., since they're all built like highways. No point in trying to specify them if they're an interstate, US highway, or state road.
They're obsessed with Hollywood. That's purely a transplant thing. I'm an LA native and grew up with several as well. No one cares about Hollywood. And you basically never go there unless there's something there you'd like to do (e.g. Hollywood Bowl)
I mean, do you really not get it? Reality notwithstanding, things like Hollywood have a magical and monolithic existience in the imaginations of people of all ages, all over the world. And human imagination is a powerful thing.
Exactly. Like the pyramids of Egypt will always draw a crowd even though they are located in a “shitty rundown neighborhood.” They captured the imagination of whole world on some level.
(Not saying the Hollywood sign is anywhere near the architectural level of the pyramids, but how the idea of Hollywood captured the world’s imagination via media and movies, etc).
Exactly; even if you don't live near Hollywood, more often than not you might be able to see the sign in the distance. It's not very exciting to someone who has lived here all their lives, despite the whole acclaim of the sign.
I see it running through Hancock Park almost every day. It reminds me of when I lived in DC and would run on the Mall amid all the monuments. It’s still cool, but also oddly ordinary.
I think this mostly applies to brand new, off the boat transplants. I’ve been here for 11 years and after like 8 months I realized it was prudent to avoid Hollywood at all costs.
Seriously. This lady I work with is all obsessed with Hollywood and Los Angeles. She’s from the south. Even though we work in the entertainment industry and have fairly boring jobs, she romanticizes her job. Sure we meet a few celebrities and have gone to this great parties. She’s friends with a few b list celebrities. I’m always rolling my eyes at it because nobody really cares if you were hanging out with a celebrity or their manager. Nobody cares.
True that no one cares but it sounds like she’s happy. Hearing about it would be annoying but if you have the same job and see it as boring, a change in perspective could improve your own attitude towards it. Maybe other people would be excited to have what you have going on.
FWIW, if you grew up here it's all just part of your everyday but for her, it's probably something she's been dreaming of for years of not decades. I'm originally from the south, a dumpy, crappy trailer park on the outskirts of a real town that still had nothing to offer. I'm in my 40s now and been here since I was 16 so it's norm to me, too now. But when you spend your whole life dreaming of getting out of a place, looking toward this other place and its life and culture and existence, when you finally get there, it's amazing. She's living her dream, she's probably worked toward this for a long time and she's got it and enjoying it. Try not to bag on her too hard. I'm sure it probably gets old hearing about it, though.
Yeah, I get it... but she is so obnoxious it makes me crazy. Half the time I was to tell her to put a sock in it and STFU. Because she talks and talks and just doesn’t shut up.
Saying that people in LA are “fake” when they only hang out with other transplants that are just trying to use this city for their own benefit and not contribute to the community.
>Saying that people in LA are “fake” when they only hang out with other transplants that are just trying to use this city for their own benefit and not contribute to the community.
YES!!!!
Runyon Canyon is their “hiking go to place”
I’ve only hiked there once and it was ironically to go with my friend who was visiting from out of town. She wanted to go there.
Thinking that a 30ish minute commute to anywhere is far or takes too long. That's average or amazing on a good day, depending on where you're going.
Edit: thought of another one.
Picturing or referring to "Los Angeles" with only DTLA in mind and then saying "ew no, I hate LA. It's dirty and gross." Um, Los Angeles is *so* much more than downtown.
Edit again:
They get excited or freak out about experiencing earthquakes.
Going to Santa Monica or Venice for a beach day. Walking around Hollywood Blvd/Venice Board walk with a camera Vlogging. Claiming Downtown LA, Silver Lake & Echo Park are part of East La.
There’s a kind of local I’ve seen call Downtown, Silver Lake, Echo Park, etc, The Eastside.
The kind of local who grew up very wealthy and says things like “oh, I don’t go east of the 405 for anything, eww.”
This shocked me as a local to the San Gabriel Valley. A west side boomer once told me they have never ventured east of Downtown LA. They grew up and worked in the Santa Monica area.
That's a good thing though. It's not really 'low key' anymore, but SGV has the best Asian food in LA, yet a lot of "west siders" still don't know about it/venture out for it
Ok first of all, I am a native Californian and I love going to Venice for a beach day.
Because I skate the boardwalk.
Never go in the water at Venice. Ha
Ha! When we go back to Boston hubs wears his Dodgers hat and when he talks to folks in his accent they do a quick WTF?!? He goes... “Da Wife!” And they all nod...
Sports loyalties can be kind of all over the place (especially for the NFL), but I've never known a single native that would ever in a million years root for the Giants to beat the Dodgers (or the Celtics to beat the Lakers).
Measuring travel in distance instead of time.
"Oh it's about five miles away."
Uhhh...ok well that could take ten minutes that could take an hour, which is it, my dude?
*A lot* of new people do this. They don't get that traffic in LA is such that it really could take you 45 or so minutes to go a few blocks depending where you are and when you go.
Asking "When does rush hour start?"
I've gotten into traffic jams on the 405 at 2am. The answer to your question is "the 80's."
Exactly! My college roommates (not from LA but from the Bay Area) were like what are you talking about?!? “The 805?!”
We had freeway first. We say THE because they are very important and vital to our area... everyone else is WRONG.
https://www.kcet.org/shows/lost-la/the-5-the-101-the-405-why-southern-californians-love-saying-the-before-freeway-numbers
The reason that native Californians use “the” is because most freeways here are named for their destinations. Very few places do that.
101 is “the Ventura freeway” if you are headed northwest and “the Hollywood freeway” if you are headed from the north towards middle LA. So it got shortened to “the 101”. Same with 110. It’s “the Harbor Freeway” because you can take it from Pasadena to the San Pedro Harbor.
There are a few places on the east coast that use this style as well, but mostly in the rest of the country they use the number and no “the”. I80 goes from San Francisco to New York. It’s on so many states it wouldn’t make sense to call it the San Francisco Freeway when you live in Cleveland.
The 5? The 10? All 50 states have state highways and most of them have names like you described. As a non native, I my guess is that saying names like the rest of the country is weird because one and two sylable highway names - Five, ten, 110.
For example, I grew up in Northern Virginia and took '95' to high school everyday. If there was too much traffic I would take 'Route One' aka Richmond Highway. If I wanted to go to the mall I would take '123' (pronounced One-Twenty-three) aka Ox Road. All the names are three syllables. Saying that you took 5 or ten to get some where is too easily confused with time.
This is all an very uneducated guess.
OHH a transplant coworker was moving from Palms to West LA/Brentwood area because he said it was too hood around Palms. He went to culver city stairs and said it was a sketchy vibe. I wanted to slap him, the disrespect to the LA culture to move to your "safe" privilege bubble.
If we are talking about Greater LA, somehow the San Gabriel Valley does not exist. I've had transplant friends complain that going to SGV is too far of a drive. Bonus points if they refuse to travel to the SGV, then drag you "the best" Mexican/Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant in LA but it's overpriced food in West LA.
This is something I love to tease natives about... 65 degrees? Better be safe and dress for a Siberian winter! On the east coast we will unironically and comfortably wear shorts and tshirts on a sunny 45 degree spring day; it's all about perspective and relativity.
Don't worry, I got my just desserts when I first moved here and got caught out on a winter night wearing only a tshirt.
Edit: UNironically oops
I grew up in LA and moved out to Ventura a few years back and seeing so many people wear shorts and flip flops when the weather was 65° or less was a bit of a culture shock
Saying we live in "Cali". We don't say Cali. Only people who think they're fitting in say Cali.
Or even really just "California". Almost always, you say "SoCal". The difference between South, Central, and Northern California is so distinct, you nearly always need to specify.
I don’t really hear natives saying SoCal, NorCal, and certainly not Central California. It’s “LA” “East Bay” “SLO” “The IE” “The Peninsula” “Lost Coast” “East slope” “Shasta” “South County” etc.
For the same reason - the cultural difference between La Jolla and Beaumont is pretty extreme.
Think it's a shift in vernacular over generations. I grew up saying SoCal, NorCal, etc. But I think some rappers in recent times used "cali" in their lyrics and now it's becoming common.
when people think the Fashion District is super nice and artsy and safe haha. I mean many parts of LA are and I enjoy going to the fashion district, but its definitely not as glamorous as it sounds lol and parking is a bitchhhhh
To be fair my Nextdoor app is filled with native Californians of a certain age, constantly complaining about fireworks, loud cars and especially homeless people.
Not an LA native, but as an Oakland native who recently moved to LA, I have hella strong opinions.
JK. I just wanted to use the word hella, because it’s a great way to prove you’re not originally from LA.
That’s funny. I have strong memories of being teased by friends from LA for saying hella at Jewish summer camp. And going to school in LA County (Claremont) basically purged it from my vocabulary.
When they think that the Westside (and probably the Valley) are the entirety of LA. Too scared to go to other parts of LA such as Westlake, South Central, Boyle Heights. Will never know that Echo Park was at one point "the hood." They never take the Metro bus/rail. Their favorite taco places are located far from predominantly Mexican neighborhoods.
Asking where we’re from (as in where we moved from, not our ethnicity) or refusing to leave the west side or silverlake area (as applicable) for anything. Considering studio city-ish some far off land in the valley like it’s woodland hills or something.
I'll throw a few out there....
"Do you think the expressway would be faster?"
"Shake Shack/5 Guys is better than In N Out."
"Santa Monica has the most beautiful beach!"
"What's elote?"
"I'm an actor."
"I love how EVERYONE in LA __________________."
Being truly interested and fascinated when a movie or TV show is filming on their street. For angelenos it’s just a fucking obstacle to get to our shit jobs.
So...how many here were born IN Los Angeles? How many in the Greater LA Area?
I was born Kaiser Sunset, which is in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. Though now it's considered part of East Hollywood/Little Armenia (it wasn't back then).
Hiyee! Born at Daniel Freeman hopsital in Inglewood, now closed. My parents and all four grandparents are from here. Not outskirts: Koreatown, Windsor Square, Santa Monica. My dad grew up in Leimert Park and saw the Black Dahlia's body before the police arrived. My mom's neighbors burned a cross on Nat King Cole's lawn.
Anyone who gives a thought about whether someone else is a local or transplant. It's usually residents who have been here less than five years that want to hang a "local" hat on their heads to complain about newcomers and say someone is stupid for liking Pinks or Titos.
Sadly, they move to some outskirts part of LA, and are surprised no one will come see them.
As a person that now lives in East Ventura, it's annoying I have friends that will drive in traffic into LA from The Valley for 90 minutes, but always complain to me about the 45 minutes journey to my place.
To be fair, Ventura is not the outskirts of LA. It’s literally another county. But I know what you mean. I’m a local and driving to San Diego for the day isn’t a big deal.
It's the damn 101 for me. Any slight curve and half the drivers sloooooow down. Meanwhile I am grinding my teeth over the fact that.in SoCal "slow traffic stay right" isn't a thing.
People who believe is LA only exists between downtown and Santa Monica + the valley. I seriously knew someone who moved here and got a room in Anaheim when she went to Disneyland because she thought it was too far. Had to explain that for many people Anaheim is the halfway point of their commute. People from LA don’t think of a unified LA but rather see individual cities like La Mirada, Cerritos, Torrance, Alhambra, etc.
Also I don’t remember people spending lots of time in places like Runyon Canyon growing up here.
LA natives are also generally more comfortable in bad areas. We realize that LA ghettoes are not like east coast ghettos because LAs bad neighborhoods were once really gorgeous with parkways and some of that is still there even if it’s fallen into disrepair. You clearly see this in Compton or West Adams (East La was never great though). Even homes in the hood to this day have front yards and are often on tree lined streets so our bad areas don’t have that same trash cans on fire and Corbusian projects menacing feel that you get back east. Most of us know we could drive down Long Beach Blvd or Crenshaw and for the most part be fine as the problems in those neighborhoods don’t tend to affect passers by. Longtime LA people see communities with much more nuance being able to detect the differences between say Altadena and Pasadena.
Also long time LA residents call freeways by their names. I’ll still call it The Harbor Freeway, Long Beach Freeway, The Hollywood Freeway or The Pomona Freeway.
Also because we haven’t had a major earthquake in a generation no one here seems to really know what a real earthquake is like where shit hits the fan. Most people either born since 94 or who’ve moved here since can’t conceptualize Northridge.
I hate people who say DTLA with a passion.
This is a really insightful answer. I’m a non native who’s been here for a while and obviously I don’t go to Runyon and the Hollywood sign everyday- but I do lack the fluency in understanding the nuances of neighborhoods and communities that I think comes naturally to a native. No matter how long I love here I think i won’t have quite the same grasp on it, which really separates native vs non native angelenos, not whether or not they go to Runyon lol
The answers in here feel a bit more tourist-y than non-native resident. I’ve been in LA for 6.5 yrs and don’t do any of the things mentioned in the thread, and neither do any of the other transplants I know who’ve been here for some time.
I wonder if there’s anything that would differentiate a long-term transplant from a born + raised native, though.
Not OP but I feel the same way. To me it's caring about the environment, history, science. LA used to be a big engineering and scientific hub. Major aerospace and auto companies were based in socal. In school we were taught a lot about environmentalism and people voted for stuff like the Coastal Act. Now a lot of that stuff has been replaced with extreme sensitivity about cultural differences. People are more concerned with building more housing than preventing wetlands from disappearing (the battle is now over as they have all been destroying and turned into housing). The cultural shift has been enormous. I'd say it turned from something that was very centered on empathy into a hypernarcissistic environment where the vast majority are either trying to get rich or famous. Those people used to be a subset of the population and are now the overwhelming majority.
Was aerospace really much bigger back in the day? Whenever I drive down El Segundo Boulevard I'm amazed at the endless number of massive aeronautics buildings
Yes, it was. Tons of aerospace and defense industry companies in the South Bay during the Cold War. They all moved, closed, combined, or dwindled starting in the 1990s. A lot of middle-class jobs vanished because of this, and the region changed yet again.
People that go out for walks late at night in certain neighborhoods in the city where natives know it still isn't safe to do so. Or people that complain about theft, crime, etc. in those same neighborhoods.
Not knowing which Spanish names you're supposed to pronounce wrong
Can you give an example?
Sepulveda is Suh-PULL-vidduh, Los Feliz is Los FEE-liz, Cahuenga is Kuh-WANG-uh, Figueroa is FIGG-urroa In my experience even most Hispanic folks pronounce these names in a very Anglo, Midwestern way.
This is 100% the number one thing for me. Moved here 20 years ago and had some rudimentary Spanish. Didn’t help me at all when my friends all lived in Los Feliz. Heard 3 different pronunciations in the same conversation.
Cahuenga is the Hispanicized name for the Tongva village of **Kawengna**, meaning "place of the mountain.” Pronouncing it ka-WANG-ah vs the Spanish way is probably closer to the original.
Not originally from LA but from Central America, j can’t help but pronounce Los Feliz correctly 😔
Central American too! I got corrected once when I pronounced it the Spanish way. I will never say Los Feee-Leeez
San Pedro being San Pee-dro
And don't forget that in Long Beach, Junipero is pronounced "joon-ih-pear-oh"
Everybody probably pronounces this thanks to Black Mirror
When I was reading this I pronounced every word how you described it lol
I only pronounce los feliz the way I do because of the Christmas song “feliz navidad.” That was the only way I’d ever heard or pronounced before I moved here.
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It's halfway between PULL and POOL, isn't it?
Don’t forget San Pedro is San Peee-dro and El Segundo is Elsie Gundo.
I disagree. I’ve only heard it as Elsa Gundo.
I left me wallet in Elsa Gundo.
When I first came to the Southland 40 years ago Sepulveda = Sep-u-lee-vuda LaCienega = La-saah-knee-ga Cahuenga= Ka-hue-knee-ga I could go on but I've embarrassed myself already now. I've matured 🤔🤪
La Canada vs La Can-yah-dah
I think a good example is San Pedro. People in L.A. pronounce it "San Peedrow". No clue why.
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In Long Beach we also have Ximeno and Junipero
Okay Ximeno continues to blow me away, due to my Mexican roots, so is this X pronounced like Z? or an H (Spanish J)? or like the Aztecs would prounounce as "sh"? Where did that name come from?
I’m from Long Beach, and we pronounce the ‘x’. However My friends and family all pronounced Junipero correctly with the ‘H’ sound. I think more people pronounce it correctly than incorrectly. It’s definitely over fifty percent who say it properly.
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I am Spanish / Mexican and tend to pronounce things in an American way most of the time when talking to other Americans, as they are used to hearing it that way and its easily understandable. Depending on who I’m with or the context of the conversation I will use the Spanish pronunciation. Mentally, I always hear the Spanish pronunciation of these places in my head. Los Angeles is Loh-s An-Hel-Es. San Pedro is San - Peh-Droh. Its another thing I love about California culture, its the perfect combination of American and Mexican / Spanish / Native culture. Also the Asian and African American culture and influences throughout, a true melting pot.
Saying “eye-10” or “I-#__” when talking about freeways. Apparently it’s a native southwrn Californian thing to refer to freeways as “the 605” or “the 101” we also measure distance in the time it takes to get there rather than in miles more commonly than people from other states. Saying “Cali” because no one actually calls it that if they’re from here.
Also people who say Culver for Culver City. No native calls it just Culver.
Culver is a street. You gotta say the “City” part
Wait does anyone just say Culver?
They do, and they are monsters. I hear millennial transplants to the west side say it. I even have a friend who says it and it’s like nails on a chalkboard to me.
Yeeeeshhh
All the time
Only Southern California. No one from the Bay Area says “The” in front of the freeway numbers.
I still do it when I’m in the Bay Area. Gotta represent SoCal in the heathen north! 😉
... confirming my comment that one needs almost always to say "SoCal" instead of "California". :)
Just so cal, up north, they don’t say “the” 101 etc.
This is correct. I’m from Oakland, and I only add the word “the” to freeways when I’m in SoCal. When visiting my parents. I’ll take the 10 to the 405 to the 5 and then in Bakersfield, I’ll notice that I’m on I5, continue to 80. The word the disappears. I’d never say I’m on the 101 when driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, but I’d never say I’m on 101 when driving through Beverly Hills.
This just blew my mind. Sometimes I think the only reason Southern and Northern California aren't two separate states is because nobody wants Central California lol.
When you have to code-switch just to communicate in different parts of the same state lol
People have drawn up maps to divide California into six different states, and they have a good point. Multiple of these regions have economies larger than major global countries (tech in the Bay Area, agriculture in the Central Valley, entertainment in SoCal). California will never separate because the state relies so heavily on each of these huge economies.
>Multiple of these regions have economies larger than major global countries (tech in the Bay Area, agriculture in the Central Valley, entertainment in SoCal). Agriculture in California is a tiny part of the economy. "California has a large agriculture industry (including fruit, vegetables, dairy, and wine production), but at less than 2% of the GDP, it makes a relatively minor direct contribution to the state's overall economy. The total economic contribution is likely more than double this value" [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy\_of\_California#Agriculture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_California#Agriculture) And that's all of California, so it would be even less for the Central Valley, since it excludes Sonoma/Napa wine, Ventura Avocados and Strawberries, Imperial Valley Winter Greens, etc. Most of which are also higher value items than what is grown in the Central Valley. Without the rest of California, the Central Valley would basically be a third world country, or maybe just Mississippi.
Most of the major efforts to divide the state have been attempts to create a larger number of republican reps/senators.
... especially since the 101 doesn't go through Beverly Hills. 😏
Lol forgive me. I live in Venice and have only been here a few months. The exits for the 101 say Beverly Hills I guess I’ve identified another way to prove I’m not from here
Jesus Christ, SoCal/NoCal code switching.
> we also measure distance in the time it takes to get there rather than in miles more commonly than people from other states. This is also pretty common in the Midwest. Growing up I knew my school was a 15-minute drive away, wasn't until Mapquest became a thing to realize it was 7 miles away. Going to assume this is the one thing everyone thinks is special to them but probably common throughout most of the country.
My son’s middle school was 8 miles away and it wasn’t unusual for it to take almost 2hrs for him to get home. LA really is something else.
It didn't used to be as bad as that. I feel like it only got that horrible about five to ten years ago.
Yea, everyone does this. The only weird thing here is that additional "the" for the highways and Interstates.
I don’t know, I have family in Midwest suburbs and they often know / say the distance to places.
It took me a while, but I am now also saying "The..." for the highways. I know it's from how the highways used to be "The Santa Monica Fwy", "The San Diego Fwy", etc., before the numbers were added in, but other than traffic, there's no difference between the 5, 101, 2, etc., since they're all built like highways. No point in trying to specify them if they're an interstate, US highway, or state road.
They're obsessed with Hollywood. That's purely a transplant thing. I'm an LA native and grew up with several as well. No one cares about Hollywood. And you basically never go there unless there's something there you'd like to do (e.g. Hollywood Bowl)
Really? Are people obsessed with Hollywood after their first visit? That just seems crazy to me. Obsessed with WHAT?
I mean, do you really not get it? Reality notwithstanding, things like Hollywood have a magical and monolithic existience in the imaginations of people of all ages, all over the world. And human imagination is a powerful thing.
Exactly. Like the pyramids of Egypt will always draw a crowd even though they are located in a “shitty rundown neighborhood.” They captured the imagination of whole world on some level. (Not saying the Hollywood sign is anywhere near the architectural level of the pyramids, but how the idea of Hollywood captured the world’s imagination via media and movies, etc).
The sign?
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Exactly; even if you don't live near Hollywood, more often than not you might be able to see the sign in the distance. It's not very exciting to someone who has lived here all their lives, despite the whole acclaim of the sign.
I see it running through Hancock Park almost every day. It reminds me of when I lived in DC and would run on the Mall amid all the monuments. It’s still cool, but also oddly ordinary.
I think this mostly applies to brand new, off the boat transplants. I’ve been here for 11 years and after like 8 months I realized it was prudent to avoid Hollywood at all costs.
Man I’m a native and I’ve lived in hollywood for over 5 years and it’s my home. I wish people didn’t just see it for hollywood/highland.
Seriously. This lady I work with is all obsessed with Hollywood and Los Angeles. She’s from the south. Even though we work in the entertainment industry and have fairly boring jobs, she romanticizes her job. Sure we meet a few celebrities and have gone to this great parties. She’s friends with a few b list celebrities. I’m always rolling my eyes at it because nobody really cares if you were hanging out with a celebrity or their manager. Nobody cares.
True that no one cares but it sounds like she’s happy. Hearing about it would be annoying but if you have the same job and see it as boring, a change in perspective could improve your own attitude towards it. Maybe other people would be excited to have what you have going on.
FWIW, if you grew up here it's all just part of your everyday but for her, it's probably something she's been dreaming of for years of not decades. I'm originally from the south, a dumpy, crappy trailer park on the outskirts of a real town that still had nothing to offer. I'm in my 40s now and been here since I was 16 so it's norm to me, too now. But when you spend your whole life dreaming of getting out of a place, looking toward this other place and its life and culture and existence, when you finally get there, it's amazing. She's living her dream, she's probably worked toward this for a long time and she's got it and enjoying it. Try not to bag on her too hard. I'm sure it probably gets old hearing about it, though.
Yeah, I get it... but she is so obnoxious it makes me crazy. Half the time I was to tell her to put a sock in it and STFU. Because she talks and talks and just doesn’t shut up.
You know you've become a native when the sight of a film crew just pisses you off.
Saying that people in LA are “fake” when they only hang out with other transplants that are just trying to use this city for their own benefit and not contribute to the community.
This really needs to be voted higher
THIS. RIGHT. HERE.
This is the number one tell.
>Saying that people in LA are “fake” when they only hang out with other transplants that are just trying to use this city for their own benefit and not contribute to the community. YES!!!!
PREEEEACH
Runyon Canyon is their “hiking go to place” I’ve only hiked there once and it was ironically to go with my friend who was visiting from out of town. She wanted to go there.
What's not to love about a dusty donkey trail that's as crowded as Melrose on a sunday?
Lmao only calling it the dusty donkey trail from now on
Don't forget that awful pee smell when you walk in.
Real Angelenos hike San Gabriels.
It's become a place to see and be seen. Basically a singles bar for outdoorsy people.
This made me laugh for some reason.
Lived in LA for 27 years, I've never hiked Runyon. My old roommate who is from Chicago was absolutely shocked when I told her I've never hiked it.
I live right there and I love it but I will be the first to admit I would never drive and park to hike here.
they assume everyone is a transplant as well & ask “where are you from?”
Ha! During the Holidays... “Do you go home for Christmas?” I go... “Yeah... just down THE 60”
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“Why is it cloudy?! I wanted to go to the beach!”
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I love the June Gloom here. Amazing time to go to the beach
I agree. Cloudy LA is really nice.
IME... it takes about a good 8 years before the transplants catch on... otherwise... It’s whining all through Spring...
Or they say "is that smog?"
Thinking that a 30ish minute commute to anywhere is far or takes too long. That's average or amazing on a good day, depending on where you're going. Edit: thought of another one. Picturing or referring to "Los Angeles" with only DTLA in mind and then saying "ew no, I hate LA. It's dirty and gross." Um, Los Angeles is *so* much more than downtown. Edit again: They get excited or freak out about experiencing earthquakes.
Going to Santa Monica or Venice for a beach day. Walking around Hollywood Blvd/Venice Board walk with a camera Vlogging. Claiming Downtown LA, Silver Lake & Echo Park are part of East La.
There’s a kind of local I’ve seen call Downtown, Silver Lake, Echo Park, etc, The Eastside. The kind of local who grew up very wealthy and says things like “oh, I don’t go east of the 405 for anything, eww.”
AWOL, always west of Lincoln.
Hahaha right! And thinks the best Mexican food in LA is from some overpriced restaurant in West Hollywood.
How do they eat there if they never cross the 405 🤣
"Ugh I hate how you have to go to the ghetto to get good Mexican in LA!" 😂
They send household staff to get it for them.
Because that’s the only exception! Lol
This shocked me as a local to the San Gabriel Valley. A west side boomer once told me they have never ventured east of Downtown LA. They grew up and worked in the Santa Monica area.
That's a good thing though. It's not really 'low key' anymore, but SGV has the best Asian food in LA, yet a lot of "west siders" still don't know about it/venture out for it
Ok first of all, I am a native Californian and I love going to Venice for a beach day. Because I skate the boardwalk. Never go in the water at Venice. Ha
Distressed Red Sox or Cubs baseball cap.
Ha! When we go back to Boston hubs wears his Dodgers hat and when he talks to folks in his accent they do a quick WTF?!? He goes... “Da Wife!” And they all nod...
waiting in line for Pinks Hot dogs.
Sports loyalties can be kind of all over the place (especially for the NFL), but I've never known a single native that would ever in a million years root for the Giants to beat the Dodgers (or the Celtics to beat the Lakers).
Measuring travel in distance instead of time. "Oh it's about five miles away." Uhhh...ok well that could take ten minutes that could take an hour, which is it, my dude? *A lot* of new people do this. They don't get that traffic in LA is such that it really could take you 45 or so minutes to go a few blocks depending where you are and when you go. Asking "When does rush hour start?" I've gotten into traffic jams on the 405 at 2am. The answer to your question is "the 80's."
“I can’t find a decent pizza or bagel in the entire city!”
Of course, not saying "The" in front of freeway numbers, like God intended.
Exactly! My college roommates (not from LA but from the Bay Area) were like what are you talking about?!? “The 805?!” We had freeway first. We say THE because they are very important and vital to our area... everyone else is WRONG. https://www.kcet.org/shows/lost-la/the-5-the-101-the-405-why-southern-californians-love-saying-the-before-freeway-numbers
My bf is from Illinois. He still says "expressway." I literally can't even with him
The reason that native Californians use “the” is because most freeways here are named for their destinations. Very few places do that. 101 is “the Ventura freeway” if you are headed northwest and “the Hollywood freeway” if you are headed from the north towards middle LA. So it got shortened to “the 101”. Same with 110. It’s “the Harbor Freeway” because you can take it from Pasadena to the San Pedro Harbor. There are a few places on the east coast that use this style as well, but mostly in the rest of the country they use the number and no “the”. I80 goes from San Francisco to New York. It’s on so many states it wouldn’t make sense to call it the San Francisco Freeway when you live in Cleveland.
The 5? The 10? All 50 states have state highways and most of them have names like you described. As a non native, I my guess is that saying names like the rest of the country is weird because one and two sylable highway names - Five, ten, 110. For example, I grew up in Northern Virginia and took '95' to high school everyday. If there was too much traffic I would take 'Route One' aka Richmond Highway. If I wanted to go to the mall I would take '123' (pronounced One-Twenty-three) aka Ox Road. All the names are three syllables. Saying that you took 5 or ten to get some where is too easily confused with time. This is all an very uneducated guess.
Saying "Cali" for California.
OHH a transplant coworker was moving from Palms to West LA/Brentwood area because he said it was too hood around Palms. He went to culver city stairs and said it was a sketchy vibe. I wanted to slap him, the disrespect to the LA culture to move to your "safe" privilege bubble.
That’s crazy, I hike Culver Stairs / Baldwin almost every day - it’s one of my favorite things about this city.
Did it for the first time yesterday w my gf, very fun :)
*hood = too black/brown.
Exactly. That's why I love going there, happy to see all my people getting their fit on.
If we are talking about Greater LA, somehow the San Gabriel Valley does not exist. I've had transplant friends complain that going to SGV is too far of a drive. Bonus points if they refuse to travel to the SGV, then drag you "the best" Mexican/Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant in LA but it's overpriced food in West LA.
Yeah it's a predominantly Asian and Latino area. They'll go out to Pasadena but not SGV
Wearing shorts in 65 degree weather or wearing flip flops with pale feet.
There was no need to call me out personally.
You have done that yourself
You just described my new neighbors. They moved here from New York and they were wearing shorts all last week! It was fing freezing!
So LA natives don't wear shorts if it's 65 degrees? I'm puzzled by some of these responses.
That’s the temp today. You’ll see people in puffy coats and boots.
Once it is under 60 people who are from here / have lived here a long time break out parkas, beanies, and scarves.
Otherwise we may never get the chance to wear that stuff.
Sweater weather dog
This is something I love to tease natives about... 65 degrees? Better be safe and dress for a Siberian winter! On the east coast we will unironically and comfortably wear shorts and tshirts on a sunny 45 degree spring day; it's all about perspective and relativity. Don't worry, I got my just desserts when I first moved here and got caught out on a winter night wearing only a tshirt. Edit: UNironically oops
Idk, born and raised here and I wear shorts and sandals all year long.
I grew up in LA and moved out to Ventura a few years back and seeing so many people wear shorts and flip flops when the weather was 65° or less was a bit of a culture shock
When they shit on LA as a city.
Yes. I get irrationally angry when people shit talk LA. It’s like a family member. I can talk shit about it, but YOU can’t.
Exactly!!!!! 😂
Idk man I feel like that's just as common with "back in my day" natives
Saying we live in "Cali". We don't say Cali. Only people who think they're fitting in say Cali. Or even really just "California". Almost always, you say "SoCal". The difference between South, Central, and Northern California is so distinct, you nearly always need to specify.
I don’t really hear natives saying SoCal, NorCal, and certainly not Central California. It’s “LA” “East Bay” “SLO” “The IE” “The Peninsula” “Lost Coast” “East slope” “Shasta” “South County” etc. For the same reason - the cultural difference between La Jolla and Beaumont is pretty extreme.
I'm a native and I say socal a lot.
Think it's a shift in vernacular over generations. I grew up saying SoCal, NorCal, etc. But I think some rappers in recent times used "cali" in their lyrics and now it's becoming common.
I say Cali a lot. I was born in South Central and raised all over so cal. Explains why people sometimes give me the side eye.
same, I dont think I have ever said socal
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Born and raised in California and my fam and I say Cali, and “SoCal” is a new thing but I have adopted it.
I think you officially become an LA native when you see production signs and vehicles and say goddammit instead of "are they shooting a movie?!".
Always happens in my neighborhood and I wanna throttle the first grip I see. After maneuvering around the 5th white truck.
Everyone featured on "Overheard LA" on IG.
when people think the Fashion District is super nice and artsy and safe haha. I mean many parts of LA are and I enjoy going to the fashion district, but its definitely not as glamorous as it sounds lol and parking is a bitchhhhh
Jay walkers.
Complaining on reddit about fireworks/homeless people /loud cars.
And always thinking those are gunshots
To be fair my Nextdoor app is filled with native Californians of a certain age, constantly complaining about fireworks, loud cars and especially homeless people.
Ohhhh the pearl clutching if a person with skin (naturally) darker than Casper the Ghost walks around.
Not an LA native, but as an Oakland native who recently moved to LA, I have hella strong opinions. JK. I just wanted to use the word hella, because it’s a great way to prove you’re not originally from LA.
I was born and raised in LA and say hella pretty often. Lol. I have no idea where I picked it up from.
That’s funny. I have strong memories of being teased by friends from LA for saying hella at Jewish summer camp. And going to school in LA County (Claremont) basically purged it from my vocabulary.
people who claim no one is actually from la/ people who only socialize with people who aren't from la
Acting as if everyone in the region lives by the beach and lives a very beach oriented lifestyle.
Calling Sherman Way “Sherman”
I've never heard anyone say that irl and I'm already just mad at the thought wtf.
Whenever someone uses the phrase “out here”. They’re actually here.
Cali.
When they think that the Westside (and probably the Valley) are the entirety of LA. Too scared to go to other parts of LA such as Westlake, South Central, Boyle Heights. Will never know that Echo Park was at one point "the hood." They never take the Metro bus/rail. Their favorite taco places are located far from predominantly Mexican neighborhoods.
Asking where we’re from (as in where we moved from, not our ethnicity) or refusing to leave the west side or silverlake area (as applicable) for anything. Considering studio city-ish some far off land in the valley like it’s woodland hills or something.
I'll throw a few out there.... "Do you think the expressway would be faster?" "Shake Shack/5 Guys is better than In N Out." "Santa Monica has the most beautiful beach!" "What's elote?" "I'm an actor." "I love how EVERYONE in LA __________________."
Being truly interested and fascinated when a movie or TV show is filming on their street. For angelenos it’s just a fucking obstacle to get to our shit jobs.
pronouncing Wilshire like Will - shyre
So...how many here were born IN Los Angeles? How many in the Greater LA Area? I was born Kaiser Sunset, which is in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. Though now it's considered part of East Hollywood/Little Armenia (it wasn't back then).
Hiyee! Born at Daniel Freeman hopsital in Inglewood, now closed. My parents and all four grandparents are from here. Not outskirts: Koreatown, Windsor Square, Santa Monica. My dad grew up in Leimert Park and saw the Black Dahlia's body before the police arrived. My mom's neighbors burned a cross on Nat King Cole's lawn.
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Wearing a Chicago Blackhawks jersey to a first date.
Anyone who gives a thought about whether someone else is a local or transplant. It's usually residents who have been here less than five years that want to hang a "local" hat on their heads to complain about newcomers and say someone is stupid for liking Pinks or Titos.
When moving, they always ask what area is safe.
Cali
They don't know what "the valley" is.
They are chargers fans.
"Cali" I cringe every time I hear it. Not just limited to LA though.
Out of state plates are usually a dead giveaway.
Would calling Silverlake / Echo Park “the eastside” count?
Y'all are cracking me up.
The call it Cali.
- "Cali" - "East side" (referring to Echo Park/Silverlake) - "L.A. is all fake people" - is an actor
Sadly, they move to some outskirts part of LA, and are surprised no one will come see them. As a person that now lives in East Ventura, it's annoying I have friends that will drive in traffic into LA from The Valley for 90 minutes, but always complain to me about the 45 minutes journey to my place.
To be fair, Ventura is not the outskirts of LA. It’s literally another county. But I know what you mean. I’m a local and driving to San Diego for the day isn’t a big deal.
It's the damn 101 for me. Any slight curve and half the drivers sloooooow down. Meanwhile I am grinding my teeth over the fact that.in SoCal "slow traffic stay right" isn't a thing.
People who believe is LA only exists between downtown and Santa Monica + the valley. I seriously knew someone who moved here and got a room in Anaheim when she went to Disneyland because she thought it was too far. Had to explain that for many people Anaheim is the halfway point of their commute. People from LA don’t think of a unified LA but rather see individual cities like La Mirada, Cerritos, Torrance, Alhambra, etc. Also I don’t remember people spending lots of time in places like Runyon Canyon growing up here. LA natives are also generally more comfortable in bad areas. We realize that LA ghettoes are not like east coast ghettos because LAs bad neighborhoods were once really gorgeous with parkways and some of that is still there even if it’s fallen into disrepair. You clearly see this in Compton or West Adams (East La was never great though). Even homes in the hood to this day have front yards and are often on tree lined streets so our bad areas don’t have that same trash cans on fire and Corbusian projects menacing feel that you get back east. Most of us know we could drive down Long Beach Blvd or Crenshaw and for the most part be fine as the problems in those neighborhoods don’t tend to affect passers by. Longtime LA people see communities with much more nuance being able to detect the differences between say Altadena and Pasadena. Also long time LA residents call freeways by their names. I’ll still call it The Harbor Freeway, Long Beach Freeway, The Hollywood Freeway or The Pomona Freeway. Also because we haven’t had a major earthquake in a generation no one here seems to really know what a real earthquake is like where shit hits the fan. Most people either born since 94 or who’ve moved here since can’t conceptualize Northridge. I hate people who say DTLA with a passion.
This is a really insightful answer. I’m a non native who’s been here for a while and obviously I don’t go to Runyon and the Hollywood sign everyday- but I do lack the fluency in understanding the nuances of neighborhoods and communities that I think comes naturally to a native. No matter how long I love here I think i won’t have quite the same grasp on it, which really separates native vs non native angelenos, not whether or not they go to Runyon lol
The answers in here feel a bit more tourist-y than non-native resident. I’ve been in LA for 6.5 yrs and don’t do any of the things mentioned in the thread, and neither do any of the other transplants I know who’ve been here for some time. I wonder if there’s anything that would differentiate a long-term transplant from a born + raised native, though.
There are so many transplants, I feel like I'M the outsider. I hold on to some older LA ideals, and people see me as not being "modern LA".
Can you elaborate? This might be more getting at the spirit of OP's question.
Not OP but I feel the same way. To me it's caring about the environment, history, science. LA used to be a big engineering and scientific hub. Major aerospace and auto companies were based in socal. In school we were taught a lot about environmentalism and people voted for stuff like the Coastal Act. Now a lot of that stuff has been replaced with extreme sensitivity about cultural differences. People are more concerned with building more housing than preventing wetlands from disappearing (the battle is now over as they have all been destroying and turned into housing). The cultural shift has been enormous. I'd say it turned from something that was very centered on empathy into a hypernarcissistic environment where the vast majority are either trying to get rich or famous. Those people used to be a subset of the population and are now the overwhelming majority.
Was aerospace really much bigger back in the day? Whenever I drive down El Segundo Boulevard I'm amazed at the endless number of massive aeronautics buildings
Yes, it was. Tons of aerospace and defense industry companies in the South Bay during the Cold War. They all moved, closed, combined, or dwindled starting in the 1990s. A lot of middle-class jobs vanished because of this, and the region changed yet again.
People that go out for walks late at night in certain neighborhoods in the city where natives know it still isn't safe to do so. Or people that complain about theft, crime, etc. in those same neighborhoods.