66 things I know about Californians

Californians have white teeth.
Californians are relaxed, helpful and positive people. They smile a lot and it’s not odd to get smiled at by a complete stranger.
Tons of Californians are actually from somewhere else.
Californians are more tolerant of other lifestyles and cultures than the average American. They have to be, since so many people from other cultures live here.
Californians live in an incredibly beautiful part of the world with a consistently pleasant climate. They know and appreciate this fact.
And because they live in such a desirable place, they have to pay about two-and-a-half times the price than the average national house price.
Californians love camping. On the three big holiday weekends in the summer (Memorial, Independence and Labor Day) you will have a hard time finding a campsite in California that is not booked.
Californians dig comfortable camping chairs.
Californians differ significantly between Northern (NorCal) and Southern California (SoCal). Whether it is sport, music or lifestyle, there is quiet some competition going on between the two parts.
Californians are early risers. A lot of people even get up before the sun rises, mostly to exercise or to check the stock market.
Californians know Yoga. Thus it’s probably one of the few places on earth where you could practice every single Yoga style there is: Ashtanga, Bikram, Flow, Hatha, Jin, Power Yoga, Restorative, Svaroopa and Vinyasa… and let’s not forget SUP Yoga which means Yoga on a Stand-up paddle board, yes that’s right.
Californians love trying new sports or workout programs and once they decide they wanna pursue this a bit longer, they do not hesitate to buy all the equipment and appropriate clothing that is required to do so.
Californians rarely have basements.
Whether they are from NorCal or SoCal, Californians go to Disneyland at least once a year. It’s their ‘happiest place on earth’.
Californians live in an extremely tech-rich world. They own at least two computers, one tablet, one or two smartphones and at least one domain on the internet, probably several.
Californians are pretty obsessed with social media. Almost everyone has at least three accounts of the following: Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Linkedin, Pinterest, Tumblr or Twitter. They love having groups on Facebook for their book club, running group or to diet together.
Californians say “hella” a lot.
Californians don’t learn to drive, they learn to operate a vehicle. The driving test here takes approximately 15 minutes and I don’t know anyone who didn’t pass it at the first try.
Californians drive fast on freeways and they still think it is safe to pass others in any given lane.
The Californian weather forecast usually predicts “a storm”, not just rain.
Californians lose all driving skills, if they had any in the first place, when it’s raining. They simply can’t deal with rain. It scares them.
But they need it because Californians have been living in a drought for the last several years and every year it gets worse. Many people try to save water and replace lawn for drought resistant plants or just let their lawn die and put a sign “Brown is the new green” on it.
Californians have very tidy front yards. The backyard can be a whole different story.
Folks from SoCal use “the” in front of the freeway numbers. “I took the 5 and then the 10.” People from NorCal don’t use the “the” and find this habit annoying.
When being asked about their commute, Californians answer in time, not distance. Explaining their location they always say: “It takes 20 minutes, depending on the traffic.” But it’s barely ever true. 40 minutes just sounds too far and 15 minutes is just not realistic.
Californians don’t have great public transportation.
If Californians smoke at all, they’d rather do it in their car than outside in public.
Californians have more than 1 million residential swimming pools.
Californians own at least 3 pairs of sunglasses and 3 pairs of flip-flops.
Female Californians like to dress in yoga pants or leggings, mostly combined with sunglasses and flip-flops.
If you ask a Californian how to dress properly, they will always tell you to dress in layers.
Californians don’t go surfing every day. In fact, the majority doesn’t even know how to surf.
Californians like to show off their stuff. If they own a cabin in the Sierras or a Condo in Hawaii, they make sure you know it. Californians probably own Hawaii, at least Maui.
Californians are not afraid to talk about money. They actually love to talk about it. Everyone will tell you happily how much they paid for their house or their car.
Californians are very hospitable people. They invite you to their house and make you feel exceedingly welcome.
Californians think they don’t have an accent.
Californians say the word “like” a lot. Often placed in a sentence where it doesn’t belong. It’s like they can’t cut it out of their speech anymore. Like it messes with their rhythm.
They love cars. Like a lot. You are what you drive. The era of the Prius is over. Now it’s the Leaf and the Tesla.
Californians prefer to sugarcoat. Everything is positive, it’ll all be fine eventually and everyone is always doing great. They also work with this mindset. It’s not appreciated if you say something like “That is not realistic and can’t be done.”
Californians go to great length to come up with conference room themes that allude to the “fun work environment” you are in. Some call their conference rooms after Californian beaches: “Manresa”, “Sunset”, “Huntington”… There are Star Trek themes (“Klingon”, “Enterprise”…), “Hair”, “Pride” and “The other sock” (things you can lose, duh) among others. But, hey, who wouldn’t prefer to meet in “Love” than in conference room A?
Size matters for Californians. The more people, the better. The more the merrier. If you have a lunch date with one or two friends it’s very likely that they ask other people to join. It’s like they don’t want anyone to feel left out.
Same thing in the work environment. Californians wouldn’t want to run the risk of discriminating anyone who might possibly have something to say about your project. Distribution lists are key – don’t leave anyone off! They even add a disclaimer to their invite. “Feel free to forward this invite to anyone I might have missed”.
Californians cultivate a very relaxed work attire. Even if there is some kind of dress code, you probably could work here your whole life without owning a suit. The CEO could show up to a meeting in shorts and flip-flops because he went surfing before work – well, some people do surf.
Not every Californian lives in LA or SF.
Californians struggle with honesty and frankness. If you answer a question like “Do you think you’ll be able to help with this project in school?” with a brief and outright “No, I don’t think so.” they’ll probably think you’re just a rude European.
Not every Californian is gay.
Californians drink a lot of wine and they love buttery Chardonnay. They actually make a lot of great wines in far more areas than Napa or Sonoma Valley.
Californians are very proud of their fast food chain “In N’ Out’. It comes with its own jargon and a secret menu not advertised in stores. You can order a burger “animal style” which has mustard fried into the patty and comes with extra spread and grilled onions.
To make a dish Californian, you just have to add avocado. Or artichokes. Or both.
A lot of Californians are farmers and the farmer’s markets here are more like food festivals than the weekly shopping spree.
Californians love brunch on Sundays and they either have a “Bloody Mary” or a “Mimosa” with it. Preferably bottomless.
Californian waiters love to do small talk. Escorting you to your table, they will ask you if you’re celebrating anything and if you engage in a conversation, they’re happy to share personal stuff with you, too.
Californians think that American food includes sushi, tacos, naan, pho and pad thai.
Californians either go to Starbucks or to Peets.
Californians are very charitable people. They run “warm coat drives”, “food banks”, “Relays for life” and many more events to raise money for people in need. Fact is that a lot of people in the Golden State don’t have enough to live on and can’t rely on any decent welfare system.
Furthermore Californians run countless school fundraisers and raise thousands of dollars for their school to keep up the standards and be able to include extra-curricular contents like Arts, Music and PE. The state’s budget for education is still scarce and California’s school system is the 9th worst in the nation.
That’s why almost every parent volunteers in school big time. They spend hours of the time to make copies, teach Art, collect Boxtops, help in the library, organize the walk-a-thon and so on. If you’re not volunteering you might be just a bad parent.
Californians are some of the most environmentally conscious people in the US. They recycle, they separate their waste, and they use reusable lunch containers and water bottles. In fact, they are a bit crazy about their water bottles. They own numerous and love them in different styles, materials and with special functions.
Not every Californian is an atheist.
They worship Google, Yahoo and the holy Apple.
Californians have an end time for their parties. If you get an evite for a party, it probably says “from 7 pm to 11 pm”. And people do leave no later than 11.15 pm.
Californians are obsessed with “bringing something” to a party. Even if you specifically told them that they don’t have to bring anything, they’ll bring at least a bottle or a six-pack nonetheless.
Californians don’t seem to know how much 3 feet are, because when I’m riding my bike, they have problems to keep this distance.
Californians elected the “Terminator” as their state governor and he gratefully served from 2003 to 2010.
Californians aren’t bothered much by earthquakes, because they’re ready for them. The fact that the “big one” could happen every day is probably the reason why they always try to live their life to the fullest.
Californians never say “Cali”.

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