Californian idiosyncrasies

[StevenYoo]

hi all,

i was wondering about you west-coasters. I'm a native new yorker and i've lived here all my life.

i've never been farther west than pennsylvania.

I've been wondering about the kinds of people there are in CA.

I know some people in CA say "hella" and dumb things like that...

and i also hear that drivers in CA STOP FOR PEDESTRIANS? WTF??!!

What other things do CA people do that us New Yorkers find weird?

I guess i can ask the vice-versa question too.

 

[xuanman]

Originally posted by: GuybrushThreepwood
hi all,

i was wondering about you west-coasters. I'm a native new yorker and i've lived here all my life.

i've never been farther west than pennsylvania.

I've been wondering about the kinds of people there are in CA.

I know some people in CA say "hella" and dumb things like that...

and i also hear that drivers in CA STOP FOR PEDESTRIANS? WTF??!!

What other things do CA people do that us New Yorkers find weird?

I guess i can ask the vice-versa question too.

there's the whole valley girl thing...like, oh my gawd!

 

[SHoddyCOmp]

Well YOU talk hella weird

 

[notfred]

i was wondering about you west-coasters. I'm a native new yorker and i've lived here all my life.

i've never been farther west than pennsylvania.

I've been wondering about the kinds of people there are in CA.

I know some people in CA say "hella" and dumb things like that...

I HATE that phrase, but yes, it's a Nor. Cal. thing.

and i also hear that drivers in CA STOP FOR PEDESTRIANS? WTF??!!

Um, it's the law that pedestrians have the right of way.

What other things do CA people do that us New Yorkers find weird?

How do I know what New Yorker's find wierd? I've only been there once.


BTW, What the hell is with roads on the east coast? Those circles are retarded, no one seems to have heard of a "left turn lane", there's toll booths all over the place. Then there's all those wieird puritaunical liquor laws like you cant buy alcohol from a grocery on sunday's after 2:00AM unless you're with a priest on a donkey.

In california, if you want alcohol, you can go to the grocery store and beer's on one side of the isle, and wine/hard liquor is on the other. As long as the store is open, they can sell it to you.

And what's up with the damn toll roads?

 

[SHoddyCOmp]

Originally posted by: notfred

i was wondering about you west-coasters. I'm a native new yorker and i've lived here all my life.

i've never been farther west than pennsylvania.

I've been wondering about the kinds of people there are in CA.

I know some people in CA say "hella" and dumb things like that...

I HATE that phrase, but yes, it's a Nor. Cal. thing.

Not ONLY norcal, I do live here and plenty of people say it...Lots of people do here though , damn it even pisses me off when friends of mine say it to me like 3 times every minute. Hella this hella that blabidyblabidyblah blablah.

 

[sobriquet]

and i also hear that drivers in CA STOP FOR PEDESTRIANS? WTF??!!

Not in Los Angeles. I've come so close to being hit so many times it's not even funny. Today a lady in a Jaguar convertable stopped 6 inches away from me because she just plain wasn't looking at where she was going.

 

[AreaCode707]

Hella is the NorCal accent (and I do not say it, even though I'm a NorCali.) Identifying a freeway with "the" is the SoCal accent. "The 101, The 5". 101 is 101, I-5 is 5.

Stopping for pedestrians is a good thing, unless you're in Davis and the pedestrians completely ignore you and you have to force your way through the intersection.

 

[SHoddyCOmp]

Originally posted by: sobriquet

and i also hear that drivers in CA STOP FOR PEDESTRIANS? WTF??!!

Not in Los Angeles. I've come so close to being hit so many times it's not even funny. Today a lady in a Jaguar convertable stopped 6 inches away from me because she just plain wasn't looking at where she was going.

well.... ... ..thats LA

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: HotChic
Hella is the NorCal accent (and I do not say it, even though I'm a NorCali.) Identifying a freeway with "the" is the SoCal accent. "The 101, The 5". 101 is 101, I-5 is 5.

Stopping for pedestrians is a good thing, unless you're in Davis and the pedestrians completely ignore you and you have to force your way through the intersection.

That's not really an accent, more of a dialect. but yeah, in so cal, it's "the 5" and in nor cal it's "I-5" or just "5".

And that happens in all college towns, not jsut davis. Go drive around boulder, CO and see if the pedestrians pay attention to you

 

[Turin39789]

Originally posted by: sobriquet

and i also hear that drivers in CA STOP FOR PEDESTRIANS? WTF??!!

Not in Los Angeles. I've come so close to being hit so many times it's not even funny. Today a lady in a Jaguar convertable stopped 6 inches away from me because she just plain wasn't looking at where she was going.

mmmm imagine the personal injury suit agianst a jag owner

 

[thawolfman]

When I was working at Yale this summer I had to help some freshman find his Ethernet Hardware Address so he could setup his laptop for the network, and he was like: "You from around here?" and I was like Yeah, why? and he tells me he could tell by my accent...

Accent in Connecticut?

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: sobriquet

and i also hear that drivers in CA STOP FOR PEDESTRIANS? WTF??!!

Not in Los Angeles. I've come so close to being hit so many times it's not even funny. Today a lady in a Jaguar convertable stopped 6 inches away from me because she just plain wasn't looking at where she was going.

mmmm imagine the personal injury suit agianst a jag owner

It's LA. Half the people in the area drive $40k+ cars. Same in the bay area. When the average house costs $500,000, paying for a $50,000 car isn't that big a deal.

 

[kt]

BTW, What the hell is with roads on the east coast? Those circles are retarded, no one seems to have heard of a "left turn lane", there's toll booths all over the place. Then there's all those wieird puritaunical liquor laws like you cant buy alcohol from a grocery on sunday's after 2:00AM unless you're with a priest on a donkey.

The circles are there so they don't have to put up a stop light. If you want to make a left turn, you go 3/4 th of the circle then exit.

In california, if you want alcohol, you can go to the grocery store and beer's on one side of the isle, and wine/hard liquor is on the other. As long as the store is open, they can sell it to you.

IIRC, you can't buy alcohol after 2am in California. Or it may just be southern California.

 

[LoqT]

Originally posted by: kt

BTW, What the hell is with roads on the east coast? Those circles are retarded, no one seems to have heard of a "left turn lane", there's toll booths all over the place. Then there's all those wieird puritaunical liquor laws like you cant buy alcohol from a grocery on sunday's after 2:00AM unless you're with a priest on a donkey.

The circles are there so they don't have to put up a stop light. If you want to make a left turn, you go 3/4 th of the circle then exit.

In california, if you want alcohol, you can go to the grocery store and beer's on one side of the isle, and wine/hard liquor is on the other. As long as the store is open, they can sell it to you.

IIRC, you can't buy alcohol after 2am in California. Or it may just be southern California.

No it's all of California, I work for a grocery store and alcohol stops scanning between 2am and 6am. Applies to all of CA. If someone has sold it to you, it was against the law.

 

[Aves]

When I was a kid growing up in LA we said hella all the time. I don't anymore except to piss off my wife.

 

[0roo0roo]

well we don't have an absurd tax on cigs

 

[Jfur]

the West is merely better

 

[SnapIT]

Originally posted by: GuybrushThreepwood
hi all,

i was wondering about you west-coasters. I'm a native new yorker and i've lived here all my life.

i've never been farther west than pennsylvania.

I've been wondering about the kinds of people there are in CA.

I know some people in CA say "hella" and dumb things like that...

and i also hear that drivers in CA STOP FOR PEDESTRIANS? WTF??!!

What other things do CA people do that us New Yorkers find weird?

I guess i can ask the vice-versa question too.

I think ALL of you talk funny... but that could be because i'm a Swede...

 

[kt]

Originally posted by: SnapIT

Originally posted by: GuybrushThreepwood
hi all,

i was wondering about you west-coasters. I'm a native new yorker and i've lived here all my life.

i've never been farther west than pennsylvania.

I've been wondering about the kinds of people there are in CA.

I know some people in CA say "hella" and dumb things like that...

and i also hear that drivers in CA STOP FOR PEDESTRIANS? WTF??!!

What other things do CA people do that us New Yorkers find weird?

I guess i can ask the vice-versa question too.

I think ALL of you talk funny... but that could be because i'm a Swede...

Only if they speak Swedish would it sound funny to you. Eller hur?

 

[Red Dawn]

The only people that say "Hella" are teenagers.

 

[gopunk]

Originally posted by: notfred

Originally posted by: HotChic
Hella is the NorCal accent (and I do not say it, even though I'm a NorCali.) Identifying a freeway with "the" is the SoCal accent. "The 101, The 5". 101 is 101, I-5 is 5.

Stopping for pedestrians is a good thing, unless you're in Davis and the pedestrians completely ignore you and you have to force your way through the intersection.

That's not really an accent, more of a dialect. but yeah, in so cal, it's "the 5" and in nor cal it's "I-5" or just "5".

And that happens in all college towns, not jsut davis. Go drive around boulder, CO and see if the pedestrians pay attention to you

same thing on campus here... ugh it is so frickin' annoying. i wish i could... just once... run somebody over. and then people would learn to scramble when they saw me coming with my bloodstained bumper.

 

[Crimzon]

I never *try* to scare people, but whenever I come to a stop, people usually speed up a little if they're already crossing, or stop if they just started. I guess most of them aren't used to a car comming to a stop as quickly as mine can. So even though I do stop for pedestrians, it's a *little* satisfying seeing them get a little uneasy.

 

"and i also hear that drivers in CA STOP FOR PEDESTRIANS? WTF??!!"

Oh Lord! You better not be the next driver I see who doesn't realise the pedestrian's right of way. No wonder I would never move to New York. *Sigh!*

Seriously though, it all depends on what part of California. If you live in a fast pace city such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, then the drivers aren't any better than New Yorkers. They'll almost run you over. And pedestrians themselves in those cities aren't very careful when crossing the roads.

However, for most of California, most drivers are relaxed and courteous. They'll stop for you and give you the right of way. This is certainly true for Silicon Valley and Central Valley. I'm proud of my fellow citizens here.

P.S.: "Hella" is a Valley Girl thing, isn't it?

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: luvly
"and i also hear that drivers in CA STOP FOR PEDESTRIANS? WTF??!!"

Oh Lord! You better not be the next driver I see who doesn't realise the pedestrian's right of way. No wonder I would never move to New York. *Sigh!*

Seriously though, it all depends on what part of California. If you live in a fast pace city such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, then the drivers aren't any better than New Yorkers. They'll almost run you over. And pedestrians themselves in those cities aren't very careful when crossing the roads.

However, for most of California, most drivers are relaxed and courteous. They'll stop for you and give you the right of way. This is certainly true for Silicon Valley and Central Valley. I'm proud of my fellow citizens here.

P.S.: "Hella" is a Valley Girl thing, isn't it?

Actually to some one from the east coast even Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego are pretty surprising for the way they yield to pedestrians. Here pedestrians are to be chased back up on to the sidewalk if they are observed in the street. :Q It is one of those things that really surprised me on my visits to the west coast and quite a nice difference from the attitude in the DC area towards pedestrians.