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You Know You're in California When...

by Julia Kitlinski-Hong May 26, 2017

1. There are always avocados in your fruit bowl.

Half-ripe avos can always be found your apples and oranges. Avocados are a separate food group in California and you eat them straight with a sprinkle of sea salt, mashed on toast or sliced on top of tacos. There’s definitely a learning curve for buying the right avocados though. You learn the hard way not to buy overly ripe ones, since they only last a day or so until they become mushy and inedible.

2. You take the 5 to go between SF and LA.

You know the 1 is the most scenic route, but not the most time efficient way. Highway 5 may be boring as hell, but it shaves a couple hours off the drive and when you are driving up or down the state for the weekend those few hours count.

3. Your Spanglish is on point.

Even after years of Spanish classes in elementary and high school, you are nowhere near fluent. Instead, you have a slightly impressive collection of vocab that you muddle with English words and break out whenever you order at your favorite taco stand.

4. You eat dim sum for brunch.

You know that sometimes eggs and pancakes will not cut it. You need to satisfy that mid-morning craving for shrimp dumplings, pork buns, egg tarts and turnip cakes. Long lines, curt waiters and pure chaos are all signs of a solid dim sum spot.

5. You still get excited for a day at the beach.

Californians are spoiled with a variety of beautiful beaches around the state, but just because they are there doesn’t mean you are always at the beach 24/7. You save those ideal sunny days to hightail it to the Pacific, even though it seems like everyone else has the same idea.

6. It’s not unusual to drink your daily dose of fruits and veggies.

Juices cure all sorts of ailments here in the Golden State, from fighting a cold to trying to counterbalance all those al pastor tacos you ate last night. Bonus points if your juice has a healthy dose of kale in it.

7. You know what season it is by the seasonal food at Trader Joe’s.

California doesn’t have four traditional seasons: it can be chilly in June and blazing hot in January. Instead, Californians use the pumpkin craze in fall or the influx of mango everything in Trader Joe’s to mark the different seasons. We may not have snow, but it still feels like Christmas when we walk into TJ’s and find our favorite Candy Cane Joes or Gingerbread Cookie Sticks.

8. You still get excited for a day at the beach.

Californians are spoiled with a variety of beautiful beaches around the state, but just because they are there doesn’t mean you are always at the beach 24/7. You save those ideal sunny days to hightail it to the Pacific, even though it seems like everyone else has the same idea.

9. You live in workout clothes.

Spandex leggings for girls and sweatpants for guys is the go-to uniform around the state, since the gym or a nearby hiking trail is usually part of your daily schedule. Californians look like they are perpetually on their way to a yoga class or CrossFit and we’re not ashamed about it.

10. You don’t have a basement in your home.

Unlike the Midwest and Northeast, California homes rarely have basement foundations, because with our lack of a real winter, there is no need to worry about building below the frost line. But, we also don’t know the thrill of going into a damp dark subterranean room at night and letting our minds play tricks on us.

11. Your dog is spoiled rotten.

Californians love their dogs, and treat them like royalty, from pampering them at pet spas to putting them on special gluten-free diets. There is nothing we wouldn’t do for our pups, because we consider them part of our family.

12. You know all the shortcuts for survival at Disneyland.

You know the Happiest Place on the Earth like the back of your hand and know where to get a drink (there’s more options than you’d expect) and how to work out the FastPass system so you never have to wait more than 20 minutes for a ride. Most importantly you know where all the churros carts are located.

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