Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE WAY CALIFORNIANS TALK: IT'S COMPLICATED
Political correctness thrives along the coast. In fact, most people are so determined to
get along that it can be hard to find out what somebody really thinks. This increases the
further south you go, reaching its Zen-like zenith of 'niceness' in San Diego.
Self-help jargon has thoroughly infiltrated the daily language of coastal Californians.
For example, the word 'issue' is constantly bandied about. Generally this is a way to refer
to someone else's problems without implying that the person has…well, problems.
The mantra 'Can we all just get along?' flies out the window on busy freeways (almost
always called by number, not name, and preceded by 'the' - as in, 'I'm taking the 101 to
LA.') Expect to encounter unpredictable drivers with road rage who won't hesitate to cut
you off, then flip you the 'bird.'
If someone you just met says, 'Let's get together sometime,' in most parts of the world
that means, 'Call me.' Not in California, where it probably means, 'It's been nice talking to
you, and now I have to go.' Often the other person never calls and, if you do, you may nev-
er hear back. Don't take it too personally.
Los Angeles & Southern California
Southern California is America at its extremes, with all the good and bad that this entails.
Its people are among the nation's richest and poorest, most established and newest arrivals,
most refined and roughest, most erudite and most airheaded. What binds them together
isn't a shared ethnicity or language, but choosing to be Californian.
Composed of dozens of independent cities, LA is California's most cosmopolitan and
racially diverse metro area. Although explosive race-related incidents have received high-
profile exposure, as with the riots of 1965 and again in 1992, day-to-day civility between
races is the norm. Tensions just as likely reflect the disparity between haves and have-nots,
for example, between Beverly Hills mansions and the impoverished inner city of South
Central.
Orange County, where beautifully bronzed, buff bodies soak up rays, stretches between
LA and San Diego. But make no mistake: it's no beach bums' paradise. Until recent waves
of immigration tipped the scales toward liberal voters, the politics 'behind the Orange Cur-
tain' were overwhelmingly conservative. Republicans were welcomed with open arms at
$2000-a-plate fundraising dinners, and many people still live in exclusive gated com-
