San Diego is a far and widespread place, but odds are, you will fall under many, if not all of these categories if you are a true San Diegan. Not much of following is relevant to anywhere else besides good ol' "SD." There's a reason why there's never a bad day in sunny San Diego.
1. You know the ins and outs of all the beaches.
Mission is tourist-central 24/7, La Jolla is always crowded on sunny weekends, good luck trying to find parking in Del Mar at anytime, OB is great for watching surfers, people, and sunsets, PB is for Baked Bear and Board and Brew runs before or after a beach day, and Black's is specifically to let your nudist hippy self run happy and free.
2. "The" Freeways.
The 8, the 15, the 805, the 1... the list goes on and on. Being overly familiar with all of them is one thing, but having to say "the" before the number of the freeway is a sign of a true San Diegan.
3. You feel like people everywhere else drive incredibly slow.
Who knew going 80 mph was considered speeding?
4. You know that Roberto's, Rolberto's, Rigoberto's, etc., are all extremely different places.
All come with great tacos, carne asada fries, or California burritos, but we all know that they are all nowhere near the same thing, and we all have a preference.
5. You know the best taco shops are always the grungiest.
Nothing screams authentic Mexican food quite like ordering through wrought iron bars.
6. You are very familiar with the "real" names of the beaches.
"OB" and "PB" are just much quicker to say than Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach. However we all know that Mission Beach will never become "MB."
7. You either love or hate the zoo.
Or you've just gotten sick of all the commercials and billboards for it.
8. You just assume the rest of the country speaks like you do.
"Ohhhhh my god, like seriously dude, like literally you have got to stop, like honestly that's so sick." Is a totally appropriate sentence. The valley girl/surfer dude speech will never go out of style here in SD. It's a way of life.
9. You know to take immediate cover when it starts raining.
The whole city simply goes haywire. Car crashes, traffic, flooding, people calling in sick to work, the list goes on and on, all because of a few water droplets falling from the sky. It's a foreign thing to us, and we do not like it one bit.
10. Odds are, you probably live off of avocados, Mexican food, and In-n-Out.
Avocado toast, salsa verde and Double Doubles run through our veins.
11. You cannot stand it when people call California "Cali."
You'll never realize that it happens until you're outside of your perfect little Southern California bubble, but everyone out of state seems to call California "Cali," and we will never understand why.
12. Day trips up the coast are a must.
Whether for the scenic views of taking the 1, shopping around Laguna, surfing in Huntington, beach camping in Malibu, or spending the day at Disneyland, everything is just a two hour drive away (without traffic that is).
13. You know your way around Sunset Cliffs.
Whether you're there to jump the arch or watch the sunset, there is always something in store that's worth the hassle of finding parking for the sunset or risking your life to jump the arch at low tide.
14. You have a beach, mall, brunch, farmer's market, taco shop, even freeway preference.
There's so much to do at any given point, so of course everyone is going to like something more than the other.
15. You probably took Spanish in high school.
Because you thought it was going to get you somewhere because of living in Southern California, but odds are you only remember how to say "Hello, how are you?"
16. You feel like Armageddon is coming when the weather hits the 50 degree mark.
17. There are no seasons, and you're totally OK with that.
There truly is perfect weather 24/7. Sure, the most drastic weather patterns may be having a drought, an El Niño, and a heat wave in the span of a month, but where else can you go ice skating at the beach on Christmas Eve?!
18. You are absolutely not OK with June Gloom and May Grey.
It's your palest months of the year, given you can't go to the beach and tan. But we all know true summer doesn't start until mid-June, early July, and doesn't end. Ever.
19. You have gotten sun burnt when it's cloudy at least once.
Trying to make most of the June Gloom by going to the beach regardless of the weather, and assuming you wouldn't burn because it's cloudy is always a big mistake. The clouds apparently just reflect sunlight, but you don't want to look like an idiot putting sunscreen on when it's cloudy.
20. You know that OB dog beach is literal heaven on earth.
Dogs + Beach + Sunset (if you timed it right) = The purest form of happiness there is.
21. You live were people vacation and take pride in it.
You don't have to save up to visit the most beautiful place on the planet, because you live in it! How cool is that?!
