Being from LA and not living in LA can definitely be a culture shock.There are people that you are surrounded by who are so curious about what being from LA is like. They have assumptions about what it's like so they tend to ask all these stereotypical questions.
Here, I am going to list 10 typical questions that people from LA get asked and try my best to answer them from my own personal experiences!
1. Do you know / do you ever see famous people?
The answer is yes! What's not to love about the beach?! It's relaxing, it's hot, you get tan or you play in the sand, and it's the perfect place to just lay down, while drinking a nice cold glass of lemonade, and stare at the gorgeous ocean. The beach is also the best place to catch the sunset in LA! It's the perfect hangout spot for a group of friends to get together and there are always chill and happy vibes at the beach!
3. When you are in LA, do you stay tan all year long?
For the most part yes, but definitely not all year long. People don't really know this but shocker, LA is not scorching hot all year long. In fact, during the winter months it gets cold for us Californian's. It rains a good amount and the tan glow tone on your skin begins to fade away. However many people find solutions to this problem and get by because before they know it, the sun is right back where it belongs in the sky. It is definitely possible to stay tan all year long when you live in LA for some people but that doesn't apply to everybody.
4. Isn't there really bad traffic in LA?
It would be a lie to tell you that the answer was not yes. There are certain times throughout the day that we are told not to drive during because the traffic is so bad and that goes for specific days of the week as well.
Sometimes, you will just want to go somewhere that is 20 minutes away maximum but it will take you almost an hour to get there because the traffic is so bad. But if you grew up in LA, you are totally used to it by now and if you aren't, then you should be.
Sitting in traffic is not my favorite thing to do to say the least but there are ways to make the time pass so it's not so terrible. You can blast music by yourself to a fun TBT playlist, you can sing out the window with your friends to other cars, or you can play a fun car game.
There is always something you can do and honestly, some of my best memories with my friends from home have been while sitting in traffic. This is a perfect example of when life gives you lemons, make lemonade!
5. How far away do you live from San Francisco?
Pretty far away. A lot of people who don't live in California don't realize how big of a state it is. Driving to San Francisco from Los Angeles is not a short trip and it's definitely not right around the corner.
To drive to San Francisco it would take about 6 hours and that doesn't include any traffic or pit stops. San Francisco is gorgeous, I love when I meet people from NorCal because even though they aren't from LA we still share that California bond.
But again, San Fran is not a short ride away, it is definitely a mission to get there but California is California and everyone who lives in this state, shares that same deep love for the west coast, which has created this big California community as a whole.
6. Why would you ever leave LA?
Leaving LA is definitely a hard thing to do. There is so much to love about the incredible city but sometimes, you can wake up one day, take look at your life and realize that everything around you seems familiar, and a little too familiar for your liking. You need change, you need something different, so you pack up your bags and go. When you live in the same place your whole life and you are a part of this little bubble, you can feel stuck or claustrophobic.
It doesn't mean you don't love home, in fact you most likely do love home, it just means you need to change things up for either a short amount of time or long period of time. You need to do what's best for you. It is very common to feel that feeling of, what if there is something else out there for you and you will never know. So, it is very common to go and find out.
Everyone has there own reasons as to why they decide to leave home but just remember that it is very difficult to stay in one place for a long period of time, whether that place is LA or a small town in Nebraska, but it is also never an easy decision.
7. So, have you ever seen the snow before?
While it may not snow in the city of LA, there are many opportunities for people who live in the city to see the snow. Many people decide to travel out of state to either Colorado or Utah to go skiing or snowboarding. You can also drive about two hours away to Big Bear Lake which is a big snow destination. You can drive about six hours away to Mammoth Mountain which is a very popular destination, or you can drive about 30 minutes outside the city to the San Bernardino and see snow at the very tip of the mountains.
We Los Angeles habitants, may not be accustomed to the cold nor have we experienced a rowdy winter but yes, most likely we have seen snow before.
8. Do you surf a lot?
Surfing is definitely a popular sport on the west coast in general but it is an off the charts sport in LA. There are for sure a ton of people in LA who wake up every morning and check what the swell statistics are for that day in particular and are then ready to go, board in hand.
When walking around the city, you are also very likely to hear someone say "lets shred the gnar" and "shacka bruh" and it doesn't even phase you because it happens all the time. However, there are also a fair share of people who don't know how to surf or don't surf often and get by completely fine without doing so.
9. Do you ever go to Rodeo Drive?
I always laugh when I get this question because Rodeo Drive is just a normal street for me but to people who don't live in LA, Rodeo Drive is an infamous, iconic, street in Beverly Hills where supposedly all the rich and famous people hangout.
Rodeo Drive is very pretty and there is a sense of classiness when you walk around there but it is a very normal thing for people in LA to walk down Rodeo just to walk or even shop. It is an even more common thing to just hangout in Beverly Hills, especially on the streets around Rodeo Drive, and get a bite to eat or get your nails done or grab a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop. Going to Rodeo Drive if you live in the city isn't really a big deal at all.
10. Can I stay with you if I visit LA?
The answer is always going to be yes. The real mystery at hand is if you, the person asking, will actually follow through with coming to LA. So many people will say how much they love LA and how much they want to go back or how they have never been but want to go so badly but they never actually do.
Any person who lives in LA will always offer to host someone who isn't from LA because we get to show off this awesome city that we grew up in and take them to all our favorite spots, which is obviously so much fun!