What is it like to live in California?

<p>i didn’t realize the word “hella” was a CA/bay area thing until some out of state people were like, what’s hella.</p>

<p>lol that is so true. i had no idea no one else said hella. i say it all the time</p>

<p>What does hella mean? And how is it used in context? </p>

<p>Is it supposed to mean “a hell of”?</p>

<p>I’m from L.A. and heard about the “hella” thing in the Bay Area. I was like, “People actually say that?” Haha. </p>

<p>When I went to Cal I got all excited and wanted to count all the people who said “hella.” Only 2. =(</p>

<p>Do people from SoCal really say “like” that much? I know I say it a lot and realize it’s annoying but I can’t help it.</p>

<p>I think “hella” actually translates to “really.”
As in, “That pizza tasted hella good.”</p>

<p>SoCal =
no seasons
nice weather
everything is overpriced
academically competitive
very diverse
no money</p>

<p>i can’t say much about california as a whole, but i have lived in orange county my entire life.</p>

<p>it’s a very nice place to live, in general. it’s very diverse here. the weather is nice, except i wish it would get colder during the winter 'cause i really like winter. the beach is close, but so are the mountains. LA is an hour north, San Diego is an hour south. Coachella is two hours east. there are many different types of people here. including…

  1. a lot of hipsters
  2. people who wear designer jeans, go tanning, wear tons of makeup, etc
  3. bros
  4. the kind of people who love adam lambert, twilight, so you think you can dance, and the jonas brothers.<br>
  5. people just doing their thing
    there are so many different kinds of people here though, but really the same kind of people you’d find in most other places. what people do for fun depends on where they live, i guess. we mostly go to the beach though. </p>

<p>what i really don’t like about this area is the extreme, disgusting display of wealth. people are so materialistic! also, people are generally very conservative. we’re the red dot in a sea of blue. our newspaper (ocregister) really reflects this…</p>

<p>also, i have never heard anyone say “hella” except to make fun of people from northern california. i love northern california though. so many trees, nature, and nice people!
there is nothing in the middle of california. it’s farmlands and cows. and some really nice scenery.
los angeles is really dirty, for the most part.
a lot of people i know from other states romanticize the california lifestyle. then they come here and are disillusioned! especially concerning hollywood.</p>

<p>Yea, hella is an interesting word, it has many uses. Here is a guide for the Non-Californian/Bay Area’ers out there.</p>

<p>E.g.</p>

<p>Meaning “many”/“a lot of”: I haven’t seen you in hella days. OR Hella has hella meanings.
Meaning “really”/“very”: You’re hella bad at that.
Meaning “much”: I’m hella better than you. </p>

<p>I’m probably forgetting some. It seems like a pretty funny word now that I think about it haha.</p>

<p>I always thought “hella” was a state-wide-Californian thing. When I went to LA I was pretty upset I didn’t hear it often, lol. :)</p>

<p>I love this definition from Urbandictionary:</p>

<p>“Hella” is an all-purpose word. It has its roots deep in the soul (I meant to type soil, but soul works here too, haha) of Northern California. It means something along the lines of “very” or “really,” but it’s much more than that. It’s not just a word, but a statement of cultural identification, of a long-standing bond of trust and respect for fellow Northern Californians, and of a mutual understanding between you and the rest of the world that you are from (or, in the case of anyone who has lived with kids from NorCal, that you are an honorary resident) NorCal. As the subtle innuendoes of the word can only be understood by absorption, one must experience and be engulfed by it (as Northern Californians are from birth) to truly understand when its usage is appropriate. Hella is a word. It’s a symbol. It’s a way of life. Hella.
Correct:</p>

<p>This is hella whack.
I just ate hella brownies.
I’m hella going to the library this weekend.</p>

<p>Incorrect:
I’m going hella to the library</p>

<p>I didn’t know people didn’t use hella outside of california until now o_O</p>

<p>I think that goes… somewhat?.. hand in hand with the overusing of the word “dude” lol</p>

<p>I don’t know. I definitely use the word dude on occasion and I know other people do as well. You might use it more in California but it has spread. There was even an incident last year where a cop got mad at a kid for calling him dude repeatedly.</p>

<p>What about “yo”. Do you guys use it any on the West Coast? I use yo a lot.</p>

<p>Ha ha, no, I’m from the Bay Area, and we don’t use that:/ We do use “hella,” “dude,” and “like” a lot though(I don’t, but several people at my school do)</p>

<p>I’m from SoCal. The joke around here is that our Mexican food is actually from Mexico.</p>

<p>Also: The farther up you travel along the coast, the worst the Mexican food gets. Haha. :')</p>

<p>Ok this might sound stupid., but anyway: do highschoolers in SoCal actually just go down to Mexico (Tijuana, specifically) for the hell of it? I mean that sounds like a pretty intense weekend getaway. Just asking because on The OC … haha … um, yeah…</p>

<p>Yeah, they do. </p>

<p>It’s really not uncommon for people to have relatives there, or to own houses in TJ either.
(Oh, and no one says Tijuana, we just call it TJ.)</p>

<p>haha they called it that in the oc too</p>

<p>;) One of my friends loves that show, and she’s a SoCal native. I can’t imagine it being too unrealistic in terms of SoCal. (I’m sure it’s much more dramatic than reality, of course…)</p>

<p>I can think of zero redeeming qualities that would make me ever want to visit Mexico. (Besides family or the fact that you are from Mexico, of course.)</p>

<p>TJ is hardly considered Mexico besides the fact that it happens to lie within the borders of Mexico…</p>