Jennifer Schlueter is a contributing travel writer, who also writes her personal travel blog Discovering Legacies. Born in Germany, Jennifer lived in Los Angeles for several years for college and gives a fresh, outside perspective of how ridiculous LA life can be. Having left her 9-to-5 job as a newspaper editor, she now travels the world and documents her adventures online.
LAcclimated To Angelino Life
By JENNIFER SCHLUETER | Jan. 30, 2017
LA either makes or breaks you, you either love it or hate it, but you surely can’t deny the things that’ll happen to you once you’ve been here for a while. I have – almost eight years – and the following signs are things that you’ll probably have in common with me if you’re an LA transplant as well:
1. Your orders of kale & quinoa salad, and green juice, are becoming more frequent.
2. You don’t go to the beaches as often as you used to when you first moved here.
3. You’re accustomed to the stench of pee, the smell around grocery stores, and of course, weed.
4. You’ve encountered at least one person who looks as if he or she doesn’t eat enough, and also has a side-job as a rapper or DJ.
5. Celebrity spottings? Nothing exciting anymore. Neither are TV/movie filmings.
6. You avoid Hollywood at all times unless you absolutely have to.
7. You think twice about a three-mile trip during rush hour.
8. You go hiking at least a few times a month.
9. Everything below 65 degrees is basically freezing.
10. You’ve lost a paycheck or two thanks to traffic offenses.
11. You find June gloom depressing. Come on, it’s LA, the sun’s supposed to be out every day!
12. If you hear “I’m a producer/actor/model,” you’re only impressed if they’ve had a major part or campaign.
13. Snow? What’s that again? Oh yeah, that white stuff you only see during the winter months on the “mountains.”
14. You can peacefully sleep through 4.3 earthquakes.
15. A 40-minute drive is now considered “lucky” for your commute.
16. It’s either or: UCLA or Trojans, Dodgers or Angels, Lakers or Clippers. And F the other team!
17. Rain is a BIG deal.
18. You know which lane of every freeway is the fastest.
19. You have moved close(r) to your work. Not by choice, but by necessity.
20. Las Vegas and Mexico are regular weekend trips.
21. Your Spanish has dramattically improved.
22. You’ve had a sunburn in January or February.
23. You order animal and/or protein style.
24. You know people who’ve been robbed or even shot.
25. At least one of your friends has been on TV or in a movie.
26. Smog doesn’t scare you anymore.
27. You love Korean BBQ and tacos!
28. Hispanics working at an Asian restaurant, or Koreans speaking Spanish, doesn’t surprise you.
29. You can’t imagine a life without Guacamole.
***Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on Discovering Legacies on May 23, 2016.
