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Not much for Cleveland, basically just know how to pronounce the street names and the various suburb names. Cleveland, despite being a smaller city, doesn't have a lot of "barriers to entry" to its culture.
In California as soon as someone pulls next to you in a car while you are walking and asks for directions, and you can tell them exactly how to get there-you are a local.
The lack of East/West coast transplants in Chicago doesn't have much to do with the city itself imo. It's fed by the stereotype that the Midwest is "fly-over country" and thus is an overlooked option when moving state to state. And compared to Chicago, I've found the native New Yorker/Californian even Texan pride far more insufferable as the some of the locals are so pretentious about being from one of the more transient (popular) states. And it's made worse by some transplants who think its part of the initiation process to turn around and spit on where they came from. Not to say I haven't seen that in Chicago, cause I have.
Why wouldn't it be the same in every city? I'd imagine the things that would make you a "local" would include...
-Registering to vote
-Buying property
-Changing license/insurance/registration to that jurisdiction
-Finding a regular barbershop/place of worship
-Raising kids
-Getting involved in local schools
-Attending community meetings
-Helping to organize a block party
I think any of those things can make someone a "local." Being a local to me just means you're invested in that community. A lot of transplants--not all--have very little interest in the neighborhoods they live in beyond the superficial (i.e., coffeeshops, "amenities").
Native New Yorkers (NYC) are folks who were either born here or went to school here, K-12. (Lots of immigrant kids, e.g, may have been born elsewhere, but grew up here from an early age.) But being a local is a matter of time I think.
1. Marry a native and hang around with her/him for years, you'll be a local.
2. Having kids and deciding to raise them in NYC rather than moving to the 'burbs makes you local, no matter where you're originally from or how long you've been here.
3. Buying property instead of renting makes you a local. (But it can't be a pied a terre or investment property. You have to actually live there. )
4. But long-term renters who've come from elsewhere are also locals if they've figured out the subways, get involved in civic life, whine about how the city has changed since they came, and hate Con Ed!
1) GET PISSED OFF!
Cincinnatians are passionate people. There's a stubborn old German streak in the way the city operates and it forces you to have strong opinions on everything. If you're apathetic or weak-willed, Cincinnati will eat you alive.
2) Understand the Cincinnati "Please?"
It's SO weird the first time you hear it. Instead of saying "What did you say?" or "Come again?" Cincinnatians will say "Please?" If you're at a diner and the waitress asks you if you want a refill and you say "Please" the waitress will probably repeat the question. It takes some getting used to.
3) Determine a favorite chili parlor.
You do NOT have to fall in love with Cincinnati Chili to be a Cincinnatian. (Though I think it's deliscious, it's not for everyone.) That said, you DO need to have a prepared response to the questions "Skyline or Gold Star?"
4) Talk about 3-ways and cornhole with a straight face
There is NOTHING dirty about having a 3-way for lunch in Cincinnati. Similarly, playing cornhole with your brother is about as wholesome as you can get. This is a Catholic town...get your mind out of the gutter
5) Love the Reds
Cincinnati is a baseball town and Opening Day is bliss. You just HAVE to love the Reds. It's effortless and it's what holds Cincinnatians together. You do NOT need to love the Bengals however. Mike Brown is a D*CK!
You would need generations of family here to be a "local."
Where?
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