Do you think Oregonians are different from Californians or pretty much the same? (Portland: home)

[Mini-apple-less]

Can you tell if someone is from "Cali" by the way they dress, act, talk, etc or do you think people in both states have essentially identical cultures?

[Deezus]

Originally Posted by valsteele

Can you tell if someone is from "Cali" by the way they dress, act, talk, etc or do you think people in both states have essentially identical cultures?

California is pretty broad as it is. California north of Sacramento doesn't feel that different from Southern Oregon. Much of rural California as it is has more in common with rural Oregon in places than it does urban California. Parts of Portland have more in common with parts of the Bay Area than other places in the Willamette Valley these days.

The stereotypical California youth dialect is sort of something that kids all over the country have at this point--though plenty don't speak like that even in California. Clothing styles don't seem to vary that much across the West Coast until you get into the major cities.

[ratchetjaw]

"Can you tell if someone is from California by the way they dress, act, talk"

No, but you can tell by how they handle themselves on the road. Most Oregonians can barely drive whilst Californians can't drive at all!

[mamh]

I'm a native napan aka napa CA but have called many places home over the years and Oregon for the past 11 years..
The difference I see is when your visiting with people about California and suddenly your on the same page when talking about different places in Californian, the oh! remember when this was built ect.
Friday is my day in the retail nursery at Oregon Gardens this past friday I spent a few minutes with a couple from Oakland..It was just fun to catch up on life down there ect..It is always fun to visit.
I don't think on day to day going about your business that Californian's stick out...A true southerner or east coaster will stick out more only because (please take no offense) of there accent...
So that my dollar two ninety eights worth California

[V8 Vega]

The de facto speed limit in the left lane in southern Calif. is 80. I've seen the Highway Patrol in a group of cars all going 80 and he doesn't pull anyone over. And I've been surprised by a Highway Patrol on the side of the freeway radar gunning everyone and a group is going 80 and he does nothing.
Oregon people drive slower even in nice conditions.
Young girls in Beaverton malls look just like young girls in southern Calif.
The churches are nice and warm in winter in Oregon, in southern Calif. the air conditioning is likely on and you freeze to death, annoys me to no end.

[Billy_J]

People from California will cup their hand over the side of their mouth and say "I'm from California" (in a whisper so no one else will hear).

Then I say I am from California too and they relax.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

I am pretty accurate about identifying those from southern California, to me, there is a certain way about how they look and act, and I can pick "them" out quite consistently.

Northern Californians, not so much.

[Fiddlehead]

Nope. No real cultural boundary that I could see.

[simplygib]

I don't think there's a big difference, generally. Former Californians left that state for a reason, and presumably are still in Oregon because they enjoy it here. That definitely applies to me. This reminds me of a story:

I was in line at Safeway and got up to the checker but didn't have my rewards card, so punched in my phone number. The checker noticed the 916 area code and asked where I was from. I told him I had lived right here in Grants Pass for several years but lived in Sacramento when I got the rewards card. He said he had driven through Sacramento once and didn't like it.

I said, "Now you know why I live in Oregon."

The next three people in line all started laughing. It turned out that every one of them were also former Sacramentans.

Oregon is full of former Californians.