How much time does it take to become a local?

[dktshb]

I lived in LA for 21 years and probably felt like a true local after 10 years. I have been in SF for 8 years now and I feel it will probably take the full 10 years to feel like a local. I still deep inside identify as an Angeleno and probably always will.

[downtownpdx]

In Portland you’re a local when you can pronounce the downtown river correctly - It’s WillAMette, damnit 😁

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by downtownpdx

In Portland you’re a local when you can pronounce the downtown river correctly - It’s WillAMette, damnit ������

This comment reminds me of the first time I visited Portland, staying with friends who moved out that way post college.

I grew up in the Chicago burb of Wilmette, IL (pronounced "WILL-met"), and force of habit kept making me pronounce the Willamette River as "WILL-uh-met river", which was of course met with their derisive disapproval everytime.

I'm pretty sure that the derivations of Wilmette, IL and the Willamette River have absolutely nothing to do with each other.

[Comrade]

For Utah? Your first time blaming something on Californians.

[SIGSEGV]

I know California driver is a term in both Oregon and Nevada. Has it made it to Utah? (California drivers are tame compared to East Coast standards anyways)

[SIGSEGV]

In Nevada, you pretty much just need to pronounce Nevada right (wrong).

[Derek]

Originally Posted by downtownpdx

In Portland you’re a local when you can pronounce the downtown river correctly - It’s WillAMette, damnit 😁

Don’t forget Couch and Glisan.

[Six Corners]

There's a joy in giggling at tourists, visitors, or newcomers who don't correctly pronounce local street names that have been anglicized from their original language. It's like being in on an inside joke. However, I feel, it gets a bit awkward when an outsider who speaks the language those streets are derived from natively or fluently tries to say them. Here in St. Louis, we have a lot of streets with French names that have been heavily anglicized. I was working on a project in an area that has many of these French streets and part of the project team included an architect native to Spain who was fluent in French. He wanted to pronounce the names of these streets in French and it was a little embarrassing for the local team members to be like "hey man, here's the thing.."

I also think it depends on if a specific person feels confident they are a local through gained experience and knowledge. If I can trick you into thinking I've always lived in a place, how am I not a local?

[muppet]

That's like me living with a Greek bloke. I have to correct him EVERY time he mispronounces:

Hercules as iraklis
Aphrodite as afro ditty
Perseus as persayus
Pegasus - piggasus
Poseidon - pohsaydonn
Bibliotheque - vivliotiki
Crete - critty
Rhodes - rohdos
Hermione - urmyoni
Plato - platto
Uranus - oorahnos
Meteor - mettayor
Moussaka - moosa-car
Baklava - backler-var
Cyprus - keyprus
Europe - evroppi

Though can't be blamed as he is a foreigner, and we really should be patient - he's just not had the education. He then chases me around a bit and screams.