# CA residents - Do you ever refer to the state you live in as "Cali"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 8, 2012, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648 "2012-07-08T23:29:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/41 "2012-07-09T19:30:57Z")
Sounds like a touristy affectation. A friend of mine from high school used to call Chicago “Chi-town” in his hipster phase. Thankfully, he stopped saying that after he actually moved there. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/42 "2012-07-09T19:45:07Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > Sounds like a touristy affectation. A friend of mine from high school used to call Chicago “Chi-town” in his hipster phase. Thankfully, he stopped saying that after he actually moved there. I’ve seen that written but never heard it used. Do they pronounce it with the soft “ch” and short “i” like Shi-town? Because that’s just rude. . . ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/43 "2012-07-09T20:10:02Z")
I never hear anyone use it. That’s why I was surprised to hear the line “we drove to Cali” in Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” and didn’t even understand the line at first. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/44 "2012-07-09T20:15:08Z")
Cali resident and while I can’t say I have NEVER used it, i certainly don’t use it at all and I never hear it being used by anyone. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Evil\_Prince\_Zorte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@The\_Evil\_Prince\_Zorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Evil_Prince_Zorte)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/45 "2012-07-09T22:19:01Z")
I’ve always been a little annoyed by “Back East” since that basically refers to anything past Palm Springs. Having a term to encompass everywhere not Los Angeles feels a little like the attitude of the rest of the nation being flyover country. When someone would ask me if I was visiting my family Back East over the holidays, I would think “No, I went Back Midwest. I am not from the East”. My friend said that she never claimed people from California called it “Cali.” I said that was fine, we would continue to mock her for it while she is here. Maybe we will also start referring to her home state as “New Joizey” in the interest of fair play. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/46 "2012-07-10T00:45:40Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I’ve seen that written but never heard it used. Do they pronounce it with the soft “ch” and short “i” like Shi-town? Because that’s just rude. . . heheh, Shittown? He said it like the tea: _chai town_. According to [this wiki page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nicknames_for_Chicago), it can be either _chai-town_ or _shy-town_. Not chit or shit. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/47 "2012-07-10T01:26:42Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Huh? Never heard of the Mass Pike? Boston, Mass? > > As for the OP: NEVER. > > We generally call it Paradise. > > Be careful, or we’ll shut off the spigot. Like. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/48 "2012-07-10T01:40:32Z")
Native Northern Californiaisms: San Francisco is called “The City”. It is the only city in California, and hence, there need be only the one name for it. Never, ever “Frisco”. Please. The entire Sacramento/San Joaquin valleys, all 500+ miles: “The Valley”. And yeah, to us, the entire United States after the desert and Rockies is “Back East”. The middle of the country doesn’t exist on our plane of reality. I have never heard of this Cali to which you refer. Obviously it is somewhere else entirely. Also we don’t like Los Angeles, and the only reason we go there is because we have to sometimes, but it’s not our fault. ---
**Author:** ![UncaStuart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncastuart/32/404_2.png) [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/49 "2012-07-10T01:42:01Z")
Ah, _hell_ no. 64 years a Californio. Additionally, I’ve never heard anyone utter the word “NorCal” in my presence, only seen it as window stickers, etc., and I dislike that too, fogey that I am. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/50 "2012-07-10T01:51:47Z")
> [@UncaStuart](#): > > Ah, _hell_ no. > > 64 years a Californio. > > Additionally, I’ve never heard anyone utter the word “NorCal” in my presence, only seen it as window stickers, etc., and I dislike that too, fogey that I am. Only time I have ever heard NorCal is as a descriptive title or name of some sort: Norcal Tile & Granite, NorCal Junior Boxing League, NorCal Great Dane Club, stuff like that. Never heard the word spoken as a term for Northern California in my life. Which, while it does not exceed UncaStuart’s, is getting kinda long too, and all of it spent right here. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/51 "2012-07-10T04:51:01Z")
I grew up on the central coast and never heard anyone say Cali until I moved to Colorado. It’s a very grating term to my ears and while I’ve found myself saying it a couple of times in conversations it just feels awkward. I grew up saying SoCal but I only noticed the NorCal thing farly recently thing and have just written it off as the northerners wanting to copy the southerners, again. And as far the the correct name for San Francisco it’s the bay area there is no difference between San Jose, Oakland, berkeley and San fransisco. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/52 "2012-07-10T18:07:51Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > I grew up on the central coast and never heard anyone say Cali until I moved to Colorado. It’s a very grating term to my ears and while I’ve found myself saying it a couple of times in conversations it just feels awkward. > > I grew up saying SoCal but I only noticed the NorCal thing farly recently thing and have just written it off as the northerners wanting to copy the southerners, again. And as far the the correct name for San Francisco it’s the bay area there is no difference between San Jose, Oakland, berkeley and San fransisco. The City is a term used to further distinguish San Francisco from the Bayeria (real pronunciation) in which it has its being. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/53 "2012-07-10T18:10:06Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > The City is a term used to further distinguish San Francisco from the Bayeria (real pronunciation) in which it has its being. Whenever anyone says they’re going to the city, I say: San Jose? They sometimes correct me, but usually they get it. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/54 "2012-07-10T19:05:20Z")
I’ve lived in Northern California for all of my not-quite 45 years and have never heard a native refer to it as “Cali”. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/55 "2012-07-10T19:10:27Z")
I’m one of the few people who voted ‘yes’, for two reasons: 1. I’m not from here, and don’t think I will be here much longer. I have not been impressed by anything while here, so while I am aware that refering to the state as ‘Cali’ isn’t kosher, I really don’t give a crap. 2. I’ve only done it while texting. My voice isn’t broken, and the state’s whole name is not onorous or overly burdensome to say, so I say it. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/56 "2012-07-10T19:18:56Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Huh? Never heard of the Mass Pike? Boston, Mass? When I was living in Boston, I never heard anyone refer to the Massachusetts Pike as anything other than The Pike. And there’s little reason to refer to the state of a city if you’re in that state: people in Southern California don’t make reference to “Los Angeles, California” unless they’re quoting Jack Webb, do they? The one exception I do recall is referring to Massachussetts Avenue as “Mass Ave.”, although that was usually slurred into a single word not significantly differentiated from the word “massive”. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/57 "2012-07-10T19:28:26Z")
> [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](#): > > When I was living in Boston, I never heard anyone refer to the Massachusetts Pike as anything other than The Pike. And there’s little reason to refer to the state of a city if you’re in that state: people in Southern California don’t make reference to “Los Angeles, California” unless they’re quoting Jack Webb, do they? > > The one exception I do recall is referring to Massachussetts Avenue as “Mass Ave.”, although that was usually slurred into a single word not significantly differentiated from the word “massive”. I’ve never heard the Mass Pike called “The Pike”, but I forgot about Mass Ave. That, and Comm Ave. Sure, there’s no reason to say Boston, Mass, but some folks do if they want to emphasize the state. But I’ve never lived in Boston, just outside. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/58 "2012-07-10T19:41:55Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Sure, there’s no reason to say Boston, Mass, but some folks do if they want to emphasize the state. > > But I’ve never lived in Boston, just outside. Your last line might be the difference in our experiences: when you’re living in Boston, the universe tends to end at the extremities of the T. There’s rarely a reason to refer to the state when, for all intents and purposes, it’s synonymous with the city. As a direct response to the OP: my boss is from Northern California, and occasionally makes mention to going home to Cali. When I asked him about it, though, he said that he never used the term ‘Cali’ when he actually lived there, and only picked it up as an expat. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/59 "2012-07-11T02:10:40Z")
“Cali” seems to be a gang term, at least around here. NorCal & Socal are sometimes so. Only some weird Frisco-ites call it “the City”. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648/60 "2012-07-11T15:08:13Z")
I work at a college in Nevada, and many of my 20-something students will often say “I am going to Cali this weekend…” I lived in California for about 12 years and never heard anyone call it “Cali” until I moved here. Most of the students who call it that are Hispanic and used to lived in the LA area. Whenever they say that in class, I annoy them by saying, “I used to live in Fornia…it is a better class suburb of Cali.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ca-residents-do-you-ever-refer-to-the-state-you-live-in-as-cali/627648.md?page=4)