1. The fact that this weather is just a "normal day".
This is just what people in LA expect from their weather. Even in the middle of winter.
2. And the way people freak out about rain.
Rain in LA gets the same reaction as a slight sprinkle of snow does in London.
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3. Having to drive everywhere.
4. Seriously, walking is just not an option.
Two places might both be on Sunset Boulevard but they'll somehow still be an hour's walk away from each other.
5. And the freeways are terrifying.
There are so many of them and they're so fast.
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6. The sales tax is only included once you take your item up to the till, so you're always surprised and disappointed by how much you're paying.
And of course, tax is always a different percentage for different items so you can never really pre-emptively calculate it.
9. The sheer amount of shops selling crystals.
10. Strangers will just start conversations with you, and it's not weird.
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12. You'll never get asked if you want a a single or a double shot in your drink, they just tip both the alcohol and the mixer in, in equal portions.
After three gin and tonics, when you would normally be pleasantly buzzed, you'll actually be vomiting in the toilet.
13. All the bathroom stalls always seem to have massive gaps and absolutely zero respect for your privacy.
15. Also, all the toilets with sensor flush are always way too eager and flush at the slightest suggestion of movement.
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16. And many places still use paper towels instead of moving into the future of the skin-shifting Dyson airblade.
Look, I have a lot of bathroom-related opinions.
17. The huge food portions.
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20. Celebrity sightings are not unusual but no one gives a shit.
I had a brief interaction with Kristen Bell in line to use the loo at a café and none of my LA-native friends found this brush with fame as fascinating as I did.
21. And of course, that it's a city that actually looks like its postcards.
LA, you're beautiful and weird, never change.
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