Well, it’s better than Chi-raq, but yeah . . . just don’t. Also, if you are from (or going to school in) Evanston, Oak Lawn, Brookfield, etc., you are NOT from Chicago! Stop appropriating my Roscoe Village culture! :))
To stay somewhat on topic, this thread is the first I’ve ever heard of “Cali.”
Folks, consider yourself warned. If you go strolling down South street and saying to locals (the two of them left on South Street) “Isn’t Philadelphia so much more pleasant than back when Donald Trump… I mean Frank Rizzo was mayor…” they will just assume you’re from someplace far away like Baltimore or New Jersey and mug you, just for old time’s sake.
Remember: They blew up the chicken man in philly last night. They blew up his house too. So be careful around Mr. Testa’s neigborhood of South Philly lest the houses explode. Got to go, gonna listen to philly sports talk then crank up the Teddy Prendergrass. Love that Philly Soul. If you really wanna pass, go to Philly Slang to learn the lingo:
http://phillytalk.com/philly-slang Or just philly.com for the skinny.
I lived in the SF Bay Area for about a decade many years ago. Just recently I was planning a business trip out there with a colleague from TX and realized how much of the local lingo I still used. “That customer is mid-peninsula so it’ll be easiest to stay in the South Bay since we also need to make a trip out to the East Bay. We could stay in the City but then parking is $70/night.”
I had to stop and explain what the peninsula is, the difference between East and South Bay, and exactly which City I was referring to.
Re: typing CA vs Cali - on a a phone or tablet, CA is harder to type because of the caps.
For whatever reason, I also find that people don’t always understand CA on message boards (which probably means that they’re not from CA). 
I get asked what CA means, or if I’m talking about Canada.
Anyhow, on message boards, I still use the occasional “Cali” for clarity.
However, here’s a convo I had in Washington (state) once:
Them: Where are you from?
Me: Michigan
Them: Oh, is that in the United States?
Me (goggle-eyed): Yes.
Them: Do you have big cities there?
Me: Ever heard of Detroit?
Them: Oh, wow. I thought that was in Canada.
Me: cries
But my born and bred Philadelphia family and friends all use Philly. As do the media and people talking about Philadelphia. Perhaps some folks don’t like it, but I think it is generally accepted as is LA for Los Angeles.
“LA” isn’t some sort of diminutive.
@lookingforward @mom2and only post-Rizzo new york transplant yuppies care about diminutives. Real philly folks use as few words or syllables as they can. “Down th’shore” “Philly” “yous” “yo” “hun” “hiz’honor” “caws” Philadelphians are a combo of impatient and lazy which means run words together, truncate or jettison if possible.
As LuckyCharms also said, we didn’t. Nor did we say Iggles when we meant Eagles.
I’m born there, raised there. As the saying goes, you can take the girl out of Philadelphia, but not Philadelphia out of the girl. Yes, I can talk fast, too.
Skookill. That’s the one I’ll stick with. Or more likely, skukl. Ha.
This thread is so funny! I live IN Philadelphia and people use “Philly” all of the time. Philadelphia Magazine is phillymag.com for their online address. Newscasters refer to “Philly.” People go to see the Phillies. People live in south philly or north philly or west philly (unless you are talking to someone local and then you will say your neighborhood, ie; Bella Vista, or your street corners or parish).
Oh, and by the way, we have amazing Mexican food in the city. We have a large Mexican population that has opened restaurants, stores, and food carts. Mexico is a large and diverse country and the Mexican people who have immigrated to Philly are going to be from different areas than the Mexican population in California. Their cooking is going to be different depending on where they are from.
@amom2girls I haven’t lived there in 30+ years, but my brother-in-law tro-olls me (who knew that was not an ok CC word?) all the time on FB with new restaurant openings. There’s like 10 a day. Seems like the Cambodian refugees started it, in some ways, at least in west philly. When I lived there it was basically Le Bec Fin, Bookbinders or Ginos/Pats.
And yes, anyone who lives in Philly says Philly 30 times a day without even blinking (or realizing it). Just put on any local-based pod cast and I bet you fidollars you’ll hear it a hunnerd times
I occasionally have a look at one of the Philadelphia FB pages and if you happen to diss old Frank there, there will be he%% to pay. He was an ignorant thug, in my opinion, but the oldtime Philadelphians worship him still.
Growing up in south Jersey, I don’t recall anyone ever calling the city Philly. Our relatives who lived in the city did call it Philly. When we were going to something in Philadelphia, it was usually said we were going downtown. That was late '50s/early '60s speak.
My parents used to call the Schuylkill Expressway, the Surekill.
GREAT dining scene in Philly the days, at all levels of price, @CaliDad2020. You need to get back to Philly for a visit.
@alwaysamom like good philly people we are going to rudely push ourselves into and take over thread that’s not even about us. We never said “downtown” we called it center city. I worked in news in HS/college and it was philly in casual convo almost 100%.
Rizzo was a nasty, petty guy who loved patronage, btw, which is why philly still loves him! I helped a guy who covered the city hall beat late in the rizzo years. Man, the stuff they used to pull!
But enough about philly. I’ve been a cali guy for 30+ years now. My kids, who are true SoCal kids, seem to use Cali mostly/only as a (sometimes slightly pejorative) adjective - “Oh, that is so Cali.” “He’s trying to be all Cali.” “Yeah, it’s a Cali thing.” But they use California, SoCal or LA way more.
Mannnnn my family is about as SoCal-ian as it gets (D15 is a surfer whose other main activity is chilling out, husband works in the entertainment industry in Burbank/Uni) and this thread cracks me up. I’m going to start going out of my way to say “Frisco” “Berk” and Cali" just to raise all you pedants’ blood pressure.
:)>-
haha…I came to Philly in 1984 to attend Temple and my husband came in the late 80’s to go to Temple Law (though we met at work, not school). We each ended up with jobs and loved the city and ended up raising our children, much to our families confusion, here. Food was limited to very high end or pizza/diner level for a long time. But we were able to find good stuff even then.
Now, the food scene here is amazing. I think our weird liquor laws have contributed to a huge BYOB boon and we have so many ethnic restaurants that it is hard not eat out a lot.
I stare at the Frank Rizzo statue every day coming/going to work and his mural any time I walk through the Italian Market. I think it is correct that a lot of old-timers liked Rizzo, but not so much the newer generation.
Our daughter’s friends who have parents born and raised still say they are going “downtown” which always makes us chuckle.
Being from the East Coast, I’ve heard CA referred to “Cali” for most of my life. I always thought it sounded a bit funny and usually say “California” but I never knew it was an issue until now! Although it does appear that some of you native Californians are divided.
So I gather you can’t stand this LL Cool J song (full disclosure, I always hated this song)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdizL4on-Rc
Or Bruce’s:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW9CzDX79R0
:))
Both east coasters above of course but I’m sure I’ve heard the word “Cali” in many other songs.
Also, I agree with @mom2and AND @CaliDad2020 - sorry @lookingforward @LuckyCharms913 - but as far as “Philadelphia” is concerned, I can state for a fact that I know plenty of natives of Philadelphia that call it Philly!!! So that sounds like more of a personal pet peeve with you two. You may personally not call it Philly but plenty of people who grew up in Philadelphia do.
@garland RESIST the urge to use the south jersey/Philly “O”
And yes, being from north Jersey, “the City” was always NYC and then there was “PhillyTown” which of course does irritate native Philadelphians.
@DiotimaDM on the phone I just type state abbreviations in lower case and then let the phone correct them. 
I always thought it was cool that NYC had downtown, midtown and uptown. (As well as all those other neighborhoods.)
Unlike the CA thing, I’m afraid some of this may be cultural.
Lots of nifty shorthands and slurred phrases in that SE PA/NJ area. Right now, though, I’m going to (try to) give the conch shell back to the Californians.
But, on the whole, “I’d rather be in” coastal California, no matter what letters follow the C.
@mathmom Huh! I’ll have to see if my phone does that - thanks!
Given the name of Philadelphia’s major league baseball team, it seems a little odd for people to complain when others say “Philly.”