I've lived in Southern California for more than a decade — here are 15 things anyone from here knows to be true

Melissa Wells standing next to the ocean.Melissa Wells/Insider

• Southern California is more than sandy beaches and celebrity sightings.
• I'm a Southern California native, and there are many things only those who live here understand.

Born in Southern California and then lured back after college, I've spent more than a decade here — first southeast of Los Angeles and now northeast. I've traveled all across the region, down to the border of Mexico and up to San Francisco, journeying through our deserts, forests, beaches, and mountains.

But to some, Southern California is just the sunny land of sandy beaches and palm trees, or the home of celebrities and Hollywood movies.

That picture of California — especially Southern California — speaks very little to the quirks and qualities of the Golden State that only natives like me will understand.

Here are 15 things you'll get if you're from here.