Essential English phrases

The Inland Empire — Riverside and San Bernardino counties, a metro of about 4.7 million that most outsiders think is a suburb of Los Angeles and that locals emphatically do not. People here say 'I'm in the IE', not 'I'm in LA'.

Riverside's area code, split off from the 909 in 2004. People use the numbers as shorthand for the two halves of the Inland Empire, and being 'the 951' is a mild point of local pride.

California's statewide Tenant Protection Act, capping most annual rent increases at 5% plus regional inflation to a 10% ceiling on buildings over 15 years old. In Riverside it is the only rent cap for a flat — the city's own ordinance covers mobile home parks only.

Mount Rubidoux, the granite hill at the western edge of downtown with a paved path to the top, a cross and a bridge. Everyone in Riverside has walked it; the Easter sunrise service there has run since 1909.

Riverside Public Utilities — the city's own electric and water utility, running since 1895. Your power bill comes from the city here, not from Southern California Edison, and the rates are set by the city council.

Freeways, always with 'the' in front. The 91 west through the Santa Ana Canyon to Orange County is the commute that defines this city and is regularly ranked among the worst corridors in the country. Directions here are given in freeway numbers.

Someone who drives ninety minutes or more each way to Orange County or Los Angeles because the housing here is affordable and the jobs there are not local. It is a recognised local category, not an insult, and a very large number of households are in it.

A community facilities district special tax levied on top of ordinary property tax to pay for infrastructure in newer developments. Extremely common in Riverside County's post-1990 subdivisions and easy to overlook when comparing two houses.

The Inland Empire's defining industry — millions of square metres of distribution space along the 60, the 215 and the 10. It is the largest employer category in the region and the subject of the region's fiercest local politics.

A city-block-sized hotel built in Mission Revival style over four decades from 1876, with flying buttresses, a rotunda, catacombs and a chapel. It is the landmark, the wedding venue and the site of the Festival of Lights every winter.

The surviving Washington navel orange tree planted in Riverside in 1873, at Magnolia and Arlington, from which essentially the whole California navel industry was propagated. It is still there, still fruiting, behind a fence.

Hot dry offshore winds that blow down through the passes in autumn, dropping humidity into single figures and driving the region's worst fire weather. When people say the Santa Anas are coming they mean check the fire map, not fetch a jacket.

Said plainly and without drama. South Coast AQMD issues air quality advisories and school districts here act on them, moving PE indoors. Checking the forecast before a run is ordinary behaviour, not anxiety.

The free health and social services referral line, covering housing help, food assistance, utility support and benefits questions across Riverside County. 911 stays for emergencies.