20 signs that make you a true Karachiite

1.You spend half your life stuck in traffic

You cannot call yourself a true Karachiite if you haven’t spent a quarter of your life stuck in traffic at Korangi and Shahrah-e-Faisal. The things we could do, the places where we could reach, if we didn’t age twenty years at Sharah-e-Faisal road.

2. Good luck getting gas

Yep, first there was not enough gas for geysers and now there’s not even enough gas for a karak cup of tea. From the cavemen discovering fire to us having stoves to us going back to cookouts in full blown caveman wood fire style, we’ve come full circle.

3. You only flaunt your mobile phone in your dreams

Because if you were to flaunt that shiny new iPhone, you’d be mugged at gun point in the blink of an eye. Even the find-my-phone feature has given up in the city!

Advertisement
4. Going to the mall is an adventure

The only exciting thing in your life is going to the malls for shopping because of the lack of recreational spaces, but good luck getting that dress you’re looking for, you have a lifetime’s worth of mall trips to find it!

5. You somehow always end up at Xanders

With so much that the city has to offer, you just can’t stop coming back to Xanders. It is insane how much of a staple this small restaurant chain has become for us, and rightly so, for it never disappoints.

6. Despite living by the sea you barely go once a year for that grand picnic

Even those of us who live nearby, going to the beach for an unwinding picnic is only once-a-year ritual. To truly be grateful for our sea side life, ask any land-locked lahori about their lives. We’ve got the sea fog, they’ve got the actual fog of hell.

Advertisement
7. You love the chai dhaabas, we all do.

Picture this, you’ve just had a long day at work, you go out and meet your friends at chai master to relay your trial and tribulations, and life is good once again. Nothing compares to ranting and making life decisions over a cup of doodh patti at your favourite chai wala.

8. Late weddings are in your DNA

Early weddings exist only in a Utopian society and as much as we’d like to be one, we’re not. If the invitation card says 8 PM, and your reflex is to reach at 10 PM, then congratulations, you’re a Karachiite.

9. You have encountered bikes everywhere, even on pedestrian bridges.

Legend says there are more bikes than people in Karachi and we’ve started to believe it may be true. From footpaths to pedestrian bridges to centimeters away from your car, they’re everywhere!

Advertisement
10. The struggles of finding a water tanker are real

Chances of you finding a drug dealer are higher than finding a water tanker, and even when you find one, the chances of him showing up are, well, bleak!

11. You’ve gotten out of a ticket at least once

I mean, it’s the right of passage for every person here. The quintessential coming of age moment where you dodge the white uniform folk and get out of a ticket is peak Karachiite behaviour.

12. You DHA friends think the world ends at Ittehad

If your friends are living on opposite side of the bridge, then you know that the struggle of meeting them is real. Neither party wants to travel all the way to the other side and it ends up being a whole argument every time.

Advertisement
13. You always run into people you know or know of.

Seriously, you can’t escape this phenomenon. With a city of millions, you’d expect to have some corner or crevice just to yourself, but you always end up running into people you know.

14. You can never decide on where to eat, despite infinite food options

Another mystery of the Karachiites universe. One can’t ever choose a place to go to, and the argument in the car for where to eat becomes an episode of battle-royale.

15. The great flood arrives whenever it rains

I swear, it happens every time. If you haven’t found yourself or your assets drowning come monsoon season, then you haven’t lived the full Karachi experience.  Wake up sheeple, global warming is real!

Advertisement
16. City of lights but it never has electricity

Karachi is the only city where you’ll negotiate for what load shedding times you want, instead of asking for no load-shedding at all. It’s a particular way of life only for Karachi, and you are well adjusted to it, no matter how frustrating it gets.

17. You will never find parking, like ever.

Karachi is the New York of Pakistan, and not in the skyscrapers and Broadway sense, but more in the city being overpopulated with automobiles that finding parking is a losing battle sense.

18. The city never sleeps, and neither do you.

This is quite true in most circumstances. Do you have a hunger craving in the dead of night? Ask and you shall receive. Do you want hang out at a chai dhaba at three in the morning? The city shall provide! If you’ve found hustle in the late hours, then you’re a Karachiite.

Advertisement
19. Being desperate to wear shawls and jackets

As soon as November comes, Karachiite take out all their comforters, blankets and jackets waiting for that cold breeze. But, wait! It’s December and we are still wearing summer clothes longing for winters. The pain is real friends!!!

20. Biryani is a staple in your household

This particular dish is found in every corner and crevice of the city’s food offerings, and in every home or wedding. Come hell or high water, it is always a hot plate of biryani that saves the day for a Karachiite.

Also Read

Celebrity Deaths 2021: Notable Celebrities who died in 2021

The year 2021 has surely been melancholy, as we say farewell to...