Waiting for or waiting on...

A little bit of math might be required for this.

I was born and raised in New York City for 25 years, 8 months, 29 days. As of today, I have lived in California for 38 years, 7 days.
I've been in New York for 40.38% of my life and in California for 59.62% of my life
There are differences in our word choices and it's the New Yorkers who seem to be more uncomfortable or bent out of shape when they hear the alternate choices. Some of the combinations are quite minuscule and hardly noticeable (at least to me); in line vs on line, carded vs proofed, DUI vs DWI. But one of the strangest combinations to me is the waiting for vs waiting on. In New York, waiting on is generally used by employees at a restaurant. "I am waiting on table 9." The patron might reply, "Oh, Miss! I'm still waiting for my tea!"
Another odd pair is come up vs grow up. "When I was comin' up, ever'body knew how to hot wire a car," vs "When I was growing up, we knew basic algebra BEFORE entering high school." I think it's more of an urban vs rural dichotomy than east vs west comparison.
Dropping the use of brand names took a while. Hellmans vs Best Foods. Castro vs Futon. Hostess vs Drake's.


Some of the products never make it to the other coast. Devil Dogs and FunnyBones are a perfect example. That's why it's generally best to use generic terminology when speaking with those on the opposite coast.
When I meet folks from other English-speaking countries (except Canada), I usually ask them if they miss not hearing the sounds of their homeland. Most say no because they tell me that regional differences can vary greatly from hamlet to hamlet. This is something I've noticed, but here it's more based on education level. I am shocked at the number of people who try to imitate the voice of the Jean Stapleton character on ALL IN THE FAMILY when speaking to me. I usually retort with, "Is something wrong with your throat? I couldn't understand what you just said." If the person repeats it, I let him/__/them/her know that that's the last time I listen to that nonsense.
We also have differences in our choices based on our ethnicities, our religions, our superstitious beliefs, and a whole host of other mitigating factors.
That's my two cents for today.