No, we don’t all surf. Half of California lives closer to a Costco parking lot than a wave. The questions start the second someone hears the word California, and Californians have been fielding them for years. These are the things Californians are tired of explaining to the rest of us. NorCal Versus SoCal Californians argue…
A mom in Kissimmee fills her cart before a pool party: noodles, a mister, two dozen water balloons, plates for the whole crew. She spends less than fifteen dollars and skips the batteries by the register on purpose. That last part is the move many shoppers miss. These are the Dollar Tree summer finds Floridians…
A Wegmans run in Pennsylvania isn’t a quick errand, and longtime shoppers gave up pretending otherwise years ago. You go in for a few quick things, then leave ninety minutes later with a sub, a wedge of cheese, and no clear memory of the time in between. Newcomers fight it. Pennsylvanians who’ve shopped at Wegmans…
A new coworker from Boston moves to Columbus and starts keeping a list. Every few days, someone says a word or orders a dish that stops them cold. By spring, that list runs long. These are the things the rest of the country says that Ohioans do wrong. Ohioans understandably feel that it’s everyone else…
Think a decade of sunshine can turn a Philly native into a mellow Floridian? Not a chance. Their tan changes. The instincts that came down I-95 with them don’t. These are the Northeast habits that follow transplants all the way to Florida. “The Shore,” Not the Beach You’ve lived in Florida for years, and you…
A man at a Phoenix taco stand waits for his food with his arms crossed, sizing up how long the line will take. Nobody taught him that. Queens did. You can pick out a New York transplant from across a parking lot, years after they signed a lease somewhere warm. These are the habits that…
Think good grocery store manners are obvious? They aren’t. One shopper’s plain courtesy is another shopper’s pet peeve, and Georgia checkout lines prove it from Savannah to the Perimeter. These are the grocery store debates Georgians can’t seem to settle. Returning the Cart Georgia shoppers turned the cart corral into a character test. Return your…
A Floridian can order lunch, gripe about the bugs, and give you directions without saying one word a Northerner recognizes. It sounds like English. Kind of. These are the everyday words Floridians say that leave Northerners doing a double take. No-See-Ums Floridians warn you about the no-see-ums before they ever mention the sharks. They’re biting…
Pennsylvania’s woods look about as threatening as a state park picnic. That calm is exactly what gets newcomers. The Allegheny hardwoods and the Pocono ridges hide a long list of things that can turn a nice hike sideways, and none of them care that you just moved here. These are the woods hazards transplants keep…
Think you talk like a Texan because you watched a few episodes of “Friday Night Lights”? You don’t. Forget the drawl. What gives a transplant away is the handful of words that mean one thing to a Texan and something else to whoever’s stuck behind them at the H-E-B checkout. These are the sayings that…
