10 Things Connecticut Locals Want You to Know

2. CT isn’t just a New York suburb.

Connecticut has the misfortune of sitting just east of New York City and south of Boston, placing it smack dab in the middle of arguably the two most visited cities in the Northeast. But does that mean you should just pass us by in search of a “better destination”? Hell no. Here’s why:

For starters, CT is called the “Constitution State” for a reason. (Are your history classes escaping you? Look up the Great Compromise.) Not impressive enough? The state was once home to Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe. It’s where Martha Stewart got her start. It’s the birthplace of Katharine Hepburn, Michael Bolton, Seth McFarlane and John Mayer. Still not convinced? Do you like burgers? How about pizza? Both were said to have been invented here.

Mind. Blown.

3. We can experience all four seasons in a single day.

I don’t know about you, but there are only a few places where you can wake up with a layer of ice on your windshield, come back from your lunch break with a sunburn and remember that you need to mow the lawn over the weekend.

4. There’s no such thing as Stars Hollow.

Brace yourselves Gilmore fans — Amy Sherman Palladino made that shit up. While we all hope and pray to one day live in such a quaint little town with such a quaint little diner, Stars Hollow is just about as real as Hogwarts.

5. Pepe’s was the first.

Period.

6. We’ve got awesome stuff to do here.

We’ve got Lake Compounce, the oldest surviving whaling ship in the world, two of the best intercollegiate basketball teams in the country, a bumping food scene, real life dinosaur tracks, renowned art museums, blues and folk music festivals, an Ivy League school, a Tony Award-winning opera house…Should I go on?

7. This is how to spell Connecticut.

Connect – I – Cut

8. We’re called Nutmeggers.

Why is it that everyone keeps insisting we’re Connecticutters or Connecticutions?

9. We’re basically the OG Jurassic Park.

You can still view the (preserved) dinosaur tracks that were discovered in Rocky Hill in 1966.

10. Never insult UConn basketball.

Even if you’re not a sports nut, you’ve probably heard of the UConn men’s and women’s basketball teams. Forget that Connecticut played its part in that whole birth of a nation thing or that it was pretty important during the abolition movement; our greatest achievement to date would be UConn basketball. It’s a religion to us. Cut us and we bleed white and blue. And insulting our basketball teams is like insulting our mothers. It’s just not cool.