23 Signs You Were Born and Raised in the North Pole

4. You answered kids letters to Santa.

In elementary school you were given letters to Santa that you had to respond to. We were all Santa’s little helpers.

5. Your used to getting coffee at a drive up hut.

Forget Starbucks, you’re used to drive-up coffee huts on every corner. With North Pole coffee and lattes with special names such as polar expresso and Santa’s blend why would we go anywhere else and get out a warm car?

6. Denali will always be Mt. McKinley.

Mt. McKinley renamed Denali a few years ago however the huge mountain resides in the town of Denali so it can be very confusing. You know it’s just easier to still refer to the mountain as Mt. McKinley.

7. You went to school even at – 40 below zero.

School was never cancelled, there were no snow days or cold days, but there were extremely cold days. You knew there was no way out, school is in session unless it reached -50 degrees.

8. You get the question, “Do you live in an igloo?”

Sure…we live in igloos and take dog sleds everywhere…

9. Your vehicle has a cord hanging out of the front.

Making sure your vehicle is plugged in to keep it warm during winter, is second nature.

10. The phrase “everything’s bigger in Texas” is kind of offensive.

Alaska is two times bigger than Texas.

11. You know to make a stop at Arby’s on the way to Anchorage for the “Fairbanks packed special.”

You know the drill, eat as much as posable at Arby’s and get the packed special to keep you going on the 6 (plus) hours drive.

12. You have worn flip flops in the winter.

The winter is just too long and we have to hold on to every little bit of summer we can.

13. You learned how to drive by practicing skidding on the ice in a parking lot.

Considering we have snow and ice the majority of the year, learning how to control your car on empty iced over parking lots is a right of passage.

14. The “Patriots” are the local high school football team not from New England.

The New England Patriots don’t have patch on the North Pole Patriots.

15. You had a snowmachine, not a snowmobile.

And you may have skipped school to ride your snowmachine at Arctic man or Iron Dog.

16. You despise Daylight savings time.

You can’t fathom why we have to participate in daylight savings time, losing more daylight in the winter and sleep in the spring.

17. You grew up seeing the Northern Lights.

You may have had a high-speed camera at a young age to take pictures.

18. Pioneer Park will always be known as Alaska Land.

It will always be known as Alaska Land, where you played mini golf, ate at the Salmon Bake and fed the ducks.

19. You get asked, “Is there 24 hours of darkness in the winter?”

And no we don’t have vampires…

20. You have thrown your coffee in the air to watch it freeze.

Once the cold snap (-40 degrees) hits it’s time to test the theory of throwing coffee in the air to watch it freeze.

21. You may have gotten a Malibu treatment.

Odds are your house had a well which means your hair, white clothes, and bath water all turned orange.

22. A traffic jam is 5 cars at a stop light.

When you traveled to a big city in the “lower 48” you are amazed at how it takes so much longer to get to anywhere.

23. The mosquitos are big enough to carry your off.

You know a swarm can turn a sunny day dark.