Photo: Tupungato

12 Habits That Are Hard to Shake When You Leave Philadelphia

by Alicia Raeburn Mar 12, 2019

Philadelphians are a breed of their own. The mannerisms you grow up with here are with you for life, whether you stay or you go. From holding onto your Philly-only vocab to assuming every diner and deli in the nation is up to our standards, here are the 12 habits that are especially hard to shake when you leave Philly.

1. Talking really loud and fast

Get ready for a lot of blank stares, long pauses, and “What?” following your sentences when you leave Philly. Some people actually breathe between sentences outside of your home city.

2. Assuming mutual hate for other NFC East teams

No more throwing out the, “At least it’s not the Cowboys, amiright?” without some thoughtful pauses about where you are first.

3. Saying “PA” instead of Pennsylvania

They actually expect you to say every syllable of our long-as-hell state name in other parts of the world.

4. Going hard on New Year’s Day

Everywhere else in the world, the party is on New Year’s Eve. Show up at someone’s house with a case of beer bright and early on the morning of New Year’s Day and you’re getting the door slammed in your face.

5. Assuming that people are as fiercely proud of their hometown as you are

Not everyone loves where they come from, probably because they didn’t have the good fortune of coming from Philly.

6. Using Philly-only vocab

People don’t know what “jawn” means outside of Philly, and they shockingly refer to their hoagies as things like “heroes” or simply, “sandwiches.”

7. Allocating over 20 minutes to look for parking at night

There is a world where you pull onto your street and park. Or so we’ve heard.

8. Refusing to use public transportation

Depending on where you’re headed, you may not need to wait 30 minutes in the cold for a late bus. Public transportation can actually help get you to your destination on time in some places.

9. Thinking other diners and delis will be of the same quality as what you’re used to

Cheap food establishments that are actually worth eating at don’t come as a guarantee anywhere else. Use caution when heading to a local greasy spoon when not in Philly.

10. Referring to “the birds” without explaining that you’re not talking about the animals

How do people not get this?

11. Screaming Eagles chants on public streets on game day

It’s debatable that this is a habit that needs to be broken, but you will get some odd looks if you decide to hold onto it.

12. Expecting heavy disputes between bikers and drivers on city streets

There are places where the two coexist without huge amounts of animosity, apparently.

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