Regardless of where it may be, when you have grown up or spent a majority of your lifetime in one area, you typically start to adopt the dialect, philosophies and overall lifestyle of that region after a while. Whether you like it or not, it’s practically inevitable. You may not even notice it, as you’re so comfortable with your environment and surroundings. But when you go out of town and visit other states, more times than not, those differences will smack you in the face.
Those differences aren’t a bad thing though. I fact, you should take pride in them. They’re what makes you and your hometown unique. To give you a better idea of what I mean, I’ll give you some refectory examples of how to tell someone is from my hometown of Atlanta. We stick out like a sore thumb.
1. True, Genuine Hate for Saints Fans
Starting off, I’ll be completely honest right out the gate. I’ve lived here for roughly 10 years now, but I wasn’t born here in Atlanta. So I really couldn’t tell you what exactly sparked the beginning to our division rivalry, and if you do know the exact origin, feel free to drop it on the comments below.
What I do know is the fact that the hate is real. It’s not one of those “ha-ha, you guys lost, in your face” friendly competition type of rivalry. It gets real. Feelings get hurt. Falcons fans were definitely rejoicing during that pass interference call in the Saints/Rams conference championship game, because with the Super Bowl being in Atlanta that year, the entire city would’ve exploded if the Saints has a chance to win a title on our turf.
2. Waffle House Is Your Second Home
Listen, if you’ve lived in Atlanta and never had Waffle House before, there must be another Atlanta I don’t know about because that’s literally impossible. Waffle House is a staple within our community.
The menu is classic and they know it; it never changes. They’re also open 24/7, so if you’ve been to toe fair share of parties/functions in Atlanta, you know Waffle House is always the after move/link up spot.
And lastly, hear me out when I say this. It’s going to sound crazy to those who have never been, but it’s a thing, trust me. You can’t trust a Waffle House that’s too clean or polished. No A+ food inspection grades. You want one with some character. If your cook doesn’t take frequent smoke breaks or has any missing teeth, run for the hills.
3. You Avoid The I-75/I-85 Connector At All Costs
You don’t even know what traffic is until you’re on that connector during rush hour. You honestly might as well turn your car off, save gas and catch a little nap, ‘cause you aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. What’s even more annoying the hassle and hoops you have to jump through in order to bypass the entire ordeal. It’s really a lose-lose scenario.
4. The Aquarium & Coca-Cola Factory Don’t Excite You Anymore
It seems like whenever you have family in town, the first attractions they want to see are the Coke Factory & “the biggest aquarium in the world”. Though both are exciting the first go-round, when you’ve lived in Atlanta for so long, you start developing the ability to visually walk yourselves through the exhibits. You get to know them like the back of your hand.
5. You Better Pray It Doesn’t Snow
If you look outside and it’s a chance of any type of water at all, every road in the entire city seems to run at half-speed. And don’t let that water be frozen! End of the world, guaranteed. Granted, we don’t have snow plows or any type of equipment as such here in the south, but the travesty a few wet roads can cause is crazy. If the forecast is looking ugly for the next few days, just go ahead and kick back in the house. You’re better off just chilling.
Whether it’s drinking sweet tea, showing the ultimate display of manners or growing used to humidity, you’ll definitely know an Atlantan when you see one. We stand out, but in a good way 🙂
What are the tell-tales of your city? Let us know in the comments!
