Going to school out-of-state is hard when you’re from Washington. You constantly find yourself longing for the sound of heavy rain on the rooftop as you sleep. You find yourself laughing at other students when they carry umbrellas around campus on a drizzly day. You must learn how to drive on snow. Your coffee standards are unbearably high. Nobody knows what you mean when you say you want a Red Bull Charger. Every day is a new struggle.

1. “It’s ALWAYS raining!”

Sure, living in Western Washington means you will inevitably bear with constant rain from mid-October to the beginning of April. It rarely stops to snow, just the slightest dusting, though. But if anyone tells you that it’s always raining, it’s because they don’t want you to move there. Trust me, we’re crowded enough. The spring and summer in Washington is unbelievable. It’s sunny and warm, but not hot, and it rains just often enough to keep things green.

2. “I’m from Seattle.”

Chances are this isn’t true. It’s just a lot easier than telling people where we’re actually from, which given the 5.2 million population of Western Washington (only 600,000 of which belongs to actual Seattle). We just know when you say you’ve been to Washington, we know you mean the Space Needle and Pike Place.

3.“I don’t listen to Nirvana and drink Starbucks.”

Whether these are our favorites or not, chances are you know every word to “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and you indulge in a cup of Starbucks every now and then. Of course, we just don’t want to be cliché.

4.“I always wanted to go to school out of state.”

I always wanted to be a Coug, but here I am at a school out of state.

5.“I hate the outdoors.”

Truth be told: Washingtonians spend a large chunk of their time in the great outdoors. Be it hiking (Oyster Dome and Mount Pilchuck being the most popular destinations), floating the river, skiing/snowboarding, everyone has their thing. Who could blame us?

6. “District of Columbia, not state.”

When we tell people we’re from Washington they inevitably think of D.C instead of the state. Trust us, if we were from Washington D.C, we’d say so.

7. “The traffic is awesome!”

Pro-tip: we don’t want people to move to Western Washington because travelling anywhere to, from, within King County requires you plan an extra hour or more of travelling time to ensure you’re on time to your destination.

8. “I’ve never rooted for the Seahawks/Sounders/Mariners.”

This Green Bay Packers fan says you’re lying. We all got into the Seahawks spirit for their Super Bowl win.

9. “The coast isn’t very cool.”

Don’t kid yourself, you’ve always wanted to go to a lighthouse.

10. “I’ve seen an Orca.”

Shamu doesn’t count. While killer whales aren’t endangered, there is not enough data to prove or disprove the theory, they seem to be a rare sighting unless you get lucky whale watching or grew up on the coast/sound.

11. “It’s February. Let’s take a leisurely ferry ride!”

My middle school teachers once thought this a good idea, to do some marine biology exploring in Puget Sound in the winter. News flash: storms happen. Ride the ferries in the summer.

12.“I can drive in the snow.”

Do yourself a favor, if there’s white stuff falling from the sky, then hide, unless you want an insurance claim. The entire infrastructure of Western Washington falls apart when it snows. Thinking I’m joking? Just wait until they cancel school for a dusting of snow that melts by nine in the morning.

13.“It’s just sprinkling.”

Translation: rain suit up! It’s time to go swimming out there.

14.“The Seahawks should have totally passed on the one-yard line.”

Everybody in Washington knows Marshawn was ready to take the ball. He probably wouldn’t have thrown an interception either.

15.“Washington is so ugly.”

No matter what you think is beautiful, you can find it in Washington. You want big impressive mountains? You’ve got it! Want a tree-covered forest? You bet we have it! A never-ending view of the ocean? It’s there! You want flat land full of growing crops and windmills? Don’t count us out!