The 5 Towns is just what it sounds like - 5 Towns clustered together on Long Island. If you are from the Hewlett, Woodmere, Inwood, Lawrence or Cedarhurst, you will most definitely agree with these 10 signs that you grew up here.
1. The Cheese Store
Maybe when it originated, The Cheese Store was known for its vast array of cheeses, but clearly, nowadays, everyone from the Five Towns and most likely beyond knows it for their abundance of iced coffee flavorings. If you’re a regular and lucky enough, you may even have one named after yourself.
Juniors and seniors in high school look forward to getting their licenses just so they can drive into Cedarhurst to the Cheese Store during their lunch period and bring back their oversized, saran wrapped, Styrofoam coffee cup for the whole school to see. Also, much to everyone's relief, after the Five Towns went into mass hysteria, The Cheese Store will not be closing!!
2. Hewlee Station Yogurt
“So, what even is a Hewlee?” If you are from the Five Towns, this question has an obvious answer. A Hewlett is a mix of coffee, frozen yogurt and your choice of toppings, blended together in sheer perfection to make up the ultimate, well, “Hewlett.”
On any given Tuesday and Saturday, the line can be seen outside as Five Towners line up for the Twofers, as it’s their buy one get one free day. Whenever out of town friends come to visit, one of the most desired “go to” places is for sure Hewlett Station.
3. The Pizza Place
Yes, one of our town pizza places is called “The Pizza Place.” If you currently are or were a Hewlett High School student, you can definitely agree that you spent at least 2 or 3 days at The Pizza Place for lunch. While New York is known for its pizza, The Pizza Place is the Five Towns favorite pizza place.
4. You spend or spent your summers at Sleepaway Camp
If you live or grew up in the 5 Towns, you know that the community turns into a virtual ghost town the day or two after school lets out. Kids ages 6-16 roll out to their favorite summer homes in the mountains of the Adirondacks, Poconos or Catskills, and further up to Massachusetts and Maine.
Beginning as early as February, parents make obligatory appointments at various camp outfitters to stock their kids up with the best of the best in the latest trendy sleepaway camp “bunk junk.” Social Media sites are spilling over with customized apparel, bedding, stationery, toys, accessories and more!
People from neighboring towns look at us like we’re crazy – how can you send a child away for 7 weeks, but to us, it’s our home away from the 5 Towns.
5. Take the ocean for granted with Atlantic Beach minutes away
Spending the summers at the beach is something we 5-Towners take for granted. Our beach, is literally on the coast of The Atlantic Ocean, a mere 3-5 miles away. I know people visit their “beaches” at their local bays or lakes, but our beach is the legit ocean.
Coming to college, I realized that my friends are in awe of the fact that we are almost oceanfront, learning that some people have to drive 2 hours just to get to what they consider a beach. We Five Towners should never take for granted this luxury.
6. We’re not “off an exit”
Clearly, we are not off an exit, as it takes longer for Five Towners to get to a highway than it takes to get to our final destination once we enter the highway. North Shore-Long Islanders identify their locales by what exit they’re off (referring to a Long Island Expressway Exit), yet this clearly doesn’t apply to us.
7. Bagel of Hewlett/Woodmere or Bagel Boss … well pretty much any bagel place
Sunday mornings would not be complete without 5 Town families packing into bagel places for breakfast. Long Island bagels are not comparable to anything in the world, but we all know that a bagel with egg whites and avocado from Bagelo really cannot be beat.
I can guarantee that every college kid at home for winter/spring or summer break packs several visits to our 5 Town Favorite Bagel Places!
8. Bar and Bat Mitzvah year was the time of your life.
7th grade for Five Town kids is the year that they all look forward to. Every weekend these kids are partying at different catering halls or temples with the rest of their grade celebrating someone else’s “entry into adulthood.” People not from the Five Towns or on Long Island for that matter would look at this lifestyle as something extremely excessive, but it is what we all grew up with.
9. Almost everyone you know has a parent or relative who grew up in the Five Towns and went to Hewlett or Lawrence
When we Five Towners meet someone new, and we tell them where we’re from, almost always without fail, someone will respond back and say, “oh my mom or dad or grandparent,” grew up there.
Apparently, Hewlett and Lawrence were the places to live I’m told, as my Mom and Grandma both grew up here - I’m not sure about you, but I constantly wonder what made this area so popping a few decades ago.
10. As much as you may say you “hate the bubble,” you can’t imagine growing up anywhere else.
Everyone always says, “I hate my town, I can’t wait for college.” Yes, this is a valid point, but going to college makes you appreciate this bubble so much more. I can’t imagine not seeing the 5 Towns Geotag on Snapchat every time I go home, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.
