As someone who has lived on Long Island all her life, I would consider myself to be a sort of expert on what we're all about. We live on Long Island, not in it, and we take iced coffee and half and half (iced tea and lemonade) very seriously, along with our BEC's, always from our go-to bagel spot. We will never, ever let you forget how amazing our pizza and bagels are. Nothing compares. There isn't anything quite as extraordinary than Little Vincent's cold cheese pizza. Long Island is a place where Billy Joel is the king and Lindsay Lohan is the queen. Around here, we all will joke that Billy Joel has crashed his car or motorcycle (or maybe even both) into most of our houses, or that LiLo has been to rehab with our friend's cousin's mom's uncle. We are a different type of New Yorker, full of attitude and sarcasm. You know you love us.. XOXO Long Island.
1. You know someone who went to Chaminade or OLMA/SHA
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If you don't know someone from an all boys or all girls school, you definitely know someone at St. Anthony's or Holy Trinity, or one of the other private high schools on the island.
2. Billy Joel is a huge deal
You cannot live here unless you have at least some appreciation for his music/legacy. We aren't saying you have to live and breathe for Billy, but you must sing along when Piano Man/We Didn't Start the Fire comes on.
3. If you're not from Long Island or NYC, you're not really from New York
You're from upstate. No offense, but we're so much preppier in our lax shorts and Vineyard Vines t shirts.
4. You don't go to Manhattan, you go to "the City"
You consider the city to be a place you never want to be, especially in the summer when you can smell week-old garbage on the streets and in the subways.
5. You never, ever, EVER want to change at Jamaica
Especially not at night. Don't even think about coming here alone.
6. You have an accent and deny it. Also, you curse. A lot.
It's part of our dialect! Lawn guy landers live for our d**n iced cawfees!
7. The geese are everywhere!
Watch where you step (they poop everywhere) and where you're driving! Almost hit a whole gaggle (five geese) while trying to get down 106/107 this week!
8. If your parents didn't, your grandparents lived in the city.
Those poor souls. The city can't handle Long Island now.
9. You live in the shadow of the greatest city in the world, but you never go there.
Why would we go into the filthy city to shop or eat when we have the Miracle Mile (Americana Manhasset) or 100 different restaurants less than 30 minutes away?
10. When you're away from Long Island, you love it, and when you're there, you hate it.
Long Island is crap when we're here. When we leave, however, we are all looking forward to coming back to the familiar comforts of home, going to our regular diner and the same sticky booth we love to sit in while gossiping, drinking a milkshake and eating home fries.
11. You know the exact point at which Queens turns into Nassau just on intuition.
The air just changes. Or the radio maybe? You just know. You always know.
12. No matter what you do at night, you end up at a diner.
You know the place. That 50's style, 24 hour diner down the block from your house. Yes, the one where the waiter is older than sliced bread. Do you, man!
13. You can correctly pronounce places like Massapequa, Syosset, Wantagh, Aquebogue, Cutchogue, Sagaponak, Hauppauge, Mattituck, Islandia, Patchogue, Quoge, and Amagansett.. just to name a few!
You wouldn't believe how many towns we have that people who aren't from here can't pronounce!
14. You know the location of six malls eight bagel stores, five delis, a Dunkin' Donuts Drive Thru, seven Starbucks, a dozen McDonald's and 36 7-11's
Off the top of your head of course. For the most part you can navigate the entire island (or at least Nassau) without your iPhone GPS telling you how to get to Moe's for your much-needed queso date after a long day at the beach.
