You are just a kid from the Midwest and KABOOM - you are about to head off to college in the mighty Northeast. Yeah, you think you know what it takes to live out there, but think again, kiddo! You know nothing. Forget everything you have ever learned. Release your mind from the past and absorb the information below. Become one with it. Internalize it and make it a part of your essence. You will NEED to know these things to last even a single day in the Northeast!
1. The Time Zone
This doesn't get talked about when your parents are sending you off for college. Little known fact - not everyone in the world uses Central Time. I know! That's crazy, right? Well, you just have to deal with it. Now you know what "ET" on your TV means. Good luck making sense of your Google Calendar.
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2. License Plates
Wait, what's that piece of metal on the back of that car that DOESN'T have Abraham Lincoln's face on it? Oh right - other states use license plates, too! Ocean State? Umm...hello?
3. Zip Codes
Surprisingly, nobody teaches you in school that numbers can start with zeros at the front. So confusing. I *really* wish somebody told me that before I got here. Mail would have been SO much simpler.
4. Local Politics
Wait - you're telling me Rahm Emanuel *isn't* the mayor of Providence? Then who is? That's right - it's Jorge Elorza, and he has nothing to do with the Midwest. Understanding how cities work would be so much easier if people just explained that local political leaders change with geographical location.
5. Latitude and Longitude
Intuitive when brought up, but devastatingly subtle. This is something everyone ought to know.
6. Weather Patterns
Goodbye tornadoes, and say hello to hurricanes sometimes! Weather differs from place to place and while I am not knowledgeable enough to describe specific differences between Midwestern and East Coast weather phenomena besides tornadoes and hurricanes, you better believe that the weather varies somehow. Google it.
7. Sports teams affiliations of local residents
People in the Northeast generally root for the Patriots, the Celtics, the Red Sox, and the Bruins. Very few people in the Midwest can say the same. This is a difference that you may not think about until you arrive, but it is factually existent.
Anything else you think everyone should know? Leave a comment.
