1. You’ll Have To Explain That “Shooting The Hooch” Isn’t Dirty
Everyone needs to get their minds out of the gutter, because when you’re telling a story about shooting the hooch, you’re talking about heading to the nearby Chattahoochee River for paddling, kayaking, or just floating around on a tube.
2. There Aren’t Waffle Houses On Every Corner
In fact, some places you go, there won’t be any in the whole city or even state. What a disaster.
3. Cashiers Won’t Yell At You When They’re Taking Your Order
Money in your hand, order in your mouth! You know the answer to “What’ll Ya Have?” at the Varsity and now every other restaurant seems super calm in comparison.
4. You’ll Crave Food From Your Personal Favorite “Shackstaurant”
Some of the best restaurants in Atlanta are run-down shacks by the side of the road, but you’ll learn not to necessarily trust these little restaurants in other places.
5. Brunch Lines Don’t Always Wrap Around Several City Blocks
But Highland Bakery was always so worth it, no matter how long the line was.
6. People Will Correct Your Pronunciation Of Ponce de Leon
Don’t worry, you know you’re right.
7. Everyone You Meet Will Attempt To Call It “Hotlanta”
No, just no.
8. People Would Actually Be Freaked Out If A Skeleton Roamed Around
Suddenly the Lord Dooley tradition at Emory University will seem really, really strange when you try to explain it to out-of-towners.
9. Your Tastebuds Will Miss Sweetwater More Than You Can Imagine
Why, why is this so hard to find outside of your home? Be sure your friends bring some along when they come to visit.
10. Sometimes You Have To Go To Work When It’s Snowing
Yes, it’s true. A quarter of an inch of snow is not a city-wide catastrophe, so you’re going to have to get your shovel and your mittens and carry out your day as usual.
11. People Don’t Identify Themselves By Area Codes Everywhere Else
There’s no 404 or 678, there are just names of towns or neighborhoods, which isn’t nearly as cool.
12. If You Say “Bless Your Heart,” People Won’t Know You’re Insulting Them
A real Atlanta girl can pull off the phrase “Bless Her Heart” when she really means to insult someone, but outside of home, no one will know the difference.
13. You Can’t Just Run Through Fountains Without Getting Arrested
It’s not summer without running through the fountains in Centennial Park, but in other cities? You’re going to want to make sure that’s allowed.
14. People Will Ask You About The Real Housewives
And you will learn to promptly walk away from them.
15. You Know More About Hip Hop Than Almost Everyone
With Outkast, Childish Gambino, Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka Flame, and so many more artists from Atlanta, you’ll be able to school everyone you meet on hip hop.
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16. If You Order Sweet Tea, You’ll Get Extra Sugar
You’ll do anything for a glass (or a jar) filled with real Southern sweet tea.
17. Most Outdoor Concert Venues Will Have You Looking Down Your Nose
So most amphitheaters, unlike the Chastain Park Amphitheater, won’t allow you to bring your own wine and dinner into the concert, which is a total bummer.
18. Asking For A Coke Will Get You A Coke, Plain And Simple
Not a Dr. Pepper, not a Pepsi, not a Sprite. A Coca-Cola, and only a Coca-Cola.
19. You’ll Find Common Ground With Public Transportation Complainers
You won’t escape bad public transportation, but anywhere you go you can share your own horror stories with MARTA and make a few new friends.
20. Not All Streets Are Named Peachtree
This will make it easier to navigate neighborhoods—not that you ever really had trouble with all 55 streets named Peachtree in Atlanta, anyway.
21. You’ll Start Convincing People To Stop Drinking Pepsi
Why? Because Coke is a thousand times better, no matter how many people try to tell you they taste the same.
22. Sunday Brunch Isn’t Always Booze-Filled
Bloody Marys piled high with garnishes, like those at the Nook, So Ba, and Elbow Room, aren’t brunch staples everywhere else.
23. People Actually Take The Highway To Get Places
It’s going to seem weird because people avoid the highways at all costs in Atlanta, but most people find taking the highway to be the most accessible mode of transportation.
24. You’ll Think It’s Hilarious When People Complain About Pollen Allergies
There’s no pollen count like the pollen count in Atlanta. Is this what breathing with both nostrils feels like?
25. You Can’t Get Away With Wearing Flip Flops Or Sperry’s Year ‘Round
You’re going to have to invest in all sorts of sneakers and boots because, unlike Atlanta, it can actually get down to freezing in some places in the country.
26. No One Does Comfort Food Quite Like Home
Mac and cheese, chicken and dumplings, shrimp and grits, mashed potatoes smothered in gravy—Atlanta will do it better than anywhere else you go.
27. People Will Tease You About The Braves And Falcons
So they may not be the best teams every year, but you know that loyalty is everything and you’ll stand by your local teams through thick and through thin.
28. You’ll Get Strange Looks When You Wear A Scarf And Mittens In 65 Degree Weather
Atlanta weather will not properly prepare you for the real cold that hits parts of the country, so you’ll immediately out yourself as an out-of-towner when you bundle up in “warmer” weather.
29. Clean, Old Fashioned Hate Will Bring You Together With Friends
Back in Atlanta, the heated Georgia Tech and University of Georgia rivalry will pull people apart. But now that you’re gone, when someone has picked a side, you know you’ve found a friend to watch the games with.
30. You’ll Start To Miss Downtown, Even Though You Never Went There
Somehow, distance makes the heart grow fonder about everything from home. Even the downtown area that you used to complain about.
What do you miss about Atlanta? Tell us in the comments below!
