1. For Folks In Lafayette, Purdue Sports Isn’t Just Entertainment, It’s A Lifestyle
Purdue University (or PU) is practically its own kingdom when it comes to Lafayette. People freak out. They cram into the stadium and watch on the edge of their seats, cheering for their home teams and to trash the competition.
It’s pretty much a requirement to be a fan. Just cheer with them. You’ll automatically have a whole group of new friends.
2. Lafayette Folks Find An Excuse To Celebrate Anything
With all the open space they have, it’s no surprise that people in Lafayette celebrate just about everything: Art, jazz, classic cars, firecrackers, you name it.
And there’s never a bad time to celebrate beer, what with the St. Boniface Germanfest and Beers Across the Wabash. Folks in Lafayette love to celebrate their town just about any way they can.
3. The Neon Cactus Is Where The Thursday Night Action Is
On Crock-N-Rock Thursdays, the party at the Neon Cactus jams past midnight, with discount drinks, rocking DJs and a great young crowd celebrating the fact that the weekend is coming. It’s the only place to be on a Thursday, if you like that kind of scene.
For everyone else it means finding a different destination for their night out, and definitely a different driving route. But really, when you live in a town with such great nightlife it’s worth a little traffic once in a while.
4. People In Lafayette Learn How to Drive a Tractor Before Riding A Bike
This is a state with… a lot of fields. What else would you really expect? Every high school in Lafayette could easily have a “Tractor Day” where seniors could drive the family tractor and park it in the lot before heading into the first class.
Farm families are pretty common, so it makes sense that kids log some hours on a tractor even before they start saving up for their first wheels.
5. Everyone In Lafayette Ends Up At Harry’s Chocolate Shop At Some Point
Don’t be fooled, this place isn’t for dessert. Harry’s Chocolate Shop on the PU campus is a go-to place for anyone who wants to celebrate the good times of Lafayette—which more than often means a big Purdue game.
All they really need is some good friends, good food and a good beer to have a great time, and Harry’s has it all covered.
6. Folks In Lafayette Will Help You At Home Depot—Even If They Don’t Work There
Perhaps a bit of southern hospitality still creeps in every once in a while in Lafayette folks, but this is probably also due to the fact that Lafayette residents are extremely knowledgeable about everything related to the outdoors.
Don’t be surprised if you get run into a few people without employee name badges ready to help you out with the kind of wood you need to buy at Lowe’s or what miter saw to purchase at the Home Depot.
7. Everyone In Lafayette Makes The Best Memories At DT Kirby’s
It’s no lie that Lafayette residents play hard and fun, and that’s particularly true when it’s time to hit DT Kirby’s, a classic dive bar with some of the best stories you’ll ever hear.
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone in town who doesn’t love this place—and isn’t up for a trip there tonight. Not to mention this sport has some of the best eats the city has to offer (bacon-wrapped deep-fried hot dogs, anyone?).
8. People In Lafayette Either Make Stuff With Their Hands Or Test Stuff With Beakers
Source: Youtube user Cat Products
Lafayette is a hotbed for manufacturing, so it’s a good bet you’ll run into someone who works in a factory—Caterpillar, Subaru, or maybe soon the new GE Aviation jet engine facility.
If they don’t work in a factory, that’s probably because they work in a lab coat all day. With multiple laboratories in and around Greater Lafayette (including two for Indiana University), you might just meet someone on the verge of a breakthrough.
9. Lafayette Folks Are Hard At Work On The Wabash River
Usually a river is a city's point of pride, but in Lafayette the Wabash River is less of an area to be celebrated and more of a place to be improved—at least right now.
The Wabash River Enhancement Corporation was founded back in 2004 specifically with the purpose to restore the river area, and more than $1 million has already been raised. The hope is to eventually use the river for fishing, canoeing and rafting.
10. Lafayette Folks Would Never Live Anywhere Else
The best dives and bars, festivals practically every day of the year, and plenty of buddies to cheer for PU with. What could be better? Maybe driving your tractor? It’s every Lafayette resident’s dream—except they get to live it.
Did we miss anything? Tell us what you think is unique about Lafayette in the comments below!
