1. The Word “Garbage” Now Makes Your Mouth Water
Anywhere else the phrase Garbage Plate would not inspire tummy rumbles, however for anyone who has spent significant time in Rochester the thought of eating this Rochester delicacy has you licking your lips.
Garbage plates are available all over town. The original version, trademarked at Nick Tahou’s, is a seemingly disorderly mess of artery-clogging goodness. It’s a hangover cure and a heart attack all in one heaping plate!
2. You Become An Unabashed Wino And You Don’t Care Who Knows It
There is no small shortage of wineries in the Rochester area and thanks to your exposure to the good stuff, you are basically like an expert on the matter. You’ve followed the trail of wine along Finger Lakes a time or two and you can initiate the newbies on things like grafting, good wine legs, and green grapes.
3. You Don’t Even Bat An Eye At Deer In The Road
In most other places in America the sight of a deer leaping into the road would cause drivers to go into cardiac arrest—not in Rochester.
Rochesterians are quite accustomed to the site of deer crossing the road or crossing their yards. And then there’s the ghost deer haunting Railroad Mills Road, who appears at night when your headlights are on. Either way they know to drive with caution because every place might be a deer crossing. It ain’t no thing.
4. You’ve Traded In Your American Citizenship To Become An Amerk!
If someone asks you where you’re from and you’ve dropped two syllables from your former answer, you have lived here too long.
The Americans aka The Amerks are the local hockey team and if you're wondering if the locals love them, lets just put it this way… If they could pledge allegiance to the united states of Amerks, they would.
5. Life Is No Longer Shades Grey—It’s Now Red And White
…As in red hots and white hots, that is.
Every good Rochesterian has graced the doors of dogTown and ordered their dog, red or white, drowning under whatever kind of toppings they can conceive of. And if they haven’t been to dogTown, then they’ve certainly sampled the dogs at Zweigler’s and Nick Tahou Hots. There may still be hope for you, if not well you’re fully indoctrinated into the most delicious cult of Rochester.
6. Epically Bipolar Weather Patterns Have Ceased To Surprise You
Thanks to its location between the cold weather from Lake Ontario to the north, warm weather from down south, frigid temps from Michigan, things can get a little kooky, meteorologically speaking. While sunshine one minute and blizzard the next would make most people’s head spin, in Rochester its met with a shrug.
7. You Refuse To Step Foot In A Whole Foods—Because Wegmans
It’s a good thing there isn’t actually a Whole Foods in Rochester because if there was, it would go out of business. That’s how much you love the Wegs. It’s basically got everything a grocery store could ever hope to offer, including a pharmacy, reasonably-priced produce, fresh-baked goods, and even hard-to-get international grocery items. It’s also home to the Old Fashioned, 14 inches of what is quite arguably the best sub. Ever.
8. Instead of Sheep, You Now Dream of Birdies and Eagles
It’s not for nothing that Rochester was named one of the best U.S. cities for golfing by Golf Digest. After all, one of the greatest golfers, Walter Hagen, is from Rochester. And golf course architect Robert Trent Jones has the town of Rochester to thank for his formative years.
Which is why long term residents are high risk for golf addiction. Before you know it all you’ll be thinking of is teeing off morning, noon, and night.
9. You’ve Stopped Taking Vacations Because You Expect The World To Come To You
Rochesterians have no need to travel during the summer months, as the sunny weather brings ethnic and cultural festivals in May … And in June …And July …And on and on. In May there’s the international film fest and the Greek Fest. Then June kicks off with the the international jazz fest. Wait, there’s still the Puerto Rican Fest and the Ukrainian Fest and another Greek fest in August and let us not forget the Oktoberfest and Irish Fest in September.
If you’ve traded in your wanderlust for fetival-lust, you may have lived here too long. But really no one here will blame you.
10. The Thought Of Leaving Here Breaks Your… Oh Who Are We Kidding You’d Never Even Dream Of Leaving
Rochesterians are some of the friendliest people you will meet and in a state known for its… umm… less than stellar approachability. It’s nice to know you can walk down the street and strike up a conversation with a perfect stranger and leave having made a new friend.
Rochesterians also love that their cost of living is relatively low, the traffic doesn’t suck, and there are a ton of outdoor and water activities to do. It was recently ranked among the top U.S. cities to raise a family and for you, it definitely ranks top.
Did we miss anything? Tell us how you can tell someone’s been in Rochester too long in the comments below! 
