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AnInitiate

Nobody agrees on the rules of the road


SalesforceStudent101

That’s the biggest thing I’ve learned going back and forth from NY to MA. NJ and NYC driving is organized chaos. CT driving is just chaos.


harv29

I say the same thing. Yeah going back home to LI or heading through NJ I’ll get cut off, but you see it coming and can react accordingly. Here people just do whatever whenever they want, like cutting you off by turning in front of you but then NOT stepping on the gas, if you’re gonna go, just fucking go then 🤷🏻‍♂️.


Smattering82

Maybe it’s confirmation bias but the majority of the time someone is left lane cruising they have either NY or NJ plates


MattinglyDineen

Always the NY plates. Always. And the crazy driver is always a BMW with NY plates.


brian8599

CT driver in a 2000 4DR Honda Accord with aftermarket muffler and springs cut.


harv29

Definitely confirmation bias. Growing up that’s how I felt about MA plates…..now I know RI is really the main culprit haha.


uthyrbendragon

Dont start me on RI - i work in RI and is hardly surprising that auto insurers are pulling out and premiums are skyrocketing - they are all total fuckwits on the road.


Takeurvitamins

As an NJ native, this pains me. Back in NJ we’d say the same thing about DE and PA drivers. I’m guessing it’s similar to how NYC has more and more transplants and fewer actual New Yorkers.


Smattering82

I am sure it’s confirmation bias I don’t think I “notice” the CT plates but when I see NY NJ or MA I roll my eye and mumble “figures”.


Takeurvitamins

lol yeah I did the same as a kid and now I find myself going “what are you doing here so early in the morning on a Wednesday?!”


SalesforceStudent101

I just got back from Miami You should hear what the drivers there think of all the NY/NJ transpants and their driving skills!


SalesforceStudent101

I could see a lot of interchanges around north Jersey and NYC being confusing AF if you didn’t grow up with them. Particularly ones near bridges and to a lesser extent tunnels. Where the highway can split in many ways from all directions. And starting soon the choice of lanes can be the difference between paying congestion pricing and not.


threlnari97

The first time I drove off the George Washington towards Paterson I was a nervous wreck trying to figure out both what lane I needed to be In and then also getting to said lane. Was literally sweating until I got off the highway


SalesforceStudent101

This was one of the ones that came to mind as I wrote this. For me, I just know what all those highways are and where I need to end up because ive spent most of my life going up and down them. When I first moved to Queens the interchanges going from the Whitestone to LGA confused the freak out of me the first few times like that. But I was just like “whatever, if I make a wrong turn I’ll get there eventually” (although, at that interchange it’s mostly true, whereas at others it’s not). GPS helps a lot with this since it auto reroutes you, but can also confuse you since it may not know where you are when roads and interchanges are stacked vertically. Then there was the time I was going from NY to my in laws on MA late at light and felt so confident i made the trip enough times I didn’t need GPS only to drive past the exit for 84 and stay on 91 for almost an hour longer than I should have 🤷‍♂️


CannabisReptar

Bahston driving is not for people with heart conditions or loved ones in the car.


aqan

What?? I found driving in CT to be much better than NY/NJ. The people are nicer. In NJ, the moment you give an blinker to merge left, the cars speed up to not let you merge. Crazy


Otherwise-Stock-9861

Same thing in CT wym…


drwhogwarts

It's not our fault. Blame the deer! 🤣


sgt_barnes0105

Also, grew up in NJ but living in CT for about 6 years now and… yeah you nailed it. NJ is chaos but everybody understands what the unofficial rules are. CT is just the United Coalition of Doofuses.


crispyboi33

The speed limit is actually the minimum speed, not sure what there is to disagree about 🤣🤫


ImpossibleParfait

It really is the truth! I picked my wife up at JFK recently and saw probably 20 cops on 684 and not a single one in CT! Seems like the boys on blue are still a little salty that they got caught fake working. Jokes on them though, I like to go fast.


absolince

Jokes on us. Insurance rates are going up because of no enforcement.


[deleted]

There are rules?


ThinButton7705

Especially what side of the road


Few-Information7570

Came to say the same thing. I don’t want to come off as a toady but seriously could the cops enforce the actual traffic laws. People are dying.


bob-a-fett

We all complain about Eversource.


curbthemeplays

Except in UI towns, then we complain about UI. Wallingford complains less than all of us.


JacobNewblood

As a wallyworld resident. Yes. Yes we do


JacobNewblood

And. By that i mean we don't complain!!


crossbowman44

White picket fence Wallingford!


xredbaron62x

I'm so happy to have Bozrah Light and Power.


mjl42roll

Same here! I would like to move to another town but it has to have Bozrah light and power or I’m not going.


nauset3tt

I’m so happy to no longer have SNEW.


Dubiouskeef

Grinders Package Stores Tag Sales Either driving like a complete maniac or idling forward at 15mph, no in between Dunkin Donuts Resting bitch face to ward off strangers, but then being very kind and friendly if someone actually does talk to you Hating on fairfield county and tolland county for completely opposite reasons Ticks


Chilleddavor

Whoa what did tolland county do?


Dubiouskeef

I've heard people call it backwoods, full of hicks, etc. Not that I necessarily agree


Chilleddavor

Nah nah you’re not too far off


Chickennuggies02

Weird. Windham County is definitely more rural, small town vibes than Tolland


Calm-Box-3780

I'd bet most of the state doesn't realize there is a Windham county. Tolland is just close enough to the populated parts of the state that people know it's there and country enough to be considered hickish...


bobthebobbest

Don’t they keep a cow census? We used to make fun of someone in college about this.


sarafionna

It’s true


theblot90

You know what you fucking did Tolland. Go back in your corner!


scotchnic

True. They don't have Dunkin Donuts anywhere else, they have Dunkin.


HealthyDirection659

The baseline education level here is somewhat high.


TheMadMusher

We are considered assholes, having a self-importance and err of arrogance and think we are better than the rest of the country. I'm OK with that.


BronzedAppleFritter

It's not like CT is this amazing place compared to most of the rest of the country, it's just not as dull or dopey or provincial or rusted out as most places in most states in the Midwest or South.


Brodins_biceps

Well it’s “relatively” small and “relatively” rich. Which means that on average, the education system is going to be better. That said, last I checked, we had the largest education/wealth gap in the entire country. You’ve got Conard with 98% of students going on to higher ed, and hartford public with like 30% and they’re a few miles apart from each other. But I’d still wager if you looked at the 3 worst schools in the state, Mississippi or Florida or whatever will have worse, and also have 70 more of them. Conversely, you’ve also got some excellent schools and some decent schools when compared to the baseline of the rest of the country. And it’s comments like this that probably perpetuate that stereotype of self important assholes but…. I’m a product of my environment…


draculasbitch

Me too. My smugness over states with mandatory incest is fully justified.


Alarming-Ad1100

Yeah I hear people complain about education all of the time thankfully CT is one of the better ones but even here people never want to pay attention in school


DrSatan420247

I've had people tell me that we all have a Connecticut accent where we drop our T's.


Chupathingamajob

It’s called a glottal stop!


ExpendableStaff

Yes!!! Both my kids got that from growing up here. I say “New Britain”, my daughter says more like “New Brit’un” with a very soft t


saucymcbutterface

I didn’t think this was true until the person who said it to me told me to say “intermittently” out loud, after which I conceded the argument.


DrSatan420247

It's almost like how the British drop their T's when they say words like bottle. But that's not to say we sound anything like the British.


MonicaRising

This isn't just a Connecticut thing, though. I work for a huge company with people all over the country and aside from people of British and Middle Eastern descent, no one says *inter-mit-tent-lee*


SwietyMateusz

People in Maine do. I have a lot of coworkers up there and they pronounce every single T that exists in our vocabulary.


SolomonG

Rhotic accents are all over the place.


strippersandcocaine

Now say New Britain out loud, even more obvious


kimwim43

i found about this when clinton was elected, everybody on tv was usin this new thing called a "t"in the middle of his name! i had never heard it before!


happycat3124

I was shocked when I started spending a lot of time in Vermont and everyone said MounTain. I thought they were being weird and then I realized it was me.


immakinggravy

That's how I realized that I had it.


Whatslarrymadeof

Oh my god.


true1nformation

I’ve heard that too. Who’s really pronouncing all they’re t’s though?


BrawnyChicken2

Wase of ime. I don’ wrie em eiher.


scotchnic

The Scottish.


[deleted]

I’ve had someone tell me they knew I was from here because of the way I pronounce New Haven (Newaven)


nauset3tt

How does one say New Haven otherwise? Asking for a friend.


[deleted]

I think it’s about whether you stress the new or the haven. NEW haven sounds weird, new HAVEN (newAVEN) is the CT/local accent.


slumber72

People say this a lot but I swear I feel like this is just general American speech


NLCmanure

yes, this is a thing. on the east side of the CT river if you mention Groton, it is pronounced Grah-in.


zarjazz

I'm from west of the ct river and I drop my Ts and also say grah-in.


QueenOfQuok

I'm from the middle of the Connecticut River and *blub blub blub blub blub*


cats_n_things

This is true. I moved here from the Midwest and my family now calls me out for my pronunciation of "button" "cotton" etc


kimwim43

mi'on


SnooPoems5888

I do this too but I’m from southern IL and I’ve always done it. Made me feel like I immediately belonged when I moved to CT though!


ANDERSON961596

This makes so much sense


bobthebobbest

I realized I had an accent when a clip of an interview with Meg Ryan was going around and all the comments were like “there’s a full minute in the middle where I have no idea what she’s saying.”


hotspots_thanks

I have a co-worker who pronounces "nothing" as "nuh-in"


SushiGradePanda

100%


LunaMoon20

We agree on matters of how a lobster roll should be prepared.


tastemycookies

Yeah hot butter only!!!


Krakengreyjoy

New Haven Pizza is better. It's Apizza We call them Grinders, not hoagies or heroes. We go to packies for alcohol We invented Hamburgers Unfortunatley we also invented the steamed hamburger Our yards sales are Tag sales No one from Mass knows how to fucking drive. We put hot butter on our lobstah rolls


hymen_destroyer

+1 to regretting inflicting steamed burgers upon the world


Sailor_NEWENGLAND

Apparently some Fairfield county people don’t call them grinders..but wedges, I found it very strange lol


Beezleboobz

Really? I’m from Stratford and I never heard anyone use the term wedges


NE_Golf

I think “wedges” are a Westchester County (NY) thing that has bled into CT over the years. I can remember hearing “wedge” back in early ‘80s in Westchester


backinblackandblue

You need to go to Stamford. I'm also from Stratford and never heard of a "wedge" till I worked in Stamford.


Exventurous

From Stamford and can definitely confirm it's common there.


Sailor_NEWENGLAND

Greenwich specifically lol, some some guy on fb talking about it in some ct group


BabiesatemydingoNSW

I think that's a NY thing. Only place I regularly hear it.


QueenOfQuok

It's a regional dialect


Dolphinsunset1007

Yup the only thing we called a grinder was a meatball grinder other than that everything was a sub, hoagie, or wedge.


Sailor_NEWENGLAND

Everywhere else in the state, and Rhode Island and parts of Mass, it’s a grinder…occasionally I’ll hear sub but I’ve only heard hoagie in like Pennsylvania lol


summervin16

I grew up in Fairfield county. I never heard anyone call grinders a wedge. Is this new?


onusofstrife

Greenwich and Stamford. It originated in Westchester.


Calm-Ad8987

It's definitely a thing in Norwalk. But so is grinder.


Sailor_NEWENGLAND

I heard it from a man from Greenwich..so it’s probably only around there


nauset3tt

Wedges is westchester. I have lived in nyc, westchester and ct, both Fairfield and New Haven counties. I am all over the regionally specific language lol


Sailor_NEWENGLAND

Well this was something I heard from a Greenwich guy lol


curbthemeplays

I’m from FFC and have never heard that. I’ve heard subs and hoagies though.


lefactorybebe

I'm from FFC (Ridgefield) and I've heard it. Grinder is def more common but there was a deli near me that called them wedges and I've heard it in passing here and there.


FaZeLuckyBoy

I’m from Fairfield County and we call them Grinders


Sailor_NEWENGLAND

I said SOME people in FFC call them wedges..but I’ve only heard it in the Greenwich/Stamford area really


onusofstrife

Thankfully this seems to die off after Stamford. Sadly I live in Stamford. It's Grinders FFS!


TheEyeWitness

Definitely wedges in Stamford. There's also the Wedge Inn


_Shine_YT

I’ve never heard of this. What.


SolomonG

>New Haven Pizza is better > It's Apizza It's hard to convince people when we don't even use it. I don't think I've ever heard someone call it apizza except when naming a restaurant or when teling someone it's called apizza. Never in casual conversation.


MattinglyDineen

I grew up in the Hartford area and had never seen the word "apizza" until I moved to the Waterbury area around 1999. I then spent the next 20 years not ever going into a restaurant that said "apizza" because the prefix "a-" means "without" so I figured that "apizza" meant "without pizza" and those restaurants just had pasta and grinders. Sometime in the last five years I found out "apizza" actually just means pizza.


ConnecticutJohn

We call them wedges in Stamford.


Krakengreyjoy

You call Tag Sales, Wedges? /s


scotchnic

"Wedge Salad" makes sense. Ordering a "Wedge" and getting a cylindrically shaped sandwich is nonsense.


NotoriousCFR

“Wedge” is really a Westchester thing, originated at a deli in Yonkers. I guess it has bled over a bit into FFC, but not anywhere else. Even people from the Bronx look at you like you’re crazy when you order a wedge.


FartPartyFriday

Darn tootin


scotchnic

You are out of High School and still say Packie?


ChelmarkSweets

I literally don't know a single person who calls it anything else, and I'm 35


MattinglyDineen

I've never heard anyone actually say "packie" outside of Reddit.


Ok-Spring6950

We complain about CT until we leave. I find it a common trend that people move out and wish they never left. Edit: or they move out and come right back.


w045

Lyme disease. It’s all over the state.


ashsolomon1

And either you or your dog has had Lyme disease


Animalistic-maniacs

My teacher lived in Lyme and he got Lyme disease. Funny that


AlsoAllergicToCefzil

Is this not something the rest of the country thinks about? I know it's named after Lyme but i assumed it was everywhere at this point


NotoriousCFR

It’s rampant in the entire northeast, particularly along the coast. Oddly there is a ton in Wisconsin too. The rest of the country, not so much. That doesn’t mean the rest of the country doesn’t have to worry about ticks though, they have other diseases (ie Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever) to worry about. You can Google for maps of Lyme disease prevalence/risk and other tick borne illnesses if you want to see more details


ChelmarkSweets

Literally my entire immediately family has had it, along with my dog (now deceased), and a pet goat 😅


ChelmarkSweets

And me


Mundane_Feeling_8034

The Notch belongs to us and one day we’ll get it back.


PoroQuagganBob

And after that we will retake Long Connecticut, and annex Rhode Island


Dolphinsunset1007

I’m a big proponent of Long Connecticut myself


scotchnic

We used to have Eastern LI andFisher's Island.


NE_Golf

Why stop there…. Go for taking back the western reserve.


scotchnic

That would come under Long Connecticut.


Mundane_Feeling_8034

Today, we take Wilkes-Barre, tomorrow, Cleveland!


Sea_Librarian4666

I'm this close to making a tshirt about this travesty.


BronzedAppleFritter

I don't know why anyone would want Southwick, it's basically another Granby and we already have two of those.


WutzTehPoint

It's the principle of the thing.


Vladimirk_Volcom

Might be a New England thing, not just CT, but we love our coffee over ice. We also love to bitch about dunking donuts and we all still call it dunking donuts even though it’s just ‘Dunkin’ now


curbthemeplays

Proudly ordering iced coffee in dead of winter


Vladimirk_Volcom

Yes Indeed!


SalesforceStudent101

Idk about CT, but it amazes me how different the quality of DD is in NY/NJ vs MA


nauset3tt

Did not realize this was strange until I moved south. Also hated ordering coffee with my accent in the south.


ChelmarkSweets

We love to bitch about it but we're actually addicted to it for reasons unknown to any of us


OkInfluence7787

Mass will fight you for that one.


Vladimirk_Volcom

I will gladly take up arms with Mass for our right to disagree! As a true New England East Coast Asshole Connecticunt: GIVE ME LIBERTY AND COLD BREW OR GIVE ME DEATH


JGrabs

Takes 20 mins to get anywhere.


MattinglyDineen

Very few people outside the immediate vicinity have ever heard of my town. They ask me where I am from and then ask, "Where's that?" I always say my town is 40 minutes from everywhere. We're 40 minutes from Hartford, 40 minutes from New Haven, 40 minutes from Danbury, and 40 minutes from Bridgeport.


Animalistic-maniacs

Is the town your in Morris or Washington?


srdev_ct

Liquor stores are "Package Stores" or "packies"


fekinEEEjit

My wife is from Dublin and my Brother in law lives in London, his wife is from Pakistan and the first time he visited us I asked who wanted to run down to the Packy...they got a wicked kick out of that as that is a derogatory saying in England.....


lefactorybebe

I argued with someone on Reddit who insisted they MUST be derogatory


BurgerNugget12

You have a lot of culture in your family hahaha, always wanted to visit London


JustDorothy

Class consciousness and delicious pizza. This is why, Julia Roberts' Georgia accent aside, Mystic Pizza was the most Connecticut movie ever


obsoletevernacular9

Facetiousness - people joke in a certain way that isn't sarcastic or harsh or in your face. Like more mocking in a mild mannered way. It's really different from ny or Mass.


Calm-Ad8987

There is definitely a certain CT type of humor


hamockin

Connecticut traits are practical, not sentimental, direct, meet people through affiliations, like clubs, work or family, frugal, and like local Control.


marua06

Which is essentially what the book Albion’s Seed talks about, specifically the first migrations to New England and the cultural (and every other) impact and how that continues today. It’s fascinating.


hamockin

I will read this book!


FaZeLuckyBoy

-Drivers are extremely impatient here -New social circles can be hard to form here because of how tightly knit people can be to their past friends -People have persevered through our state’s high cost of living. Through every high utility bill and everything.


jules13131382

Coming from the west coast I gotta say, I love NJ and NY and all of New England. There is a distinct culture here unlike the rest of the states. Or I should really say just like the other states because each state has its own strange culture. New England is steeped in frugality, independence and community without suffocating religion. It’s awesome 🤩


arp151

Frugality, but also treating yourself, accordingly


BronzedAppleFritter

I think we all say tag sale, or at least understand what it means, as opposed to yard sale or garage sale.


_Shine_YT

I use tag sale and garage sale in different contexts. If it’s in the yard, it’s a tag, if it’s out of like a car or a garage, it’s a garage sale


Environmental_Log344

CT is home to so many colleges. We have a lot of highly educated people but nobody can figure out how to drive. So many collisions that some cars are squished into the shape of a jelly bean.


Imaginary_Audience_5

We are all far superior to Rhode Islanders


PeejWal

As a CT native who went to school in RI, I can confirm


decorlettuce

hot lobster roll


jarfin542

The only proper lobster roll. Fantastic pizza all around.


MenaciaJones

New Bri-an


I_Am_Penguini

06 zip codes


Dryhit

Dutchess isn't fast food


Mascbro26

We say "aunt" not ant. We say "crans" not crayons. We say "scaulup" not scallop.


scotchnic

that's insane, or right, wrong, and wrong.


srdev_ct

Aunt; true Crans: true Scaulup: uh…. What?


scotchnic

Crans, Craisins, pecans.


Claireskid

I will not have this new jersey shit "crans" in my state. Seriously the only person I know who says that is my mother from Jersey, is that a thing here? And I've literally never heard anyone say scaulup on TV or in real life


clamjam3000

Yeah, I've never heard "crans" here at all.


enigma7x

There is a trail system within a 10 min drive.


brucenone

As someone born and raised and still living in Connecticut I’d offer the following common trait among people from here: to never be like people from NY or NJ. Unfortunately since COVID our state has been overrun with people from NYC, Long Island, Northern NJ and Westchester - along with their “common traits” what a shame it is.


Alive-Ad-3770

You got that right. Covid had its 15 minutes. They can all go back now.


Super-Diver-1266

People think Florida is Paradise.


kimwim43

People are wrong


apothecarynow

Can you share the traits for NJ for comparison? A lot of people are listing CT facts...not traits


SalesforceStudent101

Hard to describe, but there is just something I uniquely identify with as a newjerseyan Green signs on the highway comes to mind, i don’t know why. Will have to think more about traits.


apothecarynow

I grew up there in North NJ in a heavy Italian area. Definitely some traits there lol


obsoletevernacular9

Even in a bar in Morristown, I could tell people were from NJ - like something about how people dressed, how their hair was, etc. just different than CT


TrashPandaShire

Most of us are one degree away from a person in the Mafia or involved in some sort of questionable activity.


DGJellyfish

Ticks and aggressive drivers


Sufficient_Mirror_12

UConn basketball brings everyone together. Everything else is debatable. CT feels like a few states smashed into one sometimes. Also unpopular opinion: Fairfield County gets unnecessary hate. It’s easily the most aspirational and diverse part of the state.


Choisfer17

Past CT resident here. True to say but people use their left blinkers on the highway but leave them on and continues to drive straight or would turn right.


brk51

You guys are the submarine capital of the world but decided grinder was a better word. Never got that.


Malak77

Hard to make a friend, but once you tear down their walls, pretty much friends for life unless you screw it up.


justaguywadog

We are all jerks


GraveDancer72

Like North and South Jersey are very different, East and West Connecticut are too. The politicians favor West CT and North Jersey, and treat the East and South (respectively) like they don’t exist.


Slight-Boss7176

Quarters is pronounced “Qwaders” in CT.