Life

You Know You're From Montgomery County If...

by Rachel Semigran

April 15, 2014

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Those of us who grew up just outside the City of Brotherly Love know that Philly tends to get most of the credit. Philadelphia is known for its die-hard sports fans, artistry of sandwich-making, and that whole "Being the birthplace of freedom and Democracy" thing. But those bragging rights extend well beyond the city limits. I'm talking about the Philadelphia suburbs known as Montgomery County: where the rough and tumble attitude of the city meets the quaint appeal of Amish country.

Yes, it's just as strange of a place it sounds, if not stranger. Here's how you know you're from just outside of America's birthplace:

Any birthday party that was worth attending had a Corropolese tomato pie

Anything else was just a lame imitation of garbage dough with traitor sauce on top. Give me Corpo's or give me nothing. If I ever get married, you better believe cocktail hour will have tomato pie.

The correct way to pronounce Conshohocken is "Conshy"

Phonetically: Cuhn-shee

You have an actual physical reaction to the phrase, "Sheetz is better"

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WAWA OR DIE.

Field trips to the Franklin Institute and Philadelphia Zoo were highly coveted

And you wasted your allowance money on astronaut ice cream sandwiches and bouncy balloons. There is NOTHING weird about walking through a giant heart.

Summer means FEAST SEASON

Italian Feast, Polish Feast, FEASTS, FEASTS EVERYWHERE!

Zeps were an actual menu item in your elementary school cafeteria

You better have a birch beer with that, or you're doing it wrong. Eve's makes the best, by the way.

You know your Delco accent from your Northeast accent

Just ask someone from either place to say, "Tacony Palmyra" and you'll see the striking differences.

Arnold's Family Fun Center was NOT family-friendly when Friday night rolled around

Go-kart races and laser tag were not for the faint of heart.

A third of your graduating class probably attended Montgomery County Community College

Which was lovingly called Montco or 202 U. Its campus is also nicer than half of the schools in Philadelphia.

You felt REALLY cool spending a Saturday night on South Street in High School

Now the thought of it makes you cringe. Unless a slice of Lorenzo's is in order.

Pat's? Geno's? Jim's? Tony Luke's? All Your Options Are Good

Pudge's forever! And yes, Flag Day is a reason for cheesesteaks.

At least half of your friends' houses had an "Iggles Den"

They were also definitely the houses that had the best snacks and a pool in the backyard. You made GOOD friends with these people.

The three greatest words in the English language were, "Down the Shore"

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They still are! And yes, you spent Senior Week in Wildwood or Ocean City (if you were a big spender) — and you still haven't thrown out your boardwalk commemorative tee. Every house you ever stayed in was 75 percent furnished in wicker.

Figuring out whose parents would give rides to and from the King of Prussia mall was the most stressful part of your Friday

Until you got your first job in that very same mall and learned to loathe it with every fiber of your being.

You know there IS a difference between Water (Wooder) Ice and italian Ice

Is there a difference between Greek and regular yogurt? Exactly. Also, if you're already at Via's, you might as well get a slice of Sicilian while you're at it.