Oh, the good ol’ Nasti Nati. I may have developed a southern accent and a love for country music and everything fried, but that doesn’t mean I’ve lost a love for my roots. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio--home of the Reds, and the land with the world’s best chili. Here are 10 reasons you know you were born and raised in the best hometown around.
1. Skyline has become a 6th food group
Yeah, okay. It looks absolutely disgusting. But if you were born and raised in the Nasti Nati you know this nasty pile of Lord-knows-what is the best thing to have ever met your taste buds.
2. You went to an all-girl or all-boy Catholic high school
No, there weren’t nuns who smacked our wrists or locked us in closets. From St. Ursula, to Xavier, to Moeller to Ursuline, all-girl and all-boy Catholic schools ran the Cincinnati high school food chain. Yeah, we may have had too many plaid skirts to count and the ugliest white collared shirts you can find, but so do Serena and Blair, right?
3. You cannot enjoy any other ice cream brand besides Graeter’s
When I moved to North Carolina this is what I missed most. How on Earth was I going to survive without my weekly fix of black raspberry chip? A few years ago, Graeter’s started selling pints to Earth Fare and grocery stores. Did I cry? Yeah okay, maybe a little bit. Only a fellow Cincinnatian would understand.
4. Riverbend is where you peaked
There’s nothing like a Riverbend tailgate and concert. Okay, maybe in fact you didn’t exactly peak, and you ended up not making into the concert? Hey, kudos to you--you truly thrived in the Riverbend experience. From Jimmy Buffet to Rascal Flatts, nothing beats good friends, the river, and a great concert.
5. Coney Island was your childhood
When your next-door neighbor got a job as a lifeguard at the Sunlite Pool at Coney, you thought that was the coolest thing in the world. And now thinking about it, anything that low key seems like hell. But looking back I’ll never forget rowboats on the pond and winning a giant SpongeBob at the water-gun game. Oh the glory days of Coney Island.
6. The Cincinnati Zoo is our claim to fame
Not gonna lie, the Cincinnati Zoo is actually the coolest place on Earth, even though my first visit to the Zoo consisted of my sister, grandma and I getting poop thrown at us in the elephant exhibit (actually not kidding, this indeed happened). Still, it rocks.
7. Take that back… It’s the Cincinnati Reds in a good season
Opening day... I like to believe this is what heaven will be like. The smell of corndogs, sweat, and skyline coneys, a giant stick of cotton candy as you cheer on the greatest baseball team in the world. Your best memories as a kid consisted of your dad letting you skip school for opening day at the Reds Stadium. No school, and baseball?! Three cheers for the Reds.
8. “Let’s go out” means “To Mt. Adams we go”
A weekend in the Nati wouldn’t be complete without a barhop in Mt. Adams. From Longworth’s, to Pavillion, to Next Chapter, and more, a Saturday night can never go wrong when spent in Mt. Adams.
9. West Side and East Side is a real thing
Okay, we’re not talking West Side Story, but when someone asks where you’re from, you may just throw out West Side or East Side. From West Side schools like Elder, La Salle, McCauley and Seton, we always loved taking the drive to the West Side to see long-time friends, even if it did mean fighting over gas money to get there.
10. Your families grew up together
I think this was my all-time favorite thing about the Nati. Families knew each other. Your parents went to high school together, your uncle and cousins lived right down the street, and no lie, my grandpa went to the same elementary school I did. Cincinnati may be an “up-and-coming city” on the radar, but to me, it’s not just a city. It’s my hometown, filled with friends, family, and forever memories.
