1. Y’all

How do you even spell that? On the west coast, we don’t say y’all. We say “you guys” instead, even if our listening audience is solely made up of girls. I’ve heard y’all being said in the movies and on TV, but rarely in person back home.

2. Left Turn Yield

That’s not a common thing in my corner of the world. The vast majority of the time, there is a left lane with its own light. The left lane cannot turn unless they specifically have a green arrow. The only exception is when there is a clear “Left Turn Yield On Green” sign, which are few and far between.

3. Meat & Three

I had never heard of this before until someone was recommending a restaurant in Nashville and referred to it as a “meat and three.” I was so taken aback by the foreign phrase “meat and three” that I completely forgot the name of the restaurant. Apparently, this style of restaurant has a selection of meats and a selection of sides. You guessed it - you get one of the former and three of the latter. I have never heard of these anywhere else.

4. Hot and Humid

The other day someone said to me, “Hey it cooled down a lot today!” This was true, it had cooled down significantly since the day prior. Yet we were still in the mid-80s! And it was humid like no one’s business. I’m familiar with the concept of hot weather; I’m from San Diego County, out in the mountains where we get hot, dusty summers (and snow in the wintertime). But being so far away from the coast, it is very dry. I’m not used to this smothering humid heat. It’s downright awful.

5. Parking is a rare and beautiful treasure to find.

This is especially awful at my college, but is true for the whole city. There are so many cars here! It’s so hard to find parking at all, let alone near where you want to go! And you can forget about making a left turn into oncoming traffic. It’s impossible.