Moving away from the great city of brotherly love is super difficult. There are several things that I hold dear that I can only find in Philadelphia, here are 13 of them.
1. Soft pretzels are amazing
I crave a real soft pretzel everyday. Every. Day. One time I said I wanted a soft pretzel and my friend said “look up where Auntie Anne's is”. No. That is not a soft pretzel.
2. The meanings of the words “drawlin”, “jawn”, “widdout”, “boul” and “youse”
I never realized how many words were just “Philly words” until I moved away. I will never forget the looks I got when I said “shore” instead of “beach”. Now to fill you in…
“Drawlin” is basically calling something annoying or irritating
“Jawn” is just a noun, if I want you to hand me my notebook I can say “hand me that jawn”
“Widdout” is just without and “youse” is “you”. You probably heard it in “Rocky”
3. Don’t forget the wooder.
I get weird looks in restaurants.
4. You know what the Philly Phanatic is supposed to be.
Kind of? He’s just a giant green monster who loves the Phillies and wants to be your friend. However, if you’re three years old he is totally terrifying.
5. Wooder ice and snow cones are not the same thing.
Wooder ice is not flaky and it’s doesn’t required you to bite into it to eat it. It just melts in your mouth and it’s delicious.
6. You’ve taken so many pictures of tourist with the Rocky Statue at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
It’s actually pretty entertaining to watch everyone run up and down the museum steps. I’ve done it myself a couple times, it’s pretty exhausting.
7. Nowhere is prettier than Boathouse Row.
Especially at night. The side with the houses is on Kelly Drive, named after actress, princess and Philly native, Grace Kelly. During the day, the tiny houses are adorable, but nothing beats driving past the lights at night.
8. Schuylkill: it’s pronounced skool-kil.
If you ever pronounce it wrong in front of a Philadelphian, you will be laughed at.
9. Paddy’s Pub
One of the many questions I am asked after telling people where I’m from is “do you watch Always Sunny” (as in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) the answer is yes, I do and being a fan of the show from the great city, I know the location of the real life version of Paddy’s Pub. It’s called Paddy’s Old City Pub (it’s located in Old City) and this is what it looks like.
10. You know an authentic Philly Cheesesteak.
You can find the best Philly Cheesesteak at Geno’s (not Pats). I said. I meant it. If you’re ever in Philly, go to Geno’s for the real thing. It’s open 24 hours.
11. Hostess and Lays cannot compare to Tastykakes and Herr’s
I know this dancing dessert is terrifying, but trust me, he’s delicious. I knew Tastykake’s were only found in the Philly area, but I didn’t know that whenever I wanted Herr’s chips or popcorn (which is all the time) I would have to have them shipped to me.
12. Wawa is the best place on Earth.
The hardest part of moving from Philly is leaving Wawa behind. It’s not just a gas station, it’s a convenient store and deli. A deli with the best hoagies and coffee ever.
13. You’re still running on air after the Eagles Superbowl win!
Every single Philadelphian is elated. The first Eagles Superbowl win, we finally did it (and we got to kick Tom Brady's butt doing it)!
