I live in a small town located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It’s not a vacation destination. There are no famous landmarks there. Nothing is really even open past 9:30 pm. We are, however, about 30 minutes away from the city of brotherly love: Philadelphia. This gives us some of the perks of living in the city without actually living there.

Here are 10 things all kids who grew up in the suburbs of Philly understand:

• “Where are you from?” "(Insert obscure suburb town name), but it’s basically right outside of Philly.”
  “Oh okay, I know where that is.”
  If you are a suburban kid and someone asks where you live, there is a strong chance you are going to say “right outside of Philly”. Even though you live a good hike away from Philadelphia, nobody knows the surrounding towns. So for the sake of time, the key word is “Philadelphia”, because everyone knows where that is.

• WAWA. The holy land of Philadelphia: Wawa is the best convenience store on the East coast. Want a hoagie at 2:30 in the morning? Wawa’s got you covered. Want some great hot coffee? Yup, you guessed it. Wawa. Breakfast sandwiches made to order? You got it. Wawa has been offering people in the city and suburbs alike great food at college-friendly prices. Everyone has their regular Wawa where they get their morning coffee and bagel, and more often than not, are on a first name basis with the whole morning staff.

• Having to take Regional Rail to the city: I normally take the train so it’s not a hassle to park down in the city (because it will be) and let me tell you, you meet some interesting people on the trains. Let me just say, I have seen the whole train singing Christmas carols all together. Twice.

• Going to see shows at the TLA, Electric Factory and the Barbary: Theatre of Living Arts is the best place to see a concert in the city, if you ask me. It’s a small venue and there are a lot of opportunities to meet a lot of the band members and to get to the front row. The Electric Factory, however, is bigger and the best place to see big name bands. The Barbary is a small bar that offers small intimate shows, generally with smaller bands. Anywhere you go in Philadelphia, you are going to see a great show.

• Basically all third grade classes went on field trips to the Liberty Bell and the Betsy Ross house: When you were there, you couldn’t wait to hit the gift shop to buy anything and everything Liberty Bell; Liberty Bell pencil sharpeners, Liberty Bell post cards, Liberty Bell pens, and even a mini Liberty Bell statue. It is the Liberty Bell after all.

• Adventure Aquarium: Two words: Shark Tunnel

• Everyone having their own opinion on where to get their cheese steaks: This is not an argument you want to be caught in the middle of. Philadelphians are very passionate about their cheese steaks. First you have Pat’s steaks and then you have Geno’s. But there is also Steve’s Prince of Steaks, Campos and my personal favorite Steaks on South (now closed, R.I.P). My advice is to try all of them and make your own decision.

• Going to the Jersey Shore for vacations: Every year, people from the Suburbs pack up their minivans and flock to the Jersey Shore for a week of fun on the beach and nights on the boardwalk. You can get yourself a Polish water ice and some Chickie’s and Pete’s crab fries. Just watch out for the seagulls because they like crab fries more than anyone on the boardwalk.

• Also, everyone having their own opinions on which shore point is better (I’m a fan of Ocean City) Some people will tell you Wildwood is better because of the Piers. Some people will say Avalon is best for the bay and a nice quiet little town. I’m somewhere in between and say Ocean City, New Jersey is the best shore point to vacation. They have boardwalk rides, if that’s your thing. They also have the best boardwalk, a beautiful beach and if you want some memes on a T-shirt, go to Ocean City.

• The Philadelphia Sports fans: They are a different breed. Even if all the Philadelphia teams are losing and are all having terrible seasons, the fans will still say they are the best team in the league. Eagle’s games sometimes get ugly because of the die-hard fans who are passionate about the sport and the team. But there certainly is no “band wagon” to jump on when it comes to Philadelphia sports. You are either a fan all year round, or never.

No matter where you are from, Urban or Suburban, the culture of Philadelphia spreads miles around and it is a place people love to call home. My brother lived in Japan for four years and he said that he loves to travel but he will always come back to Philadelphia. Philadelphia has the small town feel in a big city and that attracts people to it. So whether you are seeing a concert on South Street, a Flyers game at the Wells Fargo center, or picking up some cheese steaks for dinner- Philadelphia has got you covered. No, I don’t live right in the city but I do have the best of both worlds when it comes to being part of the Philadelphia culture.