Living in Massachusetts tends to leave you with certain habits, preferences and insider knowledge. This means it’s simple to spot an imposter when they enter our midst. Whether they’re a summer tourist just here for the season or someone who claims to have been born here but doesn’t know which way the Berkshires are, here are a few ways to spot an out-of-stater with ease.

1. They don’t understand the difference between the South Shore and the South Coast.
Wikimedia Commons
They’re both south of Boston but so very different. In fact, the South Shore is actually north of the South Coast.
2. They think the Pike is a fish.
Flickr/Jimmy Emerson, DVM
No. Just no. The Massachusetts Turnpike is often referred to as the Pike and it’s almost incomprehensible to us that anyone actually from this state would be confused by that.
3. They need to ask how many Munchkins come in a box.
Flickr/Jack Lyons
You can get the 25 count or the 50 count. Trying to order three Munchkins is as weird as trying to order three french fries.
4. They pronounce all the letters in Worcester. Shudder.
Flickr/cmh2315fl
Nothing is so grating on Bay Stater ears than a terrible mispronunciation of Worcester, Leicester, Billerica or Lowell. Or, you know, the million other deceptively spelled place names in Massachusetts.
5. They tell you how many miles away your destination is rather than how long it will take you to get there.
Flickr/Alex the Shutter
Bay Staters measure distance in minutes and hours rather than miles. It’s quirky but it works for us. There’s nothing more frustrating that knowing something is 32 miles away but not knowing if that means you’ll make your dinner reservation or not.

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6. They don’t have proper winter boots…
Pexels
But actually, how do you expect to walk outside between the months of November and April?
7. …or an ice scraper in the car at all times.
Pexels
The weather here doesn’t follow the rules. You can expect renegade frosts and freak blizzards all the way up to springtime. Heck, we wouldn’t be too shocked by sleet in May.
8. They "don’t remember" where they were when the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series.
Flickr/Ehpien
Please. Even people in Massachusetts who don’t follow baseball were elated when the Curse was reversed after almost 100 years. It was sort of a thing.
9. They order a milkshake.
Flickr/Mckenzie Mollo
Milkshake? Really?
10. They have a Yankees cap.
Flickr/Rudy Jahchan
I mean, enough said.

For more about the peculiar quirks of living in Massachusetts, check out these 11 things that no one tells you about surviving winter in the Bay State.

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