Pennsylvanians all share one commonality: we’re Pennsylvanian through and through, whether we’ve lived here our entire lives or only a few years. When we travel, we can instinctively spot other Pennsylvanians, likely because we also share some of the same habits. Here are 10 undying habits Pennsylvanians have.

  1. Eating uniquely Pennsylvanian foods.

Flickr/Anna Creech We sure do know how to eat well in Pennsylvania. And, why not? We have a slew of uniquely Pennsylvanian foods from which to choose: Scrapple, chipped chopped ham, fries on our sandwiches and salads, shoofly pies, TastyKake, Philadelphia cheesesteak, birch beer, and Hershey’s chocolate. What are your favorites?

  1. Shopping at mud sales.

Flickr/mpbrooks76 Tell an out-of-stater you’re heading to a mud sale and you might garner a stranger look. Mud sales began in Lancaster and refer to sales of local handmade goods at local fire halls.

  1. Planning parties at the local fire hall.

Flickr/Montgomery County Planners Is there really any better place to celebrate a milestone – a graduation, a birthday, or a wedding – than at the local fire hall?

  1. Understanding we only have two seasons – winter and construction season.

Flickr/Mark Plummer While we don’t have to drive through a maze of detours during the winter, we do have to face the nasty weather that makes traveling more treacherous. Then, when winter finally gives way, we’re faced with the never-ending construction season.

  1. Loving or hating scrapple – there is no in between.

Flickr/Kate Hopkins You either love scrapple or you hate it. There really can be no in between. Which side do you fall on?

  1. Bemoaning the weather – no matter what the season.

Flickr/Via Tsuji Maybe it’s not specifically a PA thing but it sure does happen here a lot. We complain about the scorching summer heat, promising never to again bemoan the cold and the snow. Then winter rolls around and what do we do?

  1. Choosing a side.

Flickr/William F. Yurasko PA’s a huge state with an incredibly diverse population. That means that Pennsylvanians sometimes have to make choices. Like who to root for: the Steelers or the Eagles? The Flyers or the Penguins? Of course, there’s also the state struggle to answer which is better Wawa or Sheetz?

  1. Rushing to the store when a snowstorm is forecasted.

Flickr/Elias Friedman Keep your necessities stalked – bread, toilet paper, and milk – especially during the winter months. Otherwise, when the local weatherman calls for snow, you’re going to be elbow to elbow with countless other Pennsylvanians desperately vying for the last loaves of bread, rolls of toilet paper, and gallons of milk.

  1. Complaining about the ever-increasing taxes in PA.

Flickr/Anthony Easton While it’s not a habit we want, we’re stuck with it. We live in a state of ever increasing taxes. We, of course, pay the highest gasoline tax in the United States, for example.

  1. Calling it PA.

Flickr/Jimmy Emerson, DVM We call it PA. You don’t generally hear people from other states calling their home state by its abbreviation. But that’s just how we do it in PA, whether we still live here or not.

What other undying habits Pennsylvanians have would you add to this list? Share below! Click here to read 13 phrases that make other people swear Pennsylvanians are speaking a different language.

Flickr/Anna Creech

We sure do know how to eat well in Pennsylvania. And, why not? We have a slew of uniquely Pennsylvanian foods from which to choose: Scrapple, chipped chopped ham, fries on our sandwiches and salads, shoofly pies, TastyKake, Philadelphia cheesesteak, birch beer, and Hershey’s chocolate. What are your favorites?

Flickr/mpbrooks76

Tell an out-of-stater you’re heading to a mud sale and you might garner a stranger look. Mud sales began in Lancaster and refer to sales of local handmade goods at local fire halls.

Flickr/Montgomery County Planners

Is there really any better place to celebrate a milestone – a graduation, a birthday, or a wedding – than at the local fire hall?

Flickr/Mark Plummer

While we don’t have to drive through a maze of detours during the winter, we do have to face the nasty weather that makes traveling more treacherous. Then, when winter finally gives way, we’re faced with the never-ending construction season.

Flickr/Kate Hopkins

You either love scrapple or you hate it. There really can be no in between. Which side do you fall on?

Flickr/Via Tsuji

Maybe it’s not specifically a PA thing but it sure does happen here a lot. We complain about the scorching summer heat, promising never to again bemoan the cold and the snow. Then winter rolls around and what do we do?

Flickr/William F. Yurasko

PA’s a huge state with an incredibly diverse population. That means that Pennsylvanians sometimes have to make choices. Like who to root for: the Steelers or the Eagles? The Flyers or the Penguins? Of course, there’s also the state struggle to answer which is better Wawa or Sheetz?

Flickr/Elias Friedman

Keep your necessities stalked – bread, toilet paper, and milk – especially during the winter months. Otherwise, when the local weatherman calls for snow, you’re going to be elbow to elbow with countless other Pennsylvanians desperately vying for the last loaves of bread, rolls of toilet paper, and gallons of milk.

Flickr/Anthony Easton

While it’s not a habit we want, we’re stuck with it. We live in a state of ever increasing taxes. We, of course, pay the highest gasoline tax in the United States, for example.

Flickr/Jimmy Emerson, DVM

We call it PA. You don’t generally hear people from other states calling their home state by its abbreviation. But that’s just how we do it in PA, whether we still live here or not.

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