What are your city's unwritten "laws"?

[Steely Dan]

So this is an open thread to discuss any of those quirky cultural norms, behaviors, rules, etc. that aren't legally on the books in your city, but that most people still abide by, and can cause conflict when they aren't followed.

The idea for this thread came to me from the recent big snowfall we got walloped with. In chicago, as I'm sure exists in other northern cities, there's the tradition of "dibs" wherein if you dig your car out of street parking spot after a big snowfall, you can put lawn chairs, garbage cans, saw horses, traffic cones, pretty much anything in that spot when you leave it to reserve it for yourself for some unspecified amount of time.

Now, there is absolutely no law on the books that sanctions this "reserving" of parking spots after big snowfalls, yet in many many neighborhoods this behaviour is tolerated and followed. Many a conflict between neighbors has been had over people not respecting another person's "dibs" and about how much time "dibs" can still be claimed after a big snowfall.


Source:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/chica...otos_n_6471978



So what about your city? Does it have any silly rules like the above that people pretty much follow and abide by even though they have no backing in law?

[iheartthed]

I've never seen the space blocking here in NYC, but it may happen in the outskirts of the outer boroughs where there may be more tolerance for it. Otherwise the rule is that you have no claim to any street parking space

One unspoken rule in NYC is that if you enter/leave a subway station behind a woman with a baby in a stroller, you must help her carry it up/down the stairs. Especially if you're a male aged 16 - 70.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I've never seen the space blocking here in NYC, but it may happen in the outskirts of the outer boroughs where there may be more tolerance for it. Otherwise the rule is that you have no claim to any street parking space

Yeah, I've never seen people claiming "dibs" in downtown or other urban cores areas of chicago, or even on major streets anywhere in the city. It's strictly a residential neighborhood side street thing.

[hauntedheadnc]

In Asheville, unless you are on a very dangerous and very busy road -- and often not even then -- locals simply do not and will not use their turn signals. Only tourists use their turn signals, and if you use yours it signals to locals driving nearby that you aren't one of them. Often, that will trigger the locals driving nearby to drive more aggressively. Locals also tend to drive more like dicks at the sight of an out-of-state license plate.

Usually, about the only time locals will use their turn signals is when they're driving on a really busy road like Airport Road, and need to turn into one of the myriad shopping centers or some such. It's one thing to be part of the herd driving along on the interstate, in which case, people will be veering from lane to lane without so much as a single blink from the turn signal lights, but it's another to need to get off of Airport Road, slow, and turn. Without the turn signal on Airport, you're just begging the guy behind you to barrel into you at 65mph.

Meanwhile, down here in Greenville, SC, insurance fraud is a major pastime of a great many members of the population, to the point that the locals here know to leave a very wide berth between them and the next car in line -- to the point that it tends to tie up traffic. Up in Asheville, the cars bunch up at every light and stop sign, nose to tail. Down there they usually leave at least three car lengths in between the hood and the trunk of the next car up. It's either that, or you pay out when the car in front of you suddenly and violently throws itself into reverse. Cars also tend to pause awkwardly in parking lots if they see you backing out, and position themselves perfectly for you to run into them. Fraud pays.

[JManc]

In the winter, the north becomes a civilized anarchy as far as parking. If you can find a spot, it's yours...

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by JManc

.If you can find a spot, it's yours...

I wouldn't recommend nabbing someone else's "dibs" spot in chicago.

Your car might end up getting keyed, or a tire slashed, or worse. After all, this is chicago we're talking about. Idiots in this town shoot guns at each other over petty-ass shit like this.

[Yuri]

São Paulo:

--- It's an extremely work-oriented city, people are always rushing, so don't you ever walk slowly on sidewalks during weekdays;

--- Leave the left side of subways' escalator free;

--- Don't blink when the traffic lights turn green or cars behind will honk immediately;

--- Don't put ketchup in your pizzas. People in Rio does that for Paulistas horror.

--- Don't call São Paulo "Sampa". People from other parts of the county think it's a "cool", an "insider" expression, but no one in São Paulo calls the city that. Never.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by yuriandrade

São Paulo:

--- It's an extremely work-oriented city, people are always rushing, so don't you ever walk slowly on sidewalks during weekdays;

--- Leave the left side of subways' escalator free;

These are true in all big cities where people commute on public transit.

Originally Posted by yuriandrade

--- Don't blink when the traffic lights turn green or cars behind will honk immediately;

This is a New York thing too. It is more annoying than people who take too long to move on a green light.

[pj3000]

Pittsburgh


- The Parking Chair is definitely a thing here in tight residential neighborhoods


- The Pittsburgh Left is when you turn left at a traffic light as soon as it turns green, not yielding to oncoming traffic, or you allowing opposing traffic to turn left in front of you at an intersection when the light turns green before you proceed through. I don't like it either way.

- When two cars are on a steep and narrow hilly street, the ascending car is given the right of way.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by yuriandrade

--- Don't put ketchup in your pizzas. People in Rio does that for Paulistas horror.

I'm appalled by the fact that one even needs to be a rule......

[Yuri]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

I'm appalled by the fact that one even needs to be a rule......

In São Paulo, it’s olive oil. That’s the main reasons people hardly ever eat pizza with their hands like Americans do.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

I wouldn't recommend nabbing someone else's "dibs" spot in chicago.

Your car might end up getting keyed, or a tire slashed, or worse. After all, this is chicago we're talking about. Idiots in this town shoot guns at each other over petty-ass shit like this.

Yeah this doesn't strike me as something that would jive in a major city like Chicago, NY or Philly. Small towns are more tolerant and laid back about this sort of thing. I used to leave my car running while I ran into a store when it was 20 below in Upstate. It would be gone in a bigger city.

[Six Corners]

St. Louis:

St. Louis established independence from St. Louis County many, many years ago. Currently it is not in any county. All places located within St. Louis County shall be referred to as being "in the county" rather than in a specific city. To be more specific, you may refer to things as being in "North County," "South County," or "West County." (What's particularly interesting is that many St. Louisians don't seem know this is unique to St. Louis and refer to suburbia in other cities as being "in the county.")

This one is a pet peeve of mine so pardon the rant... apparently, under no circumstances, should a driver turning left from a traffic light pull out into the intersection to prepare for a break in traffic. If the light turns yellow and traffic has not cleared, you wait for the next light cycle. Worse, if there is not a left-turn lane and you are behind someone who is trying to turn left, you must not try to go around them regardless of how much space there is to the right of the left-turning car to do so. You, also, will be waiting for the next light cycle. In the three previous metro areas I have lived - Chicago, Ames, IA, and Omaha - each of a wildly different size than the others, it is accepted that however many cars turning left that can fit into the intersection before or at the moment a traffic light turns red are allowed to turn left without any hassle from other drivers.

If you move away for college, you must eventually move back with a spouse or significant other.

Only natives enjoy provel cheese.


Chicago:

The Sears Tower shall never be referred to by any other name, regardless of what any current owner names it. I believe this holds for Comiskey Park and the John Hancock Center as well... or maybe it was just me.

With some exceptions, Wrigleyville is not an appropriate area for going out on weekends for anyone past their mid-twenties.

When parallel parking, it is polite to park as close as possible to the car ahead or behind you so as to allow as many cars to park as possible. Lightly tapping someone's bumper when trying to fit into a particularly tight space does not warrant any compensation to the owner of the other car.


Omaha:

The street system is a grid. North-south streets are numbered and east-west streets are words or letters. As such, when telling someone the location of a place, you do so by listing the closest arterial cross streets in the order of numbered street first, then word/letter street (ie, "Yeah, I grew up near 156th and Maple").

There shall be no city rivalry between Omaha and Lincoln for Lincoln is home to University of Nebraska Husker football and is thus Mecca. Des Moines however..

The demarcation between urban and suburban is 72nd Street.

Spaghetti Works has only one acceptable location.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by Six Corners

St. Louis:

St. Louis established independence from St. Louis County many, many years ago. Currently it is not in any county. All places located within St. Louis County shall be referred to as being "in the county" rather than in a specific city. To be more specific, you may refer to things as being in "North County," "South County," or "West County." (What's particularly interesting is that many St. Louisians don't seem know this is unique to St. Louis and refer to suburbia in other cities as being "in the county.")

I hear some similarities here...

I've heard the county thing similarly in Baltimore, MD (which is also independent like St. Louis)... people say Baltimore City or Baltimore County, but haven't really heard a directional added to the county part.

Two other cities I've lived in, Dallas, TX and Erie, PA, are located in their same named counties. Though in the case of Dallas, it is actually in parts of 5 counties, which seems kinda ridiculous, but it is common in Texas for cities to be in multiple counties for some reason. Anyway, that likely has something to do with never hearing people refer to places outside of Dallas city limits as "in the county"... there didn't seem to be much identity with counties. People just said the city/town in the suburbs by name.

In the case of Erie, there is definitely a clear distinction... City of Erie (or somewhat less commonly Erie City) vs. Erie County (or commonly just "the county"). One hears "south county", "west county", but never "east county" for some unknown reason. People generally say the actual name of the town/suburban area, though older people still have that broad grouping distinction mindset -- City or County.

In high school sports, there was always the Erie Metro League (9 public and Catholic high schools in the city proper) and the Erie County League (11 public high schools throughout the county). It was always funny to have this dynamic in a smaller city. In the good ol days, I imagine it was more urban vs. rural (also meaning racially diverse vs. mostly white)... which gave the games a distinct flavor... and there was still some of that when I was in high school, but it was pretty much city vs. suburbs by then. Funny how high school sports can set boundaries among an adult population.

Originally Posted by Six Corners

This one is a pet peeve of mine so pardon the rant... apparently, under no circumstances, should a driver turning left from a traffic light pull out into the intersection to prepare for a break in traffic. If the light turns yellow and traffic has not cleared, you wait for the next light cycle. Worse, if there is not a left-turn lane and you are behind someone who is trying to turn left, you must not try to go around them regardless of how much space there is to the right of the left-turning car to do so. You, also, will be waiting for the next light cycle. In the three previous metro areas I have lived - Chicago, Ames, IA, and Omaha - each of a wildly different size than the others, it is accepted that however many cars turning left that can fit into the intersection before or at the moment a traffic light turns red are allowed to turn left without any hassle from other drivers.

People in Pittsburgh do this, and I fucking hate it. Why are people so scared to proceed into the intersection and yield to opposing traffic when making a left turn? That's what everyone is taught when you're taking your driver's exam for your permit and your license, at least in Pennsylvania.

Originally Posted by Six Corners

If you move away for college, you must eventually move back with a spouse or significant other.

I think this is pretty common all over the northern US because the cities over the past century have been so much less transient... i.e., people's parents don't move as much.

Originally Posted by Six Corners

Only natives enjoy provel cheese.

Didn't quite get the reasoning behind that weird cheese on my pizza while there. Didn't hate it... but I can't say I enjoyed it.

[benp]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

I wouldn't recommend nabbing someone else's "dibs" spot in chicago.

Your car might end up getting keyed, or a tire slashed, or worse. After all, this is chicago we're talking about. Idiots in this town shoot guns at each other over petty-ass shit like this.

Here the person who tried to claim "dibs" would be the one with their car being vandalized.

[Investing In Chicago]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

I wouldn't recommend nabbing someone else's "dibs" spot in chicago.

Your car might end up getting keyed, or a tire slashed, or worse. After all, this is chicago we're talking about. Idiots in this town shoot guns at each other over petty-ass shit like this.

Dibs is such a stupid unspoken law - especially the getting keyed part...How the hell does the idiot claiming a spot know the car in their spot was the car that moved their shit?

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Investing In Chicago

Dibs is such a stupid unspoken law - especially the getting keyed part...How the hell does the idiot claiming a spot know the car in their spot was the car that moved their shit?

Oh yeah, I agree it's kinda dumb, and I'm glad we have an off-street spot for our car so we can avoid it for the most part*, but I still find it interesting from a sociological perspective.

Strange and silly cultural "laws" like this that aren't really laws at all are fascinating to me. Especially the part where everyone just goes along with them, unspokenly.



(*) I drove over to andersonville this morning to swing by the dispensary and I was trying to find a side street spot to avoid paid parking on clark (the dispensary process is a crap shoot on time these days due to covid, sometimes there's a long line), and all over the place there were empty spots with lawn chairs, folding chairs, traffic cones, etc. I've lived in chicago long enough to know not to fuck with that shit, so I bit the bullet and paid for a spot on clark.

[mrnyc]

^ thats funny because you are gonna get just that reaction for even thinking about trying it in ny.

i do happen to notice that around my father in laws place in suburban centerville, ohio before the 4th of july when everyone puts crap out and ropes off their treelawns for dibs on parade viewing spaces. i imagine challenging that might lead to a few cross comments lol.

otherwise, also in ohio it is your god given right to never drive faster than the posted speed limit in the left hand lane of the highway at all times.

and back in ny if the bartender likes you after a couple drankies you might get the knock. thats a knock on the bar and an upside shot glass reminder your next one is on the house. subject to a nice tip of course. only a dwindling number of old school joints do this anymore though.

[photoLith]

People where I live don’t do the chair reservation thing. But in the previous neighborhood I lived in some asshole would regularly block the entire street with Pittsburgh chairs so nobody could park. I used to almost daily throw the chairs back onto the sidewalk; sometimes people would run them over with their cars. It’s a public street, you can’t reserve spots. Now if it’s snowing and you had to clear the parking spot that’s a different story.

[mrnyc]

^ he is right, i actually saw people in rio put ketchup on pizza. rio people. a stunna!

edit -- this is from a rio website -- no, it is NOT typical of all brasil lol!!!