What are your city's unwritten "laws"?

[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?

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by DetroitSky

In Detroit, U-turns can be done at any time on any street, even in front of cops, despite them being illegal in Michigan.

Another for Detroit: Speed limits are a suggestion. Speeding mostly doesn't start until at least 10 over the posted limit. A good rule of thumb is that a 55 MPH posted limit translates to an actual of 70 MPH. And a 70 MPH posted limit translates to an actual of about 82 MPH. There are some heavily enforced areas in some suburbs, but these are easy to spot because people will suddenly slow down and drive comically slow until they're out of the enforcement zone.

[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.

[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.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Another for Detroit: Speed limits are a suggestion. Speeding mostly doesn't start until at least 10 over the posted limit. A good rule of thumb is that a 55 MPH posted limit translates to an actual of 70 MPH. And a 70 MPH posted limit translates to an actual of about 82 MPH. There are some heavily enforced areas in some suburbs, but these are easy to spot because people will suddenly slow down and drive comically slow until they're out of the enforcement zone.

I've noticed in Detroit proper that traffic signals are treated like stop signs at night in some neighborhoods? Kinda strange.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I've noticed in Detroit proper that traffic signals are treated like stop signs at night in some neighborhoods? Kinda strange.

I've heard that before but I've never really noticed anyone other than cops do it in Detroit. The only place I've actually seen this happen on a regular basis is in Rio de Janeiro. Cabs in Rio often treat red lights as stop signs at night.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

Oh yeah, I agree it's pretty 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.

On Pittsburgh's southside, the parking chair thing causes violent confrontations periodically. It's a VERY dense, maze-like 1820s semi-grid neighborhood with incredibly narrow side streets (I'm talking sidewalks not even 4' wide on some blocks) and a TON of bars... so there is a constant battle between residents and weekend drunks. Parking is a total nightmare on Thurs-Fri-Sat nights.

I used to bartend many years ago at a really popular college to early 30s bar, and there was an old yinzer (pejorative name for a white, blue collar Pittsburgher) who lived a block away and always was causing some type of trouble because someone parked in front of his shitty rowhouse. He would complain to us, as if we had anything to do with it. Funny thing is that he didn't even have a car, but he still didn't want anyone parking in front of his house. So he put up at different times, a sawhorse and an old microwave oven to claim "his" spot.

Both ended up through his front window.

[Steely Dan]

^ for my own clarification, is the pittsburgh folding chair in the parking spot a year-round thing, or just after big snowfalls like in chicago?

If you attempted to "reserve" a parking spot like that in Chicago at any other time, it will be thoroughly disregarded. The "dibs" rule only applies to big snowfalls. What qualifies as a "big snowfall", and how long afterward "dibs" can still be rightfully claimed, are always open to some interpretation and debate, which can of course lead to conflict.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^ for my own clarification, is the pittsburgh folding chair in the parking spot a year-round thing, or just after big snowfalls like in chicago?

If you attempted to "reserve" a parking spot like that in Chicago at any other time, it will be thoroughly disregarded. The "dibs" rule only applies to big snowfalls. What qualifies as a "big snowfall", and how long afterward "dibs" can still be rightfully claimed, are always open to some interpretation and debate, which can of course lead to conflict.

You see it year-round in Pittsburgh, but especially during the winter.

I think it's understandable if someone takes the time to shovel out the spot, but you'll see them in the streets in the middle of July. Some of the old timers in Pittsburgh's very dense neighborhoods just don't want people parking in front of their houses, and they often don't even own cars.

I've seen the same in Boston.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by pj3000

I think it's understandable if someone takes the time to shovel out the spot, but you'll see them in the streets in the middle of July.

Gotcha, thanks for clarifying.

As I said earlier, "reserving" a parking spot in chicago is only ever tolerated after big snowfalls. It's the local culture's way of saying, "hey, I put in the sweat equity of digging out a foot of snow from this parking space, so I'm gonna keep it for a little while". And the vast majority of other people just go along with and respect that.

But in July? WAY out of bounds. That is definitely not part of chicago's parking culture.

Even if you attempted to call "dibs" on a space after a paltry little 1" snow, you'd be getting all kinds of sideways glares and stares from your neighbors. It's gotta be a big snowfall, one substantial enough such that digging your car out from under it actually means something.

[dave8721]

Miami: People are always at least 30 minutes late for everything. Birthday, meetings...everything. I think for my daughters birthday party last year the first person showed up 40 minutes late, the rest were about an hour late. Wedding invitations always list times 30 minutes to an hour before the actual ceremony is supposed to start so that people actually make it on time.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by dave8721

Miami: People are always at least 30 minutes late for everything. Birthday, meetings...everything. I think for my daughters birthday party last year the first person showed up 40 minutes late, the rest were about an hour late. Wedding invitations always list times 30 minutes to an hour before the actual ceremony is supposed to start so that people actually make it on time.

definitely have experienced this in Miami

What's interesting is my family in Pennsylvania is always late, but my in-laws in Miami arrive on the dot.

When I lived in Brazil, it was taken to the extreme. One of the first meetings we had for work was set for 1:00 PM at our Brazilian colleagues' office... the Brazilians showed up at 2:30

We had arrived in Rio the day before and had nowhere else to go that afternoon, so we just hung out. They never even mentioned anything about the fact that they were an hour and a half late for the meeting. We came to realize that time was a bit more fluid in Rio.

[muppet]

Surely that's just rude, even in a place known for lateness?? 1. That late 2. Knowing you're foreigners/ guests unused to 'Brazil time'. That better not have been a business deal.

[bnk]

3 dead in murder-suicide over snow removal dispute, prosecutors say


Jeffrey Spaide shot and killed his neighbors in Plains Township, Pennsylvania, over a snow removal dispute, prosecutors said.


https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...s-say-n1256599


Feb. 3, 2021, 11:05 AM CST

By Wilson Wong


Prosecutors said a man in Pennsylvania shot and killed a couple in a murder-suicide over a snow removal dispute on Monday, the same day a major winter storm dumped more than 30 inches of snow in parts of the Northeast.

Jeffrey Spaide fatally shot his neighbors, James Goy and his wife, Lisa Goy, before killing himself on Monday morning when officers were called to West Bergh Street in Plains Township, about 15 miles southwest of Scranton, according to the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office.


...

[Boisebro]

Boise:

1 – Thou shalt own at least one of the following: a mountain bike, an RV, or a 4x4.

2 – Thou must groweth facial hair, regardless of thy gender.

3 – Thou shalt never blow thy car horn, lest thou wantest to be known as an outsider.

4 – Thou shalt only dip thy fries in fry sauce. Ketchup is forbidden.

5 – If thy mountains gettest snow and thy resorts doth open, thou must callest in sick and partake in the glorious blessing of fresh powder.

6 – Thou shalt listen to 80s music.

7 – If thy valley floor receiveth snow, ye shalt drive rapidly in it as though there were none.

8 – Taking public transit is strictly forbidden. Thou must drive thyself, no matter how neareth thy destination.

9 – Thou must payeth for all things with a written check. Blessed be thy checks for $1.29 worth of goods.

10 – Thou must open a sushi restaurant, because 4,239 in the valley beith too few.

[SunDevil]

First you must understand that Phoenix's highway infrastructure is very new and also relatively small for the size of the metro. This is because every mile or so there are arterial streets that are 5 lanes, plus a turn lane, and generally have a 40 MPH speed limit. The hardest thing to get used to in Phoenix when I moved here was people from parking lots and side streets, who were turning left onto these major streets, would turn left into the turn lane when the traffic from their left was clear but traffic from their right was still busy.

So it would look like they didn't see you coming and were going to just drive right into you while you're going 40 MPH and can't stop, but instead they turn into the turning lane.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Also for Phoenix: Just stay off the 7s. Locals don't know what they're doing, either.

[SFBruin]

I don't know if this is an unwritten rule, per se, but no one seems to honk in Seattle, at least as compared to in San Francisco, where I am from.

[hauntedheadnc]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

Also for Phoenix: Just stay off the 7s. Locals don't know what they're doing, either.

There's a similar rule for Charlotte -- If you get on anything named Queens, get off as soon as possible. Staying on Queens Road or any of the dozens of other streets with Queens in their name can only end in tears, especially at the intersection in Myers Park where Queens meets Providence, except if you're on Queens Road and turn right you stay on Queens Road. If you're on Providence Road and turn right, you're still on Providence.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

Gotcha, thanks for clarifying.

As I said earlier, "reserving" a parking spot in chicago is only ever tolerated after big snowfalls. It's the local culture's way of saying, "hey, I put in the sweat equity of digging out a foot of snow from this parking space, so I'm gonna keep it for a little while". And the vast majority of other people just go along with and respect that.

But in July? WAY out of bounds. That is definitely not part of chicago's parking culture.

Even if you attempted to call "dibs" on a space after a paltry little 1" snow, you'd be getting all kinds of sideways glares and stares from your neighbors. It's gotta be a big snowfall, one substantial enough such that digging your car out from under it actually means something.

Yes, in Pittsburgh, it's really only a widely accepted thing to claim your spot if there's a big snowfall and you shovel your spot out. But there are plenty of idiots who think it's somehow acceptable to do it year round... often in neighborhoods with a lot of bars/restaturants and/or students... causing residents to think they have a right to their spot because they live there. As I'm sure you can imagine, it is a source for conflict in neighborhoods.

I think a lot of it emanates from the highly-fractured physical nature of Pittsburgh. Because of the extreme topography, neighborhoods function like separate little towns unto themselves more than one generally observes in a city. A very insular mindset, even within the city, is still present. The physical separation breeds a psychological separation, and a certain level of suspicion. I guess it's that feeling of having to protect your turf from the outsider. Appalachia.



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