I can think of a few for Delaware. You know you're living in Delaware if...

1) People living in other states don't know whether you are in the North or the South. Delaware is considered a southern state by northerners and a northern state by southerners. We're actually a little of both. Geographically, we're a southern state: If the horizontal portion of the Mason-Dixon were extended eastward, it would result in a very small part of Delaware being on its northern side and a large majority of the state would be on its southern side. Culturally, the state is divided. The part north of "the canal" (i.e., the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal) feels like a northern state, while the part south of it aligns more with southern states.

2) You pronounce "Newark" with the emphasis on the second syllable. (Residents of Newark, Delaware do not like being mistaken as living in New Jersey.)

3) You never have even a ballpark estimate of how much snow you'll get in any given winter. One winter might have a few flurries but no accumulation. The next winter might have three or four feet of accumulated snow.

4) You move to the area and are curious to find out what accent natives of the state have, only to learn that adult natives of the state seem to be in the minority. It's probably different downstate -- that is, south of the canal. Where I live in upstate Delaware, though, most of us -- myself included -- are transplants.

5) You call the metal identification rectangles you put on the back (but not the front) of your car, "tags." (Where I grew up in Upstate New York, those things were called, "license plates," or simply "plates," and they were required on both the back and the front of the car.)

6) And you might be an L&C fan living in Delaware if you delight every time you hear the name of your southernmost county: Kent County.

If I think of any other Delaware-related ideas, I'll post them later. I'm guessing I might be the only representative of my adopted state on the list.

Joy,
Lynn