Ten Quirky Things Massachusetts People Do
Seasons change, and with the change, folks in Massachusetts swap out habits — at least a little. But some things stay the same no matter the weather. Here are a few more quirks that Massachusetts natives do that make outsiders scratch their heads and wonder how we function.
1. We refuse to turn on the heat until Halloween.
It can be 48 degrees in the house, we’re wearing two hoodies and a blanket, and we still say, “It’s not cold yet.” The thermostat doesn’t move until October 31. It’s tradition and stubbornness and it’s pride.
2. We save winter parking spots with random household objects.
Shovel out a spot after a storm? Congratulations — it’s yours until spring. And to make sure everyone knows it, we’ll guard it with:
- a kitchen chair
- a trash barrel
- a traffic cone
- a busted fan
- or something so weird it becomes a neighborhood landmark
Everyone respects the system. It’s unwritten law.
3. We give directions using landmarks that no longer exist — and we always tell you to “bang a Uey.”
Ask a Massachusetts person how to get somewhere and you’ll hear:
- “Take a right where the old Friendly’s used to be.”
- “Go past the building that burned down in ’92.”
- “Turn left after the Dunkin’ — not that Dunkin’, the other Dunkin’.”
And if you miss the turn? No problem. They’ll say, “Just bang a Uey,” like it’s the most normal driving instruction in the world. ( That’s a U-Turn, legal or not)
4. We call highways by names that haven’t been used in decades.
Nobody says I‑95 or I‑93. Nobody says Route 90.
We say:
- “The Pike”
- “The Expressway”
- “128”
- “The Artery”
- “The Braintree Split”
Newcomers think we’re speaking in riddles.
5. We will drive 20 minutes out of the way to avoid paying a toll.
Massachusetts people will zigzag through back roads, hit three rotaries, and add fifteen minutes to the trip just to avoid paying $1.25 on the Pike. And we’ll brag about it like we outsmarted the system.
6. We treat Dunkin’ like it’s a public utility.
There are towns with one Dunkin’ on each corner, and somehow they’re all busy. We don’t ask, “Where’s the nearest Dunkin’?” We ask, “Which Dunkin’ are you going to?”
7. We think rotaries are perfectly normal — and we insist they are rotaries, not roundabouts or traffic circles.
Other states panic when they see one. We glide through them like we’re in a NASCAR warm‑up lap.
And if someone from out of state calls it a “roundabout,” we will correct them immediately. It’s a rotary. It has always been a rotary. It will never be anything but a rotary.
If you hesitate, you’ll get honked at by someone who learned to drive on the Bourne Rotary.
8. We pronounce town names in ways that confuse everyone else.
Gloucester?
Worcester?
Leominster?
Peabody?
We say them like we swallowed half the syllables and decided the rest were optional.
9. We have strong opinions about which Market Basket is “the good one.”
Every region has at least one Market Basket that’s:
- cleaner
- faster
- better stocked
- less chaotic
And we will drive past three other grocery stores to go to that one.
10. We treat weather like a competitive sport.
If someone says, “It’s cold today,” a Massachusetts person will immediately respond with:
- “You think this is cold?”
- “You should’ve been here in ’15.”
- “This is nothing.”
- The Blizzard of ’78? That’s nothin’
We don’t just endure weather — we brag about surviving it.
If you’re from Massachusetts, you probably nodded at least once. If you’re not… well, now you know why we are the way we are. We got some wicked , quirky habits. Lets bang a Uey and grab a cuppa iced coffee at that Dunkin up ahead. By the way, where are you from and what quirky habits make your state special?
