Living here in Wisconsin creates a certain kind of person. We are a bit odd and quirky and we pick up even more habits the longer we live here. From reserving our Friday nights to a long-term rivalry with our neighbors, there are some things that just don’t change. You can take the Wisconsinite out of Wisconsin, but you can’t take the Wisconsin out of the Wisconsinite:
- Reserving our Friday nights for a fish fry.
Flickr/TomKelly No matter where you go or what season, you never get over wanting to have some delicious fried fish alongside fries or potato pancakes and a cold beer.
- Hoping your cheese squeaks.
Flickr/TobiasKelly There’s just something so delightfully Wisconsin about cheese curds.
- Preferring Brandy in your Old Fashioneds.
Flickr/melonmane Preferring Old Fashioneds at all, really.
- Using vacation time to sit out in the cold while looking like a traffic cone.
Flickr/KristopherVolkman I won’t pretend I understand, but I do know that planning for deer hunting weekend can be more of a production than some formal events.
- Disliking all things Minnesota and Chicago.
Flickr/BrianGiesen Hate the Bears. Hate the Cubs. Hate the Vikings. Hate the Gophers.
- Standing over a hole in the ice with a spear in hand hoping a big fish swims right under the hole that’s been drilled.
Flickr/LenHardy You do you, people.
- Being a cheese snob.
Flickr/LarryHoffman My mother in Tennessee told me this week that she couldn’t find Gruyere or Fontina anywhere. That seems unfathomable here where we have the very best cheese at our fingertips at all times, but that’s what she gets for leaving Wisconsin.
- Preferring brats to all other cased meats.
Flickr/DavidWright Miller Park is the only stadium in MLB that sells more brats than hot dogs. It’s because they’re delicious.
- Calling it a TYME Machine.
Flickr/Jib This one is falling a bit out as so few of us actually use ATMs anymore, but it’s still one of those ingrained localisms you never quite lose.
- Grilling no matter the weather.
Flickr/AnnePetersen We’re not really fazed by snow and we know a grilled brat, steak or hamburger is far superior tasting to one that isn’t, so we’ll grill any time, anywhere.
- Heading up north.
Flickr/Ryan If you don’t have a place up north, odds are you know someone who does. Up north is as much a state of mind as it is a direction.
- Calling it a bubbler.
Facebook At the very least, it’s a drinking fountain. A water fountain is a baby Cupid spitting water in a fancy garden.
- Expecting your Bloody Mary to come with accouterments and a chaser.
Flickr/ConnerMcCall We don’t always need the whole kit and kaboodle with a Bloody, but a meat stick, some cheese and celery go a long way. And that chaser is pretty uniquely Wisconsin.
- Measuring distance in time, not miles.
Flickr/KenLund This one bugs folks out east who sit in traffic pretty much constantly, so find it impossible to know how long something will take. Here, we’re pretty tied to the one mile = one minute version of mileage marking and per this sign, we’ll be in Green Bay in about 15 minutes.
What other habits and quirks have you picked up along the way? Want more Wisconsin fun? Check out the things no one tells you about surviving a Wisconsin winter.
Flickr/TomKelly
No matter where you go or what season, you never get over wanting to have some delicious fried fish alongside fries or potato pancakes and a cold beer.
Flickr/TobiasKelly
There’s just something so delightfully Wisconsin about cheese curds.
Flickr/melonmane
Preferring Old Fashioneds at all, really.
Flickr/KristopherVolkman
I won’t pretend I understand, but I do know that planning for deer hunting weekend can be more of a production than some formal events.
Flickr/BrianGiesen
Hate the Bears. Hate the Cubs. Hate the Vikings. Hate the Gophers.
Flickr/LenHardy
You do you, people.
Flickr/LarryHoffman
My mother in Tennessee told me this week that she couldn’t find Gruyere or Fontina anywhere. That seems unfathomable here where we have the very best cheese at our fingertips at all times, but that’s what she gets for leaving Wisconsin.
Flickr/DavidWright
Miller Park is the only stadium in MLB that sells more brats than hot dogs. It’s because they’re delicious.
Flickr/Jib
This one is falling a bit out as so few of us actually use ATMs anymore, but it’s still one of those ingrained localisms you never quite lose.
Flickr/AnnePetersen
We’re not really fazed by snow and we know a grilled brat, steak or hamburger is far superior tasting to one that isn’t, so we’ll grill any time, anywhere.
Flickr/Ryan
If you don’t have a place up north, odds are you know someone who does. Up north is as much a state of mind as it is a direction.
At the very least, it’s a drinking fountain. A water fountain is a baby Cupid spitting water in a fancy garden.
Flickr/ConnerMcCall
We don’t always need the whole kit and kaboodle with a Bloody, but a meat stick, some cheese and celery go a long way. And that chaser is pretty uniquely Wisconsin.
Flickr/KenLund
This one bugs folks out east who sit in traffic pretty much constantly, so find it impossible to know how long something will take. Here, we’re pretty tied to the one mile = one minute version of mileage marking and per this sign, we’ll be in Green Bay in about 15 minutes.
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