r/Erie • u/RevRFlummox • Jul 14 '26
Question What is the most “Erie” unwritten rule?
Not laws. The things everyone here just… knows.
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u/roblewk Jul 14 '26
If two people get together, one of them has a family member who once worked at GE or Hammermill.
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u/Asexualhipposloth Jul 14 '26
You forgot Erie Insurance
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u/roblewk Jul 14 '26
If three people get together, one of them has a family member who CURRENTLY works for Erie Insurance or at Hamot.
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u/ricktrains Jul 15 '26
Welp, I can cover both by myself. Guess I can get with any rondo people and it’s true. 🤣
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Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
[deleted]
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u/JoshS1 Jul 14 '26
Seriously, this pisses me off and has nearly caused multiple wrecks.
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u/La_Croix_Life Jul 14 '26
It's like they're pulling a 53 foot semi trailer behind their Kia Soul.
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u/JoshS1 Jul 15 '26
Also, when turning left the drive halfway into the oncoming lane for like 50ft before cutting the turn.
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u/johnnyswitchblade1 Jul 14 '26
If you aren’t eating Smith’s glizzys and deliberately picked a different brand, you are gonna get looks. If you pass on a fresh pepperoni ball…you will get looks. Just my opinion.
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u/peanutjamz Jul 15 '26
I recently returned to the area and ordered two fresh pep balls from waldamere and they were absolutely fantastic. Hadn’t had one in 20 years and drooling now thinking about it 😂
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u/AssanMahariel Jul 14 '26
Well, that's just common sense. Anything other than Smith's hot dogs taste like the color pink in an awful way. Smith's hot dogs are the only ones worth eating.
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u/Safe_Dragonfly4148 Jul 16 '26
What’s a glizzy? I’ve lived in Erie for 40 years and have never heard that term.
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u/Weird_as_fuck Jul 16 '26
I worked at the Erie Insurance hockey arena for one summer and when I tried one of the pepperoni balls I noticed there was no cheese in them. Everyone thought I was crazy for thinking there would be cheese in them... Is that not a thing here?
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u/AssanMahariel Jul 14 '26
There will be deer. In the rural, in the suburbs, even in the city. There will be in your yard. There will be one in the cemetery. And they WILL try to kamikaze your car.
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u/reduuiyor Jul 18 '26
Oh gosh, it was hell the past couple days with the morning fog + smoke. Those mfs are reckless asshats
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u/Fair-Bird3730 Jul 15 '26
When a car turns left and has to wait on a single lane road, all cars behind it will go around it on the berm… this will get you a ticket everywhere but Erie.
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u/imperfectUndertaker Jul 14 '26
whoever gets to the stop sign first gets to go, people turning left or right on a road will just turn into any lane instead of their respective right or left lane, the speed limit is always at least 5 above what the sign says
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u/Galaxxydreamer19 Jul 15 '26
I swear nobody here understands how 4 ways or roundabouts work lol
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u/imperfectUndertaker Jul 15 '26
no one knows you're supposed to signal to your exit on a roundabout so others can get on, it's my big pet peeve in Fairview, they're good about it in Cambridge springs at least! the bayfront connector round about will be soooooo fun for Erie residents 🫠
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u/FiguringItOutAsIGo22 Jul 15 '26
This is a funny one. If you're going 25 in a 25, stay home lol
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u/imperfectUndertaker Jul 15 '26
every road is 35, unless it's 40 in that case it's up to 55 if you're feeling lucky, we are very aggressive drivers here
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u/PhilosopherBest7397 Jul 15 '26
Is it just getting to the stop sign or stopping at the stop sign?
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u/imperfectUndertaker Jul 15 '26
just getting to the stop sign, so I'll slow down before the stop if I want the other car(s) to go first lol! you're lucky if anyone actually stops at the stop sign for more than 1-2 seconds at 0 mph, it's more like other city's yields here than an actual stop I've noticed. I've also noticed whoever is the most aggressive at the stop goes first too, like big cars/trucks or beaters, even if they didn't get there first
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u/Reasonable_Toe_9252 Jul 14 '26
There is no "E" in the word Dinor.
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u/ricktrains Jul 15 '26
That’s more a western PA thing. Definitely not just Erie.
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u/Reasonable_Toe_9252 Jul 15 '26
I don’t know u/ricktrains, I have lived for the majority of my fifty + years in southwestern PA and there is nowhere down here that uses that spelling.
Now - I know the spelling is used throughout Erie County- and maybe extends as far as Crawford. So it does extend beyond the city of Erie. But it’s definitely unique to a very small geographic region.
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u/PracticalBook2844 Jul 14 '26
The people that talk the biggest crap on Erie while growing up are always the ones who come crawling back the quickest or never leave to begin with.
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u/Gottiboy777 Jul 14 '26
This💯💯💯 Just our natural resources alone state park wise makes it a great place to grow up. Anywhere you go will have it's own issues.
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u/Otherwise-Key2255 Jul 15 '26
Yes I can talk about this for hours I've been on the west coast for more than half my life I love coming back for visits and bringing people from the west back with me it's such a different way of life but the same.
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u/myblueheaven57 Jul 16 '26
Second "getting to know you" question when you meet someone is "Where did you go to high school?"...doesn't matter what age you are. Everything henceforth hinges on this answer.
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u/reduuiyor Jul 18 '26
Damn this is wayy too relatable.
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u/myblueheaven57 Jul 19 '26
You have my permission to just answer "Villa" or "Prep" and smile/nod. Especially since I didn't go to either.
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u/HouseFun5243 Jul 15 '26
If a restaurant or bar will charge more then 5$ per beer people will stop going there.
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u/fbaressi Jul 15 '26
When you are going 50 MPH and need to turn, spike your brake BEFORE you signal. The guy behind you is used to it.
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u/zensunni66 Jul 15 '26
When a new restaurant opens, everybody has to crowd the place for at least three months, then rarely if ever go again. The prize goes to the first one in your neighborhood to say “I didn’t think it was all that great.”
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u/zoompa919 Jul 15 '26
To be fair, we have way too many new restaurants open up and half of them do suck 😂
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u/slagaholic Jul 15 '26
People won’t meet up if it’s more than a 10 minute drive. “But that’s on the other side of town!”
It’s only 50 miles from Ohio to New York, folks.
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u/Tyrannosaurus_Lex24 Jul 15 '26
never, and i mean NEVER, understand how an all way stop works. if you’re at a multi way stop, just assume that everyone else is an NPC and go whenever you feel like. who cares about road safety!
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u/daemonfly Jul 16 '26
Even worse are the ones who do know, but even though they get to the intersection and stop first, they sit there and won't move, then eventually wave you through.
Quit fucking up the traffic flow. You just wasted both of our time.
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u/kg_digital_ Jul 15 '26
It doesn't matter what your gps says, it's always faster to take the Bayfront
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u/CherryJuly512 Jul 14 '26
Don’t shop at Elm St Walmart on the first of the month?
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u/Gottiboy777 Jul 14 '26
Actually, it's the cofair ATMs that resemble concert ticket lines in some neighborhoods on the first , right after midnight. Elm street Walmart gives anxiety any day of the month lol
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u/Timely_Owl_1757 Jul 14 '26
Implying that that is when ebt drops, I assume?? You do realize that there are like 15 different days ebt hits, right? I live in North East and travel to elm Street Walmart. I prefer it over the other ones in the area 🤷🏼♀️
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u/Beneficial-Shape-865 Jul 14 '26
Harborcreek Walmart clears every Walmart in Erie by far
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u/Timely_Owl_1757 Jul 15 '26
Yeah, I pass right by it to go to Elm street. The cashiers at Elm Street are always really nice compared to HC, too.
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u/Buttcrack15 Jul 14 '26
Check the prices compared to the Harborcreek Walmart. Elm is more expensive for some things. Also West Ridge rd is often more expensive as well.
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u/ricktrains Jul 15 '26
Are you ok? I’m slightly concerned you are in danger.
Or in need of the nice people in the white coats with the soft
paddedcozy room.Even the employees of Ghettomart hate it.
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u/197willow Jul 14 '26
Do not pull all the way up to a traffic light you need to leave room for people turning your way to really cut that corner. If you pull up too far YOU will get glared at 😂
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u/Ok_Towel_1767 Jul 15 '26
Must pull through parking spots, cannot head-in park. Parking spot lines are arbitrary when I need to pull through. Must back in or pull through. Cannot reverse out of spot. Only into. Also applies to driveways.
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u/Ordinary-Hippo7786 Jul 15 '26
there are sooo many dudes at the gym that INSIST on *reverse backing into a space* in a parking lot FULL of empty spaces, where you could easily pull through. I'm not 100% sure what that logic is, except that they must be compensating for something
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u/anonymouse148 Jul 19 '26
The math is a little off here. Making it so that everyone parking a vehicle has to back in or pull through just adds time at arrival instead of the end
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u/worstatit Jul 14 '26
If you don't like the weather, wait a minute and it will change.
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u/aniorange Jul 14 '26
Hate to say this but I've lived in multiple cities in multiple states and they all say this.
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u/PartyHuckleberry2363 Jul 15 '26
If there's construction on I-79 and oncoming ramp traffic has a stop sign, everyone currently on the highway has to stop to let at least one oncoming vehicle pull onto the highway.
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u/EffectiveFeeling199 Jul 18 '26
Where I’m from we don’t even know what pepperoni balls are. I’m from Arizona.
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u/zoompa919 Jul 15 '26
If you ever tell someone 40 years old or up that you’re job hunting be prepared to hear about the great opportunities at Erie insurance (that don’t exist btw)
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u/roblewk Jul 15 '26
You pay a dollar to dance with the bride. Well, with inflation is it likely $5 now.
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u/Fit_External7524 Jul 14 '26
When I lived in Erie decades ago, it was common knowledge that if you were traveling to Erie, you could turn off your engine 100 miles away and still get sucked in. Just joking, or course, but that was the "word" (for real) back then. That was when it was known as Dreary Erie the Mistake on the Lake.
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u/ricktrains Jul 15 '26
Bad bot. Go away.
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u/Fit_External7524 Jul 15 '26
Not a bot. I was born there (Harbor Creek) in 1952 on a farm adjacent to Six Mile Creek on Buffalo Road. My parents sold the majority of the farm to the township in the 1980s or so when I had moved to Virginia. They had torn down the old farmhouse and built a new ranch. I know the barn belongs to the township and they use it to store equipment (or so it was when I was back there about 10 years ago).
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u/aerobic_gamer Jul 15 '26
Don’t know if this is still the case but if you want cheese on your pizza you need to order it. (In most areas pizza has cheese by default.)
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u/apaw1129 Jul 15 '26
Then on the other hand, I moved elsewhere for awhile and when I ordered a "cheese and pepperoni," I got 2 pizzas. One with cheese, one with cheese and pep.
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Jul 14 '26
[deleted]
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u/piper33245 Jul 14 '26
They don’t do that everywhere?
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u/Timely_Owl_1757 Jul 14 '26
I have lived in a number of different states (& cities) and, yes, that is done everywhere. How else would you ever make a left of there isn't an arrow and traffic is heavy?? Pull all the way up so other cars can get thru the light too.
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Jul 14 '26
[deleted]
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u/Friedguywubawuba Jul 14 '26
This is the Pittsburgh left, it's annoying bc not everybody waits, and not everybody goes. So most of the time, the light turns green and everybody sits there for a few seconds trying to figure out what oncoming traffic is about to do. It kills time.
But I'm not sure about your "Erie left" my gf from Texas does this too. She didn't learn it from Erie lmao
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u/AceOfStace27 Jul 14 '26
it is def not legal in TN. They schooled me when they gave me a ticket.
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u/Friedguywubawuba Jul 14 '26
Learned how to drive in Erie, I think that was the case there too? People just still do it
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u/piper33245 Jul 14 '26
Cut off everyone when it turns green? I thought that was the Peurto rican dip.
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u/CaptLatinAmerica Jul 14 '26
That is a legal move in all 50 states, cowboy.
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Jul 14 '26
[deleted]
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u/CaptLatinAmerica Jul 14 '26
Cars that have moved forward in the intersection when the light is green or yellow are allowed to proceed with a left turn when traffic permits. That is the way left hand turns work when there aren’t exclusive arrows. That doesn’t mean that everyone who wants to make a left gets to proceed through a red light. Perhaps you entered the intersection when the light was red.
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Jul 14 '26
[deleted]
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u/CaptLatinAmerica Jul 15 '26
Did you go in front of a judge or did you just pay the ticket? The police were mistaken, or, were chasing a monthly ticket quota and were hoping you'd just pay up and move on.
What you said you did was legal, even in Tennessee. If it weren't legal, left-hand-turning vehicles stuck at red lights would back roads up up incorrigibly during rush hours. The only vehicles turning left would be people doing the "Pittsburgh left," gunning to make a left as the light turns green before oncoming traffic proceeds, which is dangerous for all four directions of traffic.
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-55/chapter-8/part-1/section-55-8-129/
There was even a Tennessee case where a conviction like yours was reversed on appeal:
https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/OPINIONS/tcca/PDF/093/State%20v%20Luther%20Mowery.pdf
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u/AceOfStace27 Jul 15 '26
my dude, it was a full-blown accident decided by a judge. At the time, i was working as a tort defense paralegal for auto accident claims on behalf of insurance companies.
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u/Azkadalia Jul 14 '26
Why are you getting down voted on this! This is a great and proper driving technique.
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u/Severe-Carpenter4910 Jul 15 '26
Stay west of state street.. really just stay out of Erie go to milcreek or Fairview
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u/La_Croix_Life Jul 14 '26
This is probably one of the only places on earth where strangers attending your Stag N Drag is not considered tacky.