When you live in Massachusetts for long enough, you tend to acquire certain habits that are really tough to unlearn. Whether it’s our snacking tendencies or the way we react to the weather, we’re a quirky bunch. Here are some Bay State addictions that are hard to break.

1. Keeping a can of or two of these around for a quick side dish.
Bush's Baked Beans
There’s really no substitute.
2. Overestimating the temperature in spring.
Flickr/Lisa Moffatt
We here in Massachusetts are eternally optimistic that maybe, just maybe, it will be warm enough to wear shorts in late March. "In like a lion, out like a lamb," right? Wrong. It’s freezing here until it’s suddenly 70 degrees in May.
3. But also layering to the extreme in winter.
Flickr/Hernán Piñera
Walking out to your mailbox? Better pull on the snow boots, ski pants, and full-length parka. You never know if a blizzard will strike on your way back to the house. Weather in Massachusetts can be so unpredictable that it makes sense to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
4. Giving directions based on the locations of Dunkin’ Donuts and Stop & Shops.
Flickr/Mike Mozart
"You just go straight through the lights and take a right at Dunks. Keep going until you see Stop & Shop and don’t turn left until you see Dunks again."
5. Calling a rotary a rotary and not a "roundabout," whatever that is.
Flickr/MIT Libraries
Your GPS might tell you to take the second exit at the traffic circle, but we Bay Staters will never call that cyclone of cars anything but a rotary.

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6. Pulling over for fried seafood.
Flickr/Putneypics
If you think it’s weird to patiently wait in line for a box of crispy clams or golden fish served from an open-air shack on the side of the road, you’re not a true Massachusetts native. We don’t think twice about making a pit stop for seafood in the summer.
7. Being sarcastic.
Flickr/Mike Mozart
There’s something about living in New England that makes sarcasm run in your veins. Most of it is good-natured, but we can definitely cut you down with a few well-aimed barbs, too.
8. Being unwavering sports fans.
Flickr/Patrick
We don't lose faith after a few losses. Or a few decades of losses.
9. Sending the kids outside to play.
Flickr/Tim Sackton
With so much of Massachusetts being rolling countryside, sandy beaches, and shady forest, we don’t see any reason to keep the kids cooped up inside.
10. Seizing every opportunity to swim.
Flickr/|vv@ldzen|
You can take us out of the water, but you can’t take… actually, it’s pretty hard to get us out of the water in the first place. We’ll take any chance we get to head to the shore, whether that’s the glittering coast of Cape Cod or a pebbly lake beach in the Berkshires.

There’s so much about living in Massachusetts that really gets under your skin in a good way. If you liked this, check out these foolproof ways to spot an imposter in Massachusetts.

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