5 Things That Scream You’re Not from Rochester

Rochester is a rapidly growing city that has doubled in size since 1980. That means there are a lot of new residents living here in the Med City who weren't necessarily born here. Picking them out is actually easier than it seems, though. Here are five things people who aren't from Rochester do all the time.

5.) They think that just because they're now working at Mayo Clinic, they'll be able to park in one of the downtown ramps. Ha! Good luck with that! Local Rochesterites know that the wait time to secure downtown parking privileges for Mayo employees is now over a decade. While this one doesn't affect me personally, my wife has been a Mayo employee now for 12 years and STILL doesn't get to park in one of the downtown ramps. Couple that with the video that went viral of Mayo employee Ben Thomas, who was downright giddy about finally getting to park downtown, and you'll know someone's not from here if they even mention anything about getting downtown parking while just starting at Mayo.

4) They don't know what 'The Bubble' is. We locals know, of course, that The Bubble is the inflatable dome covering the Rochester Regional Sports located out at Rochester Community and Technical College. It goes up in November and is taken down again in April. It's the largest temporary dome in the state of Minnesota, and was funded by the city of Rochester and RCTC for usage by all people in the area. 'The Bubble' is open for reservations from 5 a.m. - 1:30 a.m. seven days a week.

3) They pronounce Mayor Brede's name as 'Breed'. If you've lived in Rochester for any length of time during Ardell Brede's term as mayor, you know the good mayor pronounces his name as 'Brady' -- like the New England quarterback or the way the Brady kids on TV used to do. If you hear someone ask for 'Mayor Breed,' you know they're not from here.

2) They think the speed limit along Highway 52 (between 55th St. and just south of Mayowood Road) is 65 miles an hour. If you see the State Patrol or a Rochester police car giving someone a ticket for cruising along that stretch at nearly 70 miles an hour, chances are, they're not from here -- because all of us locals know the limit mysteriously drops down 5 miles an hour during this stretch. (Even though we mostly tend to creep up on that 70 miles an hour speed, too -- and hope we don't get caught...)

1) They pronounce Rochester as 'ROCK-chester.' I've heard many people not from here try to pronounce our city's name this way, despite the fact that the other Rochester, the one in New York (the one for which our city is named), pronounces it the same way we do. Heck, our downtown tourism slogan, "Rah-Rah-Rochester!" even lends a clue as to how our city's name is correctly pronounced. So if you overhear someone clumsily say 'ROCK-chester,' you can bet your bottom dollar they're not from here.