12 Things You Only Understand If You Grew Up In Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh North Carolina is known for a lot of things, but only those native to the city will relate to this list of 12 things you only understand if you grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Cook-out at an ungodly hour

There is nothing better than southern comfort fast food late at night, especially when the place doesn’t close until 3 AM – because there is no wrong time to get a shake and fries.

North Hills

No better way to spend the weekend than running around North Hills with your friends -between the Target, Starbucks, Ben & Jerry’s, Omega Sports, Five Guys and movie theater, what more can you want as an energetic young teenager?

Defy Gravity in middle school

After it opened in Durham then spread to Raleigh, setting foot in that trampoline paradise for the first time was pretty much a rite of passage in middle school, and if you didn’t take a picture documenting your visit, did you even go?

Basically living on Falls of Neuse and Six Forks road

Almost everywhere in Raleigh required driving on either Falls or Six Forks, and usually you passed a couple of your friends driving on those roads while en route.

“Snow days”

Ah, the few days in January/February where a hint of snow causes all schools to cancel in a panic. Bonus points when there is actual snow, because that usually results in a few extra days off.

Wrightsville beach vs. Atlantic beach

With both beaches around 3 hours away from home, it was always interesting to see who would go to WB and AB come 3-day weekends. Some were loyal to one beach, others would tag along to either with whoever invited them.

Extreme politeness

Around here, it’s almost considered rude not to say “Hi! How are you” to passing strangers – safe to say everyone gained conversation skills because people are so friendly and up for small talk.

Being in the heart of the UNC/Duke rivalry

Living 30-40 minutes away from each school pretty much forced you to choose a side, even if you don’t particularly care about basketball. Each year, when the two faced off, you could always count on 90% of Raleigh being glued to CBS or ESPN. And the fall-out at school after one team won was always interesting and entertaining.

Walnut Creek concerts in the summer

Country concerts at Walnut Creek were the place to be on summer nights. Even if you didn’t get the Mega pass, it was pretty easy to score a ticket and find friends to go with – and meet every high schooler in Raleigh ever in the GA lawn.

ITB/OTB rivalry

Somehow a beltline managed to divide Raleigh into two teams – those who were inside the beltline, and those who were outside it. Growing up, it was impossible to avoid a spat every now and then over which side is superior – as a biased North Raleigh inhabitant, OTB is better. 😉

Armadillo Grill

No matter where you lived in Raleigh, there’s no way you haven’t heard of and/or grubbed hard at Dillo. Home to some delicious chips, queso, guac and tacos, this place attracts people of every age.

Going crazy when “Wagon Wheel” was played

It’s pretty hard to resist belting out the lyrics to this song, especially during the line “and if I die in Raleigh, at least I will die free”. Raleigh pride, always! If you grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, you gotta love this shout out.