You know you've lived in Northern Virginia too long when...

[LatvianAmber]

1. Speed limits are just suggestions.

2. You take a major highway to get anywhere (95, 66,28, etc).

3. You constantly complain about there being nothing to do, even though
you are right next to DC.

4. You have at least 2 friends who have no idea what their parents do
because its "top secret" government work.

5. 50% of your senior class went to either Mason, JMU, Tech, Radford,
or UVA.

6. When people ask where you're from, you tell them DC because it's
easier to explain.

7. You've never told someone you're from Virginia without putting
"northern" in front of it.

8. You dread going to the DMV for anything.

9. It's not actually tailgating unless your bumper is touching the car
in front of you.

10. A yellow light means at least 5 more cars can get through.

11. A red light means 2 more can.

12. It takes you 30 minutes to drive 10 miles.

13. Your local news is national news.

14. If you hear the word "sniper" one more time you're going to slap
someone.

15. You actually know what the black boxes at stoplights are for.

16. You drive at least 30 miles a day to get to work.

17. You do your Christmas shopping online b/c the shopping malls are
like parking lots.

18. Despite the fact that Virginia fought for the south in the Civil
War, you are NOT, under ANY circumstances, a "southerner."

19. You know that each high school in the region had it's own
corresponding McDonald's.

20. You know at least 2 people who drive a Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, etc.

21. The cars in the local high school's student parking lot are worth
3x those in the teacher parking lot.

22. You are amused by visiting relatives who are actually excited to
see Washington DC.

23. You are amazed when you go out of town and the people at McDonalds
speak English.

24. You can cross 4 lanes of traffic in under 30 seconds.

25. There are at least 3 malls within 20 minutes of your house.

26. There are at least 6 Starbucks within 20 minutes of your house.

27. You or someone in your family has a Smart Tag.

28. You remember the Air and Space museum fondly from school field
trips to DC.

29. When traveling, you have your choice of 3 airports.

30. You don't actually like the Redskins/Wizards (except when Jordan
was playing).

31. An inch of snow and you miss 3 days of work.

32. All the potholes just add a little excitement to your driving
experience.

33. Stop signs mean slow down a little, but only if you feel like it.

34. A rich white kid driving a BMW while blasting rap music is a common
occurrence.

35. You call things "ghetto" even though in most of the rest of the
country it'd be high class.

36. You don't have enough room on your home lot to build a garage.

37. You know where to find Midgetville.

38. When you were driving on the beltway at 2:13 am on a Tuesday there
was still traffic.

39. Crown Victoria = undercover cop or Teresa Smoot.

40. A slow driver is someone who isn't going at least 10mph over the
speed limit.

41. You understand the meaning of "If you don't get it, you don't get
it."

42. Subway is a fast food place. The transportation system is known as
Metro, and only Metro.

43. You've taken a wrong turn somewhere late at night and ended up in a
bad part of DC.

44. Most of Loudon County is the "middle of nowhere."

45. They just tore down the old farm house across the street and put 12
new houses in its place.

46. Someone has honked at you because you didn't peal out the second
the light turned green.

47. You've honked at someone because they didn't peal out the second
the light turned green.

48. Two words: rush hour.

49. For the cost of your house, you could own a small town in Iowa.

50. Helicopters, F-15s, and airplanes flying above your neighborhood is
a normal occurrence.

51. If you stay on the same road long enough, it will eventually have 3
different names.