7 Ways We Can Immediately Tell Someone is Not from Boise

The secret's out about how beautiful the Gem State really is, so it's no surprise that Boise's become the fastest growing city in America. 

Boise's the first "big city" I moved to after college. Being from Northeast Ohio, which is pretty notorious for not having any tell tale signs of an accent, I thought I could just blend into the crowd. I was wrong, very wrong.  Eight years later, I can tell how people picked me out as the "new girl in town" almost immediately and now have the same type of "not from Idaho" radar.  Want to see if your radar's tuned-in? Check out the 7 ways we can immediately tell someone is not from Boise!

1) They can't seem to drop the letter "Z" from their vocabulary.

Say it all with me...we live in Boy-See. Not Boy-Zee! When I accepted my first job in the Treasure Valley, someone told me that I better spend a lot of time practicing saying the name of the city I was moving to. Say Boise with a "Z" sound in it and you're going to draw a couple of raised eyed brows from natives. Likewise, these are the same people that think Kuna's pronounced "Coon-Na."

2) They still dip their fries in ketchup.

Even though Fry Sauce may not have originated in Idaho (Arctic Circle claims to have created it in Utah,) in these here parts, it's the condiment that reigns supreme over all other condiments.  Seriously, when was the last time you went to a restaurant that serves fries and the server didn't ask you if you wanted fry sauce to dip them in. No one asks if you want ranch or ketchup for those fries in Idaho.

3) They know how to merge correctly.

Sorry Boise natives, you're notorious for being too polite to merge correctly and that's probably why the connector and Flying Y are always an absolute disaster. According to an online insurance comparison website called QuoteWizard, Idaho driers are also the ninth worst drivers in the country.

4) They're terrified to eat an ice cream potato.

I mean, we can't blame you.  It really does look EXACTLY like a baked version of Idaho's most famous tuber but anyone who's from Boise knows Chef Lou's famous creation is indeed ice cream. The ice cream is rolled in cocoa and cut open to look like a potato.  Add some whipped cream for sour cream and top it off with some crushed Oreos for "chives" and you've got the best damn dessert in the entire Gem State.

5) They drink everyday domestic beers.

PBR. Bud Lite. Coors Lite. Miller Lite.  Order one of those when you're looking for an easy drinking beer and people from Boise will automatically know you're an outsider.  With a booming craft beer scene, you opt for a local beer here! Opt for a Lucky Peak Pilsner from Sockeye Brewing, Spoon Tounge from Highlands Hollow or North Fork Lager from Payette Brewing Company.

6) They don't giggle when mention you Nickleback.

Come on, everyone remembers that now infamous concert preview The Boise Weekly ran in 2012.  It famously opened with "You can spend $45 to go see Nickelback this week. Or you could buy 45 hammers from the dollar store, hang them from the ceiling at eye level and spend an evening banging the demons out of your dome" before going on to list a whole lot of other things $45 could buy you that were a lot more interesting than the Canadian rockers.

7) They think a Treefort is something you build in the backyard.

Eh...not so much.  Treefort is actually a huge music festival that's expanded to include everything from live music and beer tasting to tech talks and yoga. It attracts over 18,000 people to Downtown Boise every March.