Ocean Lover
bean
Ok I'll cancel the barbershop quartet and flying monkeys. I'll put my skywriting broom away. Just when I had mastered the "Welcome to SoWal Dargs" in cursive.
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What defines a "local" and does it really matter?
- Thread starter Kimmifunn
- Start date
Cil
Beach Fanatic
In 1957, my grandma bought a house on Nantucket.
Until the day she died in 1992, she was always considered an off-islander.
I never have to worry about stuff like this; my life has been one long road trip and wherever I live, I never seem to have the correct accent.
I just brazen it out. ;-)
Beachlover2
Beach Fanatic
The only time it matters to me is when I get the local discount on the bar or restaurant bill:clap_1:
also well put!!! :clap_1:
kathydwells
Darlene is my middle name, not my nickname
I have been a "local" for one week out of 52 for the past 8 years!!!! 
Cheering472
SoWal Insider
I have been a "local" for one week out of 52 for the past 8 years!!!!
ME TOO! I must own something by now for all the money I've spent.
beachmouse
Beach Fanatic
It's like smut; you know it when you see it.
There's the paperwork side of it- got a driver's license that has Walton/Bay/Okaloosa/Holmes/Santa Rosa on it or a home with a homestead exemption on it? You're pretty much a local. Got a Sunpass or an Eglin rec permit? You're getting close.
Part of it is experiences- You've learned how to either evacuate or hunker down, and have learned the sometimes subtle difference between the storms you buy bottled water for and the storms you buy beer for. You've lovingly mulched and wrapped the tender perennials in your garden when we've gotten one of those January cold snaps where the thermometer hits 28F. You've gone to high school football games, and have an opinion on the Freeport v. South Walton Big Game. And you've watched the traffic heading north on the bridge on Labor Day and felt a vague sense of relief that the traffic and congestion was going to settle down to manageable levels until spring break.
Part of it is how you interact with the community- A job gets you a lot of points there. Volunteer work gets you a lot of points too. The snowbirds who come down and volunteer to tutor in local elementary schools get honorary local status. Same goes for the people who work coastal clean up day, or work water stops for the charity runs. Also bonus points for joining a church or civic group, or selling/buying/donating something to sell for local school or charity fundraisers.
There's the paperwork side of it- got a driver's license that has Walton/Bay/Okaloosa/Holmes/Santa Rosa on it or a home with a homestead exemption on it? You're pretty much a local. Got a Sunpass or an Eglin rec permit? You're getting close.
Part of it is experiences- You've learned how to either evacuate or hunker down, and have learned the sometimes subtle difference between the storms you buy bottled water for and the storms you buy beer for. You've lovingly mulched and wrapped the tender perennials in your garden when we've gotten one of those January cold snaps where the thermometer hits 28F. You've gone to high school football games, and have an opinion on the Freeport v. South Walton Big Game. And you've watched the traffic heading north on the bridge on Labor Day and felt a vague sense of relief that the traffic and congestion was going to settle down to manageable levels until spring break.
Part of it is how you interact with the community- A job gets you a lot of points there. Volunteer work gets you a lot of points too. The snowbirds who come down and volunteer to tutor in local elementary schools get honorary local status. Same goes for the people who work coastal clean up day, or work water stops for the charity runs. Also bonus points for joining a church or civic group, or selling/buying/donating something to sell for local school or charity fundraisers.
Miss Kitty
Meow
Molly is the only local in my family...she has the tags to prove it!!! 
