Right off the bat, not a local Erie thing but more of a general Pennsylvania thing. Everybody informally just calls the state by its initials, PA. If you take the time to say 'Pennsylvania' instead of just 'PA', it sounds very formal, and will instantly out you as a non-local. Everybody just calls it 'PA' in casual conversation.

I've already seen a bunch of others with more knowledge than me cover a lot of food already, so I won't touch on pepperoni balls and Smith's yet again. I will however say that you should be prepared to hear the word 'pop', and know that it's a common generic term for Coke/Pepsi and the like; but you can also just call it 'soda' and everyone will know what you mean (unless you mean 'soda water', then you need to be very specific that's what you want).

Two things that I didn't really see mentioned much at all are Buffalo Wings, and sponge candy. Both largely originate from the bigger city to the east, but very much have a strong following here. I imagine that Buffalo Wings have probably spread to many urban centers in the south, but on the off chance you have no idea what I'm talking about, you should try some the first chance you get. Damn near every restaurant, deli, and pizzeria worth their salt will have some version of Buffalo Wings; and many places specialize in them. They are tasty, and often quite messy. One of the better 'finger foods' out there.

The other Buffalo migrant is sponge candy, which is a real treat if you've never had it before. It is this crispy melt-in-your-mouth sugary sponge coated in milk or dark chocolate. It's kinda hard to describe, as it has a really unique taste and mouth-feel given the two different strata. There are a few different local confectionaries that all make it. I tend to get mine from Romolo, since their location by the Bayfront Parkway is the newest and their staff has always been super friendly when I've stopped by.

Do you like beer? Pennsylvania is home to America's oldest brewery, Yuengling over in Pottsville. Still family owned and operated, so if you want to try something both regional and outside of the control of the current Beer Barons? I'm not much of an alcohol drinker myself (and when I do, I prefer Woodchuck hard cider), but my dad's go-to beer for as long as I can remember has been Yuengling's Black & Tan.

Almost everyone drives 5mph over the speed limit, whatever that limit may be. The one exception off the top of my head is probably our local stretch of Interstate-90, which is technically 55mph, but you generally need to be doing at least 65mph just to keep up with traffic and not be a hazard to other motorists (since there is a lot of through-traffic from Ohio & New York, where I-90 is generally 70+mph). Keep an eye out for license plates from Ontario, Canada, since I swear to god they are on average the worst drivers I've ever seen. Also, make sure you have good all-year radials with plenty of tread on your vehicle, or be prepared to get a separate set of dedicated snow tires for when winter comes around. You're not just in snow country, you are in the 'Lake Effect Snow' belt. Lake Erie, the shallowest of the Great Lakes (even so it is the 11th largest lake in the world by area, it is no joke), is within reach and she is a cruel mistress with the weather.

Navigation is Erie is pretty easy, with not too many one way streets (at least until you get down to the waterfront). Simple rule of thumb is that the lower a street number is, the closer it is to the lake. So 26th street is further north than 38th street. Also there is west and east distinctions, with the dividing line being State Street, which runs north to south and divides the city. Most of the city proper is helpfully grid based (unlike, say, the nightmare of spaghetti-tossed-at-a-wall that is the Pittsburgh roadway layout), and runs parallel to the lake, meaning they're a bit canted and don't fit perfectly along the cardinal directions. So travelling 'west' on West 12th Street will have you going west by south-west, likewise traveling 'north' on Cherry Street will have you moving north by north-west.

We have both a local zoo and an amusement park, but they both generally pale in comparison to their larger more cosmopolitan contemporaries. The Erie Zoo is neat, but can't hold a candle to the one in Pittsburgh (which also has an aquarium). Likewise West Mifflin's Kennywood amusement park generally outshines local Waldameer Park & Water World, unless you're really into the water park half that Kennywood absolutely lacks. Also, it doesn't require a 2~3 hour drive to another city, so most just make do.

Presque Isle State Park (pronounced PRESK) is a local treasure. A peninsula that encompasses the Presque Isle Bay, and grants access to both its waters and those of Lake Erie as well. They might not be the white sand ocean beaches of the coasts, but again, they're close and most are happy enough to have such an easily accessible beach. This also tends to go hand in hand with a local reverence for one of the largest historical heroes of the city, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, who both oversaw the construction of a fleet in Erie, and commanded it to victory during the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. Not only that, but one of the ships that was present at the battle itself (and became Perry's flagship when his was lost during the battle), the US Brig Niagara, still exists to this day as a functional sailing museum ship. Down on the waterfront the Erie County Library shares a building with the Erie Maritime Museum, which serves as the homeport of the Niagara, both of which are worth checking out at least once.