"The accents and dialects up there, PA, NY, NJ, MA, etc..., drive me bonkers."
Accent? What accent?
When I lived in California my co workers knew I was from the PA Dutch part of PA by my accent, they said. I never realized i had an accent until then.
It's the "Philwy","New Joysey" and "Baastin" accents that drive me nuts.