What does it mean to be an “insider,” exactly? Does it mean getting invited to fancy $500-a-plate dinners at River Oaks oil estates? Having Mayor Sylvester Turner’s personal cell phone on speed dial? Well, sure, that’s being an insider in one sense, but there’s so much more to it than who you know. In Houston, it’s also what you know.

Being an insider means intimately and innately understanding when to wave in traffic and why that winding body of water is called a bayou, not a creek or a river. It means having a back pocket full of talking points the next time someone brings up the Astrodome and knowing how to entertain yourself—and your friends, family or visitors—for free.

It also means taking the time to learn those secrets Houston likes to keep to itself: where to find the hidden entrance to that one bar, the fastest DPS office, the quickest place to park at the Galleria, the best swimming hole no one’s ever heard of, the off-menu items even the foodies don’t know. It means pointing out oft-overlooked pockets of the city as you hurtle onto the entrance ramp to Spur 527, cruise down Wayside Drive, or head up the steps to Sundance Cinemas at Bayou Place.

Being an insider means that you don’t just live in this city—you are part of this city, a city you know as well as your own reflection. And if you don’t feel that well acquainted with Houston yet, well, we’re about to bring you up to speed.