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In Portland itself, no one asks you where you went to high school, it's always "Where are you from?" Though if you hang out in the suburbs, natives will ask you directly, sometimes "Where'd you go to high school."
Could it be a blue collar vs white collar type thing? Most of the circles I hang out with are college educated and when out and about we meet college educated persons and the subject of high school never comes.
doesn't seem to be. most of my friends have bachelor's, graduate degrees, many have lived overseas, etc (ie people with perspective), but the high school question still comes up. more than half of the people in my section have graduate degrees and yet i know where our boss and boss's boss went to high school. as a non-native, i think it is all very interesting. i ask the question myself. people here really expect you to know the geography of the place (50+ city neighborhoods plus all the burbs). there is a LOT of memory in this city
It's funny I came across this thread because someone asked me just today. It's not a question I typically get from people who aren't likely to have gone to the same school, though. Plus, I think the guy asking me today was just trying to find out in a roundabout way if I went to a school for the blind or if I was mainstreamed. So in terms whether it's a cultural custom to ask in the D.C. area, I would say no.
Nope. In the Washington, D.C. area it's all about "Where do you work?" "What do you do for a living?" and "Where do you live?"
Nobody ever asks or cares about what high school you went to. They very likely wouldn't know anyway because there are so many transplants from everywhere. Sometimes, people ask about what college or university you got your degree from. But even that is not all that common in everyday conversation.
This is more likely among college students (what university they are currently attending) at social events that invite more than one school.
Location: Cleveland bound with MPLS in the rear-view
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Originally Posted by nimchimpsky
It's funny I came across this thread because someone asked me just today. It's not a question I typically get from people who aren't likely to have gone to the same school, though. Plus, I think the guy asking me today was just trying to find out in a roundabout way if I went to a school for the blind or if I was mainstreamed. So in terms whether it's a cultural custom to ask in the D.C. area, I would say no.
Funny you say this.....I remember once using this phrase as a "move" to talk to a girl (wasn't the smoothest smooth-talker). I figured that was a legit reason to kinda stare at her interestingly and approach her to talk. It turned out she did NOT go to my high school though. Probably because I was from MN and we were in class at Ohio State University.... Needless-to-say the conversation didn't go too far!
This is a very common question where I'm from, particularly at work, where it's typically the first question asked about a new person. My job is very blue collar and most of my coworkers never went to college, so they seem to think a person's high school says a lot about their history, social standing and upbringing. According to their interpretation, I went to the liberal, gay, rich kid school, ha!
This is fairly common at UGA. It's basically become a University subsidized by poor lottery ticket purchasers for middle to upper class kids from metro Atlanta. So here, it's fairly common as most kids are from Metro Atlanta and it's a subtle way of gauging someone lifestyle.
If you say you're from Riverdale HS, Morrow HS or South Dekalb for instance, it means you're black. You grew up in a black area and god love you for getting the hell out of those ghetto hellholes. Not saying I agree with this, but it's the perception.
If you say you're from Chattahoochee HS, North Springs HS, Northview HS or Walton HS, it means you grew up in the Northern suburbs. So you probably aren't paying for college yourself, drive an exorbitantly expensive car and have pledged a sorority or a fraternity
If you say you went to Lovett, Marist or Westminster, it means you probably grew up in Buckhead or Sandy Springs in a mansion and have no concept of reality. You'll probably major in communications or history and then fall back on your parents' money.
If you say you went to Norcross HS, Parkview HS or Duluth HS, it means you grew up in a basic middle class suburb that rapidly diversified and interacted with people who spoke about 100 different languages. So therefore you're multicultural and will probably join an Asian fraternity even though you're not Asian.
If you say you went to Druid Hills HS, Chamblee HS or Lakeside HS, it means you're probably a hippie raised by parents who work for NPR, the ACLU or maybe teach at Emory. And your parents might be a same sex couple.
If you say you went to East Paulding HS, North Forsyth HS, Newnan HS or Grayson HS, it means you're a redneck who grew up on the edges of civilization. Inner city and inner suburban kids probably won't have any idea where you grew up even though it might be 30 minutes away from them. You'll probably be an Ag major.
Again, these are just stereotypes. And this will mean nothing to people who are from elsewhere, but I think the metro Atlanta people get what I'm saying.
Not in the Hartford or Springfield metros. I actually haven't really seen that question asked really ever in New England unless it was between people from the same town or something and it was like "wow we're from the same area?". Where you went to High School doesn't really matter at all.
People will ask what college you go to though. In my experience though that's between me and other students or from people where I tell them I'm a student in a conversation, it doesn't seem to just come up otherwise.
Never in all the years I've lived here have I heard that question casually asked- unless well into delving into the personal history of someone.
I can't think of a more irrevelant question- I guess if I just graduated that might come up, but that was 30 years ago.
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Needless-to-say the conversation didn't go too far!
