Is a 212 area code really a big deal?? (New York, Nassau: apartment, home)

[Rachael84]

On the topic of area codes, I'm glad I'm going back to a 516 area code when I move to Nassau County. I lived in Suffolk county growing up, and we had to change from 516 to 631 about 10 years ago. We were kind of annoyed. Now I'll be getting it back again

[Fred314X]

When the phone company first proposed to remove the 212 area code from all five boroughs, there were quite a few New Yorkers who got upset (I was not a member of that club!) By now, I don't think too many natives mind--although I have a feeling that people moving to the city are still influenced by the area code, and some will definitely go so far as to move to Manhattan, no matter how much they pay and how small a space they get, just to have that 212 code. As a son of Brooklyn, I say, nonsense!

[anders]

Originally Posted by Fred314X

When the phone company first proposed to remove the 212 area code from all five boroughs, there were quite a few New Yorkers who got upset

Quite a few got upset when the phone company went all-numeric, and got rid of spelled-out exchange names.

For eons (and as in most places) all NYC phone numbers had a "name" designation: Butterfield 1-1234, Murray Hill 1-1234 -- plus Beekman, Gramercy, Pennsylvania, Chelsea ... each neighborhood had its own exchange name. In listings, it was spelled out in full, though people just dialed the first two letters.

Then the phone company trimmed listings back to letters only -- BU (or MU, BE, GR, PE, CH, etc.)-1-1234. People didn't object, since the neighborhood-name designation was still evident to those who knew, or cared.

But the phone company gradually eliminated these names (letters), and was all-numeric by the '70s. That made many people _really_ irate, since it killed off their perceived-as-statusy "neighborhood" exchange names. However, they usually framed their gripes in less moronic terms: It was creeping depersonalization, inconvenient, a tragic dismissal of NYC's venerable Telephone History -- the usual rubbish.

That's now paleozoic-era history, and no one notices, or cares about, phone exchanges ... which is exactly what's happening with area codes.

[NYC Housewife]

Originally Posted by latikeriii

Hello,

Well i've been in the NYC area for a week now and have been successful in landing a few interviews already. I still have a Texas area code but I added another line for less than $20 per month and ended up getting a 212 area code(cell phone) and will eventually phase out my Texas phone number. Well, I gave a few friends my phone number here in NYC and they are like "WOW", how did you get a 212 number. I guess I got lucky but its not a big deal for me, really only for job hunting. I know there are a multitude of area codes in this area but apparently, "212" is a status symbol because everyone is making a big deal out of it. I could care less, as long as it's local.

Anyways, would having a local area code offer any advantage to job hunting and landing interviews?

Thanks

Woman at bar: "Hi. Are you a 212 or a 718"
Man: "I am a 718"
Woman: Goodbye!

LOL.

I have actually heard of and experienced the 212/718 discrimination before, as silly as it sounds.
One of my friends ACUTALLY used that line above. That is a true story as outlandish as it sounds.

A 212 was a status symbol, and if you "were a 718" it was frowned upon. Stupid,right?

The "oh you don't live in Manhattan" didn't work well in the dating scene when I was younger.

Now, yes, I am a Manhattan person...

Just thought I might get a fefw chuckles out of that one!

[Biskit]

212 is definitely a big deal. I don't take anyone with a 646 or 347 area code seriously, they're mostly just Midwest transplants. 917 gets a bit more respect. Don't even mention 201, 516 or 631 unless you're calling a roofing company. I have a 213 area code because I got my phone in LA. It causes so much confusion when I dial dominoes locally. I love it.

[CamillaB]

Originally Posted by bluedog2

I agree with Rachael.It used to be a big deal because it meant you lived in Manhattan.That was before cell phones.Now anyone can get a 212 cell number. I have had one since I got my first cell phone,when I lived in Brooklyn. I didn't ask for it either.Now I live in The Bronx and still have the same number.
I have a lot of friends who have 212 cell numbers as well. Anyone who thinks it is a big deal is a little behind the times.

Hahaha that's funny, thinking a 212 is somehow "special." I grew up in NY and I suppose most people are ignorant of the fact that 212 didn't always mean "Manhattan." I had a 212 in the Bronx when Queens et al had switched to 718. I guess I didn't know I was somehow better than all of the other "lesser" boroughs because of those 3 special snowflake numbers.

This status crap is really going too far.

[CamillaB]

Originally Posted by SeventhFloor

i remember when the bronx was 212 as well.

Preach it, brother! give some love to da Bronx. (the only borough connected to the mainland USA.)

[SeventhFloor]

Originally Posted by CamillaB

Preach it, brother! give some love to da Bronx. (the only borough connected to the mainland USA.)

yeah my earliest memories were 174th & university in sedgewick projects in the 80s...playing coleco vision on a black n white tv, jumping on a mattress, and throwing grapes out the 10th floor window lol.

[UpstaterInBklyn]

Originally Posted by Biskit

212 is definitely a big deal. I don't take anyone with a 646 or 347 area code seriously, they're mostly just Midwest transplants. 917 gets a bit more respect. Don't even mention 201, 516 or 631 unless you're calling a roofing company. I have a 213 area code because I got my phone in LA. It causes so much confusion when I dial dominoes locally. I love it.

A NYC native ordering pizza from Domino's?? Seems like your taste for pizza comes straight outta Michigan

I'm glad the 917 area code on my cellphone has your respect, since I am a "Transplant".

[anders]

Originally Posted by Biskit

212 is definitely a big deal. I don't take anyone with a 646 or 347 area code seriously, they're mostly just Midwest transplants. 917 gets a bit more respect.

Except that 212 is now a cell code. I know at least 12 people who have a 212 cell code, but never lived in Manhattan, have always been in the boroughs, and got 212 via potluck.

I also know a ton of lifelong or longtime Manhattanites (I mean: _very_ venerably longtime) with 646, and, yes, even 347 ... plus an even split between Brooklynites/Manhattanites with 917.
And they don't care.

Most people know this is happening. It's hard to miss, when so many people's area codes don't correspond to old area-code geography (or even current location) ... or when someone has multiple phones, with multiple area codes, in the same location.