Is a 212 area code really a big deal?? (live in, store)

[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

[Rachael84]

Not really. With cell phones nowadays, there are probably like 20 different area codes that cell phone companies give you here in NYC. No one can really keep track of the area codes in the metro area anymore. Everyone knows 212 and 718, but they aren't a big deal. Maybe it is in other areas of the country though, I don't know.

[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.

[dixiecupdrinking]

Wasn't there a Seinfeld episode about stealing some dead person's 212 number because they were so hard to get? Maybe that's what your friends are thinking of.

Found it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Maid_(Seinfeld_episode)

[anders]

It's not a big deal.
It was a big deal in lower-tech days, when fewer people had cell phones and when there was only one Manhattan-specific landline area code.
But 10+ years ago, Manhattan added a second landline code, and then mobile providers piled on with a surfeit of area codes. (The 212 cachet was fading even then, since people could -- and still can -- mask their non-Manhattan location by using answering services and bounce lines.)

If the OP's friends are longtime NYers, some of their "wow!" might be because a 212 number is available at all: The original reason for adding a second landline code was that phone demand was exceeding 212's capacity.

ALSO: In the Early Cellphone Era, 917 was the major default area code for Manhattan cell phones (kind of a 212-equivalent), though it was available elsewhere. Brooklyn and Queens cell-users were more likely to get 718 -- same as the landline code -- or some "new" cell code. Therefore, a lot of Bk/Qns business-types worked to swap their 718 cell code for a 917.

But these days, none of it matters. Area codes don't really "mean" anything ... except that if people don't recognize an area code, and must call you back, they check to make sure it's not some offshore-ripoff or junk-telemarketer number.

[SeventhFloor]

i remember when the bronx was 212 as well.

[bluedog2]

This is so funny.When I got my cell phone,the guy at the cell store asked me if I wanted a 212 area code.I said no,it didn't matter.He then actually talked me into it saying "oh,you might as well" ,etc. I then asked him if a lot of people knew about the 212 cell numbers and if they came in requesting it.
He started laughing and said " ya,but I never give one to anyone who asks.I tell them that there are none available right now or something like that.I can't stand people who try to insist on a 212 number so I don't give it to them."
I guess we all have to find fun in our jobs somehow.

[SeventhFloor]

Originally Posted by bluedog2

This is so funny.When I got my cell phone,the guy at the cell store asked me if I wanted a 212 area code.I said no,it didn't matter.He then actually talked me into it saying "oh,you might as well" ,etc. I then asked him if a lot of people knew about the 212 cell numbers and if they came in requesting it.
He started laughing and said " ya,but I never give one to anyone who asks.I tell them that there are none available right now or something like that.I can't stand people who try to insist on a 212 number so I don't give it to them."
I guess we all have to find fun in our jobs somehow.

come to think of it a girl thats works with me has a verizon cell phone and she has a 212 area code...i honestly didnt know it was that big of a deal.....thats how u know how great a city nyc is, people are even starving for our area codes!

[mattjd]

I have a 212 cell phone number also. You can get them all over craigslist and ebay real cheap if you really want one. They aren't hard to find.

[bluedog2]

Originally Posted by mattjd

I have a 212 cell phone number also. You can get them all over craigslist and ebay real cheap if you really want one. They aren't hard to find.

Why would you pay anything for one ? All you have to do is ask for one from the cell provider... as long as you don't ask for one from the guy who gave me mine because,as I said ,he won't give you one if you ask,only if you don't ask.

That's a nice scam,selling something that is free.Anyone who would pay for it deserves to be scammed.