If you say you're "from Seattle" do you mean

[wannabeaTexan]

Originally Posted by Fallingwaters

Right on. But, if you're talking about where you live to someone with no clue about the local geography, do you still say Renton or do you just give up and say Seattle?

This thread's definitely more fun than that gripe session about why Seattle's too expensive for people who don't earn much money. That's like saying size 9 shoes hurt if you have size 12 feet.

In that case, I just say Seattle or a little south of Seattle.

[wannabeaTexan]

Originally Posted by scirocco22

Even when I was a kid, I remember telling others that I was from Seattle and they barely knew where that was. Back then, a lot of folks from other parts of the country thought Seattle was in the wilderness somewhere ...not unlike some people picture Alaska as being.

This is funny. I had a friend in Jr. High that told me she had relatives in NY or somewhere like that and they asked her "How's the hunting up there?" to make conversation.

[Woof]

Originally Posted by Fallingwaters

Seattle itself or one of its suburbs?

If a suburb and you're not from Washington, do you think you pronounce its name correctly?

I lucked out with Woodinville. It's not a big leap of discernment to figure that one out.

Places that I'm not sure about: Mukilteo (Muck-ill-tee-oh?), Puyallup (pee-whallop?), Sammamish (sam-am-is? nah, that's too obvious), Issaquah (I pronounce it like it's spelled).

Muck ill tee' oh

Izz' uh kwah (this one is often mispronounced, but I have heard Iss' uh kwah also - generally from people living in Seattle)

Are you sure you're pronouncing Woodinville correctly?

[Fallingwaters]

Originally Posted by Woof

Muck ill tee' oh

Izz' uh kwah (this one is often mispronounced, but I have heard Iss' uh kwah also - generally from people living in Seattle)

Are you sure you're pronouncing Woodinville correctly?

I don't know, honestly. Pronounce it like it's spelled, sounds like wooden-ville.

Let me guess, it's whoo-den-vill or woh-dun-vill or something.

[woodinvilleguy]

Woodinville is usualy pronounced correctly but commonly misspelled as woodenville. The name comes from the Woodin family that settled the area.

[Fallingwaters]

Originally Posted by woodinvilleguy

Woodinville is usualy pronounced correctly but commonly misspelled as woodenville. The name comes from the Woodin family that settled the area.

Well, I'd have felt pretty dumb if I'd been mispronouncing Woodinville or Snohomish.

Yeah, isn't Bothell named after the family that settled that area? I've found it pretty common all over the country to see smaller towns (or the ones that started small) named after the family that once owned most of the acreage the town was eventually parceled off and built on.

A cool thing about Seattle's 'burbs that Woodinville's a good example of is that, even about 12-15 miles from the city, it still looks pretty rural. Not a lot of urban sprawl.

[swsha4]

Originally Posted by Fallingwaters

A cool thing about Seattle's 'burbs that Woodinville's a good example of is that, even about 12-15 miles from the city, it still looks pretty rural. Not a lot of urban sprawl.

You've hit on, to me, one of the most unique qualities of Seattle. You can be up in the mountains and in the woods in just a 20 minute drive! This is a BIG plus for Seattle IMHO.

[Radek]

Originally Posted by redrum

If I'm talking to people from the Puget Sound region I tell them I live in Edmonds. Half of the time they don't know where that is so I may or may not expand on that, but in any case I would never say "Seattle" because they would take me literally, and when you're talking to a local it's pretty much a given that they want your actual location, not an approximation.

However, if I'm out of state I'll sometimes just say "Seattle" because I don't want to explain where I actually live, especially when that level of detail would probably be pretty meaningless to them anyway.

When people here in Montana ask me, I generally reply Seattle Area. If they ask where abouts, I have relatives or friends ____, I say Mukilteo, (Muck-ill-tay-oh and if they're confused, I say... mid point between Everett and Seattle. Either that or Edmonds, which is a little more known and easier to pronounce. Since they're so close and I've lived in both, I tend to interchange the two depending on how confusing I want to be.

[Fallingwaters]

Originally Posted by scirocco22

Even though as an adult, I always lived in the suburbs, I always would just say that I'm from the "Seattle area." As indicated, if I were to have said "I'm from Issaquah," to somebody from the east coast who has never been to the area, they'd have no idea what I was talking about.

Even when I was a kid, I remember telling others that I was from Seattle and they barely knew where that was. Back then, a lot of folks from other parts of the country thought Seattle was in the wilderness somewhere ...not unlike some people picture Alaska as being.

Here's a page I've had bookmarked for people from other places who'd ask me how to pronounce some of the places in the area:

AP Washington: Broadcast Pronunciation

That link is very useful. I'd have mangled most of those names and some surprised me: Yakima = YAK'-i-maw -- I've been saying it something like YAK'-i-mah.