Do you remember when your area code was 312? (Chicago: school, living in)

[C. Maurio]

Do you recall the days when every Chicagoland phone number started with 312 and you only had to dial 7 digits to place a phone call anywhere in the metro area? The old days were better. 312 meant you were Chicago. Now it does not even mean the Loop anymore because this other strange number pops up (872) too. This system they have now is like the stupidest thing. You don't know who is calling you or where they are from anymore. We need to get back to only 312 or only 312/708 again.

[Lucky Clover]

Was there a reason behind them changing it, like running out of numbers?

[JBVirtuoso]

Originally Posted by C. Maurio

Do you recall the days when every Chicagoland phone number started with 312 and you only had to dial 7 digits to place a phone call anywhere in the metro area? The old days were better. 312 meant you were Chicago. Now it does not even mean the Loop anymore because this other strange number pops up (872) too. This system they have now is like the stupidest thing. You don't know who is calling you or where they are from anymore. We need to get back to only 312 or only 312/708 again.

Well, you could just answer the phone and ask the person where they're calling from. Is this really an issue that comes up that much? The reason they keep adding area codes is because they run out of numbers. Any one person might have as many as four or five phone numbers between their land line, cell, work, fax, Google Voice, etc. Having multiple area codes in a metro area with 10 million people makes perfect sense to me. It's really not that confusing, and it's really not that much work to push three extra buttons when you're dialing a number.

[williepotatoes]

Originally Posted by tawfiqmp

Was there a reason behind them changing it, like running out of numbers?

The introduction of fax machines in the '80s started the run on phone numbers, and then the beeper craze kicked things into high gear. By the time cells got real big we were already broken up into about 4 area codes in Chicagoland. Before the '80s we all just dialed seven digits.

[rca215]

Originally Posted by C. Maurio

Do you recall the days when every Chicagoland phone number started with 312 and you only had to dial 7 digits to place a phone call anywhere in the metro area? The old days were better. 312 meant you were Chicago. Now it does not even mean the Loop anymore because this other strange number pops up (872) too. This system they have now is like the stupidest thing. You don't know who is calling you or where they are from anymore. We need to get back to only 312 or only 312/708 again.

So what do you do when there are too many phone numbers for an area code?

Also, my phone tells me the city and state of a number when I get a call from someone not in my contacts list.

[Plzeň]

Originally Posted by C. Maurio

Do you remember when your area code was 312?

Yes, I remember that quite clearly, because my area code is still 312. Yours could be, too, if you lived in the downtown area.

Originally Posted by C. Maurio

We need to get back to only 312 or only 312/708 again.

I assume you're willing to volunteer to be one of the millions of people who would need to give up their phones in order for that to happen, then?

[Link N. Parker]

Now that fax machines, beepers, and dial-up modem lines are passe', then the only thing we have to account for now is population growth...many people dont even have old-school landlines anymore, they only have cell phones...so many numbers should be coming back into the pool...there shouldnt be any need to split area codes any more.

[Link N. Parker]

Originally Posted by Plzeň

Yes, I remember that quite clearly, because my area code is still 312. Yours could be, too, if you lived in the downtown area.



I assume you're willing to volunteer to be one of the millions of people who would need to give up their phones in order for that to happen, then?

Thing is though, I live in what is considered to be 773, but because I bought my cell phone at the Apple store on Michigan avenue, I got a 312 number, even though I didnt want that. I think they said there is a way for me to change that, but for the most part, I am happy with the number I have. Even though I do not live in the Loop.

[Plzeň]

Originally Posted by Link N. Parker

many people dont even have old-school landlines anymore, they only have cell phones...

Right, but they have one cell phone for each individual, whereas they used to have just one landline for the entire household. Proliferation of numbers in use isn't going to go backwards.

[Plzeň]

Originally Posted by Link N. Parker

Thing is though, I live in what is considered to be 773, but because I bought my cell phone at the Apple store on Michigan avenue, I got a 312 number, even though I didnt want that. I think they said there is a way for me to change that, but for the most part, I am happy with the number I have. Even though I do not live in the Loop.

The 312 AC extends well beyond The Loop. It's the whole downtown area and then some, really:

312 Area Code 312 - Map, time zone, and phone lookup

You're correct, though, that there are other ways to get a specific area code without living in that area.