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Haha... I'm from the Lansing, MI area and I run into that same problem.
Person: Where you from?
Me: Michigan.
Person: Where in Michigan?
Me: Lansing area.
Person (blank stare): Where's that?
Me: Um... it's about 90 miles northwest of Detroit. Person (still with blank stare): Um... okay...
I guess for those of us not from major metro areas, we just answer the best we can. Saying I'm from Detroit, even if I was theoretically overseas, would be ridiculous and flat out wrong. But I guess I still would have to use it as a reference point.
Would someone really have a blank stare and say "Um...okay..."
You make it seem like everyone is expected to live in a big well known city. Just because someone tells me they are from a town I've never heard of I don't give them a blank stare and say something retarded like "Um....okay".
Originally from Fayetteville, Georgia, my tendency to claim Atlanta as my home town grew with the distance that I was from Fayetteville. In New York or San Francisco I was from Atlanta. In Savannah or Chattanooga, Fayetteville.
Originally from Fayetteville, Georgia, my tendency to claim Atlanta as my home town grew with the distance that I was from Fayetteville. In New York or San Francisco I was from Atlanta. In Savannah or Chattanooga, Fayetteville.
I agree. I live in Arlington VA and can see the Washington Monument out of my window. When I lived on another side of Arlington, I used to jog into DC and back BEFORE work. I refuse to explain to someone how I live in another state...it's DC when I talk to out of towners.
Not quite. People from the burbs in Atlanta definitely will spell out which town they are from when speaking to some one from the Atlanta area or sometimes someone from elsewhere in Georgia.
Many in the suburbs of Atlanta have a strong disdain for the city of Atlanta. I knew a guy who lived in a burb close to Marietta. When he visited South Georgia (where I lived at the time) on business, he would say he was from Cobb county and talk about how he harldly ever set foot in Atlanta. Some in Atlanta on the other hand actually look down on those out in the sticks (suburbs) and avoid crossing the Perimeter I285 out into them.
All that being said. Even an Atlanta suburbanite that despises Atlanta and will boast that he only goes there for Braves games when out of State will tell someone he is from Atlanta only to avoid having to explain where his town is.
I think there's truth to this, but my sense is that Atlanta is viewed (even among residents) as sort of a conglomerate of suburbs and little towns. In my mind, I don't distinguish Marietta from Atlanta the way I would Bethesda from the District of Columbia. I'm not sure if most people do.
Can't put it any better then that. I also agree with the NYC thing. I had a roommate from college who claimed NYC but was from Mt. Vernon. When someone else called him out on it, I thought it was going to come to blows.
Also, if you are from super exclusive suburb - I wonder if things change. Like if you live in the Hamptons or on Malibu Beach. And what is the deal with the O.C. (and conversely the Inland Empire)? People will claim a whole county/region as opposed to a city/metro.
I've always wondered what Mountain Brook people say when they are away from my city, because they do despise the main area. When Natalee Holloway disappeared the news tried to paint the picture that M-B was a little town far away from the city when it actually almost surrounded by it.
When people ask where I'm from/grew up, if I'm in the region I'll say "Northern NJ suburbs" or "born in NY, mostly raised in Northern NJ". If outside the region, I'll say something like "Northern NJ just outside of NYC" (for a point of reference...because there are some very clueless people out there).
If describing where I currently live, if within the region I'll usually just say Jersey City. If outside the region, I might say something like "Jersey City, basically right near the Statue of Liberty, across the river from the World Trade Center", as there are many people who don't really know much about Jersey City.
Regarding people from NJ (or CT for that matter) claiming NYC, I've never really heard people from the NJ suburbs saying they LIVE IN NYC, but I've heard people say "the NY area" or "suburbs of NY" or "North Jersey outside of NYC", which I find absolutely acceptable, because it's a point of reference, and the entire tri-state area is the NY Metro.
I think you might find some people in urban places like Hoboken or Jersey City (usually transplant types) who consider themselves NYC residents.
I am a beacon of NJ pride, but my feathers get ruffled when NYC residents (again, mostly transplant types) ask where I live and I reply "Jersey City", and they have a response like, "Oh, so you're in Jersey", as if they are just passing it off as some suburb in a different state...ie, lumping Jersey City in with places like Montclair, or some other suburb. It ruffles my feathers because the lifestyle in Hoboken, Jersey City, and really all of Hudson County is extremely urban, and differs greatly from the lifestyle in the rest of NJ (which is largely suburban). Therefore, while I have an immense amount of NJ pride, I've always maintained that Hoboken and Jersey City have much more in common with NYC than the state of NJ (but I'm glad that NJ can claim these 2 great cities as it's own).
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Around
Well, I guess it's a matter of personal preference, but I don't get why people needlessly put up communication barriers among themselves. If you said to me, I'm from MD, I'd probably assume the rural parts, not Balto or Wash. If you said Washington, I wouldn't hold it against you that you don't live in the city limits. If you said "the DMV area" I wouldn't have a clue as to what you were talking about. When I ask someone, "Where ya from?", I'm not trying to initiate a guessing game.
Right but just as she mad that funny face when I said MD, and you would think the rural parts of the state, that doesn't make sense to me...70-80% of Maryland population is not rural, it is either urban or suburban and within 30 miles of a major city, DC or Baltimore, or even the Northeastern part of the state that is a part of Philly metro area
Location: Cleveland bound with MPLS in the rear-view
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I say I'm from Minneapolis, even though I live 2 blocks away from the city and grew up part of my chilldhood in the suburbs (inner-ring). However, I was born and raised in Minneapolis and went to school there before I moved to the suburbs, so I feel like I have the right to say that's where I'm from. Besides, not everyone in the country knows where Edina is, so you have to say something higher-level.
Location: Cleveland bound with MPLS in the rear-view
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BajanYankee
I think there's truth to this, but my sense is that Atlanta is viewed (even among residents) as sort of a conglomerate of suburbs and little towns. In my mind, I don't distinguish Marietta from Atlanta the way I would Bethesda from the District of Columbia. I'm not sure if most people do.
Never having been there, I think of Atlanta as an enormous suburban area with little towns tucked inbetween. Whether that's accurate or not I don't know, but that's the perception I get. I know downtown and Buckhead aren't anything close to suburban, but I don't see a lot of "urban" pics of Atlanta and it makes me think the city is kinda suburban overall. Sorry, I know this is wrong, but it's just my perception. I'd love to visit and find out the real ATL!
Never having been there, I think of Atlanta as an enormous suburban area with little towns tucked inbetween. Whether that's accurate or not I don't know, but that's the perception I get. I know downtown and Buckhead aren't anything close to suburban, but I don't see a lot of "urban" pics of Atlanta and it makes me think the city is kinda suburban overall. Sorry, I know this is wrong, but it's just my perception. I'd love to visit and find out the real ATL!
Fact is, Atlanta itself is less than 500k. That's not to say that other parts of Atlanta are not pretty urban. The 10th largest city in Georgia now is John's Creek, founded in 2006, also Georgia's wealthiest city. When you consider Atlanta's metro of 5 million, and the city proper of 500k, it is clear that there are many suburbs. It's just that some of them have pretty reasonable density.
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