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When I say I am going into the city, I am referring to Indianapolis, as that is the city in which I live. In a regional context, I can not imagine why I would call any other place "the city" in casual conversation. In a national sense, I never say "the city." I say things like "Chicago" and "New York." Complicated, I know.
I didn't realize that "the city" was used to describe places aside from Manhattan or SF. Those are the only two I've ever heard. For example do people in central Indiana really call Indianapolis "the city" or would they normally say "downtown" if that's what they meant?
For me I've never heard anyone call LA the city. It's really only the last decade that you could say "downtown" and have people assume that you meant downtown LA.
I agree with everyone saying that "the city" is used to refer to the nearest urban area. I'd only ever refer to Boston as "the city" in eastern MA, and never outside the northeast unless the person I'm talking to knows I'm from eastern MA.
A typical conversation with someone from New Jersey could be...
"Where are you from?"
"I'm from Boston."
"What part?" (because the city itself is so small; I have friends from Stoneham and Worcester that introduce themselves as being "from Boston" to people outside the area.)
"I live in the city."
The only people I know who would refer to their city as "the city" without establishing the city before-hand are New-Yorkers. I actually make fun of my New York friends for doing this. We'll be in RI or MA and they'll say something like "my favorite restaurant in the city is..." and I'll be like "what city is this? Kansas City? Carson City?"
It's used in a good chunk of Northern California. Someone in a Sacramento suburb or Monterrey says they're "going to the City for the weekend" and it's known exactly what one is talking about. The usage goes back a ways--you just get used to saying it if you grow up in the region. My grandparents way up in Oroville used to say and they were born around 1920...
It makes sense though going back historically since for a long time, San Francisco was far and away the oldest and largest city in Northern California. At one point it was basically the only real city in the area--everything else were smaller farming towns, fishing ports, and future suburbs. And there still isn't anywhere that feels as urban as San Francisco in the Bay Area in terms of appearance...
LOL I know that it is historic and that people all over say it - in fact I call San Francisco "The City" despite living in a larger city.
I didn't realize that "the city" was used to describe places aside from Manhattan or SF. Those are the only two I've ever heard. For example do people in central Indiana really call Indianapolis "the city" or would they normally say "downtown" if that's what they meant?
For me I've never heard anyone call LA the city. It's really only the last decade that you could say "downtown" and have people assume that you meant downtown LA.
Sometimes I use "the city" to refer to the LA basin side of the city vs. the Valley. But it is usually with someone who understands the context.
that may be the case regionally but in the national context there is only one answer
New York is also a regional 'the city' and to suggest that there is some unspoken national understanding that New York is everyone's 'the city' is precisely the provincial pretentiousness that others in this thread speak of. I have no doubt that NY is the city to Northeasterners, Appalachians ans maybe even the Southeast, maybe the Ohio Valley too.
Which is great I suppose, gold star for yall.
Quote:
no one outside of the region would make that association
Yes, and no suggestion was made to the contrary.
But like I said, a very large geographic area of the West refers to SF and SF alone as 'The City'.
I grew up in South Jersey so Philly will always be "the city" to me. That said, Manhattan - specifically Manhattan, not any of the outer boroughs - is widely called "the city" by many people. I die slowly inside every time one of my buddies who used to live in Philly/SJ/SEPA moves to North Jersey/Long Island/NYC and starts to call Manhattan the city.
It's pretty sad when Philadelphians call NYC the city, smh
Nobody I know does.
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