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Basically they don’t actually care where you are from, it’s just small talk
Yeah, it's the same reason why I give a fake name when ordering coffee/sandwiches/etc. They don't need to know exactly how I spell my name; it's just a placeholder.
I don't know much about Chicago or Boston, but I know that if I live in their suburbs and go to the city and claim living in the city, eventually someone will jprobably say something-to my face-about this discrepancy.
The question underlying the premise of this thread-are the people calling me out weird, or am I weird for claiming the city?
You live in socal now so it's better to just be chill and enjoy the sun. If someone confronts you about such a minor discrepancy then those people are probably not that great to be around anyway.
I was referring to that hypothetical Boston or Chicago scenario. That kind of stuff happens, right?
I've lived in Evanston (close suburb immediately north of Chicago), Arlington, VA (inner-ring suburb immediately west of DC) and Doral, FL (close suburb immediately west of Miami) and I'd say for all three of those my rationale for answering was basically the same.
Anyone who might know of the exact city, I'll give them that...often followed with "near X Major City"
Anyone who likely wouldn't know the exact city, I'd just say the Major City.
Anyone who likely would know, I'd just say the exact city.
Pretty straightforward. I never had any concerns/qualms about stating the suburb I was in, but if that would be meaningless to the listener then I'd adjust my comment.
It’s like on LinkedIn where people who work 55-65 miles north of downtown Los Angeles in a much smaller city like Oxnard, Simi, Camarillo or Moorpark in Ventura County will list “The Greater Los Angeles Metro” for location.
It’s like on LinkedIn where people who work 55-65 miles north of downtown Los Angeles in a much smaller city like Oxnard, Simi, Camarillo or Moorpark in Ventura County will list “The Greater Los Angeles Metro” for location.
I think LInkedin in does that automatically when it sees those cities.
For me how I answer depend on my audience. It's all about engagement (connecting to others).
If I'm talking to someone who knows the area well, I'll mention the particular suburb I'm from, as they'll know where that is, a lot about it, etc. (e.g. -- Oh Wow, my sister lives in Webster Groves right next door. I love the architecture in that area...)
If the person I'm talking to doesn't know as much about the area, I'll say I'm from St. Louis. (And often I'll be responses like.
We stopped there on our trip out west last year for an overnight and went to the Arch and your zoo. Your zoo is so incredible and we really thought the arch was cool too.) (Wow, my son works at the Gateway Arch, if you went up you might of even had him as a tour guide.) (Or I've never been to St. Louis, but I love the Cardinals and then we talk about baseball.)
Your answer makes sense. I have relatives in Illinois, have been through St. Louis countless times and know Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Shrewsbury just by the freeway exit signs.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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It depends on the circumstances. When I lived in Lafayette, California, a friend and I did a 2-1/2 month cross country trip, 18,000 miles. When we met people and they saw my license plates and asked where we were from, we said "San Francisco" which was actually 23 miles from it. Why? Because they all heard of SF, telling them Lafayette would draw blank stares. Currently we live in Sammamish, WA, but tell people that we are from "the Seattle area." Again, they wouldn't have heard of Sammamish, but at the same time, we wouldn't want to say Seattle itself now, with the dysfunction there.
I don't know much about Chicago or Boston, but I know that if I live in their suburbs and go to the city and claim living in the city, eventually someone will probably say something-to my face-about this discrepancy.
I don't think this is the crux of the question though. Using myself as an example, I grew up in the Boston suburbs. If I was in the city of Boston and someone asked, of course I would not say that I'm from Boston, I would list the specific town that I lived in.
But if I'm in, say, Seattle, and someone asked where I'm from, I would say Boston. Why? Well for one, nobody will have heard of the small town that I lived in. And two, it's "close enough".
I've never, in my 42 years on this earth, had ANYBODY every challenge where I'm from. I'm convinced this is only a thing on City-Data, where this issue comes up repeatedly (and usually within a few cities only, Boston being one). At the end of the day, it's such a trivial thing and not worth getting worked up over...
I think in Boston we’re conditioned to be more sensitive to this subject because of how certain “suburbs” would be a part of the main city in any other major metropolis.
If someone from Brookline says they’re from Boston, my gut reaction is “No. Your town very aggressively chose to not be Boston”. And that resentment translates perhaps unfairly to the suburbs even farther from the city which might claim it like Millis or Boxborough, towns that would still be suburbs in a normal city.
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