In what American cities is the distinction between city proper and suburbs most culturally prominent?

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by MDAllstar

People in Virginia and Maryland try to claim they live in DC, but they don’t. You’re either in or you’re out. I always tell people just say where you actually live and be proud of it. If nobody has heard of it or knows where it is, that’s the price you pay to live outside of DC. Maybe they should say the state of Virginia or Maryland. Most people have heard of the state. You made a choice to move to the suburbs.

Virginians are perfectly fine with saying they live in NoVA.

[DaBears02]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

Virginians are perfectly fine with saying they live in NoVA.

I agree. None of my friends out there claim DC and most say they live in Northern Virginia or say the city name like Arlington.

In the cities I’ve lived in I’ve seen the biggest distinction by far in Chicago. In Atlanta and Houston you can have people from Alpharetta/Sugar Land saying they live in Atlanta/Houston and most people would be fine with it. Whereas someone from Naperville will get called out for claiming Chicago.