Why don't people in the suburbs identify as Phoenix? (Mesa: home, neighborhoods)

[woxyroxme]

I don't live anywhere near Arizona but know about Scottsdale, Tempe, Glendale(home of the Coyotes), Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, and Paradise Valley (hometown of Billy "Superstar" Graham). At least these towns still retained their identities.

I tell people I live in Lebanon Ohio, not Cincinnati (too embarrassing).

[wit-nit]

I just say I live in Sun City, a sub-burb of the Phoenix Metropolitan area, when I'm out of the state.

[jmw51882]

I also agree with the OP. As a new Phoenix resident, I tell people I'm from Pittsburgh, PA. Most people can recognize the generalized area, whether it be due to sports, medical facilities, or other events that make national news. The actual town I grew up in is not recognized by people who live in the small town 10 miles away. Therefore, why would I tell a person on the other side of the country and expect them to know?

The same idea arises with locals. If someone asks where you live within the metro area, I give them an intersection of major streets they can recognize. If you give the name of a street that is 2 blocks long, with 6 houses, and comes to a dead end, they may shake their head in agreement but unless they live there, they won't recognize the street name.

[theterribleone]

Originally Posted by asufan

I tell people here I'm from Mission Viejo or South OC and I think they know where that is. I would never say LA because that's a different world. Not really a threadworthy or Phoenix specific topic though

You think so? Mission Viejo is a random suburb 40 miles from Downtown LA.

[Jukesgrrl]

Originally Posted by detroitn8v

chandler is not a suburb of phoenix? Wow. You're comparing a city of 200k people to one of 1.5mm. It has nothing to do with how a city is run compared to another. It's about size, population and notoriety. You live in metro phoenix like it or not.

This is an interesting topic and i agree with the op; this weird sort of "my city is the center of the universe" attitude doesn't seem to exist elsewhere. It's peculiar.

bingo!

[Minntoaz]

Yeah I know what you mean. When I tell people where I lived I generally don't say Phoenix but will if they have no idea about the area. I'm okay with not being associated as ever living in Phoenix. Chandler, Tempe and Scottsdale... Happy to say I lived in all of them!

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by theterribleone

You think so? Mission Viejo is a random suburb 40 miles from Downtown LA.

But it is in Orange County and is not part of LA. And many people know exactly where they are talking about.

[sargeant79]

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

But it is in Orange County and is not part of LA. And many people know exactly where they are talking about.

People know Orange County, but very few people outside of southern California know Mission Viejo specifically. And to be honest, most people in the rest of the country besides those in California and maybe Nevada and Arizona think of that simply as the LA area.

[asufan]

Point is, it's not a "Phoenix thing". The OP had someone say they were from Tempe and started a thread about this peculiar phoenix phenomenon

[Burning Madolf]

Originally Posted by asufan

Point is, it's not a "Phoenix thing". The OP had someone say they were from Tempe and started a thread about this peculiar phoenix phenomenon

Shhhh, don't kill it I like to see how long these threads can run. Afterall, nobody in the burbs of NYC, Boston or Chicago, etc.. EVER say they are from those cities.