Silly vent: You're not from the city!! - Page 2

wavycurly40+ · 02-01-2013, 06:03 AM

One funny point: Facebook does encourage people to claim cities in which they don't live, simply because it won't let you identify by state or region, instead. It has to be a city. There is no way I'm posting my podunk, less-than-5,000-people, nobody's-ever-heard-of- it rural exurb 50 minutes outside Boston. Why, stalkers could find me at the general store! (If they could find the general store).

So according to FB, I live in Boston. I don't. I also don't tell people I'm from Boston. I tell people I'm from Massachusetts. If they're from Massachusetts, I name the town and then explain where it is. I do, however, identify with Boston because I go there fairly regularly. (My stylist is there, so every 8 weeks at minimum; often more). I occasionally post a funny article about Boston (drunkest city in the USA! Whoo-eee!) On Facebook. And yeah, sometimes I feel like I don't have the right to "claim" the city. But it's hard to quantify the kinship that people can feel for certain places.

I understand your rant and am not offended by it. Your post made me laugh. You're "owning" the rantiness, and I get your point. I do wish that FB would let me identify by state, though.

redcelticcurls · 02-01-2013, 08:31 AM

I'll say Pittsburgh to anyone outside the area. No one will know my borough. Heck, lots of locals don't know it. Being 7 minutes outside the city limits, I'm not fussed about it. It does seem like a city snob thing.

redcelticcurls · 02-01-2013, 08:34 AM

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Originally Posted by RedCatWaves

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Originally Posted by KurlyKae

Interesting. I grew up in NJ, in what might be considered a suburb of NYC, we never would have said we were from NY, though when I moved to PA, then later OH, there were people who announced they recognized my NY accent. Ah, close, and I was actually born there, but no, the accent and the address is Jersey.

I'm from NJ. I'm always accused of having a NY accent. It's annoying. Because there is a difference between NY and NJ accents, but people don't take the time to know the difference. It's like saying someone has a "southern accent"...which one?

To my ear, they sound the same. Makes sense since I've never lived in either one to learn the difference.

RedCatWaves · 02-01-2013, 08:52 AM

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Originally Posted by redcelticcurls

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Originally Posted by RedCatWaves

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Originally Posted by KurlyKae

Interesting. I grew up in NJ, in what might be considered a suburb of NYC, we never would have said we were from NY, though when I moved to PA, then later OH, there were people who announced they recognized my NY accent. Ah, close, and I was actually born there, but no, the accent and the address is Jersey.

I'm from NJ. I'm always accused of having a NY accent. It's annoying. Because there is a difference between NY and NJ accents, but people don't take the time to know the difference. It's like saying someone has a "southern accent"...which one?

To my ear, they sound the same. Makes sense since I've never lived in either one to learn the difference.

And there's more than one NJ accent. Just like folks in Philadelphia don't sound like folks in Pittsburgh.

creativelicense · 02-01-2013, 08:54 AM

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and live in San Francisco now and we don't seem to have this problem. At least, (and I could be outta the loop) I've never encountered it. Growing up, I'd tell people I'm from Fremont and if they had no clue what I was talking about, I'd say I live in the SF Bay Area.

These days people are mostly prideful of where they live, so they'll say they live in Oakland or the East Bay, San Jose or the South Bay, etc. I think because it's no more a badge of honor to say you live in San Francisco than to say you live anywhere else in the Bay. Though where you live in the Bay can be (but not always) telling of what type of person you are.

Conversely, when it lived in Phoenix (North Phoenix to be exact) and told people that, they always ask where, assuming I lived in one of the metro area cities/suburbs.

Typing on a giant phone - there will be funky grammar and typos.

redcelticcurls · 02-01-2013, 08:58 AM

No, most Philly folks get baffled by Pittsburghese. To me, my manager from Philly sounds like someone from the cast of Jersey Shore, though I'm sure he would disagree. I don't hear the finer nuances.

I grew up in WV, but, as a young adult living elsewhere, most people thought that I had a Pittsburgh accent or thought that I couldn't be from WV because I didn't sound southern. To me, northern WV is different than Pittsburgh. The WV Appalachian accent is different than a Deep South accent. But, not everyone will hear it.

spiderlashes5000 · 02-01-2013, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyV69

People do this in New York too, whereby those from Long Island and upstate in Westchester (both areas which are suburbs of NYC) claim they're from NYC. Not all people from the suburbs do this, but a fair number of them do. Never mind that they may only work in NYC or set foot here several times a year. It doesn't rate as a major pet peeve of mine, though. If they're so embarrassed or ashamed to admit that they live in the boonies and would rather claim they live in NYC, the issue's with them, not me.

When I moved to Ohio from Bklyn, NYC, I would run into kids from Long Island or NJ who always tried to rep like they were from NYC and expected there to be this bond btwn us.

I can't say I was "bothered" by this, and I was glad to find other ppl from the East Coast but the reality was that we didn't necessarily have much in common culturally. I mean, we just didn't. We could be homies and all but where they were from (other than the pizza) was about as foreign to me as Ohio.

cympreni · 02-01-2013, 09:29 AM

Everyone does that here. The county and city lines aren't so cut and dry. Well they are, but sometimes those lines are right smack down the middle of a community. Take Greenwood for instance, if you go to the mall, you're in Greenwood. If you go to a store across the street, then you're in Indy. The businesses and homes don't slow down until several miles past that line.

newcurly · 02-01-2013, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Who Me?

To clarify, the really bothersome part is when people BRAG about being from the city that they don't live in, don't go to, and don't really know much about. Not just if they say they're from there if someone asks where they're from (although even then I'd rather they say "The Boston area" and not just Boston). It's so pointless of a pet peeve, I know!!!

In my defense, I see my family and friends out in the suburbs about 10 times more often than I see them in the city. Its expected of me to go there; they're not expected to actually step outside they're comfort zone to see me in the city, apparently.

But I will admit that in many ways I'm a "city snob". I love the city. I think it's better than the 'burbs. I fully admit it. If I liked the 'burbs, I'd live there! And if the people living in the 'burbs like it there, they should stop bragging about living in the city. That's kinda the whole pet peeve right there...

I grew up in one of the suburbs you crap all over. If you ask me where I'm from and I know you aren't from Eastern MA, I'll tell you I grew up near Boston simply because the other option is to name the small city and then have to clarify it's location in my next sentence. Being "from Boston" explains my love for the Red Sox, my heritage (Irish Catholic), my sense of style/fashion, and my driving (no comment). Believe it or not, the culture of Boston really does extend beyond Boston proper.

KurlyKae · 02-01-2013, 08:25 PM

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Originally Posted by RedCatWaves

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Originally Posted by redcelticcurls

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Originally Posted by RedCatWaves

I'm from NJ. I'm always accused of having a NY accent. It's annoying. Because there is a difference between NY and NJ accents, but people don't take the time to know the difference. It's like saying someone has a "southern accent"...which one?

To my ear, they sound the same. Makes sense since I've never lived in either one to learn the difference.

And there's more than one NJ accent. Just like folks in Philadelphia don't sound like folks in Pittsburgh.

RCW beat me to it. I'd expect that if we could hear each other speak, we'd do a pretty good job narrowing down just where the other grew up.

Who Me? · 02-01-2013, 09:00 PM

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Originally Posted by newcurly

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Originally Posted by Who Me?

To clarify, the really bothersome part is when people BRAG about being from the city that they don't live in, don't go to, and don't really know much about. Not just if they say they're from there if someone asks where they're from (although even then I'd rather they say "The Boston area" and not just Boston). It's so pointless of a pet peeve, I know!!!

In my defense, I see my family and friends out in the suburbs about 10 times more often than I see them in the city. Its expected of me to go there; they're not expected to actually step outside they're comfort zone to see me in the city, apparently.

But I will admit that in many ways I'm a "city snob". I love the city. I think it's better than the 'burbs. I fully admit it. If I liked the 'burbs, I'd live there! And if the people living in the 'burbs like it there, they should stop bragging about living in the city. That's kinda the whole pet peeve right there...

I grew up in one of the suburbs you crap all over. If you ask me where I'm from and I know you aren't from Eastern MA, I'll tell you I grew up near Boston simply because the other option is to name the small city and then have to clarify it's location in my next sentence. Being "from Boston" explains my love for the Red Sox, my heritage (Irish Catholic), my sense of style/fashion, and my driving (no comment). Believe it or not, the culture of Boston really does extend beyond Boston proper.

I also grew up in one of those suburbs. And I've lived in the city for 10 years now. The driving is different. The style/fashion is different. I'm not saying better, I'm saying different. That's all.

I, personally, found living in the suburbs to be a terrible fit for me. I'm not crapping all over them. It just (irrationally) annoys me when people go on and in about being "Boston driver" when they spend 99% of their time on suburban roads and don't know Southie from the South End, and have never seem a moving truck stuck on Storrow Drive. Not that this describes you. But it does describe a lot if people. People I grew up with, or friends of family, or family, that often post on Facebook.

ester80 · 02-02-2013, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Who Me?

Quote:

Originally Posted by newcurly

Quote:

Originally Posted by Who Me?

To clarify, the really bothersome part is when people BRAG about being from the city that they don't live in, don't go to, and don't really know much about. Not just if they say they're from there if someone asks where they're from (although even then I'd rather they say "The Boston area" and not just Boston). It's so pointless of a pet peeve, I know!!!

In my defense, I see my family and friends out in the suburbs about 10 times more often than I see them in the city. Its expected of me to go there; they're not expected to actually step outside they're comfort zone to see me in the city, apparently.

But I will admit that in many ways I'm a "city snob". I love the city. I think it's better than the 'burbs. I fully admit it. If I liked the 'burbs, I'd live there! And if the people living in the 'burbs like it there, they should stop bragging about living in the city. That's kinda the whole pet peeve right there...

I grew up in one of the suburbs you crap all over. If you ask me where I'm from and I know you aren't from Eastern MA, I'll tell you I grew up near Boston simply because the other option is to name the small city and then have to clarify it's location in my next sentence. Being "from Boston" explains my love for the Red Sox, my heritage (Irish Catholic), my sense of style/fashion, and my driving (no comment). Believe it or not, the culture of Boston really does extend beyond Boston proper.

I also grew up in one of those suburbs. And I've lived in the city for 10 years now. The driving is different. The style/fashion is different. I'm not saying better, I'm saying different. That's all.

I, personally, found living in the suburbs to be a terrible fit for me. I'm not crapping all over them. It just (irrationally) annoys me when people go on and in about being "Boston driver" when they spend 99% of their time on suburban roads and don't know Southie from the South End, and have never seem a moving truck stuck on Storrow Drive. Not that this describes you. But it does describe a lot if people. People I grew up with, or friends of family, or family, that often post on Facebook.

I grew up about 30 North from Boston, went to college in the city, and even thought I moved back to the burbs for a few years I worked in the city where I did a lot of driving,and walking, and biking, and taking the subway plus did a lot of parting there as well. I spent more time there than in the burbs. So I don't see what the big deal is when someone here in AZ ask me where I'm from and I tell them Boston. I usually start by telling them MA, if they ask me where I sometimes say 30 mns outside of Boston or when I'm lazy I just say Boston b/c to be honest the person asking doesn't really care for details.

newcurly · 02-02-2013, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Who Me?

Quote:

Originally Posted by newcurly

Quote:

Originally Posted by Who Me?

To clarify, the really bothersome part is when people BRAG about being from the city that they don't live in, don't go to, and don't really know much about. Not just if they say they're from there if someone asks where they're from (although even then I'd rather they say "The Boston area" and not just Boston). It's so pointless of a pet peeve, I know!!!

In my defense, I see my family and friends out in the suburbs about 10 times more often than I see them in the city. Its expected of me to go there; they're not expected to actually step outside they're comfort zone to see me in the city, apparently.

But I will admit that in many ways I'm a "city snob". I love the city. I think it's better than the 'burbs. I fully admit it. If I liked the 'burbs, I'd live there! And if the people living in the 'burbs like it there, they should stop bragging about living in the city. That's kinda the whole pet peeve right there...

I grew up in one of the suburbs you crap all over. If you ask me where I'm from and I know you aren't from Eastern MA, I'll tell you I grew up near Boston simply because the other option is to name the small city and then have to clarify it's location in my next sentence. Being "from Boston" explains my love for the Red Sox, my heritage (Irish Catholic), my sense of style/fashion, and my driving (no comment). Believe it or not, the culture of Boston really does extend beyond Boston proper.

I also grew up in one of those suburbs. And I've lived in the city for 10 years now. The driving is different. The style/fashion is different. I'm not saying better, I'm saying different. That's all.

I, personally, found living in the suburbs to be a terrible fit for me. I'm not crapping all over them. It just (irrationally) annoys me when people go on and in about being "Boston driver" when they spend 99% of their time on suburban roads and don't know Southie from the South End, and have never seem a moving truck stuck on Storrow Drive. Not that this describes you. But it does describe a lot if people. People I grew up with, or friends of family, or family, that often post on Facebook.

Well clearly you know more about what my sports team, clothing, driving, and heritage represent than I do.

:eyeroll:

I'm not sure why you even bothered posting your little rant if all you were going to do was poo-poo everyone who disagreed with you!

LoloDSM · 02-02-2013, 08:50 AM

When I met DH he told me he was from Chicago. He later took me to meet his family in a podunk village 50 miles away. It was so small it didn't have a grocery store. I still give him crap about being "from Chicago."

Saria · 02-02-2013, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newcurly

Quote:

Originally Posted by Who Me?

Quote:

Originally Posted by newcurly

I grew up in one of the suburbs you crap all over. If you ask me where I'm from and I know you aren't from Eastern MA, I'll tell you I grew up near Boston simply because the other option is to name the small city and then have to clarify it's location in my next sentence. Being "from Boston" explains my love for the Red Sox, my heritage (Irish Catholic), my sense of style/fashion, and my driving (no comment). Believe it or not, the culture of Boston really does extend beyond Boston proper.

I also grew up in one of those suburbs. And I've lived in the city for 10 years now. The driving is different. The style/fashion is different. I'm not saying better, I'm saying different. That's all.

I, personally, found living in the suburbs to be a terrible fit for me. I'm not crapping all over them. It just (irrationally) annoys me when people go on and in about being "Boston driver" when they spend 99% of their time on suburban roads and don't know Southie from the South End, and have never seem a moving truck stuck on Storrow Drive. Not that this describes you. But it does describe a lot if people. People I grew up with, or friends of family, or family, that often post on Facebook.

Well clearly you know more about what my sports team, clothing, driving, and heritage represent than I do.

:eyeroll:

I'm not sure why you even bothered posting your little rant if all you were going to do was poo-poo everyone who disagreed with you!

I don't share her viewpoint, but she does state that this is a silly rant. She's just getting something that is basically of no importance, but for some reason bugs her, off her chest. These are the types of things that people know don't really bother anyone else. So it's not as if she was looking for differing opinions. And yes, sometimes people rant about things that we disagree with, but they're usually of more importance and/or because the OP really isn't looking at it from different angles.

papayahed · 02-02-2013, 10:09 AM

I have the opposite problem sort of. When I tell people I'm from Detroit most times they will say "yeah but you didn't live in the city" then I say "ya huh I did".

OBB · 02-02-2013, 10:21 AM

when people ask i say i was born in Saigon. since most people dont know where that city is or even where Vietnam is i just say its a suburb of Hong Kong

rileyb · 02-02-2013, 12:00 PM

I once won $20 from a bartender when I was on vacation because he asked where I was from and I told him Boston and he told me he'd give me $20 if my driver's license actually said I lived in Boston and not one of the suburbs.

I grew up 10 miles outside of Boston, and have lived in Boston for the past 10 years - when I lived in CA and people asked where I grew up I said Boston for simplicity's sake unless they knew MA well.

I see people doing the above all the time, but I don't really care. I don't think where I live defines who I am and I am not really impressed with people who live 'in the city' or in a wealthy area. and I don't think where other people live defines who they are. And if it makes someone happy to live in the burbs and go into the city to do touristy things or that they identify with being from Boston (which IMO has a lot to do with the sports teams) then good for them.

I think when I was younger I probably had more of a snobby view on living in the city, but after growing up a little I just don't really care. I can see the appeal of having a big yard, more space and not having to deal with city parking - plus there are also the practical issues of having children and dealing with the BPS school lottery that make city living unattractive.

wild~hair · 02-02-2013, 12:22 PM

I don’t really see people doing this here in the Twin Cities, people just say where they live, whether it’s Minneapolis, sleepy Saint Paul where I live or one of the suburbs or exurbs.

But I do see a lot of companies doing it. You look at their website or business cards and they say “Minneapolis” as the city. But it’s not true!

They are really located in a suburb of Minneapolis, at least 25 minutes outside of the city limits. I guess because “Minneapolis” sounds better than “Bloomington” or “Eden Prairie,” and stands a chance of being recognizable.

What I can’t figure out is why the post office doesn’t give them a hard time about it. But apparently they don’t.

Jess the Mess · 02-02-2013, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KurlyKae

I now live in SoCal. For convenience sake, especially on the web, I will say I live in the "LA area." I'm definitely not in LA, in fact the city I live in has a population of more than 100,000, so not even a small town, but it's just easier to say LA area, because every one has heard of Los Angeles.

I do the same thing when I'm outside of CA and someone asks where in CA I'm from. Or I say 30 min north of LA. It's just easier since no one has really heard of my city even though it's large. I don't feel like I'm from LA though.