# Explain English geography to me **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 12, 2022, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668 "2022-01-12T23:14:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2022, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668/161 "2022-01-30T01:54:19Z")
The Grapevine? When I was a kid, the boundary was just south of Big Sur. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2022, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668/162 "2022-01-30T21:09:04Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Shoot…for us Northern Californians, everything south of the Grapevine is “LA”. Yeah, when I was a kid, the conventional wisdom was that people in the SF area _hated_ LA, but people in LA loved both. My mom lived in the SF bay area for years before meeting and marrying my dad, so I loved both areas. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668/163 "2022-01-31T01:28:09Z")
Just Northern Californians getting grabby in their territorial claims. In reality, anything north of San Luis Obispo is suspect. As for sports fans, San Diego and San Francisco chant “Beat LA! Beat LA!” while LA fans turned to each other and ask “Who are we playing again? Are they any good?” ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668/164 "2022-02-04T08:51:11Z")
And everyone unites in making fun of Essex. My American wife describes it as ‘like Trenton, NJ’ ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668/165 "2022-02-04T09:25:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And it’s not “Northern Ireland” when talking about “once had autonomy” - It’s “Ireland”. Good Lord **Chronos** , is this the hill you’ve chosen? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668/166 "2022-02-04T13:31:33Z")
The statement “Ireland once had autonomy” is factually true. The statement “Northern Ireland once had autonomy” is factually false. I’m not sure what part of that would be debatable. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668/167 "2022-02-04T13:49:36Z")
> [@Malden\_Capell](#): > > And everyone unites in making fun of Essex. My American wife describes it as ‘like Trenton, NJ’ Isn’t _[The Only Way is Essex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Only_Way_Is_Essex)_ based on _[Jersey Shore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore_(TV_series))_? And I’ve seen [Joey Essex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Essex) on various shows, and if he’s representative of the local populace, well, wow. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668/168 "2022-02-04T13:51:32Z")
Might as well share this one too. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/uYNzqgU7na4/maxresdefault.jpg "Why are British place names so hard to pronounce?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYNzqgU7na4) ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668/169 "2022-02-04T13:52:04Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The statement “Ireland once had autonomy” is factually true. The statement “Northern Ireland once had autonomy” is factually false. I’m not sure what part of that would be debatable. The area that is now designated as “Northern Ireland” did once have autonomy. It just didn’t have that autonomy as the distinct geographical area that it takes now. That was how I was reading that comment and didn’t see much to quibble about when read in that way. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668/170 "2022-02-04T13:55:51Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Isn’t _[The Only Way is Essex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Only_Way_Is_Essex)_ based on _[Jersey Shore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore_(TV_series))_ ? And I’ve seen [Joey Essex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Essex) on various shows, and if he’s representative of the local populace, well, wow. The U.K. has a few of those types of shows. Geordie Shore is set in Newcastle, and The Valleys (one of the most bizarre cultural trainwrecks I’ve ever seen) was set in Cardiff, with trashy lunatics from the South Wales Valleys moving into the city. Living in Canada, I’ve only heard of those two and TOWIE, but there may be others. ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668/171 "2022-02-04T13:58:49Z")
Well, as a former Essex Man myself, yes. I moved out in part because I never fit in there. Having said that, north Essex has some really nice places. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668/172 "2022-02-04T14:41:50Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > In the US, it was believed that democracy was served by them being only so large that their seat was one day travel from anywhere in them, [as this map of Texas](https://ontheworldmap.com/usa/state/texas/texas-county-map.jpg) shows. When I lived in Georgia, I was told that was the reason why it has so many [counties](https://ontheworldmap.com/usa/state/georgia/georgia-county-map.html). ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668/173 "2022-02-04T15:36:26Z")
Speaking of Georgia…WTF is up with Ware County? Was everybody high when they drew those boundaries? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668/174 "2022-02-04T16:22:54Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > The U.K. has a few of those types of shows. Geordie Shore is set in Newcastle, and The Valleys (one of the most bizarre cultural trainwrecks I’ve ever seen) was set in Cardiff, with trashy lunatics from the South Wales Valleys moving into the city. Living in Canada, I’ve only heard of those two and TOWIE, but there may be others. Indeed. There was one set in Liverpool called Desperate Scousewives (I’d guess someone invented the title and then scrabbled around for a format to fit). ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668/175 "2022-02-04T16:25:19Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Indeed. There was one set in Liverpool called Desperate Scousewives (I’d guess someone invented the title and then scrabbled around for a format to fit). AKA the “monkey tennis” approach to TV pitching. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668/176 "2022-02-05T00:14:01Z")
I grew up there. My first job full time job was at Lakeside Shopping Centre when I was 13, working at a shoe shop - I was there the day it opened. I’ve never seen Towie, but from what I’ve heard, I think it pretty much ignores the people who make up most of the area, who are more like in the movie Fish Tank, with a large smattering of people who are just poor but doing their best and are basically normal working class. The Towie people are the rich ones; the general population is very much not wealthy in the slightest. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-english-geography-to-me/957668.md?page=8)