I’ve noticed that some people who were born in what are often thought of as “cool” locations, like Manhattan or San Francisco, will say that they’re from there even when, in actuality, their parents moved them to Podunk, IA, or Bakersfield CA when they were six months old. But still they insist, “I"m from <insert cool city here>”. “<insert cool city here> is my home town”. They do this even if they’ve spent little or no time since in their birthplaces.
What do you all think of this behavior, or am I being petty to even think of it?
So, it seems to me that it depends on how they’re defining hometown. If I was born in, say, Omaha, it would be fine to call it my hometown, even if I didn’t live there for more than six years or so.
I don’t really think better or worse of a person because of what they say their hometown is. It seems petty to me.
I live in Flint, and although I haven’t lived here all my life, I was born here. Moved back as an adult, and I’ve actually lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere else.
That being said, *I am not from Flint. * I don’t much like this city, and intend to move as soon as circumstances will allow. I’m looking at sometime next year.
So, I suppose that sometimes, where you tell people you’re from has a lot to do with how you actually feel about the place.
For me, the location is always qualified with where I actually grew up. Being born just outside Frisco, we moved to Oregon when I was only a few months old. Technically I’m Californian, but grew up in Oregon.
However, it must be said that having a hometown is hard for me as well. We moved quite frequently, rarely staying in one town for more than a few years. I’ve also lived in several states once I left home at the age of 16.
Now, living in the UK, I just say I’m from the States and leave it at that. If people want more info, they can ask.
As for this being a petty or important aspect, I would say petty given the amount of moving people do for whatever reason. It’s not so cut and dried anymore.
The problem for me is, even though I grew up in a suburb of Pittsburgh, I have a trace of an accent because I was 2 1/2 when we moved here from England and I suspect I picked up a certain amount of accent from my parents. My father still enjoys looking people straight in the eye and saying “Pittsburgh” when they ask him where he’s from. Also, during the time I was living in Hawaii, since I had no plans to leave, I considered myself “from Hawaii.”
Personally, I consider it somewhat petty and, when I’m in an off-mood, irritating. I know “Where are you from?” is a simple question, but if you’re not going to take “Pittsburgh” for an answer, I don’t have a simple answer and I don’t always feel like telling my life story. Besides, have yunz heard the Pittsburgh accent?! I’ll take the one I’ve got!
I’ve lived in enough places that I just say I’m from all over, and the other person almost invariably asks, “Military brat?” and I say yes. My dad was in the Air Force for years, so it’s true, even though most of my moving has been due to my mother getting married twice again after my parents divorced.
I don’t consider myself from anywhere. If people push, I say, “Mostly Texas,” but I was so unhappy during my years there I don’t think of myself from there.
Without trying to hijack the thread, javaman, I’ve also been upset with local newpapers/radio/tv who pick up on murders, etc. who come to national prominence and, all-of-a-sudden, the perp comes from their local city/town.
A case in point would be Jeffrey Dahmer, who did all of his heinous acts in Milwaukee(sorry, Qadgop.) But he was born and raised in Bath, Ohio, which is a suburb of Akron(where I live).
Now, to claim that a mass-murderer/serial killer comes from your hometown seems a bit stupid on the surface. But, when the story broke, the local media couldn’t WAIT to proclaim that the killer was born and raised HERE! What the FUCK?!
It must be the same type of psychological thingy that impels people to claim that they are from the big, important city, rather than to admit that they may have been born in SanFran in January, but their parents moved them to Keokuk in June of that year.
Oh, yeah. I’m from Washington, DC. Actually, Arlington. Well, I was actually born in Danville, VA. But, I GREW UP in Arlington.
Sounds a lot better than saying I’m living in Akron, Ohio the last 31 years, longer than anywhere I’ve ever lived.
My family and I moved to Annoying Hicktown two years ago, but I was born and lived for almost twenty years in My Hometown. Every time people ask me where I’m from, I say I’m from My Hometown. Why? Because when I tell the technical truth of where-am-I-from-right-now, people invariably start asking me where stuff is in that area, to which I have to respond with a blank look. It’s just more practical for me to say I’m from My Hometown, cuz I know where stuff is there.
I was born in West Virginia, on a town on the border between West Virginia and Pennsylvania. My parents are from those respective states but I have never really lived in either.
Somehow I don’t think saying I was born in WV would make me look cool…
I always say “Born in Michigan, grew up in Philly, high school and college in Southern California…” (all of which is true, btw). It starts getting complicated after that.
As far as Podunk, Iowa, is concerned, the Newspaper All Polk County Depends On has been running a series of columns for the last few years of supposed Iowans who have done great things in the world. For some reason the vast majority of these movers and shakers got out of here just as soon as they were allowed to make decisions for themselves, and often well before that. For instance we claim John Wayne as an Iowa hero and ignore the fact that his parent shook the dust of Winterset for their shoes as soon as they were able to raise the cash to make it for California. I’m surprised we don’t claim Brigham Young since he passed through the place en route to the Great Salt Lake Basin.
Ohio and Virginia both vied for the title “Mother of Presidents.” That concept is very old hat by now, since the last president from Virginia was Wilson and the last one from Ohio was Harding (gee, maybe that explains why there haven’t been any more presidents from Ohio).
But how do you count the 9th president, William Henry Harrison? He was born in Virginia and settled in Ohio (after fighting the Indians there). Obviously, both states count him as one of their own. What does it mean to be “from” somewhere? These criteria are flexible.
When I met Harlan Ellison at a book signing, I told him, “Hey, I’m from Cleveland too.” He laughed and said, “Yeah, Cleveland’s a place to be from.”
This is something I’ve actually thought about. I have about three different places that can count as a hometown, which makes things complicated.
Seattle. Where I was born, and lived from 0-5, 6-8, and 13-15.
Suburban DC. Where I lived from 5-6, 8-13, and 15-17.
New York. Where I have lived since age 23. As of this past summer, I have lived in NYC longer than any other place.
(And then there’s Fargo, where I spent ten summers with my grandparents, and a small town in Minnesota, where I went to college.)
Seattle is my deepest attachment emotionally - it took years for me to forgive my father for the second move away. But it’s been almost two decades since I lived there and it’s simply not the same place anymore. New York, on the other hand, is my addiction. And Maryland - well, I have to admit I know it pretty well. I never liked it much, but it got under my skin. And my family is pretty much all there now.
I was born in Eugene, OR, but the parents picked up and left about a year after I was born. I’m completely a California girl, and say that’s where I’m from. It explains my accent and radical politics, and the fact that my mother makes yoghurt from scratch. On the other hand, being born outside of CA makes me exotic in the eyes of my peers–a concept that I find hilarious.
