# Saying you're from \_\_\_\_ when actually your parents moved away when you were 6 m.o **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 19, 2003, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675 "2003-01-19T20:20:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/21 "2003-01-20T12:02:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Magickly Delicious \* > ]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. That’s _exactly_ how I feel about it. I am from the Los Angeles area (Glendale and then Sunland-Tujunga). Born and raised, spent most of my (so far) adult life there. Educated there. Many family and friends there. Return there as frequently as humanly possible. _I am from Southern California._ That is **it.** My life attitudes, my politics, most everything are influenced by Southern California. So I move to Hooterville a few years ago. (Family obligations.) I still really don’t know my way around. I refuse to watch local news. (Long story. They drove me to it.) So I don’t really know what’s going on in town. Therfeore, I feel almost no connection to this place. It’s a place; it’s OK. It has decent access to some of the things I’m used to (movie theatres, malls, etc.), and what I can’t get (decent art supplies, Trader Joe’s) I mail order or ask relatives to send “care” packages. So, I’m sorta OK. But it isn’t “home” and I don’t anticipate that it ever will be. So, I say I’m from L.A., and that I’m “currently exiled in Hooterville”. Because that’s the truth. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/22 "2003-01-20T16:12:14Z")
Well, naturally, people will use whatever tenuous link they have to **Texas**. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/23 "2003-01-20T16:35:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cjhoworth \* > 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.” Questioning about an accent is definitely one way that where you’re “from” can vary. If I’m traveling outside of the Chicago area and someone asks where I’m “from”, do they mean where I grew up, or where I live now? I have a weird “Midwestern blend” accent due to living in 4 different cities in my life, and so I don’t know if they’re picking up on the accent from my hometown, from when I lived in Minnesota, from living around Chicago (with the many “local” accents I run into there), or what. ---
**Author:** ![cichlidiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f9b8f/32.png) [@cichlidiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cichlidiot)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/24 "2003-01-20T16:45:41Z")
I don’t know if I’d call something like this annoying, but there have been times when it’s struck me as silly. I guess the silliness comes in when telling people where one is from is supposed to give the impression of being a bad mo’fo. I’m not talking so much about the stink raised around JLo, because I don’t care one way or the other. More along the lines of Eminem’s 8 Mile. I haven’t seen this movie, nor do I plan to, but the title cracked me up because I am from the same area. Crime is crime, whether in Podunk, AnyState or downtown Deeetroit. Bad mo’fos come from all places as well. I realize some places are more crime ridden than others, but even coming from a high crime area, I’m pretty sure the time I lived in Detroit didn’t make me any tougher or badder than if I had come from Podunk. I’ve actually experienced more crime living in the Podunk town I live in today. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/25 "2003-01-20T17:47:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Homebrew \* > \*\*Well, naturally, people will use whatever tenuous link they have to **Texas**. \*\* Texas? where the hell is …ohh _Texas_, thats a cute _little_ state… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/26 "2003-01-20T18:17:58Z")
I was born in Mt. Prospect, IL, outside of Chicago. But we moved to Denver when I was just a few months old (as soon as they let me fly) and I’ve lived here ever since. But when people ask where I’m from, I don’t want to say Mt. Prospect and have to explain where that is, and I don’t want to say Chicago because then people expect me to actually know something about Chicago and ask questions. But I also don’t want to say I’m from Denver because I get the “Oh, so you’re a native!” which is apparently Very Important and I don’t want to have to explain that I’m not really actually from Denver but from outside Chigago but only lived there a few months blah blah blah… So I generally just say I was born near Chicago but have lived in Denver my whole life. What a PITA. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/27 "2003-01-20T18:24:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by twickster47 \* > \*\*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. \*\* Born in IL, grew up in NJ, went to college in WI, moved to AR from FL. (to OK, then back to AR) So, where am I from? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/28 "2003-01-20T18:51:00Z")
> [@](#): > > _posted by seal\_clubber_ > Born in IL, grew up in NJ, went to college in WI, moved to AR from FL. (to OK, then back to AR). So, where am I from? Okay, the complicated part is: grad school in north Jersey (Madison), year in Florida (Tallahassee), two years in Iowa (Ames), year in Wisconsin (Oshkosh), then back to Philly… I’m thinking we probably crossed paths at some point, **seal\_clubber**! My brief answer is based on the presmise that the question is usually about “where were you born?” combined with “what are your formative influcences?” and the Michigan/Philly/California answer covers that info. ---
**Author:** ![ffabris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a87d85/32.png) [@ffabris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ffabris)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/29 "2003-01-20T19:02:43Z")
Hum… I was born in Barbados, and that is _normally_ where I say I’m from. However, my parents were from Europe (Italy and Czech Republic) and I grew up speaking 4 languages, so I never picked up a Barbadian accent. As a result, I was always mistaken for a foreigner there. My parents were also naturalized Canadians, and they registered me as a Canadian born abroad. As a young adult, I moved to Italy and acquired citizenship of that country. I now have 3 citizenships. And now I live in the UK. When people ask my housemate where I’m from, he answers “Italian”, because I moved here from Italy. If people ask me and he’s around, I may answer “Canadian”, because it annoys him (he’s Canadian born) 😉 As far as accents go, mine belongs to no country, and I always find it amusing to hear what people try to guess. Here is a partial list: US, Canada, Australia, England, Ireland, Austria, Germany. 🙂 Due to this unusual set of circumstances, no country is “home”. I do not understand (emotionally) what patriotism is. I could happily live anywhere, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/30 "2003-01-20T19:04:06Z")
Glen Ridge, NJ Key Largo, FL Appleton, WI ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/31 "2003-01-20T20:38:16Z")
I have two friends who were born in England and moved here as infants. They don’t know each other, which makes this even more annoying: They consider themselves English, even though their knowledge of English culture/geography etc is very, very low, and the only English accent that creeps into theirs comes from their parents. They both call themselves immigrants to Canada. This annoys the hell out of me for some reason ! I don’t know why. They are as Canadian as anyone, considering most Canadians - and Americans, probably - have parents or grandparents who were born elsewhere. And many Black people, descendants of slaves, who have been on this continent as long as anyone but the natives, often report their annoyance at these questions: ‘Where are you from?’ ‘Toronto.’ ‘No, where are your _parents_ from?’ ‘Nova Scotia’ … and so on, and so on. I guess the conclusion from this is that ‘Where are you from?’ is a pretty meaningless question, if you expect a one-word answer. My response is always ‘Why do you ask?’ ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/32 "2003-01-20T21:30:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cowgirl \* > \*\* They are as Canadian as anyone, considering most Canadians …have parents or grandparents who were born elsewhere. > \*\* Really? I find that hard to believe. Do you have a cite for that? ---
**Author:** ![Quonk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ed655f/32.png) [@Quonk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quonk)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/33 "2003-01-20T21:42:56Z")
I was born in La Paz, Bolivia, but I moved away when I was less than a year old. I don’t speak Spanish well (only scored mid-600s on SAT II, while a true native speaker should score near 800), don’t look Hispanic, and don’t even have a Spanish last name. But it’s such a beautiful place, and much more exotic than Oklahoma (8 years) or :sniff: Flahrida. [s](http://www.worldcityphotos.org/Bolivia/BOL-LaPaz-BCloutier2.jpg) [i](http://www.worldcityphotos.org/Bolivia/BOL-LaPaz-janki1.jpg) [g](http://www.worldcityphotos.org/Bolivia/BOL-LaPaz-wsmikmik31.jpg) [h](http://www.worldcityphotos.org/Bolivia/BOL-Lapaz-EmilioLeri1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/34 "2003-01-20T21:48:20Z")
… okay … fine … let me rephrase that. Of the Canadians that these two friends and I know, most either were born elsewhere (eg Colombia, Mexico, Israel, England), or have parents that were born elsewhere (Israel, England, America, Iraq, Estonia, Georgia, Argentina, India, Australia, Ireland, Scotland, for starters). They consider themselves to be Canadian, even though their link with their parents’ nation of origin is no less distant than these friends. In contrast, the people I know who were born here, and whose parents were born here, number 3: myself (although my grandparents immigrated as teenagers) and two others. I cannot do any better than that, unless you want to come round and meet them all personally. Maybe my experience doesn’t generalize to everyone in Canada, but it certainly does generalize to my two friends, as it is their experience as well. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/35 "2003-01-20T22:59:50Z")
I have trouble answering this question with more than a helpless shrug too. 0-11 months Amesbury, MA 11mo-9 years Lawerence, MA 9-10 years Plaistow, NH 10-18 years Raymond, NH 18-20 years Taunton, MA 20-25 years middleofnowhere, NH Conversations go like this: them- Where are you from? me- Middleofnowhere, NH them- oh so did you go to MNHS? me- No, I went to RHS, in Raymond them- So you were born in Rayond, then? me- no… As for accent, many people are confused by mine, since I don’t really sound like I’m from MA or NH. The _way_ I say some of my words(leaving off the endings to -wer words, for example), rather than how my voice sounds, is the tip off that I’m a new englander. ---
**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/36 "2003-01-21T00:57:59Z")
\ **Washte** you for sure are not a San Franciscan, even if you were born near here, since you call it “Frisco”. 😃 \ Twiddle ---
**Author:** ![Quonk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ed655f/32.png) [@Quonk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quonk)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2003, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/37 "2003-01-21T08:04:35Z")
> [@](#): > > But it’s such a beautiful place, and much more exotic than **Oklahoma** (8 years) or :sniff: Flahrida. 😕 This is a big WTF moment for me… I could’ve sworn I typed Texas, not Okla. I’ve never even been to OK. Carry on… ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/38 "2003-01-21T15:43:22Z")
I used to answer the question by saying “Born in San Diego, grew up in Baltimore” - and it worked for almost 30 years. Once I moved to Florida and got married, I generally answer “I live in Jacksonville” since that seems to be what people are asking. If someone wants my life story, including a list of the places I’ve lived, they’ll likely get it if I’m in a chatty mood. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/39 "2003-01-21T16:45:13Z")
I was born and raised in Mansfield, Ohio – an hour from Cleveland and an hour from Columbus. How I answer the question depends on where the asker is from. Example: most people I know in Florida have never heard of Mansfield, Ohio. Most have heard of Cleveland. Since I’m somewhat familiar with where things are in Cleveland, I usually say that or, “a small town outside of Cleveland.” Normally, a vague answer is sufficient as the purpose of the question is merely for small talk/general conversation. Sometimes I just say, “Ohio,” if the asker doesn’t seem like they’d be able to relate, i.e. Southerners who have never been north of the Mason-Dixon line. (To them it doesn’t matter where I’m from, once they’ve established that I’m a damn Yankee.) If the asker is from Ohio, then I just say, “Mansfield.” Most Ohioans have driven through on I-71 on their way to Cleve. or Cols. and can make some sort of small talk about the town… usually a discussion of the prison there. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675/40 "2003-01-21T17:00:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shade \* > \*\*If your parents have passed the culture/accent onto you it makes sense. Otherwise, it doesn’t. \*\* OK, try this on for size: Born in Vermont, but my parents were living in NH at the time. Grew up in NH - left at 18, came back at 21, left at 23. Been living in the DC Metro area since. Have been told, on more than one occasion, that I have a Western Mass. accent. Both my parents are from there, one town in particular (Haydenville) was a locus for several generations on both sides. So, where am I from? Vermont, where I was born? NH, where I grew up? DC, where I live now (since I know pretty much how to get around)? Or Haydenville MA, from where I get my accent and my deep roots? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saying-youre-from-____-when-actually-your-parents-moved-away-when-you-were-6-m-o/149675.md?page=3)