# What area do you think of when someone refers to "the Bay Area"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 6, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148 "2015-09-06T04:15:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/41 "2015-09-06T22:30:16Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Depends on “the bay”. There’s a Lot more than just One bay in the US & locals have their own pride. > > I don’t think I’m the one to strip it from them, do you? Just because there’s a bay doesn’t mean that the term “Bay Area” is in active use. Whether or not it is seems to me the point of the OP. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/42 "2015-09-06T23:41:41Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > I’ve seen “DMV” used for the Chesapeake Bay region. Nah, it means Department of Motor Vehicles…Wait, that’s the MVA–Crap in a hat! 😕 😃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/43 "2015-09-06T23:50:18Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > My answer too. Me three. > [@kanicbird](#): > > While it is the SF area, I don’t know what area of and around SF it refers to. The city and the surrounding areas that touch the Bay, including Oakland? or a much more limited area similar to how Manhattan is divided into sub area such as SoHo,Tribeca, Upper East/West Side, etc. I assume it is a larger area just because it is such a popular term, so many people seem to reference it plus I don’t recall any other subdivision for SF used. So more like a term used for the NYC metro area which goes well into NJ and CT (and a good chunk outside the city limits in NY.) I keeps getting bigger. I think it’s common now to think of the 9 counties in and around SF to be “the Bay Area”: Santa Clara San Mateo SF Alameda Contra Costa Marin Napa Sonoma Solano Going from Memory, I think that covers about 8M people. A little bigger than Denmark; a little smaller than Sweden. Massachusetts is still The Bay State. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/44 "2015-09-07T01:49:25Z")
I’ve been to/through both the Tampa and Chesapeake area and bays, and have nothing against them. But if someone asks about “the Bay area,” it indelibly sticks in my mind as SF. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/45 "2015-09-07T03:49:13Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Yes, and maybe I’m being provincial, but I assume if you say North, East, or South Bay, you mean the SF Bay. And if you say West Bay, you mean some other bay or else you’re a space alien. ZZZZZACTLY. > [@Senegoid](#): > > Locally, the entire “west bay” area, south of SF down to Palo Alto or so, is known as “the Peninsula”. The eastern side of this area borders on the bay and consists of a chain of small-to-medium size cities that have pretty much all grown together so you can drive the entire distance (about 40 miles) without ever being “out in the country”. True enough, but many visitors and residents don’t realize that just a few miles to the west and paralleling US-101 is I-280, and most of the distance between San Francisco to San Jose is rolling hills and wide open spaces. It’s a beautiful drive, and I avoid 101 as much as possible. > [@ExTank](#): > > I’ve been to/through both the Tampa and Chesapeake area and bays, and have nothing against them. > > But if someone asks about “the Bay area,” it indelibly sticks in my mind as SF. Same here. And I’ve been to and through Creve Coeur too, where you’ve got some rivers, and _ **BIG ONES** _ too! ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/46 "2015-09-07T04:00:32Z")
SF first followed quickly after by Saginaw. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/47 "2015-09-07T04:08:08Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > True enough, but many visitors and residents don’t realize that just a few miles to the west and paralleling US-101 is I-280, and most of the distance between San Francisco to San Jose is rolling hills and wide open spaces. It’s a beautiful drive, and I avoid 101 as much as possible. AND substantially less traffic! It would appear that even the residents of the area aren’t all that widely aware of I-280. How is that even possible? There is (or was?) even a large billboard alongside I-280 proclaiming it the [“World’s Most Beautiful Freeway”](http://great-hikes.com/blog/images/JuniperoSerra.jpg) – Full of [this sort of scenery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Interstate_280_near_Stanford_p1130161.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/48 "2015-09-07T06:11:41Z")
LOI take 101 if it means that I can skip 5. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > Me three. > I keeps getting bigger. I think it’s common now to think of the 9 counties in and around SF to be “the Bay Area”: > > Santa Clara > San Mateo > SF > Alameda > Contra Costa > Marin > Napa > Sonoma > Solano > > Going from Memory, I think that covers about 8M people. A little bigger than Denmark; a little smaller than Sweden. > > Massachusetts is still The Bay State. 🙂 Sometimes includes all or parts of: Santa Cruz, San Joaquin, and San Benito counties. I don’t think of those counties by name often, but I’d be pressed to discount Stockton, even if it’s not a place I visit very often. It’s a local freeway terminus so I’ve always considered it local to the area. Same with Santa Cruz and maybe whatever towns are in San Benito. ETA: looked it up. Hollister is like Charming from Sons of Anarchy and also San Juan Bautista. Both I consider closeish of the Bay Area but not part of it. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/49 "2015-09-07T08:53:54Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > … I’d be pressed to discount Stockton, even if it’s not a place I visit very often. It’s a local freeway terminus so I’ve always considered it local to the area. I used to live in California and Stockton was always considered part of the Central Valley (in particular, the San Joaquin Valley) and definitely not part of the Bay Area. You cannot classify anything east of Altamont Pass (or Fairfield if you’re going up I-80) as part of the Bay Area. Otherwise, they’ll eventually start including everything from Reno westward. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/50 "2015-09-07T22:59:54Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > LOI take 101 if it means that I can skip 5. > > Sometimes includes all or parts of: Santa Cruz, San Joaquin, and San Benito counties. I don’t think of those counties by name often, but I’d be pressed to discount Stockton, even if it’s not a place I visit very often. It’s a local freeway terminus so I’ve always considered it local to the area. Same with Santa Cruz and maybe whatever towns are in San Benito. I thinks folks in Santa Cruz like to distance themselves from The Bay Area. It really is quite different “over the hill”. And heading north, there’s basically nothing between SC and Half Moon Bay except tiny Davenport. I think you can make a better case for San Juan Bautista than Santa Cruz. ---
**Author:** ![I.Dunno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9f8e36/32.png) [@I.Dunno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I.Dunno)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/51 "2015-09-08T02:30:44Z")
I’m in the midwest but Bay Area always means San Fran and environs to me. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/52 "2015-09-08T03:58:45Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > I’ve never lived anywhere close to SF, but that’s where the Bay Area is. Yep. And I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of anything else called “the Bay Area.” ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/53 "2015-09-08T17:23:05Z")
I posed this question to some of my American co-workers and while the vast majority answered correctly ( San Francisco ) one of them from Texas said that there is a “Bay Area” in Houston. After looking at a map there is indeed a sizable bay there. ---
**Author:** ![Keweenaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Keweenaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keweenaw)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/54 "2015-09-08T17:48:50Z")
[Big Bay de Noc](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bay_de_Noc) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/55 "2015-09-08T18:58:16Z")
I would have to say my brother’s back yard…he has three mature (and very vocal) Basset Hounds… In truth, SF and enviorns whenever I hear “Bay Area”, unless I know that they are talking about the East coast, where my default is Chesepeake Bay. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/56 "2015-09-08T19:04:53Z")
I live in the Tampa Bay area and still don’t think of it as “the Bay area”. The real Bay area is where I was born, the Tampa Bay area is where I live and currently consider home. FWIW, I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard anyone here refer to this as the Bay area. ---
**Author:** ![I.Dunno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9f8e36/32.png) [@I.Dunno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I.Dunno)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/57 "2015-09-09T02:51:47Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > I would have to say my brother’s back yard…he has three mature (and very vocal) Basset Hounds… :)Best answer so far. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/58 "2015-09-09T14:10:15Z")
I live in Northern Virginia, so not that far from the Chesapeake Bay, but I’ve never heard The Bay Area refer to anything but the San Francisco Bay. We might say The Bay here, but never The Bay Area. I think part of that is that, at least as I understand, the San Francisco Bay is much more homogeneous than the Chesapeake is, and the latter is also a lot larger. There’s parts of this area that are very urban, parts that are very rural, and really, it just doesn’t make much sense to lump, say, Baltimore, Norfolk, and the Eastern shore all together. They’ve far less in common than San Francisco and Oakland. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/59 "2015-09-09T15:46:01Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I spent the first 16 years of my life living near or in the DelMarVa penninsula. “The Bay Area” makes me think of San Francisco. And I’ve spent the most recent 17 years of my life residing within a mile of the Chesapeake Bay. Same deal: unless I see the phrase ‘Bay area’ in a very local publication (e.g. the local free weekly, which is called the Bay Weekly), I’m thinking San Francisco Bay. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2015, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148/60 "2015-09-09T18:47:45Z")
When talking to people from other areas, I often say “San Francisco Bay Area” to avoid confusion. I think I’ll stop doing that now. BTW, technically San Francisco Bay isn’t really a bay - it’s an estuary formed by the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-area-do-you-think-of-when-someone-refers-to-the-bay-area/730148.md?page=4)