# What is the biggest misconception of your town? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 13, 2016, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469 "2016-10-13T22:41:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Totenfeier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@Totenfeier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Totenfeier)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/21 "2016-10-14T12:31:10Z")
> [@TwiSpark](#): > > There are probably a few of them 😛 I’m in the UK and this was one of an early 20th century comedy duo. I originally thought that TwiSpark and I lived in the same town; now, c\_carol, I believe that you and I do. (whistling a distinctive tune) ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/22 "2016-10-14T12:43:15Z")
“St. Petersburg, FL : God’s waiting room.” I’ll admit that was true many years ago and while we still have our share of retirees, we have a pretty happening downtown with a university campus in the middle of it. Florida itself is still a retirement destination but St. Pete is definitely more a place for the younger crowd. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/23 "2016-10-14T12:48:36Z")
I’m in Washington, DC. Everything you’ve heard is probably true. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/24 "2016-10-14T13:12:41Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > That we don’t live year round under a mountain of snow. > [@elbows](#): > > This seems an utterly useless discussion without the context of what city/town/location you’re in. > > (Props to Nava, and anyone else who provided their location so readers could have some actual context!) > > (Maybe it’s just me though…carry on regardless!) Fair 'nuff. Buffalo, NY (but not where I live now). ---
**Author:** ![c\_carol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@c\_carol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_carol)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/25 "2016-10-14T13:34:21Z")
> [@Totenfeier](#): > > I originally thought that TwiSpark and I lived in the same town; now, c\_carol, I believe that you and I do. > > (whistling a distinctive tune) I think you are correct. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/26 "2016-10-14T13:42:23Z")
We do not have plane loads of shady lawyers showing up with suitcases full of cash. I live in the Cayman Islands. The [book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Firm_(novel)) and [movie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Firm_(1993_film)) _The Firm_ were FICTION people. ---
**Author:** ![Totenfeier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@Totenfeier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Totenfeier)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/27 "2016-10-14T17:06:19Z")
> [@c\_carol](#): > > I think you are correct. Well, howdy, neighbor ! Been a little chilly recently, hasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![TwiSpark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TwiSpark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwiSpark)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/28 "2016-10-14T21:03:24Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > This seems an utterly useless discussion without the context of what city/town/location you’re in. I think it’s still kind of interesting and doesn’t always need that info. I’m maintaining a form of anonymity here (and probably other forums I join going forward). I have a friend who kinda stalks me around the internet and it creeps me out when he brings up stuff that I know I’ve only talked about on suchandsuch a forum that I’ve never directly told him about. Using the same username everywhere was a bad idea so this time it’s not 😛 But also it’s a small enough town that mentioning it by name would make me obvious on the search engines pretty much instantly. tl;dr privacy - probably the concern that most have! ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/29 "2016-10-14T22:03:10Z")
Chicago=Murder capital of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/30 "2016-10-14T22:09:04Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Fair 'nuff. > > Buffalo, NY (but not where I live now). Ah, well now that makes sense. I was going to ask who ever thought that the North Shore of Long Island was covered in snow year round. For NYC, that’s it’s still a dangerous place to be and that the subways are not safe. It’s no longer the 1980s, and NYC is the safest large city in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/31 "2016-10-15T21:25:30Z")
That everybody in San Francisco is gay. Sure, it’s a very LGBT-friendly city, with one of the most famous gay neighborhoods in the world, but the percentage of gay people is only about 1-1/2 times the national average. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/32 "2016-10-15T23:03:44Z")
That I have a [sister](https://youtu.be/yPvFmtt-enU) named Lucille? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/33 "2016-10-16T00:22:11Z")
assuming you mean the city I actually live in, then it’s not really notable enough to have too many misconceptions about it. the only one I can think of was from when I was little, and is a re-counting by my dad and uncles. we went to a boat race in Madison, Indiana, and there were a bunch of us from my city. we were camping there over the weekend, and apparently one day everyone decided to do a beer run. my dad and his brother went to the local market to buy beer, and when they carded them the elderly shop owner looked at their licenses and said “Saint Clair Shores!?! The whole damn city’s got to be here! 's that where all them millionaires live?” if you mean the city which underpins this metro area (Detroit,) then yeah, there are tons. I’ve encountered people who really believe that in Detroit you “don’t stop at red lights.” Uh, yeah you do, otherwise you’re going to be in a T-bone collision. Downtown you might also run over pedestrians. now, you might see someone get impatient at a lightly traveled intersection and buzz through after they get tired of waiting, but that’s about it. or they believe you’re in grave danger of being shot at the second you wander south of 8 Mile. no, you’re not. the vast majority of violent crime in Detroit (and any major city) is between people who know and target each other. there is, of course, random crime but for the most part, if you don’t go looking for trouble, you aren’t going to find it. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/34 "2016-10-16T01:39:09Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > if you mean the city which underpins this metro area (Detroit,) then yeah, there are tons. I’ve encountered people who really believe that in Detroit you “don’t stop at red lights.” Uh, yeah you do, otherwise you’re going to be in a T-bone collision. Downtown you might also run over pedestrians. now, you might see someone get impatient at a lightly traveled intersection and buzz through after they get tired of waiting, but that’s about it. > > or they believe you’re in grave danger of being shot at the second you wander south of 8 Mile. no, you’re not. the vast majority of violent crime in Detroit (and any major city) is between people who know and target each other. there is, of course, random crime but for the most part, if you don’t go looking for trouble, you aren’t going to find it. This, on a much smaller scale. I live in a city of 30,000 people, about one third African American and another chunk Hispanic, and though the city has some very affluent people and some very pleasant areas, it does have significantly more poverty than most of the surrounding communities. It’s also the county seat, the cultural center of the county, etc., but the racial and socioeconomic composition is what stands out for many people who live nearby–and that means DANGER, WILL ROBINSON. And so there are many people in these outlying areas who will never come into the city if they can avoid it–not for concerts, not for meetings, not for political rallies, not for anything. They’re convinced they’ll be murdered or worse. It’s…weird. I suspect that in addition to the Detroits and Philadelphias that have this sort of reputation, there are dozens of small cities in the US for which this is also the case. I doubt we’re unique. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/35 "2016-10-16T01:50:25Z")
ehh where I live it pretty much lives up to its reputation…not as bad as the 90s tho ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/36 "2016-10-16T06:10:03Z")
That we’re all super religious Mormons with 15 kids, and love Sheriff Joe Arpaio. ---
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/37 "2016-10-16T06:43:48Z")
The people the next town over (population 5300) think that the people in my town (population 1100) are hicks. Meanwhile, the people in my town know we are hicks, and we also know the people in the next town over are hicks as well. No misconceptions here. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469/38 "2016-10-16T07:18:22Z")
The rest of the country believes my city is comprised solely of left-wing gay atheist hipsters - whereas in reality, many of us are just one or two of those things. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-biggest-misconception-of-your-town/768469.md?page=1)