# When you tell people where you are from , what do they usually say? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 13, 2018, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570 "2018-01-13T22:16:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reecejackox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reecejackox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reecejackox)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/1 "2018-01-13T22:16:24Z")
I remember reading that when people say they are from Essex , people say “so do you know the cast of TOWIE?” So was wondering if anything like that happened to you from where you are ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/2 "2018-01-13T22:17:07Z")
“What the hell is the UP?” ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/3 "2018-01-13T22:23:52Z")
When I tell people I’m from the Cleveland/Akron area they always seem to know someone from that area (no, not LeBron. Like, their cousin’s husband or something.) Sometimes I even end up knowing the person or having something in common with them. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/4 "2018-01-13T22:39:32Z")
I am not really “from” any one place, but when asked I usually say “Joplin”, where I went to high school and my parents then lived for 40 years. Joplin used to make people mention Route 66. Now they mention the tornado, which yes, did destroy my parents’ house. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/5 "2018-01-13T22:42:36Z")
The typical reaction upon learning where I’m from is one of a combination of shock, sympathy and horror. Flint, Mi. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2018, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/6 "2018-01-13T22:43:32Z")
“Why would you want to live in Michigan?” edit: actually I’ve only received that once, but I don’t travel much and when I do usually the people I encounter are people I already know. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/7 "2018-01-13T22:59:48Z")
Depends in part of where we are. People are likely to ask for more detail than whatever my first answer has been, which in turn also varies by location. If I’m abroad and talking with someone who doesn’t have an obvious Spanish accent it wouldn’t make any sense to give the province, much less the towns. Other Spaniards who are bad at geography are likely to ask if I’m from “Pamplona capital” (there aren’t any others, at least in Navarre; the other Pamplonas are in Latin America) or even from the much-hated “Navarre capital” (there is no town by that name). I’ve had people respond with political shit, but well, I’ve gotten to the point where I’m kind of grateful so long as they’re not physically agressive (which also happened a couple of times). Anybody who does that is making it clear they’re complete jerks, which saves me the effort of finding out. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/8 "2018-01-13T23:06:07Z")
Do you have electricity? The rural area I live is well known locally for being largely uninhabited. FTR I do have electricity, I had to buy my own electric Poles to get it. It is easily broken when a bird lands on the line, but I have it. I also have a generator and solar panels. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/9 "2018-01-13T23:09:34Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > “What the hell is the UP?” We lived in the UP for awhile, I loved it up there. I never knew it existed before that, though. Iron Mt./Kingsford. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/10 "2018-01-13T23:16:49Z")
When I tell people I am from Louisiana, they usually assume that I am from southern Louisiana and usually New Orleans because most people are familiar with it. I am not from New Orleans at all even though I did go to college there. I am from a tiny town right on the Texas border that is Deep Southern and about 365 miles NW of New Orleans. The people that live there are much more Duck Dynasty than Cajun or Creole. Some aspects of Louisiana culture like Mardi Gras and Louisiana cooking extend to most of the state including where I am from but it is mostly just the Deep South. It would be like asking our neighbors in East Texas something about San Antonio or Amarillo. They may know something about them because we both had to take extensive state history classes but a lot of people rarely travel very far outside of the immediate area. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/11 "2018-01-13T23:18:25Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > “Why would you want to live in Michigan?” > > edit: actually I’ve only received that once, but I don’t travel much and when I do usually the people I encounter are people I already know. Because the trees are really pretty here. Also the food is top-notch. Lord I didn’t know how good we had it until I lived in New Jersey and some other states. Michigan has countless delicious, culturally authentic restaurants as a result of our strong immigrant history. Dearborn is just a start. The most common response to where I’m from (a rural town in Michigan) is polite apathy. The most common response to where I live now (a small Township in metro Detroit) is “where is that now?” ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/12 "2018-01-13T23:25:22Z")
“It’s a small planet in an obscure star cluster, you probably haven’t heard of it.” ---
**Author:** ![stolatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@stolatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolatt)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/13 "2018-01-13T23:35:19Z")
Detroit (suburbs): “ooooh shit!” But that was said more often in the mid-eighties than now. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/14 "2018-01-13T23:38:22Z")
There are a statistically unusual number of Michiganders in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/15 "2018-01-13T23:46:12Z")
“Does it really rain all the time?” ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/16 "2018-01-13T23:48:10Z")
“Jesus Christ. Wrap it up. I was just being polite.” (I lived in three different states before second grade) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/17 "2018-01-13T23:52:16Z")
If I’m abroad and tell people I’m from Chicago, they usually say either “Bang Bang! Al Capone!” or “Michael Jordan!” If I’m traveling in the US, they say something like “isn’t it dangerous?” If I’m in northern Illinois, they usually say, “what suburb?” :smack::smack: ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/18 "2018-01-14T00:07:34Z")
From a québécoise friend: “Tabernac, c’est plat!” ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/19 "2018-01-14T00:40:54Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Depends in part of where we are. People are likely to ask for more detail than whatever my first answer has been, which in turn also varies by location. If I’m abroad and talking with someone who doesn’t have an obvious Spanish accent it wouldn’t make any sense to give the province, much less the towns. > > Other Spaniards who are bad at geography are likely to ask if I’m from “Pamplona capital” (there aren’t any others, at least in Navarre; the other Pamplonas are in Latin America) or even from the much-hated “Navarre capital” (there is no town by that name). > > I’ve had people respond with political shit, but well, I’ve gotten to the point where I’m kind of grateful so long as they’re not physically agressive (which also happened a couple of times). Anybody who does that is making it clear they’re complete jerks, which saves me the effort of finding out. My response to your post was “wow”. Then I noticed your user location. Good match. …Location: Hey! I’m located! WOOOOW! **Procrustus:** If you’re not aware already, watch your post count. ---
**Author:** ![laurieb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/51bf81/32.png) [@laurieb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/laurieb)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/20 "2018-01-14T01:08:48Z")
Their responses are diverse. When I tell them I’m from Germany, it can range from, “Did you ever go to Octoberfest,” to “I love German chicks (this one from creepy guys trying to hit on me),” to “what do you think about Nazis?” The last question really irks the hell out of me. People are so ignorant. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570.md?page=2)