# 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:** 4
**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 15, 2018, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/61 "2018-01-15T01:59:05Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I now live in west Michigan, but I’m from the Detroit suburb of Dearborn (mentioned above by Spice Weasel); grew up there and spent 36 of my 43 years there. Usually when I tell people around here that I’m from Dearborn it’s something along the lines of “Oh, yeah, glad you got out. What was it like being the only non-Muslim?”:rolleyes: I work in Dearborn. It’s rather disheartening how many people I encounter (both online and IRL, but mostly online) who’ve never been to this area at all but seem intent on telling me about all of the horrible things going on here. ---
**Author:** ![ASGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@ASGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/62 "2018-01-15T02:21:05Z")
I’m proud of my home town, so I say “Pacoima.” **Senegoid** would understand instantly. But most would not have the faintest idea where Pacoima is. So in fact I usually say “the Los Angeles area.” Anything they might say about “the Los Angeles area” is discarded. Pacoima may be a district within the city limits but Pacoima is _not_ Los Angeles, it’s Pacoima. Bully for my hometown! It was a great place to grow up. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/63 "2018-01-15T03:08:13Z")
I say New York (since Queens is now sitcom territory, apparently) in temporary exile in the Bay Area. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/64 "2018-01-15T03:09:22Z")
No matter where I go, US or abroad,\* everyone\* says “Elvis!” Guess where I’m from. No, come on, guess. 🙂 ---
**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:** [January 15, 2018, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/65 "2018-01-15T04:29:22Z")
If I say it, people ask “How do you spell that?” If I spell it, people ask “How do you say that?” ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/66 "2018-01-15T06:42:57Z")
I’m from Chicago. Gaspé Peninsula, June 1972 (for the eclipse): A person who spoke only French imitated a machine gun (with noises). Someplace else in Canada, same time: English speaker said, “Oh, I thought you were from Toronto.” England, May 1976: only one person said, “Oh, gangsters!” San Francisco, 1980s: One person said, rather seriously, “They’re mostly blue-collar there.” Another said, laughing a bit, “They’re all farmers.” ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/67 "2018-01-15T07:10:05Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > No matter where I go, US or abroad,\* everyone\* says “Elvis!” Guess where I’m from. No, come on, guess. 🙂 Blue Hawaii? ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/68 "2018-01-15T07:57:46Z")
In instances of racking of brains to think of some comment to make, on a person’s announcement that they come from a place which one regards as less than stellar; I find tempting, Bill Bryson’s addition to the information that he’s from Des Moines, Iowa: “somebody has to be”. ---
**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 15, 2018, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/69 "2018-01-15T16:04:53Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > No matter where I go, US or abroad,\* everyone\* says “Elvis!” Guess where I’m from. No, come on, guess. 🙂 Tupelo? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/70 "2018-01-15T16:35:02Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Hey, do you get to the brewery much? Damn good brewery. Breck Brewery? Sure. There’s another one that’s real good ‘Broken Compass’. ---
**Author:** ![blobus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@blobus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blobus)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/71 "2018-01-15T17:53:28Z")
When I tell someone I’m from Arkansas, the most common response is a bewildered, “Why?” ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/72 "2018-01-15T19:34:20Z")
If the questioner is from the the US the response is likely a blank stare. If the questioner is from the state of Louisiana it is a nervous twitch as they reach for their gun. If the questioner is speaking Portuguese then I reply olá. ---
**Author:** ![ArtBeforeScience](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@ArtBeforeScience](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArtBeforeScience)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/73 "2018-01-15T19:41:08Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I’m delocalized, like electrons in resonant rings 😃 That is funny. I’m surprised no one on here has had push-back because of racial issues. Like you say you’re from New York, and they say no, where are you REALLY from? I’m from lots of places so now I just state where I live and sometimes say I grew up on the East Coast. If I tell them I’m from NJ I get dumb ass jokes about “Joisey” and nobody I knew ever talked like that. If I’m in foreign parts and say I’m from NY I do get asked “Oh do you know…” some random person. People are just trying to make conversation and don’t know how. I don’t even ask where people are from now. Sometimes I ask where they grew up, and then ask them what it is like there. Partly to avoid making dumb remarks. Also if they had a hard life, refugee or something, then I find that out before making assumptions. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/74 "2018-01-15T19:51:18Z")
I’m from the south side of Chicago and most people have no clue so I just get a blank stare. Last year when I was in the UK and said I was from the States, everyone replied “I’m sorry about your president.” ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Terrific](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tom_terrific/32/342_2.png) [@Tom\_Terrific](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Terrific)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/75 "2018-01-15T20:39:27Z")
I’m from Illinois. When I tell people that, the most common response is something along the lines of “Damn Yankee”, or sometimes “Fuckin Yankee.” Doesn’t bother me after living in Florida for over 30 years and in North Carolina for another 12. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/76 "2018-01-15T20:47:21Z")
I don’t ever remember getting “What exit.” I have been aske “Where’s the accent?” This is what you get. Most of the people in Jersey Shore were not from the state. James Gandolfini needed a dialect coach to play someone from Bergen County of Italian descent even though he was a guy from Bergen County of Italian descent. Most of us don’t sound like that. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/77 "2018-01-15T20:51:37Z")
> [@Tom\_Terrific](#): > > I’m from Illinois. When I tell people that, the most common response is something along the lines of “Damn Yankee”, or sometimes “Fuckin Yankee.” Doesn’t bother me after living in Florida for over 30 years and in North Carolina for another 12. Wait. Really? I think I’d laugh my ass off if someone said “Damn Yankee” or “Fuckin’ Yankee” to me. People still talk like that? ---
**Author:** ![PapaJoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9adbd/32.png) [@PapaJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapaJoe)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/78 "2018-01-15T21:31:32Z")
I’m from the Iron Range of northern Minnesota. Invariably when traveling out-of-state, I mention where I’m from and someone chirps in with “I / my relative / my spouse is from north of Nashwauk (a tiny town on the Range).” Seriously, there isn’t enough space north of Nashwauk for all the people around the country I’ve met to have lived there. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/79 "2018-01-15T22:43:45Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > \ Many seem to think it is hell on earth, but that is just a few areas like Camden. \ Hey, don’t diss Camden! That’s the town where my 17-year-old self fell in love for the first time and I [blush] _lost my virginity_ [/blush]–somewhere along Federal Street, as I recall. It was a momentous, yet painful experience…until she removed her dentures, then it was smooth sailing. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/80 "2018-01-15T22:52:35Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > Hey, don’t diss Camden! That’s the town where my 17-year-old self fell in love for the first time and I [blush] _lost my virginity_ [/blush]–somewhere along Federal Street, as I recall. > > It was a momentous, yet painful experience…until she removed her dentures, then it was smooth sailing. Well as I recall from the historical documentaries like _Futurama_, New Jersey was voted the official joke state by the Founding Fathers and thus even in defending New Jersey, I must make fun of a few places at least like Camden, Elizabeth and lets say Lakewood. **Loach** : I actually got asked \*what exit? \*at least twice, once memorably in bootcamp. Many more times online. I’ve had many people say I don’t sound like I’m from Joisey, to have to explain very few people outside of a small part of the state sound at all like that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570.md?page=5)