# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/81 "2018-01-15T23:12:16Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Now I am living in a part of Oregon that very few people the country have ever heard of, so I use the state capital, which is fairly close. No one really knows where that is either. That place where they burned all those witches? I grew up in the big city, but I like to say I am from the small town I was born in, which we left when I was 4. Because, how cool is it to be from (not “The”) Enterprise? ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/82 "2018-01-15T23:31:36Z")
When not in Oregon, I say Oregon. The responses are along these lines: [ul][li]::joke about pumping gas::[/li][li]::joke about smoking weed::[/li][li]“Is it just like Portlandia?” (Some sketches, yes)[/li][li]Something about being so crazy Liberal, which is hilarious to me, living just outside of Portland, which may as well be the Deep South politically, like most of Oregon[/li][li]“Did you know Portland has more strip clubs per capita than any city in the US?” (Yes, we know)[/li][li]“You guys have great craft beer!”[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/83 "2018-01-15T23:34:23Z")
I’m from Napa, California. “Oh, the wine country! You must love to drink!” No, actually, I don’t. I was raised by wine connoisseurs, so I really only enjoy the top-of-the-line classy stuff. Everything else tastes just horrible to me. Its like when you finally get to eat a pineapple in Hawaii, from a pineapple plantation, picked 30 seconds ago. From that moment on, all other pineapples taste like bitter, acidic swill. ---
**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 16, 2018, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/84 "2018-01-16T00:26:05Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > 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? Yeah, some people do still talk like that, and yes I do laugh. I’ve been told a good Yankee is one that comes to the south and spends money and goes home. A damn Yankee comes to the south and stays. I told one guy that was trying to bust my balls that if it wasn’t for the Yankees coming south and staying there wouldn’t be anyone smart enough to run any of the industries. I even run into that type of thing occasionally even now that I’m retired. After this many years I talk with a slight southern accent and unless I tell them most people can’t tell where I am from. ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/85 "2018-01-16T00:45:18Z")
If I say Holland, it’s “Hookers! Drugs! Wooden shoes, finger in the dike, tulips. “ If Pittsburgh, invariably they know someone from here. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/86 "2018-01-16T03:15:39Z")
> [@PapaJoe](#): > > 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. My ex-wife was from Coleraine. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/87 "2018-01-16T03:32:28Z")
> [@ArtBeforeScience](#): > > 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? Oh, I’ve kind of had that. In my case it’s mainly been “you can’t be from Spain, you don’t look Mexican!” Well, sorry I’m not [blonde](https://www.google.be/search?q=paulina+rubio&client=firefox-b-ab&dcr=0&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjRiuzqxNvYAhXQLVAKHX27CBoQ_AUICigB&biw=1920&bih=968) enough for you dear (extra points: her lastname happens to mean blonde). Other times it’s been my accent. One time I was trying to get my passport stamped for entry coming back from Mexico overland, and the Customs officer took one look at me and said “but you’re American, just go ahead” and motioned for the next person; she processed three people in the time it took me to convince her to look at my passport and see it’s maroon and has the words Reino de España embossed on the cover. I mean, I wouldn’t have minded if I could’a used that assessment to obtain a blue passport straightaway, but for some reason her superiors insist that looking Southern European isn’t enough to call yourself American. Weird people, huh? My Dominican coworkers got “you can’t be Hispanic, you’re black!” all the time (never from other Hispanics). ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/88 "2018-01-16T04:36:19Z")
I used to get alot of “Do you know Paula Deen?” But not any more. Thank Goodness. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/89 "2018-01-16T04:55:25Z")
> [@ArtBeforeScience](#): > > 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’ve had it more than once from people who are genuinely surprised at encountering a white New Zealander - mostly overseas, but I’ve had it once or twice in Australia, of all places; possibly because “New Zealand community” is, in some areas, a euphemism for “Maori or Pacific Island community.” ---
**Author:** ![Bandisas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@Bandisas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bandisas)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/90 "2018-01-16T05:30:13Z")
When I tell people I live in Tracy, California they say, “Why??” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/91 "2018-01-16T05:33:39Z")
> [@Bandisas](#): > > When I tell people I live in Tracy, California they say, “Why??” “Because it’s better than Modesto.” ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/92 "2018-01-16T05:47:12Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > “Because it’s better than Modesto.” Yeah, well, that one city just north of Stockton: oh lord, you do **not** want to get stuck there. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/93 "2018-01-16T12:35:41Z")
“Yeah! College World Series!” I guess that is the event that defines us. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/94 "2018-01-16T13:56:26Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Yeah, well, that one city just north of Stockton: oh lord, you do **not** want to get stuck there. Again. ---
**Author:** ![PapaJoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9adbd/32.png) [@PapaJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapaJoe)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/95 "2018-01-16T14:47:03Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > My ex-wife was from Coleraine. 😛 Seriously. This happens _ **everywhere I go** _. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/96 "2018-01-16T15:55:47Z")
> [@PapaJoe](#): > > Seriously. This happens _ **everywhere I go** _. I don’t doubt it. I’m originally from Alaska and I used to get a lot of “Oh, do you know Bill Smith? He lives in Alaska!” I’m actually very familiar with da Range, or at least used to be back when we visited her family at least once a year. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/97 "2018-01-16T16:11:46Z")
Another Michigander transplant checking in - I’ve lived in Los Angeles for my entire adult life, but I am from Michigan. It seems Michigan is place that people is (are?) from. When someone in L.A. asks where I am from originally, I will reply, “A small farming community just south of Ann Arbor.” Over the years, on two occasions, the person I was speaking to has replied, “Oh my God! That is exactly how I describe where I am from!” Turns out they are from the same small town and we know each others family, etc. So, that’s kinda cool. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/98 "2018-01-16T16:53:18Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > 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: I live in Chicago now so it’s an easier answer but I grew up in a suburb that was a good distance from Chicago – an hour or more drive. I tried to be clear about where I was from but then I’d get confused looks if I said “an hour Northwest of Chicago.” Some people seemed surprised that there could be something an hour northwest of Chicago (There’s no giant cliff or black hole if you drive past O’Hare, yaknow). If people were familiar with the area then I could say “Near Barrington, but I’m not rich enough to be from Barrington” which is another pointless clarification if you don’t know the area. I used to get a lot of “Al Capone” and “Michael Jordan” as well. Interesting how the two retained cultural cachet for so long. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/99 "2018-01-16T18:18:58Z")
I’m reminded of a story from the early 1980s, that the tourism folks in Kansas City were trying to figure out how to broaden their appeal to tourists. So they conducted some focus groups in New York to see what people’s perceptions were about KC. The answer was “none.” The average New Yorker - as [the famous magazine cover](http://brilliantmaps.com/wp-content/uploads/view-from-9th-ave.jpg) pointed out - had literally no perception Kansas City, and no interest in learning about it, much less visiting it. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570/100 "2018-01-16T18:19:20Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > A lot of times, when I tell someone I’m from DC they say me too, but when I ask them what neighborhood they say Virginia. If I’m out of the area, I’ll say that I’m from DC just because it’s easier\*. But I would \*never \*say “me too” to someone who told me they were from DC! How bizarre! \*I’ve found the usual reaction to be “oh.” I think most people are just happy I named a place they’ve heard of/can picture on a map. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-tell-people-where-you-are-from-what-do-they-usually-say/806570.md?page=6)