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myothercarisapynchon t1_iwrg6gf wrote

as a native philadelphian i find it severely irritating when people claim to be from philly but are actually from bryn mawr, or deptford, or somewhere in delaware even. if i was not from philadelphia but one of these surrounding areas, i would say i was from the greater philadelphia area, or the suburbs of philadelphia.

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MasterKenshi13 t1_iwrgzob wrote

Yeah people wanna claim philly but don't live there or deal with philly problems, it just sounds cool to them. People living in Bryn Mawr and beyond whose parent's don't even let them go to the city like that wanna claim it. Irritating indeed.

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And the septa part, the 'P' doesn't stand for philly so to me it doesn't matter where septa goes.

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typeytypetype t1_iwrhdsy wrote

I think there's a difference between people adamantly claiming they're from Philly when they're not for the 'cred', and telling outsiders that you're from Philly as a means of generalization.

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DisciplineShot2872 t1_iwri7ia wrote

I'm new to Philly (but my address is Philadelphia). My ex wife, who I met in LA always said she was from Philly. She was from Wynnewood and avoided the actual city at all costs. She was exactly the sort you're talking about.

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SouthPhilly_215 t1_iws50k5 wrote

Right… People wanna come get educated in Philly, work a high paying corporate job in Philly, run businesses and amass wealth for themselves in Philly… But they wanna live outside the city and not participate in needed solutions for the city, and they vote their tax bracket (for tax breaks) outside the city. But when they’re traveling and need a solid identity, its “Philly baby!” all the way. Clowns

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BasileusLeoIII t1_iwrllyl wrote

> Yeah people wanna claim philly but don't live there or deal with philly problems, it just sounds cool to them.

do you think this is the likely motivation?

Or do you think it's just a lot easier to say "I'm from Philly" rather than explaining what Bryn Mawr is and how you commute from there into Philly for work, or giving them a word salad mouthful about the greater Philadelphia metropolitan area

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CookedDenimRawPizza t1_iwrmk0u wrote

Why can’t you just say “I’m from outside of Philly” or “I am from suburban Philly”. It’s just as easy and not word salad at all.

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Odd_Push_307 t1_iwrhbq4 wrote

That’s only weird to say if you’re saying it to a Philadelphian in Philadelphia. Why on earth would someone say “I’m from Bryan mawr” to a Californian they met on vacation in Mexico?

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Dryheavemorning t1_iwriinb wrote

They could just say they are from the Philadelphia area, that would be accurate and give a person a sense of where they are from without being misleading.

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Moose2157 t1_iwrlf14 wrote

People act like saying “Just outside Philly” is a mouthful and is also inundating the other person with information. Doesn’t seem like either to me.

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CathedralEngine t1_iwrjwm8 wrote

Yeah, exactly. It gives a ball park proximity of where in the country you’re from. If they’re familiar with the area they might ask where in Philly, and then you can go into more detail.

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Little_Noodles t1_iwrjxco wrote

I can’t bring myself to care all that much when people do this, because it does make a certain sense. But that’s what the qualifiers “a suburb bordering” or “just outside” are for.

Like, I used to work at a school “about 30 minutes southeast” of Philly.

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Weinertabogon t1_iws0bca wrote

lol agreed. ive been in countries where people didn't even know where Philadelphia is, so i would say like "near NYC" or "2hrs from NYC"

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typeytypetype t1_iwrgy6i wrote

Gotta be honest, I'm not sure what there is to get bent out of shape about. I grew up in Montco, but have been living in Philly for more years than I did Montco. Around here, I tell people exactly where I'm from, but if I'm talking to someone unfamiliar with the area I just say I'm from Philadelphia because it's easier and I assume no one cares enough for me to bother clarifying.

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myothercarisapynchon t1_iwrhjyu wrote

i think it’s exciting to have that in common with someone, until i ask what neighborhood and they look back at me blankly because they are not from philadelphia lol

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typeytypetype t1_iwri3gs wrote

Hear that, and agreed, I would think it's weird for people to tell other locals that they're from Philly when they're not actually.

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myothercarisapynchon t1_iwridm9 wrote

yeah, i guess my experience with this is mostly from when i went to drexel years ago. i do think it’s different when whoever you’re talking to wouldn’t be familiar with whatever small locality you actually hail from

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Little_Noodles t1_iwrj4p4 wrote

You’re at least living here now, though, and have been for a while. That’s a way different thing than someone that grew up in MontCo, mayyyybe went to college here with no intention on staying, and then moved back saying they’re from Philly.

I didn’t grow up here, and I moved around the country a bit after college, but I’ve been here as long as I’ve been anywhere and don’t plan to leave.

Where else would I say I’m from? The town I haven’t lived in for 20+ years and never will again? The only conceivable reason to do that is if the person is very obviously asking where I’m “from” as shorthand for “where did you live as a child?”.

Like, if I’m in a bar in Philly and someone asks if I’m from here, I tell them I grew up down the shore in South Jersey, but moved here after grad school, because I’m not sure which version of the question they’re asking.

But if I’m somewhere I needed an airplane to get to and someone asks where I’m visiting from, where I lived when I was 11 isn’t relevant, and I’m from Philadelphia.

Though I’d agree that the audience matters. If “Philly” barely means anything to the person you’re saying it to, it really doesn’t matter if you say you’re from Philly or “just outside” Philly. You should say “just outside”, but the person you’re saying it doesn’t care and neither do I, really.

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typeytypetype t1_iwrjvu2 wrote

Agree with all of that. I think of my brother, who lives in CA and also grew up in Montco, and he regularly tells people in CA that he's from Philly. Not because he's trying to claim some 'status' as a Philadelphian, but because no Californian knows the surrounding county names or cares. However it'd be pretty cringe if he went around telling people here that he's from Philly.

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respondstostupidity t1_iwsel32 wrote

> I'm not sure what there is to get bent out of shape about

It's kind of irritating because you think you might know someone's family or be able to relate to them but then when they say Lancaster, they may as well have said Nebraska.

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SouthPhilly_215 t1_iws4d1x wrote

Exactly! Its even more annoying when you’re watching someone trying to fight somebody at a club somewhere in like… Houston or Austin or Dallas and they’re like “Yo I’m from Philly. Back the fuck up!” and you can just hear the gears turning in their head about how effectively they can use the word “Jawn” in their next sentence… and you can also tell they’re from like Upper Darby or Broomall or Radnor. Hahaha. But hey, they took a school bus into North Philly into the highly secured St. Joe’s Prep area of 17th & Girard for 4 years. So you know… They’re practically Bernard Hopkins inside. Lmao

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