What do you usually say when people ask where you live or where you’re from?

[route101]

I usually say just outside Glasgow.

Why would someone want to know where I come from? What business of theirs is it? People with a legitimate reason to know my address will get it: the rest will get a hard stare.

Just small talk, people don't mean nay bad intentions.

 

[Gloster]

I usually say just outside Glasgow.


Just small talk, people don't mean nay bad intentions.

Maybe, but to my mind that counts as personal information and needn’t be mentioned until well along the line.

My partner, when she was working abroad, just used to say London. However, people used to think she lived in a swanky West End penthouse, rather than a poky one-bedroom flat in East London. For that matter she just used to say London when in this country as people often look down on Dagenham, which was were she was brought up. When I was abroad I just used to say ‘near Bristol’. A lot of people’s knowledge of geography nowadays seem to be limited to where football teams are.

 

[MattRat]

…says the Liverpudlian

At least there are places in Liverpool you can avoid Liverpudlians.

 

[gg1]

Currently living in Halesowen, if it's someone relatively local that's what I'll say, to someone from another part of the county I append the words '....near Birmingham'

A lot of people’s knowledge of geography nowadays seem to be limited to where football teams are.

It does surprise me sometimes quite how limited some British peoples' knowledge of UK geography actually is, and it's not always linked to intelligence, I've met people with masters degrees who are clueless about anywhere other than the areas of the country they've lived or worked.

 

[Iskra]

Currently living in Halesowen, if it's someone relatively local that's what I'll say, to someone from another part of the county I append the words '....near Birmingham'



It does surprise me sometimes quite how limited some British peoples' knowledge of UK geography actually is, and it's not always linked to intelligence, I've met people with masters degrees who are clueless about anywhere other than the areas of the country they've lived or worked.

Having railways as an interest is massively beneficial for geographical knowledge, I have found.

 

[gg1]

Having railways as an interest is massively beneficial for geographical knowledge, I have found.

Very true.

 

[Dr Day]

I always struggle to answer where I’m from. I was born in one place which was where my father was working at the time even though neither him nor my mother were originally from there. I spent my primary education somewhere else, and my secondary education somewhere else again. Where I now live (somewhere different again) I describe like others in more detail depending on the geographic knowledge of the person asking, but I’m not a local so would never say that’s where I’m ‘from‘.

 

[lxfe_mxtterz]

Having railways as an interest is massively beneficial for geographical knowledge, I have found.

Would certainly agree about that - being totally honest, there have been some rather sizeable towns without railway stations which I had previously no clue about, whereas there have been tiny villages which I've always known about (and the location of) solely because of their railway stations.

 

[GusB]

Why would someone want to know where I come from? What business of theirs is it? People with a legitimate reason to know my address will get it: the rest will get a hard stare.

That's a bit harsh, surely. You might strike up a conversation with a stranger and a natural thing to ask, especially if you're in a different area from where you live, is "where are you from?"

I live in a village where there are lots of visitors during the summer months and it's quite natural to get to know them a bit. The military base nearby is undergoing a bit of a revamp so there are also contractors who become temporary residents, often for a few months at a time. Likewise, if I'm away from home in an unfamiliar pub it's not unusual to have a chat with others at the bar, or even the bar staff. It's a normal human interaction unless, of course, you're one of these grumpy "I hate everyone - don't talk to me" types.

My response to the OP's question depends on how local the person asking is. If it's someone from within 50 miles, the chances are that they'll have heard of the village. From those from further afield I'll usually say "just outside Elgin" and if that doesn't ring any bells then "not too far from Inverness" usually does the trick.

 

[Butts]

Currently living in Halesowen, if it's someone relatively local that's what I'll say, to someone from another part of the county I append the words '....near Birmingham'



It does surprise me sometimes quite how limited some British peoples' knowledge of UK geography actually is, and it's not always linked to intelligence, I've met people with masters degrees who are clueless about anywhere other than the areas of the country they've lived or worked.

As you live within Dudley Metropolitan Borough why not say Dudlaaaay

Standby for a load of Auf Wiedersehen Pet related insults in relation to the eponymous Barry and his "West Bromwich Building Society" in those old enough to remember.

My son lives in Halesowen but a stone throw from the Cradley Heath Border and my ex-wife in Old Hill so I am familiar with the area.

 

[Calthrop]

Gloster said: "Why would someone want to know where I come from? What business of theirs is it? People with a legitimate reason to know my address will get it; the rest will get a hard stare."

Just small talk, people don't mean nay bad intentions.

Maybe, but to my mind that counts as personal information and needn’t be mentioned until well along the line.

That's a bit harsh, surely. You might strike up a conversation with a stranger and a natural thing to ask, especially if you're in a different area from where you live, is "where are you from?"

This turn in the discussion, tempts me to a bit of perhaps topic-drifting; concerning things I've read about the very large numbers of American servicemen who spent time prolongedly in Britain in World War II. In the main, relations between "us and them" were reasonably good; but different respective national traits and ways, sometimes made matters a bit tricky. One American thing which had many Britons nonplussed, was their common practice in getting to know each other, of starting off with (say) "Hi, I'm Hank from Missouri; where are you from?" -- sometimes extending it, to asking where in Britain, a newly-met Brit hailed from. The British reaction was often, "what is it with these weird people and their obsession with geography? -- and it's downright nosy to quiz people about such stuff, so early on". And the Yanks, in turn, considered us highly stiff-and-starchy...

Concerning thread's general topic; it's not really an issue for me personally -- for a good many years, my situation has been such that I tend not to meet many new people in "meatspace", where the asking of the question might arise !

 

[70014IronDuke]

Why would someone want to know where I come from? What business of theirs is it? People with a legitimate reason to know my address will get it: the rest will get a hard stare.

I like to know because

a) I often know the place if in the UK or many countries in Europe and beyond(so it's a great way to open a conversation) and

b) because it often helps me remember the person - I may forget the name (I do, regularly), but I'll remember the place they're from, even if it's Halwill Jcn, Haverford West or Hannover, and I've never been to any of those places.

 

[Typhoon]

Why would someone want to know where I come from? What business of theirs is it? People with a legitimate reason to know my address will get it: the rest will get a hard stare.

I thought I was a misery guts, you can always politely decline or be very vague.

I live in an area where lots of people retire to so I sometimes ask, 'Excuse me, would you mind me asking where you are from.' A chap in the nearest house in the next road comes from the same town, we remember places, even people; another chap came from a bit further away, when I explained where I was from we found that he used to fish in the same area as my dad sailed and rode his bike (probably didn't quite overlap) - Belvedere marshes. Which is why I think there is naught wrong with Dagenham, provided a lot of employment!

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Quite often one can place someone by their accent. Some people identify my alleged Queens English in a few seconds, others are baffled, I have to tell them.

Do people keep their accents after living elsewhere for many years?

 

[hexagon789]

Glasgow, as it's where I live! (I mean I'll be more specific if necessary, but Glasgow is good enough normally rather than the area within the city).

Do people keep their accents after living elsewhere for many years?

Seems to vary. Certainly many people have gone abroad to other anglophone countries for a while and returned with the accent of the area they've moved to.

My grandmother's sisters both emigrated to Canada. One retained her Scottish accent her whole life, the other sounded indistinguishable from a natural-born Canadian.

 

[wandacat]

I spent my first 24 years living in Wigan and have spent slightly more than that living in Cheltenham and Oldbury, West Mids.

I still retain most of my Wigan accent and am often asked where I originate from.

I’ve lost count of the number of people who assume Wigan is in Yorkshire.

 

[Hardcastle]

I mention the county then the city i live.

 

[alex397]

It does surprise me sometimes quite how limited some British peoples' knowledge of UK geography actually is, and it's not always linked to intelligence, I've met people with masters degrees who are clueless about anywhere other than the areas of the country they've lived or worked.

I studied Geography at university, and someone else on the course genuinely thought Hertfordshire, where they came from, was south of London. Obviously people can’t be expected to know everything (my geographic knowledge of northern England and Scotland is a bit sketchy) but it’s incredible how some people just don’t know the basics.

Back to the thread topic, I usually say my town in east Kent. While I could say London, it feels completely different from where I am. I’ve found in Belgium and Germany, some people actually know where I’m talking about. I even spoke to a man in Serbia who unbelievably used to live in the same place too. I probably wouldn’t get the same conversation if I just said I was from ‘just outside London’.

 

[Calthrop]

I studied Geography at university, and someone else on the course genuinely thought Hertfordshire, where they came from, was south of London. Obviously people can’t be expected to know everything (my geographic knowledge of northern England and Scotland is a bit sketchy) but it’s incredible how some people just don’t know the basics.

I once had a work colleague -- a perfectly intelligent and in most respects switched-on woman -- whose strongly-asserted or at least claimed belief, was that the points of the compass constantly changed according to which way one was facing at the time: north, was always whatever direction one was facing in. This could, I suppose, be seen as a garbled mis-assumption derived from the convention by which on maps, North is always "up" or "at the top". (Will admit that I suspect more than a little, that she was just messing with us.)

 

[nlogax]

Marked 'other' because quite frankly I don't think I 'come from' anywhere in particular. Lived in too many places, none of which I would truly consider home and I can't personally think of anywhere in my experience that suits that definition.

 

[gg1]

I studied Geography at university, and someone else on the course genuinely thought Hertfordshire, where they came from, was south of London. Obviously people can’t be expected to know everything (my geographic knowledge of northern England and Scotland is a bit sketchy) but it’s incredible how some people just don’t know the basics.

Best one I ever heard was from a former work colleague who was convinced Exeter was in Wales.

 

[Busaholic]

Isn't it a question of Mars or Venus, though I suspect some are from Uranus?

 

[DelayRepay]

I’m from a village in Rotherham. Either people haven’t heard of Rotherham, or it conjures up quite negative connotations, so I tend to say ‘near Sheffield’. If they haven’t heard of that, I say South Yorkshire.

I'm also from Rotherham, but since I've moved to the south of England I tend to say Sheffield. Not many people here really know where Rotherham is, and, as you say, those who have heard of Rotherham seem to have heard of it for bad reasons.

Equally, when I used to speak to people from Rotherham (or Sheffield), if I told them I lived in St Albans, I'd be met with a blank stare. Even Hertfordshire didn't really help so it ended up being 'Just north of London'.

Best one I ever heard was from a former work colleague who was convinced Exeter was in Wales.

When I lived in St Albans, one of my friends from Yorkshire messaged me asking for a small favour. He'd bought something on Ebay from a seller in Bristol, and wondered if I could pop round and pick it up for him to avoid postage costs. He seemed genuinely surprised when I declined on the basis it would take about six hours to get there and back, and cost more in petrol than the postage charge.

Another friend once told me he was visiting my area and suggested meeting for a drink. It turned out he was going to Dover - which in his mind is near London, as is St Albans!

Do people keep their accents after living elsewhere for many years?

I've kept my Rotherham accent despite not living there for 15 years. In fact it seems to have got stronger.

Most people here (in the South of England) can't identify it as a Rotherham accent, or even a Yorkshire accent. It's just generic 'northern'. But I guess I am the same - I can recognise a Scottish accent, but cannot distinguish between the different parts of Scotland.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

I have not lived in Wales since 1979 - but obviously can be identified as Welsh. I stress "near Swansea" as nobody has ever really heard of Ammanford. I always comment it is not the Valleys.

 

[Strathclyder]

Depends on who's asking to be honest and if I'm in the mood to actually answer (if I'm not, I always politely decline to answer) - Greater Glasgow or Glasgow for total strangers, Clydebank for friends and the specific area of Clydebank for close friends.

Do people keep their accents after living elsewhere for many years?

In the reverse of this, I was born in Stevenage to Scottish parents, but my folks only stayed there for a few months after having me (a year at most) before moving back up north to Glasgow (lived in Old Drumchapel out in the western suburbs) for a few years before moving a few miles further west to Clydebank, which is where we've remained since. As a result, I have a rather thick Glaswegian/'Bankie' accent and those meeting me for the first time wouldn't have the slightest idea that I was born just under 30 miles north of London.

 

[43172]

Generaly give county, not coming from one of the touristy areas of Cornwall saying my home town will noramlly result in blank looks, followed by "Is that near (insert Cornish town they have heard of/Truro (Truro being the only city in Cornwall))?" If the other person mentions they're from Cornwall then I'll give a more presice answer.

 

[DerekC]

Depends who is asking and what they are likely to know as a reference point. To locals I give my village or the nearest pub. To other Brits Hampshire generally works. To railway people it's the nearest station! (Most posters on this forum will know that Petersfield is on the Portsmouth Direct). Overseas you usually score a hit with Southampton (because they know that's where the Titanic sailed from) but generally people wouldn't have a clue where Hampshire is, unless they have been here.

You do have to be careful when asking, though. People with a regional British accent generally like you to guess where they originated, but to anybody in Britain not of white Caucasian appearance "where are you from" can be seen as a loaded question, to find out whether they are a recent immigrant whereas "where do you live" is OK. And I recall being slightly miffed when an American (in the US) thought I was Australian by my accent. Why I was miffed I am not quite sure! And of course "where do you live" can be seen as an intrusive chat-up line, although I am far too old for such things!!

 

[ABB125]

For me, it depends entirely on who's asking. For example, if it's a foreign tourist asking, or if I'm abroad and I'm asked, "near Stratford upon Avon" usually suffices!

 

[ChrisC]

Unless I am speaking to someone locally, who would have heard of the village where I live, I would say the name of the county, Nottinghamshire. That’s mainly to establish that I live in the county and not the City of Nottingham.
People often respond by saying they have been to Notttingham or that Nottingham is a nice city. Anyone who knows Nottinghamshire, or has traveled up the ECML from where it enters Nottinghamshire north of Grantham, through Newark and Retford, to where it leaves the county just south Doncaster, will know how rural most of the county actually is. People who don’t know the county think it is very urban and industrial.

 

[Calthrop]

Unless I am speaking to someone locally, who would have heard of the village where I live, I would say the name of the county, Nottinghamshire. That’s mainly to establish that I live in the county and not the City of Nottingham.
People often respond by saying they have been to Notttingham or that Nottingham is a nice city. Anyone who knows Nottinghamshire, or has traveled up the ECML from where it enters Nottinghamshire north of Grantham, through Newark and Retford, to where it leaves the county just south Doncaster, will know how rural most of the county actually is. People who don't know the county think it is very urban and industrial.

(My bolding) -- unless they are, strictly at second-hand, big Robin Hood fans; so, think that Sherwood Forest is still huge ...