what are some popular places said when asked where are you from?
Posted by Senior-Network-2385@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 101 comments
sounds a little confusing but i’m from the US and when people get asked where you are from, by a foreigner, the usually answers are either a few big cities or states like California, New York, or they’ll say like regions when the city isn’t big enough. the midwest, the east coast.. etc. What are popular terms when a foreigner asks an english person.
PotentialRatio1321@reddit
Pretty sure the majority of southern england and east anglia would probably just say “near london”.
I doubt anyone in the north would say that. Depending on the audience, “england”, “north england”, maybe leeds, manchester, newcastle.
Extra_Actuary8244@reddit
I find it interesting that you posted on ask uk, the uk being an island with 4 countries, and then you only specify English people? Why not Welsh, Scottish or northern Irish people?
I’d say this post is an answer but only when talking to Americans
Too many Americans think the uk is England when it’s 4 completely separate countries so when we say uk they wrongfully assume we’re automatically English
The rest of the world that I’ve encountered have heard of my small Welsh town though
Jamericho@reddit
I have been to the States a lot and every time I get dragged into a “Wales? Is that in England” back and forth. I’m too petty to just say yes and end it there because i’m not English.
Even stranger, One went straight to “is that the little part at the top of ireland?”
HumanBeing7396@reddit
To be fair to them, we have deliberately made the country as complicated as possible.
cymbal-grill-marry@reddit
It seems to upset some people when they can't rigidly define something by what their conception of a 'country' should be.
The UK today is a complex artefact of history, politics, and compromise which precedes it and extends into a time before the concept of a nation state was even particularly meaningful. It serves to highlight that our assumptions about the notion of statehood are really more useful fabrications than they are some inalieable taxonomy of human organisation.
Jamericho@reddit
I mean it doesn’t take a lot to confuse them when it comes to geography.
m_leo89@reddit
I think the fault lies with Wales. They weren’t able to establish themselves independently. People don’t confuse the Irish with the English.
teatabletea@reddit
Hahaha. Source: I’m Irish.
Jamericho@reddit
Ireland is a separate Island though. Scots also seem to encounter this issue stateside.
m_leo89@reddit
I highly doubt “the rest of the world” entirely knows your “small Welsh town”.
skdowksnzal@reddit
Yknow how sometimes people refer to The United States of America as “America” even though there are many American countries. It be like that.
Extra_Actuary8244@reddit
The United States is ONE American country
States and countries are not the same
The States in the US also aren’t fighting for independence from the US due to centuries of oppression either
skdowksnzal@reddit
I was not referring to states. Here’s a list of countries in “The Americas”:
North America (Northern) • Canada • Mexico • United States
Central America • Belize • Costa Rica • El Salvador • Guatemala • Honduras • Nicaragua • Panama
The Caribbean (Island Nations) • Antigua and Barbuda • The Bahamas • Barbados • Cuba • Dominica • Dominican Republic • Grenada • Haiti • Jamaica • Saint Kitts and Nevis • Saint Lucia • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines • Trinidad and Tobago
South America • Argentina • Bolivia • Brazil • Chile • Colombia • Ecuador • Guyana • Paraguay • Peru • Suriname • Uruguay • Venezuela
Extra_Actuary8244@reddit
Canada politically don’t like being referred to as American and your south and Central American examples are totally different because they’re individual countries that prefer to be called by their individual names which we do
skdowksnzal@reddit
You’re being intentionally dense now, you know damn well they are all equally American. The fact that people refer to USA as America is colloquial in exactly the same manner as referring to The United Kingdom as England. It is idiomatic, imprecise, but most people understand what is meant unless they choose to be ruthlessly pedantic.
Extra_Actuary8244@reddit
No, YOU are being dense and you’re objectively wrong hence all the downvotes.
The USA is one country and the UK is not, it’s not the equivalent. Texas is the equivalent of Cardiff and Florida is the equivalent to London.
Central and South America are lots of different countries. Colombia is the equivalent of wales and Jamaica is the equivalent of Scotland.
skdowksnzal@reddit
Yes, thats my point. They are all also "America".
Extra_Actuary8244@reddit
But they’re separate countries in the CONTINENT America whereas Texas is a STATE in the COUNTRY America
Wales is a COUNTRY not a state
skdowksnzal@reddit
And? Your point is what?
GlamorganTestesWard@reddit
Bendigedig ! I do the same, I tell folk I live in Penarth (or from Gorseinon originally) and then move outwards until they nod.
If, by the time I get to having to mention Wales and they still haven’t nodded/got it then I mention Gareth Bale.
It used to be Ryan Giggs/Charlotte Church who was the global shibboleth of all things Welsh, but times move on, and now Bale has retired I need to start thinking of another globally-recognised Welsh person.
Ambiverthero@reddit
…and show them that place names don’t actually need vowels.
HatOfFlavour@reddit
An American I once met had never heard of Wales and thought it must be a special town in England with its own language.
Competitive_Test6697@reddit
They can narrow a UK question to England if they want.
Caveman1214@reddit
They can, but it’s sheer ignorance rather than omission
Extra_Actuary8244@reddit
They can but this question isn’t specific to England and given the fact Americans are notorious for making ignorant comments to us Welsh, Scottish and northern Irish for not recognising us as separate countries (or recognising the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland as separate things) I think it’s clear that OP answered their own question by asking this question by correlating England as the entire of the uk
100pc_recycled_words@reddit
To add to your point - roughly 3/4s of the time I’ve said ‘I’m from the UK’ it’s immediately followed by ‘oh - are you from London?’.
And when I say ‘No, Scotland’ I get asked about either London, or Braveheart.
Urthwild@reddit
Did you actually meet Robert the Bruce and are you related to him?
100pc_recycled_words@reddit
I empathise - my husband tries to explain he’s from Worcester (‘…you know, the sauce?’) with varied success
Competitive_Test6697@reddit
Try explaining you live in Twatt
AnyOlUsername@reddit
Nice! I used to live in Evie as a child in the early 90s
Extra_Actuary8244@reddit
Jesus wept
Martinonfire@reddit
Why, was he from London?
tinkerballer@reddit
Extra_Actuary8244@reddit
“I’m actually part scotch and I love celebrating st pattys day”
JoyfulCor313@reddit
Ok, because I’m a self-centered American, I listed the “small” Welsh towns I could come up with off the top of my head. Is yours one of these? Are you North Wales or South Wales?
-Cardiff -Swansea -Wrecsam -Port Talbot -Caerphilly -Aberyswyth (sp?) -Abergavynney (sp?) -Lots more Aber-towns -lots of Ll-towns -lots of Pen- and Cym- towns and the prefix that means “castle” (is that Caer? There are probably a lot more Caer- towns. Caernarfon! (Sp?))
Extra_Actuary8244@reddit
I am very close to one of those north Welsh towns but a little more rural
60sstuff@reddit
you have to be Llanfairpwllgwyngyll
mdzmdz@reddit
Surely they'd have gone Wales/Scotland/NI ?
BlitzballPlayer@reddit
It's extraordinarily common for people to assume that any British person is from London. They could respond that, actually, they're from Sussex which is an hour or so drive from London and still get, "Ahh, so basically London!"
My friend was even on a work trip abroad once and a shopkeeper asked where he was from. When my friend responded, "England," the shopkeeper stopped for a second and then responded, "Ah, that's in London, right?"
PassiveTheme@reddit
I mean Sussex is basically London by the standards of many bigger countries. It's when people from Newcastle get the "basically London" treatment that I find funny
itsfourinthemornin@reddit
Not quite Newcastle, bit lower but yeah, I've had the "is that near london?" type treatment before.
HumanBeing7396@reddit
“Do you know the king?”
Odd_Championship7286@reddit
I’m from south wales and still get the “so pretty close to London” line. Like yeah in the scheme of the world I’m pretty close to London but I promise my village has pretty much nothing in common with a capital city.
Real_Science_5851@reddit
Depends - usually the big cities, but if the person is unfamiliar or it's not a big city then the countries (England, Scotland, Wales, NI), and if the person is well-versed with England and it's not a big city, then the regions - West/East Midlands, the North (West/East), East of England and the S/SW/SE
museedarsey@reddit
I had a “where are you from” conversation that kept getting more specific with each answer until we found out we went to the same school and had lived about a mile apart. We were different enough in age that we wouldn’t have likely encountered each other though.
domsp79@reddit
I had that with a guy in Canada (I'm from the UK), we had the same Polish surname, so we got it down to the region our ancestors were from, to the nearest town to the exact village (that has a population of less than 300) and eventually that his Grandfather and my Great Grandfather were brothers.
museedarsey@reddit
😮😮😮
That’s way better than my story.
PolarLocalCallingSvc@reddit
I enjoy it when this happens.
I was once on holiday in Spain and met the guy who fitted the kitchen in our new build council house before we moved in. He was the one leading the information so it wasn't even like I was saying place names and he was agreeing.
A few years ago I was in Colorado and met a volunteer I used to mentor at university about 10 years before.
Reminds you that it's a surprisingly small world sometimes!
museedarsey@reddit
I’m torn between my two very favourite of these stories. One, I was crossing Old Compton Street and saw someone who looked like a NYer friend of my NY cousin’s that I’d met a few times. I impulsively shouted his name without looking directly at him, figuring it probably wasn’t him anyway as I really didn’t know him that well. Several drinks later, we made an awesome video to send to my cousin. The other, on my way to Spain to meet with friends I ended up passing the Opera House in Paris (train issues) and saw a guy I recognised walking with a girl. I recognised him because he was the l boyfriend of one of the crown I was going to meet and the girl wasn’t our friend. I was going last minute because that guy had cancelled claiming work and they had some spare tickets to stuff. That was the end of that guy.
AirlineSevere7456@reddit
I'm from Warwickshire but would probably say I'm from the Midlands.
Momotaro6@reddit
I'm Scottish. I've been asked if I'm English, Irish, Australian, Polish and once for some unknown reason Jamaican. That one really confused me.
lasarus29@reddit
On a work trip to Arkansas our London based team was greeted in a restaurant with:
"Oh my god I love your accent, are you guys from France?"
At the time it made my jaw drop but I guess, geographically speaking, she was close?
AudioLlama@reddit
I'm from the North-East, England. I was repeatedly asked if I was from Australia in the US. I assume they just heard 'foreign, but native English speaker'
Extra_Actuary8244@reddit
Us Welsh people get asked if we’re Indian all the time
VodkaMargarine@reddit
I feel like my attempt at a Welsh accent has been vindicated
HotSpacewasajerk@reddit
I have a accent thats a mix of middle English, Norfolk, Scouse and Southern Ireland. I get Australia/New Zealand mostly, but also every other English speaking country out there except any of the ones in the UK. I get my accent is hard to place and a bit niche but I've been asked if I'm South African and I'm like ???????
Little-Fire@reddit
I can only imagine their confusion when you explained you are from Scotland 🤣🤣
811545b2-4ff7-4041@reddit
Living within the M25, but not in London - I just say "Near London" as I doubt they'll know where Watford or St Albans is.
Lopsided_Snower@reddit
Leeds - Yorkshire, Northern England. This must be followed up by a short statement on how the North is best
Ambiverthero@reddit
Im from jersey, you know Bergerac cows milk tax havens and invest. Going to America and having to say where you are from was just the start of a geography and history lesson.
yearsofpractice@reddit
Hey OP - honestly, you’ve kind of answered this question yourself - you’ve posted this question in a UK-specific thread which includes England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales… and addressed the question to “English” people.
So… yeah. That’s pretty much everything you need to know.
mdzmdz@reddit
Liverpool, Manchester, York, London seem the main anchor points. You'd think Birmingham too but perhaps not so much.
I'm always tempted to reply Mercia.
JustStraightUpLost@reddit
As a Brummie we tend not to admit we’re from Birmingham, not that our monotone accent doesn’t give it away. Maybe in the US and other countries it wouldn’t be too bad because we have the peaky blinders now.
Ambiverthero@reddit
Just had this abroad meeting other travellers…”we’re from Birmingham” quickly changed when they realised we were also British and become “well no, they are from Birmingham we’re from the Black Country”
Bethlizardbreath@reddit
Don’t forget Oxford and Cambridge.
People have always heard of them, even if they have no clue of their locations.
Ambiverthero@reddit
Agreed, just been to Vietnam and no one would have heard of my town but Oxford, 15 mins away, oh yes big name recognition.
iBonsaiBob@reddit
I've lived in both Portsmouth and Plymouth. Americans always knew Plymouth.
Primary-Angle4008@reddit
I actually live in London so it’s easy for me to answer this question, before I lived in Munich which also most people know and always got me an ahhh Octoberfest reply
Time-Mode-9@reddit
Depends who's asking and why.
If I'm out of the country and someone asks, Normally I'll say England or the UK.
If it's someone's from UK, or Ireland they already know I'm English, so them iv say Oxford.
GnomeMnemonic@reddit
As a Brummie, I now have the Peaky Blinders as an international point of reference, for what it's worth.
DippyDragon@reddit
I like to say local but not local comparatively to most of my colleagues who tend to be from across Europe. My family is spread across various parts of England, Wales and Ireland but I was born in London which is almost a separate country itself.
Sinnistrall@reddit
I'm from Blackpool, which anyone from the UK will have heard of, but to americans I usually just say I'm from near Manchester.
HatOfFlavour@reddit
I find no American has heard of my hometown as it's only real claim to fame is being burned down pretty early in War of the Worlds by tripods with heat rays. So I just say how far outside London by travel time I live.
DivePotato@reddit
Man delivering uPVC window sundries to where unloved at the time
Boss to me: this delivery guy is from your home town (40 min drive away)
Me to delivery driver: oh nice where abouts?
Delivery driver: specific village
Me: oh me too.
Anyway, some back and forth blah blah blah.
Turns out he still lived in the house that he bought from my parents, I left when I was three, this was 30 years later.
Caveman1214@reddit
Are you specifically asking English people or British people? I say Northern Ireland, if they know Northern Ireland I say my county
Sleepyllama23@reddit
I normally say I’m from England then say near Liverpool. Americans say “oh the Beatles!” In Egypt they adore the footballer Mo Salah so start talking about Liverpool FC enthusiastically. In Sri Lanka they equate England with cricket and start chatting about that.
Fresh_Relation_7682@reddit
Usually something like this:
‘I’m not from London, I’m from near Cambridge’
‘Oh so you went to Cambridge University?’
‘No’
‘Where is Cambridge though?’
‘Near London’
When I was studying at Loughborough I went to New York and someone asked where our university group was from so we explained and that it was near Nottingham, leading to:
‘Is Nottingham a real place? I thought all that Robin Hood stuff was fake’
MahatmaAndhi@reddit
I'm from "Peterborough, near Cambridge" because if I answer with just Peterborough then I get the follow up question: Where's that?
Odd-Paramedic-3826@reddit
I've lived in northwich since i was 10, before then I lived in sheffield. I still tell people i'm from sheffield. nobody wants to be from northwich
Nublett9001@reddit
Could be worse, could be Winsford.
Odd-Paramedic-3826@reddit
cheshire absolutely takes the cake for extremely unremarkable towns. Not even bad enough to be joked about, just utterly boring
Empty_Change7506@reddit
Refuse to dignity this with an answer, every American I've ever met immediately asks if we're from london and then look absolutely stunned there's more cities in the uk then that shit hole
Imtryingforheckssake@reddit
South coast of England. I'll name my city if I'm not trying to maintain any semblance of privacy. It's pretty well known. Just not as well known as London or Brighton.
gilestowler@reddit
I always say I'm from London. i was a bit surprised the first time I did it without thinking, that I didn't say I was from England or the UK, but London. When I tell people that they almost always say "hey! Arsenal or Chelsea?" I used to tell them that I don't like football, but that kind of killed the conversation, so I started reading headlines about Arsenal so I can blag it that I know about football and get a conversation going.
When i was in a taxi in Kuala Lumpur, though, the driver said "Hey! Peaky Blinders!" when I said I was from London.
tinkerballer@reddit
Did you see that ludicrous display last night? What was Wenger thinking, sending Walcott on that early? The thing about Arsenal is, they always try to walk it in.
gilestowler@reddit
Oh, they're avin a laugh.
mdzmdz@reddit
I had to double check the context was "as a foreigner", as I've been asked where I was from, based on my accent, in a pub ten miles down the road. There was a certain menace attached too.
AdvanceAlive2103@reddit
Ooop north
HotSpacewasajerk@reddit
I have to say "basically Liverpool", if people are familiar with football (soccer) or the Beatles, then they have at least heard of it. Realistically I'm from the opposite side of the Mersey and closer to being Welsh than Scouse, but its pointless being that specific unless the person indicates they are familiar with the geography.
Willsagain2@reddit
Tenby. Loads of people have visited this beautiful little town in SouthPembrokeshire.
Shot-Ad-363@reddit
"near London," although actually if i say "milton keynes" in the arse end of nowhere the person will usually go "ahhhh milton keynes, concrete cows!" so they're more famous than i thought
KaressaLune@reddit
Usually London, Manchester, or just “near London.” Sometimes “the North” or “Midlands” depending where they’re from.
VelinaQuartz@reddit
London, Manchester, or just “the North” or “down South” if their town’s not well known
Separate-Region2070@reddit
Being from Rehged, A regional kingdom of Hen Ogledd (The Old North) I often say I'm "the north" or North West Cumbria. Many Saxon southerner (anyone South of Manchester) often say "Isn't that north of The Watford Gap?"! Apart and it was Northern limit of Saxon Kingdoms of Essex and Wessex!
Bigallround@reddit
If I'm talking to an American, they'll use London and England interchangeably and get confused when I say I'm not from London.
I'm about 2 hours from Birmingham, nesr the Welsh border, and other nationalities will invariably be familiar with Wales, but they'll mostly list off cities and places nowhere nearby.
Peaky Blinders has helped a little with describing where I'm from. Most of the time, I'll ask if they've seen Hot Fuzz, and they'll get the idea.
probablyaythrowaway@reddit
It very much depends where I am and who I’m talking to. Outside the UK. I will say the UK maybe England. If I’m in another part of the UK I say the nearest city. If I’m in the city I will say the nearest town.
I’ve made life long friends with people because they knew my village and that just never happens.
apeliott@reddit
Depends where that person is from and how much I expect them to know about the UK.
It's either the UK, Wales, or the city I lived near. Usually just the UK.
Familiar_Benefit_776@reddit
I say I'm near Sheffield and when they look blank I'll mention Arctic Monkeys and usually they've heard of them
brightdionysianeyes@reddit
Finzels Reach - somewhere a long way away Spring Gizzards - Pork Scratchings Bob's ticket - Something very good Spiced Wimbledon - A hot curry Miller's twist - a round of 4 pints of the same drink Glasgow Skillet - A long thin kebab Jingles - Loose change Popdiping - Microwave (Wales)
FreshMontrealer12@reddit
« Just outside London » is my response for Essex when asked by anyone in North America. Funnily enough, was on a chairlift at a random ski resort last week and the guy went, oh more specific? Because I worked in Southend sometime and I was like … that’s very specific 😅
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