stut

I get asked this a lot, as I seem to be hard to place. I grew up moving about, so have an accent that is a bit of a mixture (and am multilingual).

My usual response is "I'm from the West of Scotland, but I live a bit North of London". Seems to cover most bases.

Jenbel

It's confusing for me as well, because when the Scots ask the question, they mean it in a different way to the English. (in Scotland, we distinguish between where you are from and where you live... in England they mean the same thing!). So after 10 years in England, I've learned to answer it by answering both questions to cover both bases at once, much as stut has too!

chococat

Here's when the question can be annoying:

-Where are you from?
--Seattle (where I live now)
-No. Where are you FROM?
--Detroit? (where I grew up)
-No. Where were you BORN?
--Chicago?
-No. Where are your PARENTS FROM?
--Canada?

So finally I give in and say that my ancestors are from China. And then the guy wants to tell me about all the time he spent in Vietnam and how the women there really know how to treat a man. Sheesh.

And that's why I hate getting asked that question.

Swanhunter

I have a very, very obvious British accent and I am perennially bemused when people still ask where I am from.
That is a very elegant way of phrasing it, and makes it look like you are at least trying. ^
That is 15mins stimulating conversation in the UK so don't knock it.

erdehoff

I got asked that a lot when I lived in the UK because for some reason most people thought my accent was Canadian. (I grew up in Colordao. Maybe it's a Rocky Mountain thing, eh?)

On a similar note, yesterday I saw an Asian girl carrying a bookbag with a cartoon that made me laugh out loud. One stick figure says to the other, "Wow, you speak English really well!" The other replies, "I was born here, dumb###!"

lance6

I say the exact same thing when I get the raised eyebrow, tone of disbelief at the newcomer (me):

"Whereyafrum?"

"My mother."

gj83

I don't really have an "accent" as far as americans go, but still get asked where i'm from all the time. It's no easy answer so I think i'll start using this one now.

Usually if i start going through my list of towns people ask if i'm a military brat. It's funny because i have yet to find a branch of the military with all those towns in common...

the_traveler

You mean it's not the same? They both begin with "C"!

viking407rob

People always ask me that. I have a Southern accent so of course they want to know. Having lived in the region most of my life it was inevitable I'd pick it up. I'm not even sure if I'd be considered a "true" Southerner. I've lived a few other places and wasn't born in this area.

A typical response (from a jerk) would be to look horrified and say, "Oh, I figured you were from Georgia or Tennessee." Of course, not everyone I meet is like that. I've met wonderful people from all over the world and many people are fascinated by the area. Most actually say it's beautiful and touristy, being on the foothills of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains. It's rare that someone acts snotty but it has happened. I've always felt the ones who act that way are guilty of what they assume about me: ignorance.

Gargoyle

One time a friend (who wasn't the host of the party) invited me to a party. I showed up before her, told the person at the door who had invited me, and was ushered in. Everyone was in the back of the apartment, so I headed there. Of course, no one knew me, so I was immediately asked where I was from.

It just so happened that this apartment was next door to the one which my parents had lived in until a few months before I was born, and I knew that their bedroom had been the rear bedroom. So... when asked where I was from, I pointed toward the wall, and said, "well, I was conceived about 10 feet in that direction".

For some odd reason, no one spoke to me for the rest of the party (except my friend, when she showed up).

Flyer_70

I'm with you. ^

MariaSF

That's one of my favorite pastimes: having people trying to guess where I am from. I generally give them an evasive answer - such as "no one ever guessed it right", so that they keep trying. I've never lied, though.

Problem is, even when I go visit my country (as in where I was born and where my family and friends are), lots of people think I'm a foreigner. That's very amusing, too.

John Quint

Hey there,

I have actually had that happen before. Born and raised in Florida, don't have a Southern accent (but can force it if needed) but I spent some time living in New Zealand. A few of my pronunciations are still a little "Kiwi" when they come out, or a phrase I'll use isn't common (aka: "No Worries" vs "No Problem", the occasional "mate", etc.) Something very simple and almost stupid....someone will pop the question. Don't know whether to laugh or cry...

skylady

As the answer is too longwinded for most people, I counter with "can you be more specific?"

Marathon Man

But YOU had to come up with that wording and it's just not fair for you to have to do all the work here!... I have had to make catch phrases too, and finding one that fits is satisfying but why is the burden on US? Plus, now you have them asking you MORE things and yeah, when you try to explain, well, you know...

Where am I from? "North Shore, MA." What part? "Well, near XXX. So, how about them Red Sox?" I often answer like that.


BUT, there's more... so why not provide some related examples... Here goes:

When someone close to you dies and people who know about it ask, "So, how are you doing?" you wanna push them over sometimes, and other times you now are having to face the issue again even as you are trying to move along but I eventually discovered that the words, "thanks, I am doing as well as can be expected" kinda work, followed by, "So, how about them Red Sox?"

But you see, it's all up to me! Their feable attempt to spark up convo (and believe me, I am usually that guy, but with no generic questions) make me cringe.

(BTW, there IS no "closure" when someone dies. ...? And there's no "get over it or move on. You move forward, but you don't "get over it dude.")

Now that I got myself all worked up here, I also hate this question:

"So, what do you do for work?" (followed by an obvious attempt by the asker to now have the right to tout their own fluffed up position)

Well, I'll put it this way mate, my mortgage is completely paid off and so, How about them Red Sox? (perfect time at whatever event or function you are at to excuse yourself for another drink)

Since none of my world fits into anybody's mold I have to either explain EVERYTHING or it does not compute and leaves them worse off than if they never even asked. I just wish people would stop having to put things into categories or molds, ya know? Nevertheless, they do and while I certainly get thru it, what a pain it can be sometimes. (hence the OP's thread name, I think)

I therefore have to come up with these creative phrases to deflect or change the question and sometimes I just don't want to be "on" and "quick to the draw" and have to always come up with THE best answer. I could lie but that is no good either. I guess you need to know your audience and make 'em happy, but right now in part of my own world/neighborhood, there are already people siliently questioning my life (like what I do for work, since some of them are not quite where they'd like to be but have worked hard all their lives in the trades or something) and it's bugging me because I'm certainly not judging them! And when I tell them what town I came FROM, they do certainly judge. It has a reputation of being a wealthy town, but that doesnt mean everyone there was.

So ya know, sometimes I just wanna BE.

I guess in the defence of the person asking, they often are the types who have no creativity and have been conditioned to ask these generic questions to make themselves feel more comfy. Some think it's polite too but I noticed over in Holland, some think it's almost invasive to push some issues in public. (They also don't spin around in their chair in restaurants and ask the couple next to them what type of steak that is because they are thinking of ordering one, and they don't ask how much money you make). I only hope if people who ask me get an answer that does not fit some societal mold of sorts, that they too act polite in response to my answer. Otherwise, isnt that rude in another way?... I mean, did they ask to try and lure me or something? Geesh!

Yup, I live in MA, north of Boston in one of those little towns that you need to explain where it is again and then they go "ohhh yeah" without really knowing where it is but you kindly let them out of it, and I am a marketing consultant who is also in home construction, but also event planning and recruiting for specific markets in the creative industries such as interactive and online, and graphic design. I also sometimes am the stay at home dad because much of the above is freelance. When you are out of work, people love to judge ya!

How old is your kid?... Is this your first?... You planning on having more?... What's the name?... Oh what I nice name... My friend's kid has the same name... I hate that name... So how'd you get into THAT business? So can you help me design my business card?... You must make, what, $XXX k?... I had a friend who lived near there once but his house burned down... So are all you people from MA bleeding heart liberals?... So, when are you gonna make an honest woman out of her?(that's when you have been dating your girlfirend too long for other peoples' comfort)... Don't all people from there do X? I heard about that incident in the news (about a place and a town and a situation sooooo far away from you but it's in the same state so they think it's like next door).... and lastly, the best one: "Oh, you are from X town? Do you know so and so? he graduated high school there in 1983..."

No.

MM