I don’t mention it because I want to avoid annoying follow up questions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP will hate me.

I was a military brat and we moved to a new base every three years. The bases were mostly in Central Europe, so that was fun, but the actual housing was nothing fancy *at all* as any military family can attest. My family was, and still is, solidly upper lower middle class.

When people ask me where I'm from, I just say "I grew up in Europe," which is 100% true, and seem much more glamorous than I actually am.

Awesome! I know many self described military brats who are vague about where they are from, and I always wondered why. They grew up on base, amongst Americans, in military apartments. DP here.

I'm PP. There are a few reasons for the vagueness: Not wanting to sidetrack the current conversation topic is usually my reason. What is fun is when two brats find accidentally find each other at a dinner party. Then the discussions of where we grew up can be incredibly detailed: Country, base, street and even specific building.

Are you asking where they are from or where they grew up?
I grew up all over the world but if a stranger asks me where I am from I will say Virginia, since that is where I live now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who are cagey or dishonest about this stuff just aren’t genuinely friendly. At least to you. What’s worse is when you see that they are much more forthcoming with people they are trying to charm.

Are you the main character?

So now having genuine interest/curiosity about other people and wanting to have an actual candid conversation are signs of narcissism? You have got to be kidding.

You seem upset they want to talk to someone else. Perhaps you are boring with your single-minded fixation about WheRE ArE YuO FRoM?

DP here. This is such a bizarre answer, I am not sure where to start. Glad I do not hang out with people who over react this way.

Sure, Jan.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll also answer with a generic but not untruthful response.
It is one of those questions I tend to get from awkward people who are maybe not so good at small talk and who I may not want to tell exactly where I grew up and lived.

Yes, interesting that OP mentions that they hear so many of those types of responses. It may say more about OP than the people giving the answers TBH.

Yes. I only know one person who has done this and they have stopped. It was odd. I do know people who say “Minneapolis” instead of naming their suburb or “Boston area” or “Long Island”. I say something generic like that if it comes up in passing and seems like going on too much to explain it a suburb of X city, etc.

Exactly. Most people are not familiar with all the suburbs of various cities. I am from Shakopee, Minnesota, but I got blank looks when I said this, so I then had to clarify with “Minneapolis.” Eventually I just started saying “Minneapolis.” I don’t think this makes me look “more cosmopolitan.” There is nothing cosmopolitan about Minneapolis. It’s just a shorthand so people understand generally where I’m from.

Hey fellow Minnesotan!! Maple Grove here!

(I do the same thing. If I'm not visiting the Twin Cities area and someone asks me this, I say Minneapolis. No one knows where Maple Grove is, outside of the Twin Cities. )

Doesn't it depend on the context? If I'm with...I don't know, a group of people/parents from my kid's elementary school where everyone clearly resides within a certain geographic boundary, and I'm asked "where are you from?", they're probably wondering where I'm originally from because they'd already know I live within the bounds of XZY Elem. But if I'm at some work event or something and there are people coming to the event from all over, and someone asks me "where are you from" they obviously don't GAF that I grew up in Connecticut. When I say "Washington, DC" they'll make the connection that I work out of our company's DC location. If I'm traveling and am making small talk with strangers on a tour or something, and they ask "where are you from"...again, they want to know where I LIVE/where I traveled from, not where I grew up. If someone answered questions in these contexts with their hometown...that sounds kinda spectrummy...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP will hate me.

I was a military brat and we moved to a new base every three years. The bases were mostly in Central Europe, so that was fun, but the actual housing was nothing fancy *at all* as any military family can attest. My family was, and still is, solidly upper lower middle class.

When people ask me where I'm from, I just say "I grew up in Europe," which is 100% true, and seem much more glamorous than I actually am.

I'd immediately think you probably are accustomed to not showering or bathing, probably a horrible tipper or a non tipper, and you probably are super cheap. As I've been told by a hotel maid who has had to clean up after people. Europeans and a certain ethnic group were the worst. Each one lived up to it's stereotype.

DP who is also grew up in Europe (not military though). I love my European tradition of not giving a tip. I feel offended that Americans dont' respect my tradition.

I agree that the tipping in America is out of control. Businesses are cheap here and don't pay wages to food or hospitality workers as they should. It's a problem.

So I was born in DC. I'm an almost 42 yr old millenial hispanic woman. I lived in DC til I was 5 years old but I still remember it clearly and it's a childhood memory I cherish. When I'm in DC I feel a strong connection. I then grew up in Arlington and lived there til I was 24. Currently in Fairfax. Problem is when people ask where I'm from I automatically say DC or Arlington but then they press on in where I'm really from and I just say my parents so and so. I don't like being asked though because DC is IN MY HEART.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP will hate me.

I was a military brat and we moved to a new base every three years. The bases were mostly in Central Europe, so that was fun, but the actual housing was nothing fancy *at all* as any military family can attest. My family was, and still is, solidly upper lower middle class.

When people ask me where I'm from, I just say "I grew up in Europe," which is 100% true, and seem much more glamorous than I actually am.

I'd immediately think you probably are accustomed to not showering or bathing, probably a horrible tipper or a non tipper, and you probably are super cheap. As I've been told by a hotel maid who has had to clean up after people. Europeans and a certain ethnic group were the worst. Each one lived up to it's stereotype.

You are so gross - more gross than what you described.

I hate explaining that I was born in TX, lived there til I was 9, moved to MI, lived there until 18, moved to Chicago, lived there 10 years, went to New Orleans for three years, and have lived in NOVA and worked in DC since. It was exhausting just typing that out. So I will often just say I'm "from here" because I don't want to deal with it and don't feel like it is anyone's business.

Anonymous wrote:OP will hate me.

I was a military brat and we moved to a new base every three years. The bases were mostly in Central Europe, so that was fun, but the actual housing was nothing fancy *at all* as any military family can attest. My family was, and still is, solidly upper lower middle class.

When people ask me where I'm from, I just say "I grew up in Europe," which is 100% true, and seem much more glamorous than I actually am.

Awesome! I know many self described military brats who are vague about where they are from, and I always wondered why. They grew up on base, amongst Americans, in military apartments. DP here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP will hate me.

I was a military brat and we moved to a new base every three years. The bases were mostly in Central Europe, so that was fun, but the actual housing was nothing fancy *at all* as any military family can attest. My family was, and still is, solidly upper lower middle class.

When people ask me where I'm from, I just say "I grew up in Europe," which is 100% true, and seem much more glamorous than I actually am.

I'd immediately think you probably are accustomed to not showering or bathing, probably a horrible tipper or a non tipper, and you probably are super cheap. As I've been told by a hotel maid who has had to clean up after people. Europeans and a certain ethnic group were the worst. Each one lived up to it's stereotype.

DP who is also grew up in Europe (not military though). I love my European tradition of not giving a tip. I feel offended that Americans dont' respect my tradition.

Anonymous wrote:OP will hate me.

I was a military brat and we moved to a new base every three years. The bases were mostly in Central Europe, so that was fun, but the actual housing was nothing fancy *at all* as any military family can attest. My family was, and still is, solidly upper lower middle class.

When people ask me where I'm from, I just say "I grew up in Europe," which is 100% true, and seem much more glamorous than I actually am.

I'd immediately think you probably are accustomed to not showering or bathing, probably a horrible tipper or a non tipper, and you probably are super cheap. As I've been told by a hotel maid who has had to clean up after people. Europeans and a certain ethnic group were the worst. Each one lived up to it's stereotype.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll also answer with a generic but not untruthful response.
It is one of those questions I tend to get from awkward people who are maybe not so good at small talk and who I may not want to tell exactly where I grew up and lived.

Yes, interesting that OP mentions that they hear so many of those types of responses. It may say more about OP than the people giving the answers TBH.

Yes. I only know one person who has done this and they have stopped. It was odd. I do know people who say “Minneapolis” instead of naming their suburb or “Boston area” or “Long Island”. I say something generic like that if it comes up in passing and seems like going on too much to explain it a suburb of X city, etc.

Exactly. Most people are not familiar with all the suburbs of various cities. I am from Shakopee, Minnesota, but I got blank looks when I said this, so I then had to clarify with “Minneapolis.” Eventually I just started saying “Minneapolis.” I don’t think this makes me look “more cosmopolitan.” There is nothing cosmopolitan about Minneapolis. It’s just a shorthand so people understand generally where I’m from.

Anonymous wrote:OP will hate me.

I was a military brat and we moved to a new base every three years. The bases were mostly in Central Europe, so that was fun, but the actual housing was nothing fancy *at all* as any military family can attest. My family was, and still is, solidly upper lower middle class.

When people ask me where I'm from, I just say "I grew up in Europe," which is 100% true, and seem much more glamorous than I actually am.

Every time I talk to military brats, they have the most interesting stories about growing up all over the world.

OP would think you're being shifty because you don't immediately list all of the bases your family was stationed.