So what can you tell us about your hometown?

[Hurricane V1]

I live far in the backwoods section of a town outside Pittsburgh called Canonsburg. I've traveled very little in my life. I've basically been to Philly, Montreal, Columbus and Orlando. In the last few years I've spent a lot of time trying to get to know Pittsburgh. Living in the woods most of my life makes me crave the city sights and experiences. The urban part of Canonsburg and surrounding urban areas, without huge structures like bridges and skyscrapers, they just don't seem all that exciting.

Pittsburgh is not the most desireable place to live I'm told, mostly due to the economy and job market, which is a situation I'm aware of personally. There's a little bit of pride in me, though, that makes me want to make it in Pittsburgh rather than moving across the country like most of my friends did. Though I do want to explore more of Florida and Philadelphia in the years to come.

Just talking to people along the streets has enlightened me to the uniqueness of my city. I thought I spoke a very generic English. I know that relatively speaking, everyone has an accent, but apparently, we have a distinct sound as well as slang. I've been calling washrags 'wurshrags' my whole life, but I thought that was because I was being lazy in my speaking. From what I understand:
calling thorns 'jaggers'
saying something slippery is 'slippy'
saying I'm going to 'redd up' my room
using 'anymore' in a positive sense
calling traffic lights 'red lights' when giving directions
and saying yinz or yunz instead of y'all or yous
are all part of Pittsburghese. I find it hard to believe. I'm hoping some people here who live further away can assure me that they speak similarly.

I'm also told chipped ham was created in a local township and that most people outside of this area of the country don't know what it is.

Enough about the Burgh, tell us about your hometown. If you come from a particularly big city, maybe tell us some rather unknown details about the section you come from or the surrounding areas.

[Mittenz]

All I can say is that I despise my hometown with every proton, neutron, and electron of my body. Don't ask.

[Kagetsu]

I thought I spoke a very generic English. I know that relatively speaking, everyone has an accent, but apparently, we have a distinct sound as well as slang. I've been calling washrags 'wurshrags' my whole life, but I thought that was because I was being lazy in my speaking. From what I understand:
calling thorns 'jaggers'
saying something slippery is 'slippy'
saying I'm going to 'redd up' my room
using 'anymore' in a positive sense
calling traffic lights 'red lights' when giving directions
and saying yinz or yunz instead of y'all or yous
are all part of Pittsburghese. I find it hard to believe. I'm hoping some people here who live further away can assure me that they speak similarly.

:anime: Oh yea, that's a central/west Pennsylvania accent. My Mother, Aunts and Uncles all talk like that. That part of my family is from the Lancaster area of Pennsylvania. Imagine that mixed in abit with Southern and you have my accent. I use y'all instead of y'uinz.

A mid size town just inside the Allegheny mountains of Maryland. Mostly rural with structures dating all the way back to before the French and Indian War and the near by Antietam Battlefield and old C&O Canal, and a very nice regional airport. Travel was a large part of life, so I've been north to Canada, south to Florida and west to Colorado and Utah. Visiting many museums and historic sites.

[Kury Wagner]

http://www.city.milwaukee.gov/

Milwaukee is filled with parks, bars, and churches-- just like the rest of the state. There are too many condominiums downtown, but the east side has the best damn gyros you'll ever eat, aside from being in Greece. We have groovy comic book shops, with uber friendly nerds that work there. And our library system is amazing. We have thirteen branches throughout the city, and the combined collection is massive [somewhere right over 3 million materials]. Our museums are cool, too. [MAM, Discovery World, MPM with IMAX.] We have a ton of festivals throughout the year, including PrideFest and Summerfest. Then there's the lake... it is so gorgeous. It doesn't matter where I am in the city, I have memories to link to everything. I can spend the whole day walking around, taking pictures, and I'd be incredibly happy. I love Milwaukee.

[Zeonic Freak]

Uh.... let me think.

Well because of my job, i work in the college parts of where i live. Saturday i was at the Dean Smith center (UNC BBall stadium) doing a thing there, and where i usually go to get my anime/comics are in the NCSU area (which is like 10 minutes from my house).

This is a college area in the RTP area with Duke in Durham, UNC in Chapel Hill and NCSU near my house.

Theres a mall like 5 min from my house, and a shopping center about the same distance as well which those are my areas i go to.

Well, thats about it for now.

[Michael24]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunnyvale%2C_CA

Teri Hatcher was born there and went to the same middle school and college that I did. Also, the Toys R Us is supposedly haunted, and Sunnyvale had the very first Pong machine.

[KuwabaraTheMan]

My hometown area of Fredericksburg, VA is alright. Well, I live in the county, but just 2 minutes from town. The town has a lot of history, but as far as stuff to do, not much.

It's an alright place, though.

Salem, VA, where I go to school, is ridiculously tiny. It's essentially a one street town.

[Fan of Sponge]

All I can say is that I despise my hometown with every proton, neutron, and electron of my body. Don't ask.

That's how I feel about my town too. The political corruption in my town has ruined alot of history and continues to head south. I can't wait to graduate from high school and head off to Ohio State in Columbus. I heard it's really nice in Columbus.

[Weatherman]

Columbus? It kind of "is", like Indianapolis used to be, unless OSU is playing a home football game. That's just nuts.


I doubt I have to tell people too much about Balmer or Worshington. Yes, that's how it's usually pronounced around here. Don't ask me why. As for my actual home town of Bowie....

Kathy Lee Gifford was born there and went to my high school.
All of the Sports Junkies, local moring radio group, are from Bowie.
Paul Reed Smith of PRS Guitars is from Bowie and still has his shop just up the road in Millersville.
Town used to be farily white, but it's gotten alot more mixed in the last ten years. I used to joke that it was the "white corner of Prince George's Couty", but it isn't so much anymore.
It's the only real city between DC and Annapolis.
Used to be home to one of the East Coast's most famous winter season gorse tracks, but that closed a while ago and is just a horse training facility now.

[XOMiss_Samantha]

Err..my home town is, well, the smallest place you'll ever vist:sweat: . The most we have down town is 2 bars, 3 hair salons, 1 gas station, and 1 icecream shop. Though, despite how I think i'd perfer city living better (though i've never really lived in a city..), I do love my little hometown in the middle of CT. Expecially now and in the fall. The part of town I live in (a devlopement of new homes built not long ago) is surrounded by beautiful mountains and lakes. Everyone seems to know everyone. It's a wonderful place to take walk around in the summer, too.

[Ishtar]

These pages pretty much tell you all about my little town of LaGrange in NY.
: http://www.lagrangeny.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaGrange,_New_York

It's an alright place to live, it's in the country, and it's right by the city of Poughkeepsie. This is the school I attend regularly:
http://www.arlingtonschools.org/ArlingtonHigh/AHW.html

[Ryan227]

Somerville is so close to Boston MA it's like Boston, when I look out my window I see Boston but I'm not in Boston :p

It's the most densely populated city in New England.

The guy who wrote the Monster Mash came from here.

Er, that's it?

http://www.ci.somerville.ma.us/

[purplehairedwonder]

Well, I was grew up Norcross, GA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norcross%2C_Georgia) (well, close to Norcross anyway) but moved when I was 13. It's a suburb of Atlanta so most of the things to do involved going to the city. It's grown a lot since we moved and almost doesn't even look like the same place in 2007 as in 2001.

We moved to Bozeman, MT (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bozeman) in late 2001. It's the home of Montana State University and is a very pretty place, but with winters that last from October through April and even May. We've had snow in July and with all the terrible weather we've had, we never had a day of school canceled. It's a place for the skiiers in the winter since there are three hills within driving distance, but I'm not much of a winter person so I've suffered through 5 long winters of shoveling driveways and -30 degree weather. In the summer, though, it's a beautiful place and we're 90 minutes from Yellowstone Park. There isn't much to do that hasn't been done over and over, but we make do.

I'm currently attending school in Gainesville, GA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gainesville%2C_GA), which is about an hour outside of Atlanta compared to Norcross' 30 minute drive. There is a large hispanic population which tends to gather at Wal-Mart :p It sits by a lake and our softball fields overlook the water. Humid summers, mild winters, snow days... Yep. There are a lot of very southern people here so it's Coke, sweet tea, and grits all the way. Erm, yeah.

[New Noise™]

As of 2000, there has been 11,542 people living in the town. :eek:

[The Wolverine]

I'm originally from Ashland, KY.

It's claim to fame is being the birthplace of The Judds, Chuck Woolery and 2006 NL Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb.

Also... Billy Ray Cyrus is originally from Flatwoods, which is 10 minutes up the river.

[Dr.Pepper]

Some lady with the worlds largest bannana collection lives somewhere around here or at least that's what it said on Food Network.

[shadowspiderider]

i live in lake holidey subvisioin in somonauk ill and somonauk is small town

[Zeonic Freak]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cary%2C_North_Carolina

Oh yea, that doritos commercial during the superbowl, was made like 5 min from my house.

And one of the safest places to live, like in the top 25.

[Zubby]

I grew up outside of a very small village in mid-Michigan. Very unexciting, flat farmland for miles in all directions.

Now, I live in Chicago. Major city, lots to do. Havng experienced both, I like the quiet and space of the country, but the cultural opportunities and access to services found in a big city win out.

[NewGenious]

All I can say is that Sacramento, CA is B-O-R-I-N-G. The only exciting thing here is the basketball team. Apparently (according to others) there are tons of raves here though. I don't know, because you couldn't get me to go to one if you paid me.

[Chad Bonin]

Howard Stern explicitly mentioned my High School while I was attending it, and it once was the largest single education building in the country.

[tucsoncoyote]

If the title Doesn't make you understand then you don't know 29 Palms, California. (http://www.ci.twentynine-palms.ca.us/) (also Called "Twentynine Palms").

Or better yet... Call it "The 9th Level of Hell." or better yet, Tatooine or Vulcan.

Twentynine Palms California is what would be best described as "The Middle of nowhere and yet we're the "Front Door" to the Largest Marine Corps Base in the world. (The (http://www.29palms.usmc.mil/)Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (http://www.29palms.usmc.mil/), which spans 934 Square miles, or about 1/5th the size of Rhode Island). This piece of Property is prime Real Estate if you want to Practice all those fun little "Desert Scenarios" (Read as Afghanistan and Iraq and Iran), as the weather and climate (and the critters), there can simulate anything Nature can throw at the Marines. Including Heat Stroke and Frostbite, plus scorpions and Rattlesnakes (The Green Mohave Rattler is best known in our area as the most Deadly Rattler in the Southwest).

Some folks Joke that when you go to 29 Palms, you are headed for the 9th Level of Hell. and believe me, that's no joke.

In fact 29 Palms has had songs (http://ntl.matrix.com.br/pfilho/html/lyrics/l/lady_from_29_palms.txt) done about it (There's an Andrews Sisters song Called 'The Lady from 29 Palms'. )

There is even a movie about 29 Palms (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0315110/) (no Joke) Even one of the scenes for Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock, was done at 29 Palms (read the end credits of the movie) . And initially this town (now a city) hosts about 15,000 residents (many of them the Marines, and believe me I've heard a lot of jokes even stating "Where the Hell is 29 Palms?"

Well Like I said, 29 Palms is in the Middle of Nowhere (the Nearest Entertainment Centers being either (1) Palm Springs, (2) Las Vegas Nevada or (3) San Bernardino, California.

But then there is of course, The Joshua Tree National Park (http://www.nps.gov/jotr/) (when I was living there it was a National Monument, but I see thanks to the Park Service it's now a National Park.. With enough rocks and scenery to make you wonder (Where the hell is paradise? It's right there..)

In fact a lot of History comes through 29 Palms.. Including the Last Great Western Manhunt (http://mojavedesert.net/chemehuevi-indians/willie-boy.html),). and of course everything else I have mentioned.. Heck during WWI a doctor by the name of Luckie brought all the WW 1 vets who suffered from Mustard Gas Attacks out to the dry desert air in 29 Palms, and amazingly it's a wonderful place to unwind if you have any health problems. (and the water? it's so good tasting you can't stop craving it!) and one of our local Parks is named after Dr. Luckie. Another Park (Knott Sky Park, is in fact a park that was brought by, you guess it, the Knotts (who later had Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park).

And if you want some good reasons to go there? Here's 29... (http://visit29.org/29_Reasons_Visit_29Palms.44.0.html) (and that's just for Starters).

Believe me, If you think a town (now a city) that sports a Marine Corp base, and a National Park, deserves this much noteriaty? Well think again.. We even have Football Celebrities (Conrad Dobler formerly of the St. Louis Cardinals (now Retired) resides in 29 Palms (His family owns a food service business), Astronauts, and even dare I say it guys who rubbed elbows with guys like JFK (My dad was a good friend of a guy who was a auto mechanic in later life, who served onboard PT109 with Kennedy).

Let's just say that 29 Palms when I was there was a Know your neighbor kind of town. (You had friends and family who supported you and backed you up.. whether you were with the Marines.. or not.

So then if anyone wants to ask.. Where the Hell is 29 Palms? It's nowhere and everywhere. It's the 9th Level of Hell, It's the Planet Vulcan, it's got places to go and things to do. After all there were originally 29 Palms at the Oasis.. but now? it's more like 58...
So then there you go.. a lot of history and info for such a small town/City in the middle of Nowhere.

(So then you are asking why did I move to Tucson? Well I'm the proverbial "Desert Animal.." Literally, and if I can survive 127 degree heat in the shade in 29 Palms? Well then Tucson is a chilly place indeed).

So believe me, don't mock 29 Palms.. ever.. else 15,000 Marines will be showing up on your doorstep, with guns and Tanks and even Harrier Jumpjets loaded for bear. .. and they'll haul you off to the middle of hell..which is of course...

29 Palms...:p :evil:


:coyote:

[Elven Moon]

I don't consider where I'm living now my hometown - but the last place I lived, from early teenhood to my early 20s, was a very small town in Michigan (population was 8,000 a few years ago) that didn't even have its own movie theater - that's supposedly changed now. You had to drive out of it just to be able to do anything entertaining. Rob Paulsen, among other people, went to my high school.

Now I live in a area with a pop of 60,000! Quite an adjustment!

[Zach]

My hometown is okay, but I attend school in a God-forsaken, backwater hick town that I hate with every ounce of my being.

[Dead_Ninja_000]

From West Bend, Wisconsin.

Pretty nice, calm, place. Not that much goes around over here, just a lot of construction for new food resturants and what not.

Out of all the 9 places I've lived in my life, this place has been the longest (going on 4 years), and I must say I really like it here.:sweat: OH yeah attending west bend east high school.

[James Bester]

An over-populated town with people who have way too much pride for their own good. Atleast that's what my town has become. Not to mention my high school is one of the biggest in Georgia. And it's still growing to this day. By the time I graduate, I wouldn't be surprised if they started constructing another one nearby to lighten the load. My high school's also way too uptight. I remember when the principal decided to address the entire school for chanting "You Suck" at a rival football team during a big game.

I remember one time when most of Gwinnett County was made up of forest. Those times are long gone.

But I will admit, it's a decent place to live. There's still plenty of nice people and job oppurtunities around and some nice places to hang out. I've lived in pretty much the same area since I was 4, so I've gotten used to it. I'll probably miss it after I graduate.

[One Radical Dude]

The only thing you need to know about where I live is that it sucks.

[purplehairedwonder]

I remember one time when most of Gwinnett County was made up of forest. Those times are long gone.
I remember that as well. I was much younger :sweat:

Apparently my old neighborhood is being bulldozed to make a new "higher standard of living" neighborhood or some crap like that. All the trees are gone... and we used to have a lot. It's a shame, it is.

[Tenku]

It's bad when the only place everyone hangs out is at Wal-mart. Plus, I swear it's trapped in a time-warp.

[Kury Wagner]

OH yeah attending west bend east high school.There are a lotttttttt of kids that go to that school. I made the mistake of going to West Bend around when school let out for the day, back in September... yikes. I love that city, though. Something very home-like about it. West Bend and Port Washington are my favorite places in Wisconsin.

[Czar Gato]

Four words: John and Lorena Bobbitt.

No wonder I usually just tell people I'm from DC when they ask.

[Weatherman]

Four words: John and Lorena Bobbitt.

No wonder I usually just tell people I'm from DC when they ask.


But you also have Dave Ghrol.;)

[geeko_teh_third]

I live in a small town in Arkansas. I haven't moved. The town is small and appropriately, the inhabitants are small minded. There isn't much diversity here, and I feel horribly out of place.

I hardly leave this town, but one day I hope to get out. Hopefully that day will come sooner than later >_>

[Mr. Pedro]

http://www.cityofnsb.com/

20 minutes away from the more reknowned Daytona Beach. Teeming to the brim with snowbirds at the moment. Fairly small with only about 22,000 residents. Ideal destination for a second home, especially for those from some of Orlando's more afluent suburbs. The price of beachside property is astronomical. Wrestling with the problem of development and growth vs. maintaining that small-town charm. Our local officials are often buddy-buddy with developers.

Hmm. I think that's about all the really important points.

[FireStarterLE]

well when I moved to my current location back in 1996 there was one 1-story mall, and two major outlets: K-Mart and Wal-Mart. And there was one local hardware store

Now, the mall has expanded and includes a 10 screen theater, they have built a second WalMart, a new Target, and have begun construction on a Best Buy. We have two Lowes and one Home Depot. We use to only have two major roads extending to the interstate, now there are three ... small town no more

[Czar Gato]

But you also have Dave Ghrol.;)
That's true, though I think he was from Springfield. Same area, different town.

It's kinda sad, too. This is a town where not one but two major American Civil War battles occured, and is home to a lovely historic Old Town district- but all anyone remembers about it is that some lady chopped off her husband's you-know-what and threw it onto someone's lawn. :ack:

[Weatherman]

That's true, though I think he was from Springfield. Same area, different town.

It's kinda sad, too. This is a town where not one but two major American Civil War battles occured, and is home to a lovely historic Old Town district- but all anyone remembers about it is that some lady chopped off her husband's you-know-what and threw it onto someone's lawn. :ack:


The joys of faceless suburbia.

Hey, Prince George's is lucky if we're remembered at all outside of the crime statistics.:shrug:

[GWOtaku]

Grew up in Hanover, New Hamsphire, better known as the home of Dartmouth College. Truly a sublime blend of a New England and College town, perhaps if fortune is kind I will retire there someday.

[Punisher]

Westminster, MD. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster%2C_MD)

Yes, although I don't attend it, we do have the former heroin capital of the country in Westminster High. Something to be proud of, I guess. Getting the Ravens at McDaniel College is nice though.

[RSNaco]

My hometown, Havre de Grace, Maryland may be a small town, but it has a good bit of history inside of it. During the War of 1812, our town was thee scene of a standoff between the British and one man, Lieutentant John O'Neill who attempted to protect our town with a single cannon, which is still standing in our town near the Concord Point Lighthouse, another town landmark. These days Havre de Grace is brimming with history and nostalgia, from the various antique shops downtown, to one of the last skipjack boats to sail commercialy as an oyster boat. There are also museums that embrace the maritime way of life, from a restored lockhouse for the old Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal to a decoy museum (one of Havre de Grace's big claims to fame).

Havre de Grace is also the birthplace of Baltimore Orioles great and Hall of Famer, Cal Ripken Jr. Just a short drive from my town is Aberdeen where Cal's minor league team, the Aberdeen IronBirds play.

On the outside, my hometown of Havre de Grace may seem boring, but if you dig a little deeper, there's a multitude of things here.

[Weatherman]

My hometown, Havre de Grace, Maryland may be a small town, but it has a good bit of history inside of it. During the War of 1812, our town was thee scene of a standoff between the British and one man, Lieutentant John O'Neill who attempted to protect our town with a single cannon, which is still standing in our town near the Concord Point Lighthouse, another town landmark. These days Havre de Grace is brimming with history and nostalgia, from the various antique shops downtown, to one of the last skipjack boats to sail commercialy as an oyster boat. There are also museums that embrace the maritime way of life, from a restored lockhouse for the old Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal to a decoy museum (one of Havre de Grace's big claims to fame).

Havre de Grace is also the birthplace of Baltimore Orioles great and soon-to-be Hall of Famer, Cal Ripken Jr. Just a short drive from my town is Aberdeen where Cal's minor league team, the Aberdeen IronBirds play.

On the outside, my hometown of Havre de Grace may seem boring, but if you dig a little deeper, there's a multitude of things here.

FYI, Cal's in. He hasn't been inducted, but he is in. Harve De Grace is a really cool town, though that cement plant in the middle of it is kinda odd.

[Czar Gato]

The joys of faceless suburbia.

Hey, Prince George's is lucky if we're remembered at all outside of the crime statistics.:shrug:
Gah, I had no idea you lived in PG Co. I had heard a few years a go that they once tried to film an episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" there and the producer's wife got mugged. :eek: Probably an urban legend, but the sad thing is I could easily see that happening.

[Weatherman]

Gah, I had no idea you lived in PG Co. I had heard a few years a go that they once tried to film an episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" there and the producer's wife got mugged. :eek: Probably an urban legend, but the sad thing is I could easily see that happening.


No, that's real. And they weren't mugged, the hotel was robbed by an armed robber. One of the crew was pistol whipped. They finished the house, but the crew moved out to Anne Arundel.

I've told you I'm on the other side of the river before Gata.:p

[okendri]

My hometown is okay, but I attend school in a God-forsaken, backwater hick town that I hate with every ounce of my being.

The only thing you need to know about where I live is that it sucks.

I live in a small town in Arkansas. I haven't moved. The town is small and appropriately, the inhabitants are small minded. There isn't much diversity here, and I feel horribly out of place.

I hardly leave this town, but one day I hope to get out. Hopefully that day will come sooner than later >_>


:eek: Well I didn't know we had this many Arkies on TZ. They even have the same opinion of the their towns as I do.

As for my town, it literally stinks. When you hit the middle part of my town the smell of the paper mill hits you like a punch from Mike Tyson.

[Areku]

Well I live in a little place called Brooklyn, New York. People are very nice here and its the safest place on earth! I just love it here..... :sad:

[ChuckRoast]

I live in a small town in Arkansas. I haven't moved. The town is small and appropriately, the inhabitants are small minded. There isn't much diversity here, and I feel horribly out of place.

I hardly leave this town, but one day I hope to get out. Hopefully that day will come sooner than later >_>

I feel the same way, except I live in a small town in NC. It's so dull here and hope to move someday.