living on the west coast for 12 years, I learned awhile ago that it is FAR easier to tell people I am from "northern Illinois", but when the reply is "Chicago??" I say yes. the reason is it takes too much time and far too irrelevant to anything in my life to go into a long description of where I actually grew up. I never have lived in the Chicago metro area. Seattle area, San Francisco area, LA/San Fernando valley, Minneapolis and Madison I have all called home, but never Chicago. So, how infuriated would you all feel about that? Do you still tell people you're FROM there? Or is that more of a response to where you're born? I waited until I spent more than half my life (and had kids born) here before I’d say I’m from New Jersey. But that was only in a vacation or similar situation.