Are You Lying About Where You're From? The Real Borders of Your City
Where do you have to be born to say that you're from a given city and not be lying? Back in August, prompted by a New Republic article called "Don't Say You're From the City If You're Really From the 'Burbs," we asked you—Gawker readers—to tell us the real borders of some of America's largest cities. Here are your answers.
Because the political borders of a city, county, or state often don't match up with the actualborders of a given city, which are determined by God and preserved into eternity, it can be hard to tell whether someone is telling the ruth when he says he's "from New York City." Is he from Manhattan or Brooklyn? Or is he from Yonkers? Or, worse...New Jersey? If you tell people you're "from L.A.," you better not be fudging and including Pasadena.
That's why we're providing these handy reference maps, with borders determined by Gawker readers and city residents. Print them out for your wallet to prove to your friends that you're actually from San Francisco, and that they're not really from Chicago or Miami!
Atlanta
Borders: Interstate 285
Who's in? Anyone inside the perimeter.
Who's out? Marietta, Stone Mountain.
Chicago
Borders: Touhy Ave. to the north, Cicero Ave. to the west, 95th St. to the south.
Who's in? Rogers Park, Oak Park, Oak Lawn.
Who's out? Calumet City, Evanston, Melrose Park, Orland Park, Skokie, Lake Michigan.
Los Angeles
Borders: Route 23 to the west, 101 and 134 to the north, 710 to the east.
Who's in? Glendale, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Calabasas, Malibu, San Pedro, Long Beach, East Los Angeles.
Who's out? Burbank, Van Nuys, Pasadena, Thousand Oaks.
Miami
Borders:
Who's in? North Miami to the north, Homestead to the south, Miami Beach and Key Biscayne to the east.
Who's out? Florida City, Hollywood, Miami Gardens, North Miami Beach, Pembroke Pines
New York
Borders: Manhattan County, Bronx County, Kings County, Queens County,
Who's in? Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens.
Who's out? New Rochelle, Mt. Vernon, Staten Island, Yonkers, anywhere in New Jersey.
San Francisco
Borders: The actual borders of San Francisco.
Who's in? San Francisco proper.
Who's out? Daly City, "South San Francisco."
Washington, D.C.
Borders: 495/95
Who's in? Inside the Beltway. Alexandria, Arlington, Bethesda, Silver Spring.
Who's out? Bowie, College Park, Fairfax Rockville.
All borders are final.
[images by Jim Cooke]