Having lived all our lives in Connecticut, we've been accustomed to identifying with our town. We travel a fair amount around the US and we get asked where we're from not infrequently. "Wethersfield, CT," we'd answer, wait for the look of confusion to appear, then add, "it borders Hartford." Ah, Hartford. The glimmer of recognition means the conversation can continue.
Out here, things are different. Very different. When researching the area to try and narrow down places to live, things got confusing quickly. We moved out here because Scott got a job. In a town called Ladue. Take a look at the map below. Ladue is just over 11 miles from the city of St. Louis. But Scott's employer uses St. Louis in its street address. As do many people out here. We hired a couple of college kids to help us unload our moving truck. Scott asked where one was from:
"St. Louis."
"Right in the city?"
"No. Out a ways."
Ookay. "What's the name of the town?"
"Eureka."
Eureka, it turns out, is nearly 30 miles from the city of St. Louis. You can see it below if you follow Route 44 in a southwesterly direction. Keep going ... keep going ... there it is!
For the folks back in CT, here's a dose of perspective: That's the equivalent of someone from Waterbury saying, "I'm from Hartford."
While some people do live in St. Louis City (and that's how it's differentiated from St. Louis County in conversation), most don't. According to the Census Bureau, almost three times as many people live in the city of St. Louis (356,587) as live in the city of Hartford (124,512). But the populations of the Counties of St. Louis (992,408) and Hartford (879,835) are nearly the same. Of course, just to add to the fun, St. Louis City is not actually in St. Louis County. Out here, though, everyone's from St. Louis.
If that's not confusing enough, people also identify by zip codes. We've already had a couple of people give us their zip code when we asked them where they're from. Apparently, learning all of the 93 separate municipalities within St. Louis County won't do, we'll need to get to know at least some of the zip codes, too.
This is cause for much confusion and doubtless will be for some time to come. Sports Illustrated didn't like the way Scott entered the name of our town and Scott didn't like its suggestion for an alternate so he ended up going with St. Louis in the new address. As long as we've got the right zip code, the name of the town is irrelevant.
It's actually a bit nice to live in an area that's proud to be associated with its city. As much as we liked and appreciated much of what Hartford has to offer, its reputation "out there" is not a good one. From what we can tell, St. Louis and Hartford aren't all that different. But people here embrace the city.
We've only been in the area a week. We've still got boxes to unpack, furniture to buy, and neighbors to meet. We've got maps open all over the house and we're just starting to get familiar with some of the names of places. But there's one thing we know for sure: we're from St. Louis now.
No comments:
Post a Comment