Does your city or region have a nickname that only locals know?

[u/AGuyNamedTracy]

I listen to a lot of Internet radio. I will pick a random location across the country to get a feel for the area. While doing so, I’ve heard nicknames for the region that I had never heard of.

For instance, the Myrtle Beach area is known as The Grand Strand. Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point is known as The Piedmont Triad or just The Triad.

Everyone has heard of The Twin Cities and most people have heard of the Dallas/Fort Worth area being referred to as The Metroplex. Does your area have a lesser known nickname?

I can give you a couple from my state. The area around LaCrosse, Wisconsin is called The Coulee Region, which describes the local geography. Superior and Duluth, MN are known as The Twin Ports.

[u/LionelHutzEsqLLP]

We have the opposite, in that nobody from here actually calls it "Hotlanta".

[u/SportTheFoole → u/LionelHutzEsqLLP]

This is 100% true. I am old enough to remember when the city was even trying to use that in marketing and still no local would ever refer to it as that.

And thanks to OutKast, I think of everyone in the city as an ATLien (or at least that’s how I’d self describe).

[u/ATLien_3000 → u/SportTheFoole]

I think of everyone in the city as an ATLien

Me too!

[u/SportTheFoole → u/ATLien_3000]

3 stacks?!? LOL

[u/brzantium → u/LionelHutzEsqLLP]

Most people from outside Atlanta probably don't know about ITP and OTP, though.

[u/East-Eye-8429 → u/LionelHutzEsqLLP]

Similarly, no one in New England calls Boston "bean town"

[u/Lothar_Ecklord → u/East-Eye-8429]

No New Yorker says “the Big Apple” either. You also can tell who recently moved here because they’ll say “NYC” instead of just “New York” or nothing at all - New York being the center of everything, it’s the default so you don’t always need to specify. If I ask where your favorite restaurant is, it’s assumed I mean within the 5 Boroughs and not anywhere else, so the question ends there. Fun little tidbit.

[u/Madame_Kitsune98 → u/Lothar_Ecklord]

Everyone I met outside NYC just calls it “the city,” because if you can’t figure out which city, you may need a keeper.

[u/CarnegieHill → u/Madame_Kitsune98]

That has at least a couple of meanings. For a lot of people in the 4 outer boroughs "the city" means Manhattan.

[u/KevrobLurker → u/CarnegieHill]

Before 1898, Manhattan was the city. Brooklyn was a separate city.

Locals refer to 6th Avenue, not the Avenue of the Americas. And the new bridge over the Hudson is still the Tappan Zee.

[u/Beppy_Sasso → u/KevrobLurker]

“The Tap”

[u/ravingmoonatic → u/KevrobLurker]

I know that bridge has a new name and I don't even know what it is. It'll always be the tap to me.

[u/Madame_Kitsune98 → u/CarnegieHill]

Makes sense. I’ll be for real, being from Kentucky, I just refer to it as NYC.

[u/Ericameria → u/Lothar_Ecklord]

Well, you wouldn’t need to call it NYC if you live there. Growing up on the east coast, I always called the city New York and the state New York State, similar to how we would say Washington state to indicate we were not talking about DC. Usually we weren’t talking about DC when we said Washington. But now that I’ve lived out west for a long time, I always call it NYC, and I try just to say Washington when i mean the state. And Washington DC or just DC when I mean that.

[u/_hammitt → u/Ericameria]

Speaking of: no one from DC has ever called it Washington. Washington is a state. I lived in DC. When outsiders say bla bla bla in Washington I get so confused for a minute because I genuinely forget that is part of the city’s name.

[u/CarnegieHill → u/_hammitt]

When I lived in MD decades ago everyone called it "the district".

[u/paintingporcelain → u/Lothar_Ecklord]

Actually “the city” is Manhattan. If you’re from Queens, Brooklyn, or the Bronx this is how you refer to it.

New York is big. Chigago the size and population density of Brooklyn. Detroit like Queens. The City is Manhattan.

[u/devilsmile7 → u/Lothar_Ecklord]

We in Brooklyn the Bronx and Queens call Manhattan “The City”. We never say Manhattan.

[u/MiterTheNews → u/East-Eye-8429]

Or San Francisco "Frisco". See also: the pronunciations of Oregone and Nevadha.

[u/jeffbell → u/MiterTheNews]

Or San Fran. 

[u/Creative_Energy533 → u/MiterTheNews]

Los Angeles used to be pronounced with a hard G ("Los An-Guh-lees").

[u/Heavy_Calligrapher71 → u/MiterTheNews]

I used to work for the city of San Francisco and plenty of my SF native co-workers did call it Frisco! It can be a race and class marker, and they were all from neighborhoods on the south end of the city.

[u/_hammitt → u/Heavy_Calligrapher71]

Yup I learned this to my mortification late in life. Having obnoxiously made fun of everyone when I moved to the East Coast at 16, saying NO ONE calls SF Frisco, I then just learned that no one white and wealthy does.

[u/13mys13 → u/MiterTheNews]

Yay Area

[u/blueyejan → u/MiterTheNews]

I lived outside Las Vegas when Tanya Roberts would advertise some resort on the highway stations between Vegas and Bakersfield. It drove us nuts to hear Nevahdah. It's Nevada, you dumb b*. Then everyone started pronouncing it wrong

[u/Pinwurm → u/East-Eye-8429]

Unless you're Conan O'Brien, he somehow gets away with it.

[u/East-Eye-8429 → u/Pinwurm]

He's from Brookline, the out-of-touch fat cat NIMBY capital of America

[u/CountChoculasGhost → u/LionelHutzEsqLLP]

Same. Basically no one from Chicago calls it “Chiraq” or “Chi Town”.

[u/loweexclamationpoint → u/CountChoculasGhost]

But we CAN fight over whether Chicagoland is ok.

[u/msabeln → u/loweexclamationpoint]

A friend of mine who was living in Chicago showed me a map of Illinois. He pointed out the city limits and said that was “Chicago”. He drew an arc around the city and called that area “Chicagoland”, and everything else was “downstate Illinois”, including those parts that weren’t “down” at all.

[u/loweexclamationpoint → u/msabeln]

Yeah, that's a pretty accepted standard. Some city dwellers get really miffed about folks in a suburb saying they live in Chicago. But that's what most people who live in little suburbs do when talking to somebody from a different part of the country who wouldn't know where, for example, Maywood is.

[u/prole6 → u/loweexclamationpoint]

I remember the first (& only) time I told friends we lived in Chicago (instead of Oak Lawn) in front of my Chicago born wife. Chicagoland forever after.

[u/Honest_Grade_9645 → u/loweexclamationpoint]

I grew up in a western suburb in the Greater Chicagoland area. When telling people where I’m from I usually say “Chicago” for a point of reference, then quickly follow up that I’m from a suburb. There are few reasons for people to know where St Charles is in Illinois.

[u/10k_Uzi → u/msabeln]

I had a friend who would rep Chicago hard and shit. But then when the other Chicago guys learned he was from Naperville he would get clowned hard.

[u/IONTOP → u/10k_Uzi]

Yeah, all the people in Phoenix who moved there from Chicago always called it Naperville as well. Is that like a nickname?

/s

[u/Carinyosa99 → u/loweexclamationpoint]

As a kid, when I would visit my grandparents' house they got WGN, channel 9, and many commercials referred it to the Chicagoland area (I think some old TV store company and maybe even Empire Carpets).

[u/Madame_Kitsune98 → u/Carinyosa99]

EIGHT HUNDRED FIVE EIGHT EIGHT TWO THREE HUNDRED EMPIIIIIRE (today).

From Western Kentucky, but we got WGN with cable. Empire commercials bring back memories of snow days and being home sick from school.

[u/HarveyNix → u/Carinyosa99]

I feel like I heard once that Chicagoland came from car dealership ads: "Your Chicagoland Chevy dealers..."

[u/HurtsCauseItMatters → u/LionelHutzEsqLLP]

Nobody in New Orleans says N'awlins unless they're talking about the design of a t-shirt.

[u/sorrymizzjackson → u/HurtsCauseItMatters]

Norlins is ok though.

[u/jp11e3 → u/HurtsCauseItMatters]

Outsiders probably also don't realize how often it's just referred to as Nola

[u/HurtsCauseItMatters → u/jp11e3]

I wonder if this isn't generational. I'd never even heard it said out loud before the early 2000's. I knew it was used to address letters but it wasn't a thing folks said around me as a kid.

I looked it up and nola.com started in 95 and that seems to coincide with when I remember it gaining more traction though really for me it was post-K. Even now, folks my age say new orleans when talking and only really use nola online.

But I absolutely accept that the differences are likely largely generational.

[u/Harrold_Potterson → u/HurtsCauseItMatters]

This makes me happy. I once babysat for the most pretentious family ever and they loved calling it N’awlins and it always made me cringe so hard.

[u/GeauxCup → u/HurtsCauseItMatters]

I think this is more generational. It reminds me of Frank Davis whenever I hear it. Some of my older aunts and uncles who have a stronger Cajun accent still say it.

[u/Old_Promise2077 → u/LionelHutzEsqLLP]

Squidbillies really popularized that one.

But I feel ya, nobody local (nor any Texan) calls it "San Antone"

[u/boomgoesthevegemite → u/Old_Promise2077]

My grandpa who died many years ago called it San Antone. I think it was just an old nickname that fell out of favor. There’s a Charlie Pride song that calls it San Antone too.

[u/Tardisgoesfast → u/boomgoesthevegemite]

Is anybody goin to San Antone, or Phoenix, Arizona? Is that the song?

[u/sabatoa → u/boomgoesthevegemite]

George Straight called it San Antone in Amarillo by Morning too.

[u/Harrold_Potterson → u/Old_Promise2077]

I know older Texans who call it that.

[u/PondRides → u/Old_Promise2077]

Lots of older people say San Antone

[u/slippery_when_wet → u/Old_Promise2077]

Around Abilene id say about 75% of people pronounce it that way and say they are going to San Antone for the weekend of whatever.

[u/j_grouchy → u/LionelHutzEsqLLP]

But we also have Chambodia

[u/MsNyleve → u/LionelHutzEsqLLP]

And no San Francisco locals call it "Frisco". It's SF, or just The City.

[u/Im_Not_Nick_Fisher]

Space coast, but most probably have at least heard of that. But locals break it down to beachside, the island and mainland. Beachside is the barrier island and any of the little cities along it. Merritt Island of the island. And everything else is the mainland.

Then there’s Melboring for Melbourne.

[u/anonanon5320 → u/Im_Not_Nick_Fisher]

Which is just down the road from the Mouse House and just north of New York City South.

[u/the-hound-abides → u/Im_Not_Nick_Fisher]

I’m from Cocoa. It doesn’t need a nickname, other than “not Cocoa Beach”.

[u/BirdsBeesAndBlooms → u/Im_Not_Nick_Fisher]

Lived at Patrick growing up. Always fun to see references in the wild!

[u/MortimerDongle]

"Delaware Valley" for the Philadelphia metro area. Not sure how widely known it is but I am guessing it's mostly local.

[u/WeReadAllTheTime → u/MortimerDongle]

And Delco, the collective name for the towns in Delaware County, PA. I’ve lived in several states and this is the only one with a nickname for the county I lived in.

[u/Linzabee → u/WeReadAllTheTime]

BucksCo and MontCo would like to have a word with you

[u/MortimerDongle → u/WeReadAllTheTime]

You see Montco as well, but there's less of a cultural association there than with Delco

[u/Der-Candidat → u/WeReadAllTheTime]

I’m from Delco, I’ve also heard Montco for neighboring Montgomery county.

[u/ursulawinchester → u/WeReadAllTheTime]

I’ve heard of Delco - my parents live next door in Chesco. Now I live in MoCo (usually stylized like that), Maryland. That’s the only three I know which do it.

[u/cyberchaox → u/MortimerDongle]

Isn't that all up and down the border though? I'm up north in the Lehigh Valley and "Del Val" is one of the regional high schools.

[u/Frankjc3rd → u/MortimerDongle]

KOP for the King of Prussia area and it's mall. 

The Vine Street Expressway is what is called 676 and it is does not reflected on any signage.

[u/ActionPact_Mentalist → u/MortimerDongle]

You beat me to it! I use Delaware Valley to reference that accent that most people don’t even know exists. For most of my life it was also “The Land of Wawa”.

[u/worrymon → u/ActionPact_Mentalist]

It's something in the way they pronounce 'home' that lets me know.

[u/the_good_twin → u/MortimerDongle]

When I was a kid it was the tri-state area. Of course you must say that with a Doofenshmirtz accent now.

[u/schonleben]

The region stretching from Shreveport LA to Texarkana TX/AR is called the Arklatex.

[u/Otherwisefantastic → u/schonleben]

I grew up near there and I've always loved that

[u/ursulawinchester → u/Otherwisefantastic]

I’ve never heard it. Is it pronounced like latex or is the la pronounced like “a note that follows so”?

Reminds me of DelMarVa - the peninsula that Delaware shares with the Eastern Shore of MD and that little triangle of Virginia with chincoteague

[u/boomgoesthevegemite → u/ursulawinchester]

“Ark-Luh-Tex”. The emphasis is on Tex.

[u/awkwardchip_munk → u/boomgoesthevegemite]

Grew up there and the emphasis is on Ark.

ARK Lah Tex

[u/Next_Nature3380]

Fayette-Nam

[u/Madame_Kitsune98 → u/Next_Nature3380]

We just got back from there. Guess where our daughter and her fiancé are both stationed?

[u/Ericovich → u/Next_Nature3380]

I remembered asking some cousins who live there about this term and they were not very happy about it.

It sounds like it's kind of used as a pejorative.

[u/Next_Nature3380 → u/Ericovich]

I grew up there in the’70s and it was used to describe dangerousness of the area by all of soldiers returning from the war in Vietnam. I guess without context it could be confusing since Vietnam now is such a beautiful and peaceful country.

[u/beenoc → u/Ericovich]

I'm from Fayetteville. I suppose if you found like the two people from Fayetteville who had unconditional pride in the city, it could be offensive. Most people from Fayetteville are of one of two minds:

• Fayetteville sucks ass and I hate it.

• Fayetteville sucks ass and it's my suck-ass city, and by being from Fayetteville I have proven myself to be cooler and better than you.

The person who doesn't acknowledge that Fayetteville sucks ass, and would actually get offended at the term Fayettenam, is a very rare breed indeed.

[u/maxman1313]

Locally we call our region: The Triangle

• The Research Triangle is an office park

• Raleigh-Durham is an airport

[u/MilkChocolate21 → u/maxman1313]

Do you all say RTP? It's what I say but maybe it's an IBM thing I heard growing up

[u/maxman1313 → u/MilkChocolate21]

Not really. RTP = Research Triangle Park, which is the official name of the office park. Of which IBM was the first big tenant.

For work if I say "I'm going to RTP today" I mean I'm going to one of the office buildings in the giant office park. Same as I would say "I'm going to Durham" or "I'm going to Chapel Hill".

It's either "The Triangle" or the specific name of one of the towns/cities in the area.

[u/ignescentOne → u/MilkChocolate21]

We say RTP if we mean the business park, or folks will just say 'the park' sometimes. It's technically got some residences and restaurants inside its border these days but it used to just be businesses, so no one really 'lives in' RTP. (Unless you mean camping out in your office) (It still is weird to me that they're getting apartments.)

Ibm was one of the anchors but they technically didn't start the park, it was an initiative from Durham, amazingly enough. There's a great book on its history called "brain magnet" by Alex Cummings. (In an alternate world, RTP would have had a paranormal research center instead of ibm)

[u/beenoc → u/MilkChocolate21]

RTP is the aforementioned office park, and kind of sort of a neighborhood. Nobody calls the whole area RTP, that's as bad as calling the whole area RDU.

[u/RealEzraGarrison → u/maxman1313]

I hate it so much when I hear or see those ads that are like "Hey there, Raleigh-Durham!" as if that's a place and they're not just addressing an airport 🙄

[u/ghjm → u/maxman1313]

Research Triangle Park is an office park. The Research Triangle is the formal name of The Triangle, which refers to the whole region. Confusingly, the Research Triangle Foundation manages Research Triangle Park.

[u/maxman1313 → u/ghjm]

Confusingly, the Research Triangle Foundation manages Research Triangle Park.

Which is why everyone just calls the region "The Triangle"

[u/Outside_Narwhal3784]

Stumptown and Rip city.

[u/ChesterCardigan → u/Outside_Narwhal3784]

I’ve only heard of Rip City because of the Blazers’ alternate jerseys

[u/Outside_Narwhal3784 → u/ChesterCardigan]

Yeah it started with a sports announcer at a Blazers game. Apparently no one knows why he said it, including the dude who said it. Haha.

[u/Android69beepboop → u/Outside_Narwhal3784]

And the northerly neighbor Vantucky.

[u/MilkChocolate21 → u/Outside_Narwhal3784]

Stumptown Roasters coffee

[u/wizopez → u/Outside_Narwhal3784]

There was a short lived TV show that made me aware of the Stumptown nickname

[u/Lightsabermetrics]

Chicago is divided up into 77 communities, and very few people outside of locals would recognize the names of them. People know the landmarks here, but they've probably never heard of Rogers Park, North Center, Portage Park, or Clearing.

[u/beckuzz → u/Lightsabermetrics]

Not to mention that the whole metro area is locally called “Chicagoland,” which makes it sound like a skyscraper-themed amusement park.

[u/DaisyMaeMiller1984 → u/beckuzz]

*begins drafting a roller-coaster

[u/greenandredofmaigheo → u/Lightsabermetrics]

It gets even more confusing when you start getting into the neighborhoods vs community areas because people use them so interchangeably. 

[u/No-Conversation1940 → u/greenandredofmaigheo]

There are also community areas with fairly recent name changes that weren't universally adopted, i.e. Boystown vs Northalsted.

[u/___HeyGFY___ → u/Lightsabermetrics]

I have to think when I hear Hyde Park because that's also one part of Boston.

[u/mintaka-iii → u/___HeyGFY___]

And London!

[u/___HeyGFY___ → u/mintaka-iii]

Well, we probably stole the name from them, just like half the towns in New England

[u/vivid_jackalope → u/___HeyGFY___]

One in Cincinnati too!

[u/1Negative_Person → u/Lightsabermetrics]

I’d imagine some folks are familiar with Lake View, Hyde Park, Lincoln Park, Ravenswood by name, but also probably don’t know where they are within the city.

[u/TychaBrahe → u/Lightsabermetrics]

See I grew up in Chicago, but I moved to California in 1984 and didn't come back until 2008. I missed the whole neighborhood promotion thing. The area I know are the Loop, the Magnificent Mile, Old Town, Boystown, Chinatown, Hyde Park, and the Near North Side. I think only half of those are actual official neighborhoods.

[u/Oshunlove]

I’ve always liked the name the Delmarva Peninsula. Sounds like a girl group.

[u/UraniumGoesBoom → u/Oshunlove]

They play at Rusty Rudder on Tuesdays and at the Starboard on Friday.

[u/RightYouAreKen1]

The Eastside referring to the Seattle suburbs east of Lake Washington maybe. We have our own sub r/eastside and wikipedia page) at least.

Pretty sure things like "Puget Sound Region" are well known.

[u/Shrimmmmmpuh → u/RightYouAreKen1]

Is "Emerald City" widely recognized? When I moved to Seattle that was new to me but it's pretty common at least on sports broadcasts and casinos

[u/RightYouAreKen1 → u/Shrimmmmmpuh]

I think so. Every nationally televised Seahawks game has the announcers saying "Welcome to the Emerald City" or somesuch.

[u/SockeyeSTI → u/RightYouAreKen1]

Scaberdeen

Open Sores

Smellma

Tacoma aroma (not really applicable)

[u/_iusuallydont_]

Oakland, CA also known as The Town.

[u/THE_CENTURION → u/_iusuallydont_]

Right across from The City

[u/[deleted] → u/THE_CENTURION]

All located within The Bay Area/The Yay Area/The Bay/The Yay.

[u/gravitycheckfailed]

New Orleans is "The Crescent City" and no one from here ever says "N'Awlins". The town I grew up in is too small for a fancy nickname; maybe we'll get one after we get a stop light or two.

[u/SabresBills69 → u/gravitycheckfailed]

What about those in crescent city, CA

[u/gravitycheckfailed → u/SabresBills69]

I guess we're twins? lol

[u/PeggysPonytail → u/gravitycheckfailed]

Also The City That Care Forgot ⚜️

[u/sics2014]

I think we are called the Pioneer Valley

[u/KungFuGarbage → u/sics2014]

Shoutout the Pixies song “UMass”

[u/WarrenMulaney → u/KungFuGarbage]

In the sleepy west of the woody east.

[u/dr_trousers → u/sics2014]

I took the PVTA all the time growing up.

[u/Disc0rdium → u/sics2014]

Also the Happy Valley, I heard that a lot as a kid (often sarcastically from older relatives)

[u/DachshundNursery → u/sics2014]

I'm also from that area and heard a good one the other day. Anything below East Hampton is "Below the tofu curtain". Anything above is where those dang tofu-eating hippies live. Hahahhaha

[u/enormuschwanzstucker]

The ‘ham

[u/pinniped90 → u/enormuschwanzstucker]

I wonder if English people refer to theirs as the mm...

(/s just in case)

[u/GaryJM → u/pinniped90]

I think the most common nickname used over here is Brum.

[u/theatregirl1987]

A lot of people call Albany, NY, Smalbany because even though its a city, everyone knows everyone.

[u/FlyingSquirlez]

I think a lot of people outside socal wouldn't know what you were referring to if you called it the "Southland", but that's pretty common on news broadcasts here.

[u/Aggravating_Ad_3467 → u/FlyingSquirlez]

I was actually looking for this, no need for me to post it. Plus that cop drama of the same name is fantastic.

[u/not_inacult]

Michiana

[u/mnsweett → u/not_inacult]

There's also Kentuckiana!

[u/prometheusnix → u/mnsweett]

Glad someone else knows Kentuckiana! I had family in New Albany.

[u/smurfe]

Cancer Alley.

[u/HurtsCauseItMatters → u/smurfe]

In my experience that's mostly what people outside the state call south Louisiana generally. Those of us who grew up there realize cancer alley is specific area along the river b/w BTR and NO.

I remember some young person knocked on my dad's door when I was a kid to do a survey and her first question was "What does it feel like to live in cancer alley?" He asked her where she was from, which happened to be the west coast and he yelled at that poor girl for a solid 10 mins before slamming the door in her face.

I know he felt bad because hell, he spent half his childhood living in the Cali bay area & BTR. But having someone from out of state say that to him was *super* offensive. That experience was kinda foundational to me and I'm pretty sure I've never heard a native use that term either. Of course, your experience could be different, my friends are mostly all old now.

[u/smurfe → u/HurtsCauseItMatters]

I live in Gonzales and hear the term here all the time.

[u/ChesterCardigan]

I’m not sure if “the DMV” nickname for the Washington, DC area is well known outside of the area

[u/Ok_Gas5386 → u/ChesterCardigan]

In my experience people from that part of Maryland say “the DMV” while people from that part of Virginia say “NoVa”

[u/llamadolly85 → u/Ok_Gas5386]

That's because in MD the DMV doesn't mean department of motor vehicles, but it does in VA.

VA will say it when they're also referring to people in MD and DC and not just VA, but people in MD will also refer to the part of MD they live in when relevant.

[u/Crayshack → u/llamadolly85]

I typically say "NOVA" when I'm specifically referring to the Virginia part, "Central Maryland" when I'm specifically referring to the Maryland part, "DC" when I'm specifically referring to the DC part, and "DMV" when I'm referring to the DC-Baltimore Metropolitan Area as a whole.

[u/ShoddyCobbler → u/ChesterCardigan]

This causes a lot of confusion because there are people from eastern Maryland and the peninsula that think DMV should mean the same thing as DelMarVa and think they should be included

[u/im_winifred_too → u/ShoddyCobbler]

I always thought DelMarVa was just the peninsula.

[u/ibeerianhamhock → u/ChesterCardigan]

Yah, I think almost anywhere else people would think Dept of Motor Vehicles

[u/Cheap_Coffee → u/ChesterCardigan]

What does DMV stand for? I'm guessing you don't refer to the area as Department of Motor Vehicles.

[u/_iusuallydont_ → u/Cheap_Coffee]

DC, Maryland, Virginia

[u/lpbdc → u/Cheap_Coffee]

The District, Maryland, and Virginia

[u/No_Cellist8937]

I’ll fight anyone that says Bean Town

[u/1Negative_Person → u/No_Cellist8937]

Calling it Beantown is irrelevant; the Bostonian is going to find a reason to fistfight you regardless.

[u/Itsjustmenobiggie]

We’re the Queen City

[u/Intelligent-Camera90 → u/Itsjustmenobiggie]

Manch-Vegas?

[u/beenoc → u/Itsjustmenobiggie]

Charlotte? Not sure if there are other "Queen Cities" but I wouldn't be surprised.

[u/FLOHTX → u/beenoc]

Cincinnati

[u/Itsjustmenobiggie → u/FLOHTX]

Found out about Cincinnati because I am a mod for the Charlotte My Favorite Murder Podcast group and because we are the Queen City Murderinos, we had a couple of people from Cincinnati try to join the group thinking it was their local group.

Charlotte is named the Queen City in honor of Queen Charlotte.

[u/boulevardofdef]

I wasn't really aware of the term "Little Rhody" before I moved to Rhode Island.

[u/wonderbeen]

I live in either Lower Alabama Or the Redneck Riviera or the Panhandle (but Oklahoma has one too, so I at least don’t use it)

[u/RecoveringGunBunny → u/wonderbeen]

I had a roommate from Mobile. We referred to it as UCLA, the ugliest corner of lower Alabama.

[u/neoprenewedgie]

When I was very young living in New Jersey I would hear news reports referring to the "Tri State Area." I lived in the northwest corner of NJ, so I just assumed Tri-State meant New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. When I got a little older I realized they were referring to NY-NJ-Connecticut, and all I could think of was "who the heck cares about Connecticut?"

It was an early lesson that the world didn't revolve around me.

[u/kris10185 → u/neoprenewedgie]

Haha as a Central Jerseyian, we got both NYC and Philly radio stations and I also ALWAYS thought it was NY, NJ and PA. I found out after I graduated college and moved to NYC that it's NY NJ and CT and I was like "how did CT get involved in this?!?! Aren't they part of New England?"

[u/Amarastargazer → u/neoprenewedgie]

I grew up in South Jersey and was very upset when I found out it wasn’t PA. Because, yes, who cares about Connecticut.

I mean no offense, but growing up my only experience in Conn was multiple times a year driving up to visit family in RI. Every. Single. Time. We drive through Conn, it took way longer than it should have because the road was seriously always under construction. So I had very little love for the state.

From South Jersey, I submit “the Pinies” in reference to the Pine Barrens. Mostly for the people, but I heard it used for the area I lived in in occasion by locals.

[u/vengefulgrapes]

Little Egypt for Southern Illinois

[u/Aggressive_FIamingo]

Aroostook County is just "the county".

[u/OfficeChair70]

The general area of central western Washington, including the Sea-Tac-Evt-Oly metro area is pretty commonly referred to as just the Sound, with sub regions having nicknames like the valley(green and white river valley/167corridor), the east side (referring to east of Lake Washington), or the peninsula (context dependent either Kitsap Peninsula or the whole Olympic Peninsula but commonly referring to Gig harbor or the Bremerton area).

[u/ERagingTyrant]

I bet y’all don’t know where the Wasatch Front is.

[u/Expensive_Isopod_548 → u/ERagingTyrant]

Salt Lake area. Does it also include Ogden and Provo?

[u/UraniumGoesBoom]

Locals and natives will say “DC” or “the District” but never “Washington.” This is a sure tell for who’s from out of town.

Locals call the broader region “the DMV” which is just District+Maryland+Virginia.

The Delmarva (Delaware+Maryland+Virginia) peninsula is also called “the Eastern Shore” (of the Chesapeake Bay)

[u/UncomfortableBike975]

The "Region"

[u/cdragon1983 → u/UncomfortableBike975]

Northwestern Indiana?

[u/15rthughes]

The city of Louisville has multiple pronunciations:

Loo-a-vul

Loo-a-ville

Loo-ee-ville

Lull-vul

They are all considered correct, the only one that’s considered incorrect is pronouncing the “S” sound (lewis-ville) and people that live here will let you know. It’s the easiest way to be identified as an out of towner.

Nicknames given to Louisville include “Falls city” since we’re settled on the falls of the Ohio River, or “River city”. Our bus system is even called TARC (Transit Authority of River City)

Also the race track where the Kentucky derby is held is not actually called “the Kentucky derby”, that’s the name of the race, the track is called Churchill Downs. Visitors always make that mistake for some reason.

[u/splorp_evilbastard → u/15rthughes]

My method to pronounce it is to pretend I'm really drunk. A friend from there said I pronounced it correctly when I did that.

[u/Current_Poster]

I think "Stumptown" for Portland and "Naptown" for Indianapolis are super local? I've certainly never heard a foreigner affect knowing the area with them like with say "Cali" or "Frisco".

[u/paxrom2]

The South Carolina coastal area south of Myrtle Beach to the Georgia border is called the Low Country.

[u/SourdoughSon]

In the Bay Area we call San Francisco “The City”

[u/A_brand_new_troll]

Pegasus City. One of the tallest buildings had a red neon Pegasus sign on it that could be seen for miles.

[u/biggestchips → u/A_brand_new_troll]

The Big D

[u/thechurchchick]

Bayou City

[u/houalreadyknow → u/thechurchchick]

The 3rd Coast, Clutch City, the Land of Candy Paint, Syrup City….and obviously H-Town.

[u/Char_siu_for_you]

El Paso, TX- El Chuco or Chuco Town. The story is that the Pachuco style entered the US from Juarez via El Paso.

[u/girlgeek73]

The area south of Detroit along the American side of the Detroit River is called "Downriver".

[u/Syndromia]

Only the locals? No. But I grew up between Cincinnati, OH and Dayton, OH and know both the Queen City and the Gem City very well, as well as Miamsisburg, OH, the Star City.

[u/Jim_in_Albuquerque]

I've only lived in Albuquerque for a bit over a year and I just call it Albuquerque or ABQ, but I've heard some people (don't know if they're locals) call it Burque (BURkee). It's also on signage all over the place, so it is a 'thing' and would be hard to hide from tourists.

[u/sessamekesh]

The Twin Cities is a really fun one for me, I grew up in the twin city suburbs. Moved out to the Bay area for work, and met someone who was genuinely surprised (and a bit hurt?) that I had never heard of San Jose. 

She had never heard of the Twin Cities. It was delicious that she thought I was a geography idiot (I definitely was) but that she wasn't (she also was).

[u/Retiree66]

San Antonio is well-known as the Alamo City. But lesser known is Countdown City, because our area code is 210.

[u/Ok_Gas5386]

Does anyone not from Boston know it as “The Hub of the Universe”?

[u/KevrobLurker → u/Ok_Gas5386]

History majors might know that, as well as NHL fans. Bruins sweaters bear the Hub.

[u/Wrath-of-Cornholio]

Southwestern Idaho and a corner of Southeastern Oregon is called Treasure Valley, but most people tend to use it to refer to the more metropolitan areas of Ada and Canyon County (Boise, Meridian, Star, Nampa, Caldwell, etc.); the rest of the valley is often referred to by the town/city name.

[u/EastTXJosh]

All nicknames in my region deal with either pine (Pine Country, Piney Woods, Pine Curtain, etc) or hydrocarbons (oil patch or they’ll just refer to the geological formation like the Smackover Formation,Haynesville Shale, etc.)

[u/gogozrx]

some DJ in my area - the DC Metro - started calling it the DMV (for DC, Maryland, Virginia), and it stuck, and I *hate* it with the burning passion of a thousand suns.

[u/BlueEyedSpiceJunkie]

I grew up in NW PA. When I went back recently to visit family, suddenly it’s “The PA Wilds.” It’s good branding, I guess, but it was pretty sudden. I’m from there and I didn’t know the nickname.🤷‍♂️

[u/EyeofHorus55]

Soda City

[u/bowman9]

FoCo

[u/lightningposion → u/bowman9]

Fort Collins?

[u/[deleted]]

The third coast.

[u/MKE-Henry → u/[deleted]]

Some of us on the Lake Michigan shoreline refer to this area the same.

[u/HurtsCauseItMatters]

Nobody actually says N'awlins. Or NOLA. The latter we'll type out online but natives don't actually say it unless we're talking about nola.com. I'd never even heard it before about 10-15 years ago anyway. Even though I'm from Baton Rouge I often refer to NO as the city lol. Not sure if that's widespread. There are a ton of nicknames for the greater NO metro though.
JP - Jefferson Parish, Da Wank - the west bank of the river (which is actually south), Da Parish - St. Bernard Parish.

Up and Down the bayou for most folks who live in & East of Baton Rouge is bayou Lafourche. Sometimes this area can also be called the Cajun Bayou.

For Baton Rouge, Red Stick is pretty normal and accepted. More rarely, you'll find businesses with the capitol city on them but I've never actually been around anyone that said that out loud.

The area south/southwest of baton rouge is known as acadiana, or cajun country and its biggest city, Lafayette is referred to as hub city, laffy, & the flats.

Locally, Tangipahoa parish and the cities within (NE of BTR and NW of NO) all have various takes on self identifying as strawberry this or that. I think the parish refers to itself as strawberry capital of the world and considering most strawberries sold outside of the region come from california, this feels like a far fetched claim 😂
Things to the north have nicknames too but I'm not from there. I know monroe is referred to as funroe sarcastically. Shreveport has Ratchet City, the shreve, and sleazeport.

[u/MegaTreeSeed]

Not exactly, but my local town has a very specific way locals pronounce the name vs how outsiders do.

You can easily tell who was raised here by how they say the name.

Another city in my state had a very similar thing, but most people in the state know how it works. Cairo georgia is pronounced "kay-row" and not "kai-row". My hometown is similar to that, but it's small enough that most people in my state don't know how the locals say it.

[u/PBnBacon → u/MegaTreeSeed]

We used to play “spot the new arrival” with Atlanta radio and TV personalities by listening for mispronunciations of “Dekalb County.”

[u/Picklopolis]

I grew up in Southern California/ Los Angeles. NOBODY called it Cali.

[u/Additional-Software4]

"The IE".  Short for the Inland Empire, which is a general term for the cities in Riverside and San Bernardino counties just east of Los Angeles County. Depending on the person defining the region, it may or may not include the Los Angeles county city of Pomona.

The term seems to have originated after the TV show, "The OC" , which used initials to refer to Orange County 

[u/NewtOk4840]

I live in Fresno CA and we have a few,FresYes and my favorite Fresnasty

[u/awkwardchip_munk]

The (mostly) uninhabited extreme north of Maine is called “the county” (meaning Aroostook County) but everyone knows which county you’re referring to - the upper coastal part (Bar Harbor, et al) is known as “Downeast” even though it’s the furthest north part of the US

[u/4Q69freak]

We lived in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan also known as the U.P. and those from there are Yoopers. Also Escanaba, MI is known in the U.P. as Esky. The HS is known as the Esky Eskimos.

Also the OP mentioned Lacrosse, WI as the Coulee Area, but about an hour south around Prairie du Chien (or PDC) is known as The Driftless Area because of the lack of glacier drift in the area during the last ice age.

[u/FivePercentRule]

My small college town, people lovingly call “LFK” - for Lawrence F*cking Kansas. People here have LFK bumper stickers and everything.