Quote:
Originally Posted by iheartthed
Even if we do assume that this is true, there is still a stark difference in how the term is being used between New Yorkers and others. To New Yorkers, "the city" is Manhattan, but apparently "the city" means New York City to everyone else.
But I still don't buy it. Is there anyone here who has not ever lived in or near NYC that would assume uttering "the city" meant New York (without context)? I have literally never heard someone say "the city" outside of context and understood them to mean NYC. By context, I mean being in or near the NYC metro area at the time OR having a conversation about New York.
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I think this is correct. People are reading the survey question different depending on context. People who know about NYC and the moniker are selecting NYC. I doubt some random person in rural Nebraska is well acquainted with NYC colloquialisms.
Others are reading the question not as a proper name "Gotham", "Bay Area", "Motor City", but as a simple "what is the most commonly referenced major local city"? You see that in that most states are selecting 50-60% other, and the relative proportion of the other is based on the size of the state's dominant metro.