[cainxinth]

I solo backpacked Europe in the mid 2000s and found that telling people you were American was decidedly uncool. I’m sure the dislike of W Bush abroad had something do with it, but it was also partly because of what you are describing. Everyone already knew a lot about America. It wasn’t interesting to then.

I remember staying at a hostel in Croatia with a diverse group. At breakfast we went around the room saying our names and home countries. There were Germans, Australians, Koreans, French, Brits, Brazilians… and then it got to me and people practically rolled their eyes when I said I was from the states.

[PhineasRex]

I've had the opposite experience living in Brooklyn and traveling to Europe. Saying I was from New York was boring but—Brooklyn being in vogue at the time—I quickly learned to be more specific and found lots of fast friends wanting to know about what it was like living there.

[CPLX]

It depends. I got in the habit of just saying I’m from New York instead of the US. Seems like everyone wants a friend in NYC to fulfill their goal of going there someday for a trip and having a cool local connection.

[cainxinth]

I’m from Philadelphia, and I learned that most people outside of America either don’t know of it or only know two things about it: cream cheese and the theme song to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

[CPLX]

Just say you live in the Philadelphia district of the New York area.