Or is it just efficiency?
Welcome to “The Salty Cod,” a monthly column in which humorist Steve Calechman grapples with uniquely New England dilemmas.
Illustration by Dale Stephanos
Two things to keep in mind. First, we all adjust to our audience. If you’re at the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce, you say Ashland, because there’s a decent chance someone will respond “Clockers!” (high school mascot), and some beautiful connection might follow. But if you know the other person doesn’t know what a Holliston, much less a Taunton, is, you fudge it. Is it completely accurate? No, but so what? “It’s correct-ish,” says Deborah Schildkraut, professor of political science at Tufts University.
And that’s enough for the task at hand. The first rule of making conversation is to keep it going, which might mean you start big, sometimes really big, like saying you’re from Massachusetts, which never gets, “Sorry, I’m not familiar with that.” More likely someone says, “I got family in Hingham,” and then you can take it from there and get to the second rule of making conversation, which is to talk about anything but the weather, your commute, or geography.
And the second thing: People who didn’t grow up here don’t care if you’re not really from Boston. And people who are from here also don’t care. There are 351 cities and towns in the state, with plenty of natives who have never heard of, been to, or could locate Cummington (out west; Hampshire County), Goshen (next to Cummington), or Gosnold (on Buzzard’s Bay; smallest town in the state; around 70 people), and they’re not losing sleep over it. If it gets to a third date, maybe they’ll want to know. Maybe.
The only people who would be bothered are people from Boston who know you’re not from Boston at the exact moment you’re saying that you’re from Boston, and they’re nowhere around. So who cares? If you’re worried about your rep as an honest person, add “just outside of” or “around” to Boston. Anything west of the city along Route 9 or the Pike is understandable, even if it’s 30-plus miles away. But let’s be clear: No one from Cambridge, Somerville, or even Medford would ever say they’re from Boston. They’d rather die. You, on the other hand, are from Ashland. You’ve got nothing to prove. You’re a Clocker, dammit.
Got a question for the Salty Cod? Send it to [email protected].
Previously: Do I Have to Run the Boston Marathon to Be a Real Bostonian?
This article was first published in the print edition of the May 2026 issue, with the headline, “I Grew Up in Ashland, but I Tell People I’m From Boston. Is That a Lie or Just Efficiency?”
