How international is MeFi?

September 4, 2003 1:49 AM

Is there anyway of telling how strong the 'outside-America' contingent is on MeFi?

How international are we?

Hello from London.
posted by Frasermoo to MetaFilter-Related at 1:49 AM (96 comments total)

This may seem a bit of a lame post, or maybe a bit Miguelesque (without the padding), but frankly I am a little fed up of the bitchy/whiny posts which seem to be the norm recently.

(and I'm not London, I'm Windsor, home of the Queen)...
posted by Frasermoo at 1:52 AM on September 4, 2003

Another UKer here, from Oxford! (should probably post a new thread about that UK meetup soon as well...)
posted by adrianhon at 2:04 AM on September 4, 2003

Hello...I'm in Maidenhead...how close is that Frasermoo?
posted by mattr at 2:05 AM on September 4, 2003

Manchester.

Are there any other Mancunian MeFites?
posted by davehat at 2:07 AM on September 4, 2003

well i'm from Dublin, and i know of at least 3 other Irish lads who contribute a lot more than i do (not difficult really); tomcosgrove, doozer, and one other whose name i cant remember. And judging by the activity on the UK meet up threads there's quite a strong uk contingent too.
posted by kev23f at 2:08 AM on September 4, 2003

Miguelesque? Miguelesque you say?

How international are we??
posted by MiguelCardoso at 2:12 AM on September 4, 2003

Damn Miguel, I bow to your might. (still reeling from G&T's til 2 in the morning...)

mattr.. nice one, how you doin' neighbour?
posted by Frasermoo at 2:24 AM on September 4, 2003

London here, as well. But I'm actually from the States so I don't know if I count.
posted by lazywhinerkid at 2:35 AM on September 4, 2003

A touch off topic, perhaps, but I've always been curious as to how one decides where one's "from".

Is it where you were born, where you spent the most time growing up, where you live now or where you were happiest?

For me, there's a different answer to each of these questions. Anyone else have real difficulty answering the question "where are you from"?
posted by davehat at 2:48 AM on September 4, 2003

I'm not international, I'm from Cambridge. ;)

Well, I'm actually from Enfield, it's just taken my 26 years to get this far up the A10...
posted by twine42 at 2:50 AM on September 4, 2003

On a random side track, one on my grandfather's collegues once told him he could guess where people would move to. He told me that my grandfather would move from Southgate to Stevenage (10 miles out, not bad) and told my grandfather I'd end up going from Enfield to Ely (again, ten miles out).

Okay, so it's not interesting, but maybe we are more predictable than we think...
posted by twine42 at 2:52 AM on September 4, 2003

Cape Town, South Africa
posted by PenDevil at 2:58 AM on September 4, 2003

In that case davehat, I'm from Hereford, Great Malvern and bed.
posted by walrus at 2:58 AM on September 4, 2003

(currently in London)
posted by walrus at 2:59 AM on September 4, 2003

I'm originally from Sudbury, Canada.
posted by Frasermoo at 3:02 AM on September 4, 2003

Belgium here and loving it. No real home of record although I carry a US passport.

For the record, not a G&T drinker, no matter what anyone says.

_{OK, I *experimented* with various types of alcohol in college but that was just a phase I was going through...}
posted by Dagobert at 3:35 AM on September 4, 2003

PK checkin' in from the ancient capital, pants made of straw and pockets full of dried fish. Heian Meetup at Hill of Tara, everyone... anyone?...*cough* BTW, Miguel-esque would be Migeru-poi or Migeru-rashii in the local lingo.

I'm from Orange County, California, but they don't know me there anymore, and my driver's license expired this year, so I officially slipped below the threshold of existence.
posted by planetkyoto at 3:37 AM on September 4, 2003

So what's great about Belgium, other than that Hooverphonic come from there? This is a serious question. Belgium seems to have a reputation of being Europe's boring industrial wasteland, and well, I just wondered.
posted by wackybrit at 3:40 AM on September 4, 2003

Frasermoo....I think we need a mini uk-mefite meetup....Slug and Lettuce OK?!?!?
posted by mattr at 3:46 AM on September 4, 2003

walrus: with me it would be London, Oxford, Manchester (happiest and still here.....)

wackybrit: Beer. Belgian beer is utterly fantastic.
posted by davehat at 3:53 AM on September 4, 2003

Davs from Denmark.

I'll second that belgian beer thing - try Hoogarden on a nice summer day.
posted by dabitch at 3:58 AM on September 4, 2003

(gosh, I mean Hoegaarden).
posted by dabitch at 3:59 AM on September 4, 2003

A touch off topic, perhaps, but I've always been curious as to how one decides where one's "from".
I think it is the place you feel is home. I was born in Surrey and spent the first 21 years of my life there, but only feel at home in Sheffield, so I consider myself to be from Sheffield.
posted by chill at 4:02 AM on September 4, 2003

Wellington, New Zealand. The rest of you bastards are foreigners. Except for holloway, catch, and john shaft.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 4:04 AM on September 4, 2003

Stockholm, Sweden. And today the weather's excellent over here.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 4:19 AM on September 4, 2003

"Yiasas" from Greece. And, in davehat order: Wisconsin/the southern U.S./Greece/New Orleans and Greece.

We have a couple of real live Hellenic Greeks here, too - Costas and Talos.
posted by taz at 4:24 AM on September 4, 2003

mattr - I have just checked your blog, seen you have 20,000 pieces of vinyl. We have to meet up.

Your name also seems familiar, do you have any connections with Windsor?
posted by Frasermoo at 4:47 AM on September 4, 2003

tomcosgrove

That's tomcosgrAve. With an A at the end ;-)

Greetings from Dublin, Ireland!
posted by tomcosgrave at 4:50 AM on September 4, 2003

Greetings from Switzerland here, although my passport says I'm from the Netherlands.

But hey, at least we have mountains over here.
posted by sebas at 5:12 AM on September 4, 2003

Mattr: that 20,000 pieces of vinyl bit on your blog has a note posted to it with a confession about an the fpp you linked:

Nothing to do with vinyl, just a quick thankyou for posting my website link on metafilter. I got lots of hits and it was an interesting thread... just to let you into a secret... I make up all the tube quotes.

[BTW, I really enjoyed that thread]
posted by davehat at 5:14 AM on September 4, 2003

mattr - just to make things clear, my intentions are to borrow some vinyl, not help you catalogue it.
posted by Frasermoo at 5:25 AM on September 4, 2003

You all think that you're special because you're not Americans? I'm from The Hub of the Universe. It don't get more international than that!
posted by Mayor Curley at 5:51 AM on September 4, 2003

The final volume of James Blish's Cities in Flight tetralogy, The Triumph of Time (1958), concludes with a plan to outlive the annihilation of our universe; this annihilation will be caused by the impending collision between our cosmos and a corresponding time-reversed cosmos of antimatter. By reaching the "hub" of the universe, the metagalactic center, and briefly enduring the moment of annihilation while protected by a force-field, it will be possible for the characters to create new universes out of the material of their own spacesuits and bodies (dying in the process).

Do you have your space suit at the ready, Mayor? We're counting on you. (Sorry about the dying part...)
posted by taz at 6:06 AM on September 4, 2003

Bristol, England here.

(And as for the Belgian beer thing, I'd have to vote for Chimay)
posted by MintSauce at 6:24 AM on September 4, 2003

Santiago, Chile, after 2 years in the US, and glad to be back!
posted by signal at 6:28 AM on September 4, 2003

Toronto, Canada.

I've wondered too about the nationalities of the MeFi population - maybe it's 50 per cent U.S.? Real shot in the dark, isn't it.
posted by orange swan at 6:38 AM on September 4, 2003

Slovakia here.
posted by Ljubljana at 6:50 AM on September 4, 2003

How to figure out where you are from:

• First write down the name of every city you have ever lived in.
• Then, next to each name, write down the number of times you had your heart broken there.
• You are from the city that broke your heart the most.

I'm from Fairfax Station, VA. (Now I live in San Francisco.)
posted by kirkaracha at 7:17 AM on September 4, 2003

I was in Munich last week, London this week, followed by Milan and Paris in quick succession.

Yes, I'm an international jewel thief on the run from Interpol.
posted by MrBaliHai at 8:06 AM on September 4, 2003

kirkaracha, I've wondered if any other Mefites were Kevin Fanning fans. My favorite thing of his is Kevin Fanning's Home Security Basics from the Morning News.
posted by vraxoin at 8:10 AM on September 4, 2003

I'm in London. Ontario. Canada. I'm constantly surprised by the lack of represention Canada has on MeFi.

Frasermoo, it's a good thing you got out of that wasteland we call Sudbury! :)
posted by ashbury at 8:26 AM on September 4, 2003

Yes, I'm an international jewel thief on the run from Interpol.

just make sure you deliver them sapphires when you get to Milan.
tell 'M' hi from "syd".
the rest is taken care of.

IMO, Mefi should ban all americans from new sign up (unless invited or bought by matt) for a year and have open sign-up for the rest of the world.
posted by clavdivs at 8:34 AM on September 4, 2003

In May, my new bride and I spent our honeymoon in Belgium. We heart that fucking country for so many reasons. And the beer is, indeed, ridiculously good, and gives no hangovers.
posted by Skot at 8:35 AM on September 4, 2003

Hmm - that old where are you from braintwister again...

In order of total years lived there, greatest to least:

USA (NY, CA, FL, CT)
Norway
UK
Spain
New Zealand

I don't consider myself American, though, even though I've decided to settle here. Still holding on to that EEC citizenship - who knows when I'll get the urge to take off again?
posted by widdershins at 8:38 AM on September 4, 2003

Mefi should ban all americans from new sign up (unless invited or bought by matt) for a year and have open sign-up for the rest of the world.

That's just what we need: even more people who drive on the wrong side of the road, call soccer "football", and put milk in their tea. What's next? Mandatory six week vacations and 30 hour work weeks? Free health care? Paid family leave? Universal literacy?

Not in these United States, buddy!
posted by vraxoin at 8:39 AM on September 4, 2003

what if you just like to think of yourself as international?

and clav, that's a really good idea
posted by amberglow at 8:39 AM on September 4, 2003

davehat Anyone else have real difficulty answering the question "where are you from"? yes.

i always pick where i'm happiest (and currently) living (chicago). people, however, always choose to argue with me when they find out: (a) where i was born; (b) where i went to grade school; (c) where i went to high school; (d) where i went to college/grad school; or (e) where i have logged the most of my years (none of which would be chicago and (e) would be the place i was least happiest living). completely unrelated to the point of this post, nonetheless, i would like to say that arguing with a person about how she chooses to define herself is just about as rude as telling a person she spells or pronounces her name wrong.
posted by crush-onastick at 8:45 AM on September 4, 2003

skot: ......... and gives no hangovers

Really? What the hell were you drinking? My favourite, Leffe Blonde, gives one hell of a morning after....

[BTW, this is a pretty good online beer resource.]

crush-onastick: i would like to say that arguing with a person about how she chooses to define herself is just about as rude as telling a person she spells or pronounces her name wrong.

I agree. I have had propper rows with people challenging me about it and was curious as to how others answer the question. Seems I'm not alone.
posted by davehat at 8:55 AM on September 4, 2003

Another Canadian weighing in. Vancouver, BC.
posted by sharpener at 9:02 AM on September 4, 2003

I'm originally from Sudbury, Canada.

Well the girl's are playin' bingo,
And the boys are gettin' stinko,
We'll think no more of INCO,
On a Sudbury Saturday night.
posted by timeistight at 9:05 AM on September 4, 2003

that's the one. I was born there because my Dad worked for INCO.
posted by Frasermoo at 9:13 AM on September 4, 2003

Born in Pretoria, South Africa.
Been living in Groningen, The Netherlands for the past 27 years. Groningen is home. (Though I still miss Africa *heartache*)

And I agree with clavdivs too.
This place should really be more "little blue planet".
posted by ginz at 9:36 AM on September 4, 2003

I love Leffe Blonde! But I swear it gave me no hangovers, and I certainly deserved them.

Even the most mind-punching beers over there--like, say, "Mad Bitch" at 13% alcohol content--failed to give me the morning whim-whams.

Maybe the World Brain is telling me to move.
posted by Skot at 9:37 AM on September 4, 2003

Is it where you were born, where you spent the most time growing up, where you live now or where you were happiest?
Born: Oxford. Grew up: Oxford. Now live in: Oxford.
I was happiest backpacking around europe as a young man. I will again be happy backpacking when I'm old(er).

And I suggest the Clavdivs Doctrine should be expanded to exclude the other overstocked anglophone Imperium UK, too. Let's give the rest a chance, eh?
posted by dash_slot- at 10:14 AM on September 4, 2003

tell 'M' hi from "syd"

But the real clavdivs would've known that 'M' was killed in a shootout with agents of 'The Baron'. You, sir, are clearly an imposter.
posted by MrBaliHai at 10:17 AM on September 4, 2003

toronto, by way of vancouver, by way of winnipeg, by way of montreal where i was born. with a 2.5 year break from toronto spent in nyc. immediate family originally out of ireland; half of us still live there.
posted by t r a c y at 10:28 AM on September 4, 2003

Metafilter: Let the World In!

The Baron eh?....

"You think there is someone behind him?"
"I know there is."
"This professor that I've heard you mention?"
"Exactly!"
Inspector MacDonald smiled, and his eyelid quivered as he
glanced towards me. "I won't conceal from you, Mr. Holmes,
that we think in the C. I. D. that you have a wee bit of a bee in
your bonnet over this professor. I made some inquiries myself
about the matter. He seems to be a verly respectable, learned, and
talented sort of man."

A.C. Doyle, from 'Valley of Fear'

(with respect mr. Balihai :)
posted by clavdivs at 12:02 PM on September 4, 2003

I ♥ taz and Cities in Flight, definitely on my top 20 all time sci-fi fave list! [/offtopic]
posted by Lynsey at 2:23 PM on September 4, 2003

...a New Yorker in Tokyo...
posted by gen at 4:37 PM on September 4, 2003

... a Liverpudlian in Liverpool ...
posted by feelinglistless at 4:43 PM on September 4, 2003

tell 'M' hi from "syd"

you blew my cover! you blew it!

Mr Bali, I'm most certainly not dead. It all happened at Reichenbach Falls, you know?
posted by matteo at 4:49 PM on September 4, 2003

What, am I the first Aussie to put my hand up in this thread? Adelaide, South Australia all my life.
posted by Jimbob at 5:29 PM on September 4, 2003

...Tokyo...
posted by cup at 6:09 PM on September 4, 2003

(looks for a Norweigian)
posted by clavdivs at 6:27 PM on September 4, 2003

In May, my new bride and I spent our honeymoon in Belgium. And the beer is, indeed, ridiculously good, and gives no hangovers.

In 15 years of rootless (and bootless, perhaps) wandering, why oh why ain't I ever been to Belgium?
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:33 PM on September 4, 2003

Beautiful burning British Columbia, an hour north of the Okanagan Mountain Park forest fire that's been making the international news. Sigh.
posted by five fresh fish at 7:25 PM on September 4, 2003

Ca-na-da! Da-da-na-da! Can-a-da-a-a-o-a-o! (to the tune of Van Halen's "Panama")

Calgary, Alberta, to be specific. In case anyone's keeping track.
posted by arto at 8:06 PM on September 4, 2003

I'll make it four canucks in a row.
posted by timeistight at 8:23 PM on September 4, 2003

Five!

(Toronto.)
posted by philfromhavelock at 9:08 PM on September 4, 2003

6!

Vancouver
posted by Salmonberry at 9:50 PM on September 4, 2003

while currently maintaining abode in michigan, a quaint subdivision of what you would call the united states which is perched upon the continent of north america, i am from no currently known location.
posted by quonsar at 9:53 PM on September 4, 2003

I'm a Utahn, which is like the seventh moon of Neptune as far as it relates to the rest of the world.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:55 PM on September 4, 2003

Then, next to each name, write down the number of times you had your heart broken there. You are from the city that broke your heart the most.

Oh great. So I'm homeless.
posted by wackybrit at 10:59 PM on September 4, 2003

I'm from Glasgow, Scotland.

Which can be controversial thing for someone originally from Birkenhead, and with a very obvious English accent, to say.

Although it's a bonus to come from the home of Tranmere Rovers, since no one up here knows of the team's links to Everton, and I can answer the football/religion question without fear of getting me head staved in...
posted by jack_mo at 1:21 AM on September 5, 2003

If the cat has kittens in the fishshop, are they kittens or fish?

My parents were from Glasgow and I was the only one in my family born in London, so I got teased unmercifully about being a "Sassenach". Moved to Australia and got called a "Pommy Bastard".

I have no idea where home is. When I am in London or Scotland, I get the same feeling of belonging as I do when returning to Australia. People have a hard time picking my accent...where's languagehat?

I love Belgium. Its one of those places that I think I could also get used to living in really quickly, as is San Francisco.

I vote for clavdivs doctrine too.
posted by Tarrama at 2:56 AM on September 5, 2003

Glasgow. Ya bas.
posted by bonaldi at 5:27 AM on September 5, 2003

Copenhagen, Denmark
posted by Eirixon at 5:29 AM on September 5, 2003

I live in London but consider myself to be European. When it suits me.
posted by Summer at 5:40 AM on September 5, 2003

Jimbob, take heart ,you may have had the misfortune of being born and raised in Adelaide, but you're not the only Mefite hailing from the finest nation on God's green earth.

Representing Brisbane, Australia

AKA - Bris Vegas*
AKA - BrisneyLand*
AKA - B-Town**

* only dickheads ever call Brisbane this
** Noone has ever called Brisbane this. Ever
posted by backOfYourMind at 7:11 AM on September 5, 2003

where's languagehat?

Representing! But what, I don't know. I was born in Japan, grew up in Thailand and Argentina as well, spent most of my home-leave time in DC and Southern California (where I went to college), and have lived my post-college life on the East Coast, the last 22 years in NYC. My father's family are Okies and my mother's are of Norwegian descent (uffda!). And I had my heart broken in Taiwan. You tell me where I'm from.
posted by languagehat at 7:32 AM on September 5, 2003

Nice to see that Belgium is so popular. I'm from Brussels. The beer does cause hangovers though: believe me, or else drink six Duvels in rapid succession and be physically convinced. Another thing that might endear us little Belgians to you is the quality of our fries, pancakes and our cuisine in general: French food in German quantities, as I've heard it describe. Only downside is the ghastly weather.
posted by NekulturnY at 7:34 AM on September 5, 2003

(looks for a Norweigian[sic])
posted by clavdivs at 6:27 PM PST on September 4

Look no further, my friend. Or... wait... why?
posted by widdershins at 7:51 AM on September 5, 2003

wasn't someone going to do a worldwide map based on the zipcodes like the US one?
posted by amberglow at 8:07 AM on September 5, 2003

oops...i guess you can't--they're different in each country...sorry
posted by amberglow at 8:07 AM on September 5, 2003

Canberra originally.
Bris Vegas ??? Dodge City
posted by johnny7 at 8:24 AM on September 5, 2003

b. Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
l. Brighton, East Sussex

...and many other places in between...
posted by i_cola at 9:15 AM on September 5, 2003

Ouch. I'm not sure I would want to live anywhere nicknamed "Bris" Anything.

backOfYourMind, are you sure it isn't only the dickhead(les)s that ever call Brisbane this?
posted by taz at 9:34 AM on September 5, 2003

Anyone living in Perth? My sister's currently out there. Damn near the end of the earth, by all appearances.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:46 AM on September 5, 2003

FFF: I'll be there in Feb...visiting friends & out-laws. Nice place.
posted by i_cola at 11:00 AM on September 5, 2003

I'm going to Perth in May. I like end of the earth places.
posted by ginz at 12:04 PM on September 5, 2003

"There is only one great country: Norway. I didn't come from Norway, but I lived there. It is monolithic. There are 3.5 million people. It is the most constructive country in the world. They're for peace and they were just named as part of the enemy by Al Qaeda. If you want a wonderful country, it's Norway. In my next incarnation, I hope to be born a Norwegian." (From an interview with Seth Glickenhaus, 89-year-old investment manager, founder of Glickenhaus & Co., in Barron's Magazine, June 9, 2003.)

Ok, so I'm biased.
posted by gentle at 1:08 PM on September 5, 2003

Gentle - any TRULY great nation would disavow lutefisk.
posted by jonson at 3:33 PM on September 5, 2003

The Norwegians I met certainly disavowed lutefisk. I'd exclaimed something about how I wanted to sample the local traditional fare. They told me in no uncertain terms that that would be a very, very poor idea, and refused to assist.

Norway would be wonderful if it weren't so freakin' dark during the winter. And they get a long winter. Ugh.

Must. Have. Sunlight.
posted by five fresh fish at 5:05 PM on September 5, 2003

taz - I stared at your comment for a while going - 'huh, is that a double negative or something?', but I finally got it.

Too much time over in that drinking game thread.

BrisneyLand is supposed to be an insult, but now I'm enjoying the idea of it as some kind of theme park for mohels.
posted by backOfYourMind at 12:54 AM on September 6, 2003

Touche, bOYM! You're an antipodean mensch!
posted by taz at 1:26 AM on September 6, 2003

BrisneyLand is supposed to be an insult, but now I'm enjoying the idea of it as some kind of theme park for mohels.

I'm imagining the rides, and now i need a drink...anyone have any wine-soaked hankies?
posted by amberglow at 9:48 AM on September 6, 2003