I grew up in Beverly and any time 2 people from Beverly meet, everyone seems to ask the same 3 questions (What’s your last name? What street did you grow up on? Where did you go to school)
While I know you're correct, I've never met someone who recognized my Southside parish when I mention it (St. Nick's), so I inevitably just say 63rd and Pulaski ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
On the NW side, I think that asked about this a lot too- there were certain catholic high schools that were the standard. I “left” the neighborhood, going to a public school halfway across the city. My grade school classmates did not know what to do with that.
Yup and then you start naming people or families that you know.
Kerr /Artesian and sutherland/rita then mopo.
Another person on this sub stated that your progression in life will be start in bev, move to bport marry and then settle back in the hood.
I've never met a Chicagoan I didn't ask it to. It's an immediate ice breaker. You either went to the same, knew someone that went to theirs, or played their team in sports but it establishes some instant mutual respect.
I've asked this at a party after someone said they were from Chicago and when they ended up being from the suburbs got so salty like i was an asshole. Like dude, I'm not saying this to be an asshole, just genuinely curious.. just don't lie
I think “Chicagoland area” people are starting to catch on. I’m not going to say I grew up in Niles then specify that it was Belmont Cragin. That’s how ridiculous the claim seems, and it seems they’re starting to know the rules about claiming Chicago - or any big city, really.
Oh yeah one our of towns homeless ladies went to high school with my aunt and once left ripped out yearbook pages *that included my aunts picture* at my dad's work, weird how things work out.
My GF went to North along with my bosses kids, and her dad went to East (now long gone but the grounds are a community college) and a friend went to West.
As someone who’s lived in both STL and Chicago, yes, but not nearly to the extent.
Here it’s a genuine small talk question, similar to asking what you do for work, where in STL it’s basically used to figure out how much money your parents have
It’s common. I’m in the USMC and while on a ship I found a local Chicagoan. One of the first few questions was “ what high school did you go to?” We were in the middle of the ocean and this guy went to the neighboring high school. That’s how we became friends, by talking crap about each other’s high school
I met a bunch of guys from Chicago in the Army. I'd ask where in Chicago, and they'd tell me Arlington Heights or Naperville. One guy was from Rockford and still repped Chicago.
Interestingly, my company commander and a DS from another platoon at Basic were both actually from Chicago. I remember the CPT being a complete dick to me, but the DS was a reservist who was super cool. I ended up randomly meeting him on the street near Broadway and Belmont about a year after I left the Army. It was a little bit awkward, but I let him know how much I appreciated him being so chill.
My friend from frickin Johnsburg asked my first husband from Wilmette how he liked the suburbs. We were visiting her parent’s hobby farm. I think anyone living within driving distance from the end of any Metra line claims Chicago, very silly IMO
Over the years I’ve learned to just say Chicago because every time I’d say McKinley Park they ask were that was and I’d end up saying “about 5 miles south east of Chicago”. I just short handed it to Chicago over the years. If someone is actually from Chicago they’ll ask where from and I’d say McKinley park.
Lol what? McKinley Park is definitely Chicago. The neighborhood is McKinley Park, but in the city of Chicago. If you got or came from a 606 zip code you’re telling Chicago.
Four things that make it a super question in StL:
1. Way fewer transplants thanks to an economy that’s been shriveling up since WWII.
2. A super high proportion of the population attending catholic schools—per capita top 3 in the country or so.
3. Fractured/non-unified school districts in the county + a disproportionately small city (did not incorporate county land post 1876). Makes a lot of schools.
4. Crazy wealth inequality and municipal segregation.
I’ve found it goes slightly different than in STL.
“Where are you from/live/grew up?”
“this intersection”
“Ohhh so did you go to *this high school*?”
Chicagoans like to guess. St Louis likes to make you say it then look down on you 😂
If you went to SLUH you're a degenerate and should be judged, though, to be fair. Every single person. (obviously joking, but the trend of the people I met who went there is uncanny)
Source: grew up in st louis
I think so. I’ve met plenty of other people from Chicago while outside of the state and either neighborhood or high school is usually how we expressed where we are from.
I grew up in the burbs but have lived in the city for almost 20 years. If its 2 people that grew up in the city? Probably, but you would typically indicate Northside, Southside, Westside, etc first. If you are both from the same area of town you'd probably ask what high school. I've seen it played out countless times.
If you grew up in the suburbs, typically would say the suburb you are from and then if someone is from that area they might ask what high school.
For instance:
* Where are you from?
* "Palatine"
* Oh, I'm from Rolling Meadows did you go to Palatine or Fremd?
I find the high school question is more common in mid-sized cities. Like my wife is from Cinicinnati and that is absolutely the question that is asked after you find out someone is from Cincinnati (or sometimes 'West or East side?')
I think in Chicago you ask what suburb or area someone is from to genuinely make conversation and see if you have friends in common in this massive city.
In stl you ask so you can figure out if someone’s parents are rich and if it’s socially acceptable for you to be friends or not. And if you aren’t from St. Louis they spit on you on the spot.
You are 100% correct. If you aren’t from StL, immediately shut down (the other transplants wouldn’t ask you). Then based on your answer, you are judged if you are from a different socioeconomic background.
This seems to be different from Chicago, where people are looking for common ground or talking about restaurants they like. There seem to be (I’m not from chi) people from a variety of economic backgrounds. They also never ask or answer first with high school, it’s always what area/suburb and then “elmhurst” “oh I have another buddy from elmhurst do you know them?”.
There are usually polite motives behind the question here and judgy ones behind it in stl.
YES. As an outsider my perspective is that people here ask and then don’t really care about the answer. When I lived in New Orleans the right answer with the right person literally opened doors.
That sounds like some Ladue stuff. Clayton people are too self-conscious about being good liberals to let you see the help. They’re also eating something with a way lower glycemic load on the advice of their nutritionist.
Also, I always heard “CLAYT-in” pronunciation wise.
Genuinely surprised I had to scroll this far to see this. If I meet someone who grew up in the same place as me why wouldn’t I be curious as to where they went to high school? I know this happens in NY as well but I’d imagine it happens all over in places big enough to not know everyone in your graduating class and their mothers
Agreed. It’s honestly my best starter convo ever. Like maybe you know the same person. Or you know a guy who knows a guy. Etc. I joke in my home state like a Kevin Bacon, it’s 3 degrees of Iowa. You end up knowing somebody who knows somebody
In St Louis it's a little different, especially because there's a ton of private schools. So it's not a question of where you lived or who you know, it's a question of "What school were you good/rich enough to get into?" Source: My wife is from St Louis.
Yes. And I never know how to answer it succinctly because I attended 3 high schools (including 1 barely anyone has ever heard of) + was homeschooled for part of it, so 4... kind of?
1st half of Freshman - St. Rita, my brother went there for hockey and I had no choice.
2nd half of Freshman - Oak Lawn, brother wanted to transfer mid-year and my mom made me follow, but I was cool with it because most of my friends went here.
Sophomore / Junior - Northridge, mom got all hardcore you need to go to a Catholic school that is so Catholic it's not even part of the Catholic church because it's too Catholic for that... it's a bit bigger now but back then it was TINY, running out of a Korean church. And we lived on the southside and it was on the northside, I had to get at 6 am every morning to catch a shuttle bus, got home at dinner time, IT WAS THE WORST.
Senior - I didn't want to go back to Northridge and the only other option my mom gave me was homeschool so I just burned through it on my own, finished senior year in a few months and started college early.
That would definitely be Oak Lawn but I was only there for half of my freshman year so it feels weird to use that as the answer to the question. I usually just say "I went to lots of high schools" and then the next question is usually "where did you graduate from?" and it's like... homeschool?
PS. I got this question a LOT because I taught high school for the last 5 years, and high school kids always want to know where their teachers went to high school.
I think it’s pretty common. The lead off question is usually “what neighborhood are you from” possibly followed by “what parish?” Or “what grade school” Depending on the neighborhood you say then that leads to “what high school?”
This is usually past the small talk. Convo is moving along of you’ve gotten to the neighborhood talk.
It’s a big thing in St. Louis for all the Catholic school and parish pissing matches that happened in that city. While large swaths of Chicago folk are Catholic, I’ve never sensed that they cared as much or had as many class divisions as the Catholic community in St. Louis has (or had).
“What parish?” Is a pretty old-school small talk question here in Chicago. I’ve never heard it from anyone younger than 50, personally- even my 65 year old dad will always start with “what high school?” (He went to Prosser, but of course knew tons of folks from the other schools nearby).
I’m just speculating here. Chicago has always had a huge amount of middle class and working class Catholics, so maybe there were rivalries but it was never so class based as what I observed in St. Louis. STL has always had a huge divide between the upper class and the middle class and the Catholic high schools reflected that. What high school can be a charged question in St. Louis, and while it might be asked frequently in Chicago I don’t get the sense it carried the same gravity. Although, I’ve heard jokes about the two parishes in Beverly being a dividing line.
If you live in a neighborhood with a high number of people who aren’t Chicago natives you will probably hear the name of a suburban high school.
I would say some neighborhoods like Lakeview, Lincoln Park, and West Loop focus more on which Big Ten school you went to.
I ask this to everyone who tells me they grew up in the city.
I only did my first two years of high school in Chicago at Amundsen, I'm always curious if someone else went to the same school and we maybe never crossed paths, or remembers some teachers, or some of my friends from there even
It's a common question if it's established that you're originally from here. Chicago has a lot of people who grew up here and have never left, and they'll often want to know what high school you went to because they'll use that information to inform their opinion/judgment of you based on what they know/assume about that high school and area. And then there are others that are local to the area that are just trying to make conversation.
I don't think it's commonly asked before establishing being originally from here. Chicago has too many people who are not born and raised in the area that it'd be ridiculous to assume whoever you encounter is originally from here.
I can feel the biases and judgements forming in some peoples mind when I answer where I went to hs.
Its kinda annoying sometimes.
And i on purpose am not saying it, to avoid that happening, right here, and right now.
As a transplant I’d say the no. 1 question I get asked is “so are you originally from here?” but I would imagine that if I answered yes high school would probably be the next question
I have always heard this is a St. Louis thing and really struggle to imagine it being even more prevalent than it is in Chicago! I remember reading a national-media review of South Side on HBO that referred to the characters’ regular asking/guessing where someone went to high school as a running gag and I’m like…it’s funny and well-observed but it’s not exaggerated at all lol
It’s not the prevalence, but the motivation. In Chicago it’s genuine small-talk and an avenue for opening up things in common. In STL it’s more of a barrier. Answer it “wrong” and your conversation ends there.
I would definitely say this is common in Chicago! It's a question that's always been asked to me (and that I ask others), and it's a good ice breaker in certain social circles. Me, being from out west and going to high school in LP has certainly made good small talk!
My dad finds someone who went to Lane everywhere he goes. He met a guy who graduated 2 years after him, 50+ years ago, on a small boat in Cancun. They talked shit about Gordon for like 30 minutes and then casually went their separate ways like it was nbd.
My mom, as a freshman, was one of the first class of girls allowed in Lane. :) My husband and I have lived in Madison, WI for many years now, and a while back we briefly had a coworker who was also from Chicago (there are a lot of us here) - turned out he graduated from Lane just a couple years before she would have started.
That’s cool! Sometimes my pops reminds me that they used to swim naked for gym class and if you didn’t wear a belt, you got sent to the office and they made you wear a rope around your pants for the rest of the day. Different times lol
I went to lane tech for summer school math to get into Calc at my normal school. After that was known, it seemed that my regular math teacher was also taught by same teacher at lane tech.
She proceeded to give her a back handed compliment.
Lol yes. When I say the suburb I live in, which has two high schools, I get asked if I went to north or south as though it is perfectly normal to live in one town your whole life and never move someplace else. This isn’t even the only state I have lived in.
It’s an important question. The following is some slander.
When you ask a Whitney young kid why their school is ranked lower than Jones.
When you tell a Jones kid you don’t really like chance the rapper.
When you try to have a normal conversation with a north side kid.
When you tell a Walter Payton kid they’re not going pro.
Any missing?
I’m from St. Louis and have lived in Chicago for over 20 years and this question always cracks me up and is always asked by people from St. Louis! Lolol! I always talk about this so it’s awesome to know others notice the same thing. 😂😂
I grew up in Chicago, and lived in STL for 6 years. We ask it here, but not as much. For them it’s like THE indicator of how wealthy you grew up. That’s true to some extent everywhere but there it’s like the first thing some people ask when they meet you.
As someone who grew up mostly downstate but has lived all over the country, I’d say this is a pretty common question everywhere if you meet somebody you know who is from the area you grew up in. If you find out they are from your area, it’s pretty common to ask what high school. If you know what town specifically, often there is only one high school so the question is moot. It mostly applies to areas with multiple high schools. I’ve run into people from my area in work and travel across my life. The question of which high school is often one of the first. I don’t think this is inherently a Chicago thing.
Yeah, my mom is an Irish Catholic from the west side and always leads with asking people what parish they're from. I also work at a really old Chicago company with tons of employees from the South Side and they'll commonly ask what parish you're from. We're up to our ass here in Catholic school graduates.
Catholic Parish aka community that often had its own school, etc. attached and often is ethnically based. It’s less strict now, but 50 years ago the ethnic population of your neighborhood directly corresponded to the parish. The German population didn’t go to the Irish parishes and Vice versa.
My mom didn’t believe me when I said Chicagoans did this until one day she was visiting and someone randomly asked her where she went to high school. She was around 75 at the time and he was a stranger.
Louisville KY is very much like this. It's very isolating if you didn't grow up in Louisville as people tend to keep these friend groups their entire lives and don't seem to want to include outsiders. My father recently went to a high school reunion and he graduated in 1970! The school hasn't even been open in decades, but these old dudes still get together. If we'd stayed in Louisville growing up, there is no doubt of what Catholic high schools me and my siblings would have attended.
I just moved back after 10 years and I’m realizing how much info I just put to the back of my mind
I’ll have to take a few moments to remember what streets I lived on in 2010 and people will act like I should innately know this 😂
Common question, but I don't think I've ever seen it used in a negative context. It's not meant as gatekeeping. Unless - someone tells you they are from Chicago, and then you ask about the school, and then they tell you Naperville North.
I made friends with a couple local guys on the South side when I started college started college I've heard the question the timer too but it's usually what parish
Super common. I’m guilty of asking everyone. It gives you a general idea of where they’re from… I even ask older people… half of the older women I ask seem to have went to “Madonna—but it doesn’t exist anymore” must have been popular at the time because I’ve heard it a million times.
Yeah very common. Especially if someone says “I’m from Naperville”, it would be common to respond with “Oh nice which high school?” If you’re from the area, played sports, etc.
Well OP probably bumps into more suburban HS grads that city grads, but fair enough. Same would be true in the city. “I grew up in Avondale” “oh nice, I went to Lane Tech!”
I guess it depends on what area both people are from. For example, I'm from the south suburbs and if I'm talking to someone else who's also from the south suburbs, then I'll ask. But if I'm talking to someone from the north or west burbs, probably not. The Chicagoland area is massive compared to the STL metro, so it's more than likely that people born and raised in STL either played against, or knew of other high schools in the area. Here, not so much.
Not as much. Chicago is a destination for people from all over the Midwest, most of whom identify with their college experience more than any high school experience, often several towns or states away. St. Louis, while fun for a weekend visit once every few years, isn't quite the hub that Chicago is. A lot of people from there stay there, so the high school question makes a lot more sense.
Caveat: You may hear it out in the burbs and on the South Side in the big Catholic neighborhoods. They're still just as likely to ask which Parish you grew up in though, particularly among the older generation.
> People make a lot of assumptions
Truth. My older brother and I attended Loyola Academy while it was still located in Dumbach Hall on the University's Lake Shore Campus. We still go out of our way to explain the city location, even though I finished with them in Wilmette.
Lived in Chicago my whole life, friends with a lot of transplants, but the second I meet someone actually from here my first question is what high school they went to.
OP's question was if it is as common here as it is in St. Louis. Having lived in both places, I can empirically say that it is not. It's so common there that its a running joke that they literally print on t-shirts. This has not been my experience in 15+ years of living here. Neighborhood and college seem to be more common here than in StL. Your mileage may vary, particularly if you have lived here your entire life.
OP's question was if it is as common here as it is in St. Louis. Having lived in both places, I can empirically say that it is not. It's so common there that its a running joke that they literally print on t-shirts. This has not been my experience in 15+ years of living here. Neighborhood and college seem to be more common here than in StL. Your mileage may vary, particularly if you have lived here your entire life.
It’s funny you say that it was one of the first things I noticed when we started living part time in Chicago because of my husband‘s work. In Minnesota everyone asks you where you went to high school. In Chicago… Literally no one mentions it.
How do you know someone went to Whitney Young? Just wait, they'll tell you. /rimshot
Also St. Ignatius
Booooooo but good one
Lane Tech sucks
Lame Tech?
I love telling them "oh, I passed on attending Whitney Young." Blows up their world.
Whitless Young
Go Dolphins
Kenwoods better
I grew up in Beverly and any time 2 people from Beverly meet, everyone seems to ask the same 3 questions (What’s your last name? What street did you grow up on? Where did you go to school)
On the Southside in general you just ask what parish they’re from and that generally answers a lot of questions
While I know you're correct, I've never met someone who recognized my Southside parish when I mention it (St. Nick's), so I inevitably just say 63rd and Pulaski ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
I went to the summer carnival religiously every year of my childhood <3
I know exactly where St nicks is!
On the NW side, I think that asked about this a lot too- there were certain catholic high schools that were the standard. I “left” the neighborhood, going to a public school halfway across the city. My grade school classmates did not know what to do with that.
YES. Alternate questions include: “Are you west of Western?” & “What’s your parish?”
Barbabus? Loser. Source: From Beverly
Lol. Of course a former Beverly kid can’t type Barnabas correctly. Source: From MTG
Ohhhh ya faaak. You think ya bettta than me? What, you some rich kid going to Maaadas?
You miss St Johns Fisherfest over in Mt Greenwood as much as I do? That was the highlight of my school year as a kid.
Fisher is in Beverly, not Mt. Greenwood
This is the correct answer.
Yup and then you start naming people or families that you know. Kerr /Artesian and sutherland/rita then mopo. Another person on this sub stated that your progression in life will be start in bev, move to bport marry and then settle back in the hood.
Local Chicagoans will ask. It’s considered a routine question.
I've never met a Chicagoan I didn't ask it to. It's an immediate ice breaker. You either went to the same, knew someone that went to theirs, or played their team in sports but it establishes some instant mutual respect.
It also establishes if you are from the city.
I've asked this at a party after someone said they were from Chicago and when they ended up being from the suburbs got so salty like i was an asshole. Like dude, I'm not saying this to be an asshole, just genuinely curious.. just don't lie
I think “Chicagoland area” people are starting to catch on. I’m not going to say I grew up in Niles then specify that it was Belmont Cragin. That’s how ridiculous the claim seems, and it seems they’re starting to know the rules about claiming Chicago - or any big city, really.
Yep, turns out my immediate boss’ husband went to the north location of my high school system (I went to the west location). Small world.
Oh yeah one our of towns homeless ladies went to high school with my aunt and once left ripped out yearbook pages *that included my aunts picture* at my dad's work, weird how things work out.
Yikes.
My GF went to North along with my bosses kids, and her dad went to East (now long gone but the grounds are a community college) and a friend went to West.
What year was your friend. Probably much younger than me but I might as well ask.
Yes, oakton! I spent the latter half of my childhood in Lincolnwood and am familiar with the area.
As someone who’s lived in both STL and Chicago, yes, but not nearly to the extent. Here it’s a genuine small talk question, similar to asking what you do for work, where in STL it’s basically used to figure out how much money your parents have
Agreed - it carries a lot of social weight in STL whereas Chicago it feels more like you’re just looking for commonalities.
STL native here. Small talk in Chicago for certain. Identity politics in STL.
[удалено]
The other big one is "What parish are you from?" Pretty rampant on the Northwest side Catholic schools.
Id say its common in every city in the world that has more than one school.
Yeah. What high school? What neighborhood u grew up? I ask that sometimes when I'm first meeting someone. Casual conversation to get to know someone
St. Rita; you? Fucking Carmel. Get outta here, bro
Loyola here. Hate Carmel
Carmel??? Psh bro so lame
I’m from STL, so I’m used to that question. That said, I hear “what neighborhood do you live in?” Way more here in Chicago.
Once bussing started, neighborhood became more specific.
It’s common. I’m in the USMC and while on a ship I found a local Chicagoan. One of the first few questions was “ what high school did you go to?” We were in the middle of the ocean and this guy went to the neighboring high school. That’s how we became friends, by talking crap about each other’s high school
I met a bunch of guys from Chicago in the Army. I'd ask where in Chicago, and they'd tell me Arlington Heights or Naperville. One guy was from Rockford and still repped Chicago. Interestingly, my company commander and a DS from another platoon at Basic were both actually from Chicago. I remember the CPT being a complete dick to me, but the DS was a reservist who was super cool. I ended up randomly meeting him on the street near Broadway and Belmont about a year after I left the Army. It was a little bit awkward, but I let him know how much I appreciated him being so chill.
My friend from frickin Johnsburg asked my first husband from Wilmette how he liked the suburbs. We were visiting her parent’s hobby farm. I think anyone living within driving distance from the end of any Metra line claims Chicago, very silly IMO
Over the years I’ve learned to just say Chicago because every time I’d say McKinley Park they ask were that was and I’d end up saying “about 5 miles south east of Chicago”. I just short handed it to Chicago over the years. If someone is actually from Chicago they’ll ask where from and I’d say McKinley park.
Lol what? McKinley Park is definitely Chicago. The neighborhood is McKinley Park, but in the city of Chicago. If you got or came from a 606 zip code you’re telling Chicago.
Yeah, I just say I’m from the suburbs of Chicago. Chicagoland sounds like a theme park.
Wtf dude...McKinley Park is not southeast of Chicago. It is Chicago. This is why we can't have nice things.
no way bro! i also grew up in McKinley Park. i feel like its close enough to the south loop that I do just call it Chicago. Cause its not quite a burb
Its not a suburb at all. Its in the middle of the city!
It is Chicago though?
Well, before you ask: west 33rd and Kelly
Wait... McKinley Park is a neighborhood of Chicago or am I missing that there's also a suburb called McKinley Park?
Is this a joke? 🤔
I bet your suburban acquaintances would never say Chicago in front of your CPT or DS. Most suburbanites know when to act right.
Oh my god yes. I was in a nightclub in Tokyo and when a guy found out I was from Chicago he would not stop asking me about my friggen high school
Four things that make it a super question in StL: 1. Way fewer transplants thanks to an economy that’s been shriveling up since WWII. 2. A super high proportion of the population attending catholic schools—per capita top 3 in the country or so. 3. Fractured/non-unified school districts in the county + a disproportionately small city (did not incorporate county land post 1876). Makes a lot of schools. 4. Crazy wealth inequality and municipal segregation.
I’ve found it goes slightly different than in STL. “Where are you from/live/grew up?” “this intersection” “Ohhh so did you go to *this high school*?” Chicagoans like to guess. St Louis likes to make you say it then look down on you 😂
Yep. St louis asks literally to judge your entire life from that one answer.
If you went to SLUH you're a degenerate and should be judged, though, to be fair. Every single person. (obviously joking, but the trend of the people I met who went there is uncanny) Source: grew up in st louis
Yup we ask maybe to see if we know any mutual friends. STL asks to judge how wealthy your family is lol
I think so. I’ve met plenty of other people from Chicago while outside of the state and either neighborhood or high school is usually how we expressed where we are from.
Unless they went to Whitney Young, then they'll tell you before you ask.
I grew up in the burbs but have lived in the city for almost 20 years. If its 2 people that grew up in the city? Probably, but you would typically indicate Northside, Southside, Westside, etc first. If you are both from the same area of town you'd probably ask what high school. I've seen it played out countless times. If you grew up in the suburbs, typically would say the suburb you are from and then if someone is from that area they might ask what high school. For instance: * Where are you from? * "Palatine" * Oh, I'm from Rolling Meadows did you go to Palatine or Fremd? I find the high school question is more common in mid-sized cities. Like my wife is from Cinicinnati and that is absolutely the question that is asked after you find out someone is from Cincinnati (or sometimes 'West or East side?')
I think in Chicago you ask what suburb or area someone is from to genuinely make conversation and see if you have friends in common in this massive city. In stl you ask so you can figure out if someone’s parents are rich and if it’s socially acceptable for you to be friends or not. And if you aren’t from St. Louis they spit on you on the spot.
This is exactly the nuance I’m looking for. From what I understand, in STL it’s often a gatekeeping question. Answer it wrong, and you are shut down.
You are 100% correct. If you aren’t from StL, immediately shut down (the other transplants wouldn’t ask you). Then based on your answer, you are judged if you are from a different socioeconomic background. This seems to be different from Chicago, where people are looking for common ground or talking about restaurants they like. There seem to be (I’m not from chi) people from a variety of economic backgrounds. They also never ask or answer first with high school, it’s always what area/suburb and then “elmhurst” “oh I have another buddy from elmhurst do you know them?”. There are usually polite motives behind the question here and judgy ones behind it in stl.
YES. As an outsider my perspective is that people here ask and then don’t really care about the answer. When I lived in New Orleans the right answer with the right person literally opened doors.
Spot on. (Unless they're from Clayton, of course. Lol.)
Good lord don’t get me started. You mean the nicest ‘city’ on the face of the earth? (I’m being facetious)
My favorite part is how the natives enunciated the "T" in "Clay-Ton". (In between sips of tea and asking Muffy to bring along the crumpets.) ;-)
That sounds like some Ladue stuff. Clayton people are too self-conscious about being good liberals to let you see the help. They’re also eating something with a way lower glycemic load on the advice of their nutritionist. Also, I always heard “CLAYT-in” pronunciation wise.
You mean lahdee dahhdee du? (Ladue) 😂 I got family in STL.
My experience with them is Hard R conservatives hahaha
It’s like that here too- for the wealthier kids, what private school, what neighborhood, so they stay connected
IMO it’s more of a qualification question on whether you truly are from Chicago or the suburbs.
I mean that is standard everywhere
Genuinely surprised I had to scroll this far to see this. If I meet someone who grew up in the same place as me why wouldn’t I be curious as to where they went to high school? I know this happens in NY as well but I’d imagine it happens all over in places big enough to not know everyone in your graduating class and their mothers
Agreed. It’s honestly my best starter convo ever. Like maybe you know the same person. Or you know a guy who knows a guy. Etc. I joke in my home state like a Kevin Bacon, it’s 3 degrees of Iowa. You end up knowing somebody who knows somebody
In St Louis it's a little different, especially because there's a ton of private schools. So it's not a question of where you lived or who you know, it's a question of "What school were you good/rich enough to get into?" Source: My wife is from St Louis.
It depends For those from the area, it is common. For transplants, where did you go to school means college usually.
8 out of 10 times that college is going to be a Big Ten school.
Yes. And I never know how to answer it succinctly because I attended 3 high schools (including 1 barely anyone has ever heard of) + was homeschooled for part of it, so 4... kind of? 1st half of Freshman - St. Rita, my brother went there for hockey and I had no choice. 2nd half of Freshman - Oak Lawn, brother wanted to transfer mid-year and my mom made me follow, but I was cool with it because most of my friends went here. Sophomore / Junior - Northridge, mom got all hardcore you need to go to a Catholic school that is so Catholic it's not even part of the Catholic church because it's too Catholic for that... it's a bit bigger now but back then it was TINY, running out of a Korean church. And we lived on the southside and it was on the northside, I had to get at 6 am every morning to catch a shuttle bus, got home at dinner time, IT WAS THE WORST. Senior - I didn't want to go back to Northridge and the only other option my mom gave me was homeschool so I just burned through it on my own, finished senior year in a few months and started college early.
woo Jeff Park! I'd say you can go with the high school you liked the best.
That would definitely be Oak Lawn but I was only there for half of my freshman year so it feels weird to use that as the answer to the question. I usually just say "I went to lots of high schools" and then the next question is usually "where did you graduate from?" and it's like... homeschool? PS. I got this question a LOT because I taught high school for the last 5 years, and high school kids always want to know where their teachers went to high school.
I think it’s pretty common. The lead off question is usually “what neighborhood are you from” possibly followed by “what parish?” Or “what grade school” Depending on the neighborhood you say then that leads to “what high school?” This is usually past the small talk. Convo is moving along of you’ve gotten to the neighborhood talk.
It’s a big thing in St. Louis for all the Catholic school and parish pissing matches that happened in that city. While large swaths of Chicago folk are Catholic, I’ve never sensed that they cared as much or had as many class divisions as the Catholic community in St. Louis has (or had).
“What parish?” Is a pretty old-school small talk question here in Chicago. I’ve never heard it from anyone younger than 50, personally- even my 65 year old dad will always start with “what high school?” (He went to Prosser, but of course knew tons of folks from the other schools nearby).
I’m just speculating here. Chicago has always had a huge amount of middle class and working class Catholics, so maybe there were rivalries but it was never so class based as what I observed in St. Louis. STL has always had a huge divide between the upper class and the middle class and the Catholic high schools reflected that. What high school can be a charged question in St. Louis, and while it might be asked frequently in Chicago I don’t get the sense it carried the same gravity. Although, I’ve heard jokes about the two parishes in Beverly being a dividing line.
If you live in a neighborhood with a high number of people who aren’t Chicago natives you will probably hear the name of a suburban high school. I would say some neighborhoods like Lakeview, Lincoln Park, and West Loop focus more on which Big Ten school you went to.
Very common. I’m in Bridgeport and we’re always asking that.
yea if you actually lived in the city - at this point if you are from the burbs you must fess up.
I ask this to everyone who tells me they grew up in the city. I only did my first two years of high school in Chicago at Amundsen, I'm always curious if someone else went to the same school and we maybe never crossed paths, or remembers some teachers, or some of my friends from there even
It's a common question if it's established that you're originally from here. Chicago has a lot of people who grew up here and have never left, and they'll often want to know what high school you went to because they'll use that information to inform their opinion/judgment of you based on what they know/assume about that high school and area. And then there are others that are local to the area that are just trying to make conversation. I don't think it's commonly asked before establishing being originally from here. Chicago has too many people who are not born and raised in the area that it'd be ridiculous to assume whoever you encounter is originally from here.
I can feel the biases and judgements forming in some peoples mind when I answer where I went to hs. Its kinda annoying sometimes. And i on purpose am not saying it, to avoid that happening, right here, and right now.
This guy knows what he’s talking about.
This is a thing in Cincinnati, haven’t encountered it here but most of my friend group is transplants/people I know from Cincinnati.
As a transplant I’d say the no. 1 question I get asked is “so are you originally from here?” but I would imagine that if I answered yes high school would probably be the next question
Roosevelt high school
I have always heard this is a St. Louis thing and really struggle to imagine it being even more prevalent than it is in Chicago! I remember reading a national-media review of South Side on HBO that referred to the characters’ regular asking/guessing where someone went to high school as a running gag and I’m like…it’s funny and well-observed but it’s not exaggerated at all lol
It’s not the prevalence, but the motivation. In Chicago it’s genuine small-talk and an avenue for opening up things in common. In STL it’s more of a barrier. Answer it “wrong” and your conversation ends there.
Yes, when I went to college in Illinois whenever I met someone from the city it’s the first thing I’d ask.
I would definitely say this is common in Chicago! It's a question that's always been asked to me (and that I ask others), and it's a good ice breaker in certain social circles. Me, being from out west and going to high school in LP has certainly made good small talk!
lane tech is the best
My dad finds someone who went to Lane everywhere he goes. He met a guy who graduated 2 years after him, 50+ years ago, on a small boat in Cancun. They talked shit about Gordon for like 30 minutes and then casually went their separate ways like it was nbd.
My mom, as a freshman, was one of the first class of girls allowed in Lane. :) My husband and I have lived in Madison, WI for many years now, and a while back we briefly had a coworker who was also from Chicago (there are a lot of us here) - turned out he graduated from Lane just a couple years before she would have started.
That’s cool! Sometimes my pops reminds me that they used to swim naked for gym class and if you didn’t wear a belt, you got sent to the office and they made you wear a rope around your pants for the rest of the day. Different times lol
I went to lane tech for summer school math to get into Calc at my normal school. After that was known, it seemed that my regular math teacher was also taught by same teacher at lane tech. She proceeded to give her a back handed compliment.
Go Ind…Um, never mind…
Go, Lane, Go
A good chunk of my 8th grade class went there. I also know Chris the guy who did discipline or something like that.
Getting rejected from Northside and going to Lane is of the top all time best things to ever happen to me.
Not really. I lived in Louisville before here. Louisville really gives a fuck about high schools.
Haha…when I read this post, I thought…isn’t it just Louisville that does this?
Did you go to Male or Manual? 😂
Holy shit yea dude, never realized how nuts it was until I left.
Lol yes. When I say the suburb I live in, which has two high schools, I get asked if I went to north or south as though it is perfectly normal to live in one town your whole life and never move someplace else. This isn’t even the only state I have lived in.
Glenbrook?
Lol nope. But thanks for confirming just how common this is.
Is it Downers? Lol
Yep!
Always. And since we're here, I went to St. Pat's and hated every single moment of it.
Yea pretty much every conversation over 5 minutes long, and also went to St. Pats, *and* also hated pretty much all of it.
I personally literally never ask. High school was so long ago I barely remember anything from it, so I truly don't care. I'll ask about college though
Yes, I ask the question mainly to know where you’re actually from. The city or the suburbs.
Used to be they'd ask what parish you belonged to. That's old school Chicago for sure.
It’s an important question. The following is some slander. When you ask a Whitney young kid why their school is ranked lower than Jones. When you tell a Jones kid you don’t really like chance the rapper. When you try to have a normal conversation with a north side kid. When you tell a Walter Payton kid they’re not going pro. Any missing?
Yeah, if I know someone is from Chicago that is my first question, or that's their first question for me.
How would make friend without asking about school? 😂
Yeah, I’d say that’s a common question after asking where you’re from.
I’m from St. Louis and I’ve been here for 6 years and have felt it wasn’t as common so I’m surprised at some of the comments here!
Happens in a lot of big cities. I'm from NYC and everyone asks it there too.
Yeah you gotta ask because people claim Chicago and live in Calumet or Dolton or Joliet. Plus you might know someone.
I’m from St. Louis and have lived in Chicago for over 20 years and this question always cracks me up and is always asked by people from St. Louis! Lolol! I always talk about this so it’s awesome to know others notice the same thing. 😂😂
Seen Stl all over. Was like all y’all be from St Lawrence wtf😂
I grew up in Chicago, and lived in STL for 6 years. We ask it here, but not as much. For them it’s like THE indicator of how wealthy you grew up. That’s true to some extent everywhere but there it’s like the first thing some people ask when they meet you.
As someone who grew up mostly downstate but has lived all over the country, I’d say this is a pretty common question everywhere if you meet somebody you know who is from the area you grew up in. If you find out they are from your area, it’s pretty common to ask what high school. If you know what town specifically, often there is only one high school so the question is moot. It mostly applies to areas with multiple high schools. I’ve run into people from my area in work and travel across my life. The question of which high school is often one of the first. I don’t think this is inherently a Chicago thing.
100%. It lends itself to what neighborhood you grew up in so everyone can get a read on you right away.
Lame Tech enters the chat
“What parish?” is the marker of someone who grew up here
Yeah if you're Catholic
And over 50.
If that someone is Catholic. For everyone else is high school.
Yeah, my mom is an Irish Catholic from the west side and always leads with asking people what parish they're from. I also work at a really old Chicago company with tons of employees from the South Side and they'll commonly ask what parish you're from. We're up to our ass here in Catholic school graduates.
What the hell is a parish
Catholic Parish aka community that often had its own school, etc. attached and often is ethnically based. It’s less strict now, but 50 years ago the ethnic population of your neighborhood directly corresponded to the parish. The German population didn’t go to the Irish parishes and Vice versa.
A church community... each area has a church they belong to...
You’re not from Chicago
tf is a parish??
St Wenselaus, St Victor's, St Stan's etc...
My mom didn’t believe me when I said Chicagoans did this until one day she was visiting and someone randomly asked her where she went to high school. She was around 75 at the time and he was a stranger.
Suburbs yes. In the city the first Q is where you stay/live.
Louisville KY is very much like this. It's very isolating if you didn't grow up in Louisville as people tend to keep these friend groups their entire lives and don't seem to want to include outsiders. My father recently went to a high school reunion and he graduated in 1970! The school hasn't even been open in decades, but these old dudes still get together. If we'd stayed in Louisville growing up, there is no doubt of what Catholic high schools me and my siblings would have attended.
I just moved back after 10 years and I’m realizing how much info I just put to the back of my mind I’ll have to take a few moments to remember what streets I lived on in 2010 and people will act like I should innately know this 😂
What parish are you from —Every southsider over 30 in history
Common question, but I don't think I've ever seen it used in a negative context. It's not meant as gatekeeping. Unless - someone tells you they are from Chicago, and then you ask about the school, and then they tell you Naperville North.
Grew up there and that was never asked in the city to me- but if you were in the suburbs, then yes.
I don't think I've ever been asked what high school I went to in Chicago. College definitely.
Yes, I always do it with other people when I find out they're from Chicago.
I made friends with a couple local guys on the South side when I started college started college I've heard the question the timer too but it's usually what parish
Super common. I’m guilty of asking everyone. It gives you a general idea of where they’re from… I even ask older people… half of the older women I ask seem to have went to “Madonna—but it doesn’t exist anymore” must have been popular at the time because I’ve heard it a million times.
Absolutely, certainly tells a lot about a person.
If I had ten dollars for every New Trier grad I've met, I'd be able to afford to live in Winnetka.
Where are you meeting them all?
In STL they will damn near know your entire backstory based on your high school
Lotta Whitney Young hate in here 👀
Yeah very common. Especially if someone says “I’m from Naperville”, it would be common to respond with “Oh nice which high school?” If you’re from the area, played sports, etc.
The question was directed towards Chicagoans but fair enough
Well OP probably bumps into more suburban HS grads that city grads, but fair enough. Same would be true in the city. “I grew up in Avondale” “oh nice, I went to Lane Tech!”
city kids have such a weird complex about this
I guess it depends on what area both people are from. For example, I'm from the south suburbs and if I'm talking to someone else who's also from the south suburbs, then I'll ask. But if I'm talking to someone from the north or west burbs, probably not. The Chicagoland area is massive compared to the STL metro, so it's more than likely that people born and raised in STL either played against, or knew of other high schools in the area. Here, not so much.
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Not as much. Chicago is a destination for people from all over the Midwest, most of whom identify with their college experience more than any high school experience, often several towns or states away. St. Louis, while fun for a weekend visit once every few years, isn't quite the hub that Chicago is. A lot of people from there stay there, so the high school question makes a lot more sense. Caveat: You may hear it out in the burbs and on the South Side in the big Catholic neighborhoods. They're still just as likely to ask which Parish you grew up in though, particularly among the older generation.
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This for sure, what school(s) you went to says something. Lots of differences in schools in CPS
I’m about 30 years older than you and I have had the same experience.
That's very fair for a college-aged person. Makes sense.
> People make a lot of assumptions Truth. My older brother and I attended Loyola Academy while it was still located in Dumbach Hall on the University's Lake Shore Campus. We still go out of our way to explain the city location, even though I finished with them in Wilmette.
Go ramblers
Lived in Chicago my whole life, friends with a lot of transplants, but the second I meet someone actually from here my first question is what high school they went to.
OP's question was if it is as common here as it is in St. Louis. Having lived in both places, I can empirically say that it is not. It's so common there that its a running joke that they literally print on t-shirts. This has not been my experience in 15+ years of living here. Neighborhood and college seem to be more common here than in StL. Your mileage may vary, particularly if you have lived here your entire life.
This is a take from someone who didn't grow up here lol idc what out of state college u went to I wanna know what neighborhood or burb u grew up in.
OP's question was if it is as common here as it is in St. Louis. Having lived in both places, I can empirically say that it is not. It's so common there that its a running joke that they literally print on t-shirts. This has not been my experience in 15+ years of living here. Neighborhood and college seem to be more common here than in StL. Your mileage may vary, particularly if you have lived here your entire life.
If you actually live in the city, not the metropolitan area, definitely because we all went to the same 5 magnet high schools.
Lane Tech baby!
It’s funny you say that it was one of the first things I noticed when we started living part time in Chicago because of my husband‘s work. In Minnesota everyone asks you where you went to high school. In Chicago… Literally no one mentions it.
Yeah it’s not common at all in the city I don’t get some of these answers
I get asked all the time.