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Originally Posted by deja vu
Interesting. My experience has been quite the opposite, and I've lived here most of my life. When I talk to folks from Michigan, especially metro Detroiters, they usually say they are from "Detroit". That's always before I tell them I'm also originally from metro Detroit. Then, they will open up more and clarify the actual city. I'm sure this is just a habit born out of brevity. I think the going assumption of Michiganders is that folks outside of the state / Midwest still generally know where Detroit is (southeast Michigan), but have no clue that places like Rochester, Utica, and Troy aren't just in New York state, so they just simplify it to avoid the explanation. Probably not unlike someone from Arlington Heights saying they are from Chicago.
I think Michigan and Detroit's brands are inextricably intertwined. Michigan has a lot of natural beauty and it is also peppered with gritty, post-rust belt resurgence cities. Detroit's brand is definitely more positive now.
Speaking of geographic oddities, it also helps a state's brand when one can just point to their hand to explain to folks where they are from 
Source: Reddit |
It's not a whole state, but Cape Cod has a body part to help out, and it's even easier then talking about places on the palm of your hand. Just picture someone flexing their left bicep, and that's Cape Cod. I have an uncle that live on Cape Cod in Orleans, which is "above the elbow".