I hear you, this is a valid feeling. I was once asked where I was from and said "oh, around here," mistakenly thinking that was vague enough to include eastern Howard County where I grew up. This guy reamed me out because to him "around here" had to mean the neighborhood we were currently in (Reservoir Hill) and that I was somehow appropriating an identity by making that comment. It was bizarre and humiliating. I just didn't want to have explain to him what nearby town I'm from in case he wasn't local.

It's frustrating. I grew up coming to the city often and have lived in the city proper for over a decade now. But I know better than to claim I'm a Baltimorean because certain people do really gatekeep the term and you never know if you're talking to one - it can be folks of all ages, genders, cultural backgrounds. I get it, the counties aren't the same as the city, but how long does a person have to live here for their lived experience to be valid as a place-based identity?