Is your phone number local to where you live?

[wildrice]

I've never set up a poll before, hopefully I did this correctly!

My phone number is from Iowa, where I lived for 10 years before I moved here in 2018. We now own a home here and will not move back to Iowa at any point in the future. Iowa is also not "home". I haven't planned to change my phone number since it will be a pain to update everything, but thinking long term, do I really want to have an Iowa number 20 years from now? I remember the days when you'd change you phone number every time you move, but are those days over and most people who have moved as an adult no longer have a local number?

[mccallister84]

Nope. And honestly I kind of prefer it this way since the vast majority of spam comes from my phone’s area code and not where I live.

With the kids I have found myself picking up unknown local numbers since the majority of the time it’s actually related to them and not just spam.

[emilyinchile]

I voted yes, but in Chile cell phone numbers don't have different area codes in different parts of the country, so it's kind of cheating. I think it's perfectly normal for people in the US to have area codes that aren't local to their current location though, and it can even be a conversation starter.

[runblondie26]

Jul 8, 2021 9:28:26 GMT -5 mccallister84 said:

Nope. And honestly I kind of prefer it this way since the vast majority of spam comes from my phone’s area code and not where I live.

With the kids I have found myself picking up unknown local numbers since the majority of the time it’s actually related to them and not just spam.

Exactly. I know if the call is coming from my current area code, it’s something important to pick up.

[starburst604]

Mine is an area code in my state but not the one local to where I live. I wouldn't change my number if we moved out of state. I think it's a good thing for businesses to have a number that is local, but don't think it matters for personal numbers. My friend who moved from MA to CA changed her number after like 5 years in CA because she thought it was time for her number to match where she lived, but I didn't see the point.

[W.T.Faulkner]

My phone number has been the same for the 18 years I've had a cell phone -- it's a local # because I grew up in the same area where I live now.

H's number is from his hometown, about 90 min away from where we live now.

For work, especially when we were remote, I intentionally created a Google Voice number using a Philly zip code.

Fun fact: we didn't have each other's numbers memorized until after we were married, lol. We met in 2011 so we just put each other's number in our phones, and that was that.

[pooh8402]

Nope. It is from my hometown, I was in high school when I got my number. My number has followed me ever since, for the past 20 years. I live clear across Texas from my hometown now.

[macmars45]

I got my phone number in my hometown, kept it while in college & when I lived in the Seattle area for 11 years and now I'm back in my hometown. While I lived in the Seattle area all my friends got new numbers from that area. H and I were the holdouts as we didn't see the need. And now it's irreverent.

[pooh8402]

Jul 8, 2021 9:32:52 GMT -5 runblondie26 said:

Jul 8, 2021 9:28:26 GMT -5 mccallister84 said:

Nope. And honestly I kind of prefer it this way since the vast majority of spam comes from my phone’s area code and not where I live.

With the kids I have found myself picking up unknown local numbers since the majority of the time it’s actually related to them and not just spam.

Exactly. I know if the call is coming from my current area code, it’s something important to pick up.

Agree!

[fivechickens]

I live 40 minutes and a different area code from where I lived for 38 years so it’s not local but not unrecognizable. Also, the area I lived most of my life has two different area codes. The OG area code and the other area code. My aunt’s cell and home phone have two different area codes.

[lessel]

Jul 8, 2021 9:28:26 GMT -5 mccallister84 said:

Nope. And honestly I kind of prefer it this way since the vast majority of spam comes from my phone’s area code and not where I live.

This!

I've had a non-local number for like 15 years now. It's occasionally a pain because my number is 407 area code and two local area codes are 404 and 470. So I often have to clarify when giving my number over the phone or something.

[TR]

Nope. My phone number is a Delaware one that I’ve had for :::does the math::: 20 years now.

[picaflora]

I don't have a local number, and live in a different state. I've only changed my number once - when moving from my parents plan to H's (Alltel/Verizon was being a pain about porting my original number). It was SUCH an ordeal that it wasn't worth changing when we moved states. There is a possibility that we'll move back to the area code that matches my phone number, or close to it.

H has a local number now, but only because he has a work phone. We pay a small charge to keep his old number in case he leaves his current company.

[dexteroni]

Jul 8, 2021 9:28:26 GMT -5 mccallister84 said:

Nope. And honestly I kind of prefer it this way since the vast majority of spam comes from my phone’s area code and not where I live.

Ditto. It’s very helpful!

[Jalapeñomel]

Yes, well it’s from the City and now I’m in the burbs but it’s local to here.

[georgeharrison]

No, mine is from the Seattle burb. I have had the same phone number for at least 20 years. My husband and son have numbers from Seattle. But, I'm pretty proud of being from Seattle, so I don't have any reason to change it.

[lilypad1126]

My phone number is from a state I haven't lived in since 2014. But I don't bother to change it, b/c I just don't care and it would more trouble than it's worth. I know that 99.4% of calls from that area code are spam, so I can just ignore them. All my friends/family have it, it's what i use to access rewards programs at various stores/restaurants. We do list our cell phones at work, and we all have different area codes and my 10% of them match where the person currently lives.

The only time I think about it is when I meet someone new and they give me their number and I recognize that the area code doesn't match where they live. Then it's a fun opening to talk about where they used to live.

[af1212]

Yes mine is local.

@@@

When I was a teacher I could make phone calls from my classroom but only could call local numbers. If I wanted to dial a long distance number I had to go to the office, which meant I had to wait for a long break and when the office was not busy. This experience made me want to have a local number so that my own kids could call me anytime and anywhere.

[ECB]

I said no, but it’s “kind of”. It’s an area code for my state. Just not the part of the state i live in.

[jinkies]

I do, but I pretty much have always lived in this general area.

Looking through my phone, most people's numbers seem tied to wherever they lived during college, or shortly after college.

The exception being my neighbor who has a Michigan area code despite living next to me her entire life and going to school locally (she's like 26, so I really have seen her grow up). They have no Michigan connection whatsoever, so now I'm really curious. LOL.

[wildrice]

Jul 8, 2021 9:36:37 GMT -5 lessel said:

Jul 8, 2021 9:28:26 GMT -5 mccallister84 said:

Nope. And honestly I kind of prefer it this way since the vast majority of spam comes from my phone’s area code and not where I live.

This!

I've had a non-local number for like 15 years now. It's occasionally a pain because my number is 407 area code and two local area codes are 404 and 470. So I often have to clarify when giving my number over the phone or something.

My H has the same problem. One localish code is 301, but his is 310 since he's had the same number since he lived in CA years ago. People always double check that they didn't misunderstand.

[noodleoo]

Yes, but only because I've never moved. I wouldn't change my number if I moved now. I don't think it matters. No one memorizes phone numbers anymore, they are just stored in your phone so I really don't see why it matters. I have a lot of friends with numbers from other states and I only notice it the first time I save their number to my phone.

[wildrice]

Good point about the spam calls. Nearly all of my spam calls come from Iowa, which is pretty convenient since I know to decline them. Nobody in Iowa is calling me at this point unless I have their number already saved in my phone.

[egishere]

Nope! I think I've had the same cell phone number since 2002 or so and don't plan to change it. TX area code and I've been in CO for 9 years.

[DotAndBuzz]

Sort of?

I got this number when we lived in a different part of this general region, so it's the area code like 15 miles adjacent to where I currently live. Got it in 2005, back when you had to switch providers (and thus phone numbers) if you moved to a different state/part of the country, but since then things changed, and I just kept it with me for all subsequent moves. We eventually landed nearly back where we started in 2005, but different area code.

But if I don't recognize the number, I'll only pick-up if it's from our local area code. I get SO MUCH SPAM from my phone's area code, and oddly, from Georgia. Have never lived in Georgia, so not sure why spammers think I'd answer a call from that area, but whatever.

[RoxMonster]

Nope it's from my hometown. Same state, different city. I've had the same cell number since I was 16 and first got a phone and don't plan to change it. I feel like that would be a huge PITA.

[wambam]

I’ve had the same phone number my entire life, since I first got a cell phone in high school. The area code is from my hometown but it’s only one area code away. Like, everyone in my area would recognize it’s from the city just south of us.

[cjcouple]

It's considered a local toll call from my town which is a little problematic with the schools. they can't just call me from a landline. The teachers have to call from the office. I got it in a town 20mins from me. lol

[agnes]

Yes, but I haven't moved outside the 714. Although, newer numbers in my area might have a 657 area code. That started in 2008. 714 was gunna run out of numbers or something.

[purplepenguin7]

I've also had my phone number since HS (20+ years) and live about 30 minutes away now, in a different state. Usually it doesn't matter too much but I did have a really hard time getting a local contractor a few months back because I think they thought I was too far away.