Six times out of 10 someone who tells me they “live in DC” are actually from Northern Virginia. The other four times they do live in DC proper. On the other hand, no one from Maryland ever says they are “from DC”, even if they live inside the beltway. Even the tiny sliver of Chevy Chase inside the district considers itself Chevy Chase, not DC.

Why are people territorial about Bethesda, Silver Spring and PG county, but not Clarendon, Vienna and Fairfax?