Which cities have the biggest inferiority and superiority complexes?

[mvd]

Your choices don't have to be big cities.

My pick for biggest inferiority complex: Philadelphia. They have things to be proud of - culture, architecture, history, educational opportunities - yet they put down their city. If you live in the area, it really gets you down, and things like services become inferior.

Biggest superiority complexes include, from what I've heard: Boston, New York, Dallas

[BOSSHOG]

1. You want positive tude - come to New Orleans

Lots of negatives like crime and trash, but far outweighed by the positives.

[mvd]

7. I would love to visit

Not sure it's my type of place to live in, but I'd have to see it to be sure. :-)

[TiredTexan]

2. Dallas. I know, I used to live

there. Awful. They have a bigger superiority complex than even regular Texans. Really.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

4. I hate Dallas

I used to go there for business twice a year. I always couldn't wait to go home.

[elfwitch]

88. I'm glad I'm not the only one who hates Dallas...

I agree. Dallas acts like it is as metro and chic as NY or SF. It isn't any better than Houston or San Antonio. Some days it is even worse!

[meow2u3]

98. Make that three who hate Dallas

I used to live (as a economic prisoner) there. They think they're so cosmopolitan, but in reality, most of them act like unreconstructed hick.

I think Dallas is just a two-bit hick town that grew too big for its britches!

[Kathy in Cambridge]

3. Boston has one-but rightfully so

cradle of liberty. Full of history, beautiful architecture, lots of culture. Awesome restaurants. Great standard of living, excellent schools. Caveats: expensive as hell, cold winters and humid summers, aggressive drivers.

[mvd]

5. Well..

I think Philly has as much going for it. I wish they would realize that. The Quakers are modest, but you think Philly would have adapted.

[candy]

8. Boston

It's wanted to be a "world class city" for years. A real NYC wannabe.

It also has a mayor that can barely speak English and he was born in the city.

[StopTheMorans]

10. as long as we're picking on people who have problems with the

English language, you should have said "It also has a mayor WHO can barely speak English and he was born in the city" instead of "It also has a mayor THAT". by the way, Boston is NYC with all of the fun and none of the headache;)

[candy]

31. Thanks

Thanks for the English lesson,that's why I don't run for public office.

Boston is great,I've lived in the area all of my life,but NYC is #1 as far as I'm concerned.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

13. Mayor Menino

By poking fun at his working-class accent, you're showing your bias. How do you think people from the Bronx sound? Like fucking William H. Buckley?

:eyes:

[candy]

32. Mayor Mumbles

Working class accent my foot!

He's barely articulate. Ray Flynn was working class and he made sense when he spoke.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

38. Obviously you're not from Boston originally

:eyes:

especially with the NY comment.

I love NY too, but I'm from Boston and damn proud of it.

[shawmut]

42. amen. boston is wickid pissah

that postah doesn't know what theyah talkin about.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

51. No shit, huh?

We're like the Bay Area without the nice weather. Gorgeous seacoast, beautiful scenery, very cosmopolitan. Obviously not a native! ;-)

[mobuto]

23. Mayor Menino

may just be the best mayor of any city in the United States. I have a real inferiority complex with regards to the kind of excellent municipal government Bostonians get that I don't.

[sniffa]

90. reaLLy?

boston has an inferiority compLex if you foLLow sports here, or happen upon 850AM.

[DBoon]

6. San Diego - biggest attitude

with little justification.

Bunch of narrow provincials living off the government dole, who send their cheap labor across the Tijuana bridge very night.

They don't have "smog reports" in the San Diego weather news, they have "smug reports"

[maveric]

27. San Diego is always LA bashing.

There is an inferiority complex down here in regard to LA.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

30. Yeah, the "America's Finest City" thing is a mix of sup/inf complex,

mostly inferiority...

Sad thing is, in terms of scenery and weather, it probably IS America's finest city, just not so much the other stuff.

[SmileyBoy]

9. Inferiority: Denver. Superiority: Minneapolis.

About Denver: That city is great, and the people living there don't seem to realise it. I'm not talking about ALL the people, mind you, but there seems to be a negative vibe about their city. Denver deserves a lot more credit than a lot of people there give it.

About Minneapolis: Now it's a great city and all, and I spent half my life there, but tell someone in Minneapolis that you're from Fargo or Omaha or Des Moines or even anywhere in Wisconsin, and they give you the treatment like you're some sort of brain-dead hick. If you're from outstate Minnesota, you're a hick. If you're from the Dakotas, you're a super-hick. If you're from Iowa, you're a hayseed-chewing hick. And Believe me, I've had people tell me this in person.

Example: My brother and I were at a St. Paul Saints game a couple years ago at Midway Stadium when they were playing my Fargo-Moorhead Red Hawks. My brother was cheering for the Hawks too, as we're both native Fargoans. We had seats right behind home plate, and did not hold back our cheering for the Red Hawks. People next to us were making rude comments about us being "Fargo hicks" and all that, and it really pissed us off. The smart-ass announcer in the press box (Midway by the way has NO suites, and beautiful Newman Field in Fargo has eight) noticed us down at the good seats and said "You can cheer for them now, but remember, you're still from FARGO...". Like it's something to be ashamed of...

Yes, Minneapolis has a BIG superiority complex. They think they're hot shit because they're the 2nd-most cultured Midwest city behind Chicago.

[mobuto]

22. If it makes you feel better

We in the big East Coast cities treat people from Minneapolis probably worse than people from Minneapolis treat people from Fargo. Because we're so damn superior.

[vi5]

11. Oh man...I so agree...and I worship Philly...

Philadelphia is such an amazing city. Quite possibly my favorite city in the country.

But by and large so many people I know from there have the biggest Napoleon complext about the city and are almost confrontational about it. There is so much to love about that city, but the local pride is not one of them since it takes on such irrational and silly forms at time.

[wryter2000]

12. Superiority complex

For smug superiority, you can't beat San Francisco. They proudly proclaim they're the best city in the world. Over here in Oaktown, we've been the brunt of their jokes for years. In fact, this city is far more livable and affordable and has very much the same amenities, except for the opera company (which hasn't been world class for a while now). Our climate is a bit more pleasant. Our sports teams often perform better than theirs. There have been times when our symphony orchestra was better than theirs. We have fabulous food, wonderful music, and the first wildlife refuge in the United States. We have a bad crime problem, largely because the state treats us as a dumping ground for releasing prisoners. But it ain't exactly safe in SF, either.

We used to have an inferiority complex here, but no more. Oaktown rules!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

14. New York does not have a Superiority Complex

It just happens to be the best city in the entire damn world!

[mvd]

15. Sounds like a New Yorker

:P

[Kathy in Cambridge]

16. I love NYC

but I hate the Yankees!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

17. i dont do balls

seriously if its a sport i know nothing about it...yankees play baseball right???

[JVS]

34. Bullshit. Munich is so much better

[mobuto]

36. Better? For what? Putsches?

I don't think its even better for mass rallies.

[JVS]

40. It's a much nicer place

It has better parks, better public transportation. You don't have to worry about the cops raping you with a plunger. Traffic isn't as bad. It is near the lovely Alps. NYC can't compete.

[mobuto]

61. Munich is pretty, but better parks?

New York has the best parks of any city in the world.

Central Park, you must know.

Pelham Bay? Flushing Meadows? Greenbelt?

better public transportation.

Uh? Have you been on the subway? PATH? LIE?

You don't have to worry about the cops raping you with a plunger.

I'm white, so I don't.

Traffic isn't as bad. It is near the lovely Alps.

Those are both pluses. And there's no way the Catskills compare with the Alps. On the other hand, Munich is full of Bavarians.

[smirkymonkey]

64. We might not have the Alps, but

we do have areas of rare natural beauty within a few hours of the City - The Hamptons (minus the people), Catskills, Hudson Valley, Adirondacks (a little further) and even parts of CT and NJ are quite pretty.

Munich is a nice city, but NYC has it all!

[JVS]

72. Those are not in your city, they are quite far away. That is like Erie PA

claiming Niagara Falls.

[JVS]

71. Yes better parks

Central park is nice, but it is not as nice as the English gardens of Munich near the river. It is also an artificial creation. I restrict my comments to Manhattan because I've not had spent much time in the other boroughs, although I have been to all of them except for Staten Island. I've been to Central Park and I've been to the English Gardens and Central Park isn't as good. New Yorkers just think that it is really good because they are starved for nature.

NYC has an antiquated subway system and they still have not gotten around to getting the East side lines built after what 60 years. Additionally the subway is dirty and very hot during the Summer. Munich's is much cleaner and is well ventilated to prevent such uncomfortable conditions. There are also numerous streetcar and bus lines.

As far as being filled with Bavarians, New York is filled with New Yorkers, a group that takes pride in its reputation for being rude and obnoxious.

New York is a bigger city, but there comes a point where adding more people doesn't make it any better it just makes it a festering mass of humanity. New York has gone well past that point.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

79. umm no!

sorry but i have lived in other cities and visited many through india and europe but new york is unbeatable in every single way.

[JVS]

81. Sorry, New York is just not of the high quality that Munich is.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

97. Sorry you are wrong

:P

[JVS]

101. No, it is you who are mistaken

[BurtWorm]

91. I think you're both wrong. Paris is the greatest city in the world.

I live in NY and love it, but it doesn't compare to Paris. It's missing nearly 1500 years of history, for one thing. It doesn't care as much about its own history as Paris does, or about its own aesthetic as Paris does. And since Giuliani suburbanized and Disneyfied it, it's lost a lot of its soul. Becoming a pathetic victim after 9/11 hasn't done much for its sense of self, either. Don't get me wrong, I love New York. It's just that Paris has a little more je ne sais quoi.

(I don't know about Munich first hand, but somehow I doubt it's quite in Paris's league.)

[JVS]

102. I never said Munich was the best. I merely stated it is better than NYC

So Paris being the greatest wouldn't make me wrong

[Jim__]

48. Love New York!

And I agree, best city in the whole damn world! :toast:

[Rabrrrrrr]

58. Yes! That's what I was gonna say, too

NYC has earned it's dinstinction as capital of the world, and that's not a superiority complex to say it. It's just true.

[smirkymonkey]

63. I agree, and I have lived in

a number of world class cities. NYC is my favorite, by far!

[RFKHumphreyObama]

18. Canberra Australia

As the national capital it is, in my opinion, thoroughly and breathtakingly beautiful and spectacular and has a wonderful wealth of historical and political sites to offer. And yet it never bothers to advertise or promote itself to international audiences to the extent that it deserves and therefore it loses out to bigger cities such as Sydney and Melbourne that do make the effort to woo visitors and tourists. Sydney and Melbourne are truly wonderful, diverse and beautiful cities –and a visitor to Australia would be very well-advised to visit them-but Canberra deserves more of a tourism boost as well

[Archae]

19. Around here...

Inferiority complex: Sheboygan.
We get picked on all the time.

Superiority complex: Chicago.
&%$#@ FIB's!

[Donkeyboy75]

20. Inferior: Boston Superior: New York

Although I find the NY attitude to be much less appealing. Anyway, here's a New Yorker's view of the world:

[chefgirl]

67. I have that poster!

I bought it because I'm from Philly/So.Jersey, and I love the way NJ is depicted in that picture! Just about says it all.

-chef-

[mobuto]

21. Inferiority: DC

We're superior to just about every other city in the United States, but we still have an inferiority complex with regard to New York.

Of course look at Baltimore - now they really have an inferiority complex.

[bleedingheart]

24. Pittsburgh has the biggest love/hate complex

for years we were the Smokey City and everyone who wasn't from here thought it was a livable ashtray... (which isn't far from the truth in the pre 1960's pittsburgh)...then when the mills shut down we had the bad rap and no jobs....
We are still fighting that image and the people who live here can be very cynical...

[JVS]

33. We hate everyone!

We've got the rage.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

104. Spent a few months in PGH in the early 90's. I expected it to be

some kind of blue collar hell but I really liked it. Steel industry already long gone. More of a university and health care kind of town. But also a strong sense of community. People who are from there often stay or return there to live, even those with a lot of money! This is very different from Washington DC and San Diego, the two places I've mainly lived--everyone's a transplant, not much strong sense of "native" pride.

And PGH is one of the more "wired" cities technologically speaking in the states these days. I could see myself living there. I also was staying near 3 Rivers Stadium and went to both Steelers games and Pirates NLCS playoff game against the Braves. Both were a blast.

It helped that I had friends who were natives show me around.

[Cuban_Liberal]

25. NYC--- major 'tude

:)

[EstimatedProphet]

26. My choices

Superiority: New York and Los Angeles. They don't even think the rest of the country exists-they call it "flyover country". Jerks. (of course, this is not to say that everyone in these cities thinks this way, but for those of you that don't, why aren't you pouring the ones that do a big cup of STFU?) :D
Inferiority: Portland OR, Anchorage AK. The best scenery in the world. Any bragging they can do won't measure up to it.

[tishaLA]

60. You mean the rest of the country isn't

the flyover?! Wow.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

28. Superiority = San Francisco. Don't get me wrong, possibly my FAV,

but any city that refers to itself as "The City"... come on... SF has so much going for it, it doesn't really need the snobbishness too.

[greatauntoftriplets]

29. Superiority -- Los Angeles.

Inferiority -- Chicago. The "second" city. What a damn put down.

[Lauren2882]

35. Superiority: NY, Minneapolis; Inferiority: Pittsburgh; Both: Boston

[HEyHEY]

37. Toronto

"They dress real bad and they think they're New York."

[Screaming Lord Byron]

39. Edmonton.

The sprawl around the mall.

[Parrcrow]

45. the air's unclean and the mayor's a dork...

The women are big and the men are dumb
and the children are loopy 'cause they live in a slum.


gotta love Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie.:smoke:


Besides that; is there anything more indicative of an inferiority complex than constantly asking "whether or not 'we're' a world class city"

[Screaming Lord Byron]

46. If you have to ask. You're not. Canada has two world class cities.

You can guess which ones those are.

And, no, my town is not one of them.

On edit - I'm just teasing my friends from Toronto.

[SmileyBoy]

50. Winnipeg has a HUGE inferiority complex.

It's like a majority of Peggers don't want the city to do ANYTHING to make their home a first-class Canadian city. These are people who are/were against the Goldeyes' ballpark, the new arena downtown, the new international human rights museum, etc. They're living in their own little world. Luckily, The Peg is shaking off that attitude, and as a result, the metro population recently went over 700,000.

[mobuto]

56. My cousins just emigrated to Winnipeg

from South America. The climate is just a little bit different. My uniformed, stereotypical conception of Winnipeg informs me that they're nuts to have done what they did. Why aren't they? What's in Winnipeg that I don't know about (presumably everything, btw).

[SmileyBoy]

69. About the weather: In the winter, it's a dry cold.

I'm 220 miles south of WPG in Fargo, ND, but we get basically the same weather. The winters (and by that, I mean consistently below freezing) last about 5 or 6 months. The high temps in January are usually 5-10 degrees Fahrenheit. Like I said, Peggers will tell you that it's a "dry cold", much like Phoenix has a dry heat. It doesn't sem like 10 degrees outside in January, because there's no humidity (frozen water vapour that freezes your skin). It gets pretty warm in the summer, also. 80 degree highs.

Another thing is that Winnipeg is a VERY urban city. LOTS of historic architecture downtown. The best ballet in Canada. One of Canada's best symphonies. One of Canada's best children's museums. Winnipeg had NHL hockey for 17 years, and is trying to get a team back (hence my sig line support). The downtown looks a LOT bigger than a city of 660,000 and a metro area of 705,000.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

57. Winnipeg's fine by me. Great Arts city, Great Sports city.

Let's start boosting Winnipeg!

[SmileyBoy]

68. I don't have this sig line for nothing!!!

;););)

[jmowreader]

41. Biggest civic inferiority complex in America: Fayetteville, NC

We have lots of history here--we were the state capital at least ten times, this is where the NC constitutional delegates ratified the United States Constitution, and it's where Babe Ruth hit his first home run as a professional baseball player.

Plus, we have Fort Bragg right on the edge of town.

But we were ravaged by General Sherman, and when the Union troops left they took Fayetteville's civic pride with them. It's never been reestablished.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

55. When my friend was stationed at Bragg, he called it "FayetteNam".

Do any natives use this nickname?

[jmowreader]

66. Some do, others hate it (long winded war story attached)

Two years ago the city decided to sponsor a Slogan Contest to come up with a new moniker for the city. (Yes, they specifically said "we're trying to get rid of Fayettenam.") I got to be one of the judges because every advertising agency in town knows who I am and they all said, "get that guy, he's really good."

They put six different slogans in front of us--FayetteNow was one of them. What are you trying to do with this one, said I, play on Fayettenam? Yeah, that's exactly what they were trying to do.

I told 'em what I wanted was a "whatever-city" slogan--the Hero City, the Jumpin' City, the Airborne City, the Heritage City--that radio DJs could call Fayetteville. If you listen to a Charlotte radio station, every once in a while they'll say "it's 87 degrees in the Queen City." That's what I wanted for Fayetteville.

What we got was far different--"Heroes, Heritage and a Hometown Feeling." Oh yes, that's such an easy one. "It's 87 degrees in Heroes, Heritage and a Hometown Feeling." No. Nobody's going to do that.

And I still hear natives calling it Fayettenam.

[sir_captain]

43. Boston definitely has an inferiority complex

though the person who said they have both was quite astute.

I was born in Boston, have lived in NYC for 20 years, and went back to college in the Boston area. Seriously, Boston-folk are so incredibly insecure about NY that it's ridiculous. NYers certainly have a superior attitude, but some of it is literally not caring. It's not that they think that NY is better than everywhere else--it's that no other place even exists.

I must admit, I'm guilty of that from time to time. I'm constantly thanking my lucky stars that I get to live in a place I love this much.

[Padraig18]

44. Chicago doesn't have a superiority complex, although it SHOULD.

It's the greatest city in America! :D

[magnolia]

47. I agree....

...Chicago doesn't have a superiority complex, but the people who live there are in love with their city. I don't blame them, I'm in love with it too...from afar.

Hi mvd! :hi:

[mvd]

53. Hi, magnolia!

Count me in as another Chicago fan. :hi: Might not want to live out there, but it's great as a city.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

54. The people I meet from Chi-town are almost universally great,

and proud of their great town too.

[Cuban_Liberal]

82. I love Chicago.

The people there absolutely LOVE their city, and the pride they take in it is obvious. As big cities go, it's clean, it has a GREAT mass transit system, an enviable level of public services, GOOD drinking water, etc. . Chicagoans have much to be proud of, I agree. :D

[AngryAmish]

76. Agreed

[uhhuh]

49. My picks

For superiority:

Superior, WI

For inferiority:

Defeated, TN

[Zomby Woof]

52. Seattle

Tied for both categories.

[opiate69]

78. Agreed.. Seattle definitely has a sup. complex..

And, to balance things out around here, Tacoma has a major inferiority complex, as a direct result of Seattle's superiority complex.

[TopesJunkie]

92. Yes. Exactly.

It's got a superiority complex to beat all, yet it works so hard to bash Portland and Vancouver, that it shows its inferiority complex far too often. Nevermind how many Seattlites moan about what Portland and Vancouver have that Seattle doesn't. It's an interesting paradox.

[geniph]

94. Dammit, Laurin, have you been hanging out at seattlesucks.com

again?

:P

[ThomWV]

59. Inferior-Cleveland. Superior-Dallas

But for the absolute most superior acting place in the nation, Chevy Chase, MD.

[tishaLA]

62. I agree about Philadelphia

I grew up there and I think it's a great town, but Philadelphians are notoriously tough on the city, just as they are on their sports franchises. In fact, the whole ethos of the city is wrapped up in the city's love of blue-collar, scrappy sports. That's why Allen Iverson is quintessentially Philadelphian, even though he grew up in Virginia; it is also why Philadelphians loved Pete Rose in his two years as a Philly more than they ever loved Mike Schmidt (and why the also preferred Larry Bowa over Schmidt).

For superiority complex....well, I happen to be one of those rare Angelinos who loves SF, so it rules that out. I had to spend some time in Indiana once upon a time and I remember thinking how odd it was that they loved Indianapolis so much--they even pretended it was a city!--and...well...I'm sorry, but no self-respecting city has three sports arenas in the middle of the downtown. And it was somewhat lacking for diversity, too.

[mvd]

70. Now Allen's not looking so good

I feel like he often gives it his all, but he's spoiled. Philly won't like that. I'm only demanding of a championship because all other 4-team cities have had one more recently than Philly.

The thing I don't like is that Philly's inferiority complex extends to the suburbs and prevents thinking big. :-(

[ikojo]

65. St Louis MO has an inferiority complex

The city establishment is always going to other cities to see why their "downtown" areas succeed and St Louis' does not. They are forever funding one study after another to see what St Louis does wrong.

This town is weird. 2004 marks the 100th anniversary of St Louis hosting the World's Fair and the Olympics. They are pulling out all the stops to celebrate something that happened 100 years ago

Perhaps if they spent as much energy being future focused instead of so intensley focused on the past, things might change. As it is this focus on events of 100 years ago leads many to believe St Louis' best days are in the past.

This past week one of the former mayors came out and said there needs to focus less attention on the past and more on the future if it is to survive.

[patriotvoice]

73. Superiority: Cary, NC

Inferiority: Cleveland, OH

[loftycity]

74. Superiority Mpls,LA,NY,Dallas,San Diego Inferiority

Superiority
Minneapolis-no sense of irony
La-We are too hip and dim witted
NY-If your not from NY your from nowhere
Dallas-Our long national nightmare-even the airport looks like a prison
San Diego-I'm smug and I've got Spirituality
Inferiority
Tacoma
St.Louis
Saint Paul
Milwaulkee
Superiority and Inferiority Tied
Seattle-my favorite place in the US
Chicago-great city the best in the US
Philadelphia-whoah

[displacedyankeedem]

75. Inferiority: Pittsburgh; Superiority: Atlanta

[Kickin_Donkey]

77. S.F.

SUPERIORITY: San Francisco.
Natives routinely proclaim that it's the best city in America without batting an eye. No doubt it's a great town, but as the late, great columnist Herb Caen used to say, "It's like a faded lady who now sells what she used to give away."


INFERIORITY: San Francisco.
Still living off its past as the Queen City of the West. But has been surpassed by the pure size and might of Los Angeles, and it knows this but won't admit it.

[HawkerTyphoon]

93. That air of superiority

is a cover up for feelings of inadequacy. Ever since LA took over as the biggest city on the Best Coast, Frisco folks have had to brag about how good it is. Or more accurately, cut down LA in order to build themselves back up. It's typical of cities that have been overtaken by another. Boston & NYC, Fort Worth & Dallas, St. Paul & Minneapolis, etc. The folks in LA (and NYC, etc) are scarcely aware of the "rivalry" until they're treated like dirt by someone from northern California.

LA has more fine arts, music, museums, restaurants, etc, ad infinitum, but Frisco people constantly put them down and live in dreams of past glory. At the same time they talk about "La-la land" they try to ignore "Sister Boom-Boom." They have more derisive nicknames for LA than you can imagine, but get outraged if anyone says "Frisco."

They even distort the geological facts and all talk about how LA is going to be destroyed by earthquakes, when the San Andreas fault goes right through Muir Lake in the SW of the town. (No, no, not "The City" -- I grew up in The City -- New York.)

They've also distorted the water facts, too. Most of California's water problems is a result of waste by the big corporate farms in the San Joaquin Valley, but northern CA blames Southern CA, embodied in "LA."

Actually, Frisco really is a beautiful town with everything needed to be a great city, but the residents spoil it with their provincial attitude.

[bif]

80. Detroit-Well-deserved inferiority complex

n/t

[NWHarkness]

95. BS it's deserved

The best music scene in the country, one of the greatest sports towns, and an electorate that votes 90% Democratic. Doesn't sound like Detroit deserves to get attacked here.

[x-g.o.p.er]

83. Minneapolis is the biggest of both....

Residents feel a profound sense of inadequacy when compared to Chicago, NY, LA, Boston, etc, so they take it out on their neighbors in WI, IA, and the Dakotas. But the cheeseheads deserve it, lol. Probably has something to do with the Vikings losing 4 super bowls in the 70's, and no one outside of MN giving a rat's ass about hockey donchaknow.

Uff Da!! Bring me some lefsa, eh?

Hey, I'm a native, and I love it there, hope to live there again some day, too. Yooobetcha!!

[JVS]

86. The true mark of an inferiority complex is the need to taking it out on...

on others. That's how I know Philly has it because they feel a compulsive need to trash Pittsburgh, a city that is less than half as big. I guess they don't feel good enough about themselves to take on other big cities on the coast (maybe a rivalry with Boston about where the whole America thing really started or tolerant Quakers vs. crazed fundy Puritans) Or if Chicago were to start talking big smack on Detroit (a place that has been having a tough few decades) I'd think "What the hell is wrong with Chicago that they need to do this?" Also there is a difference between an inferiority complex and just being in a rough patch. So have some Lutefisk

[Zookeeper]

103. The "Mini-Apple."

I moved here in 1987 from San Francisco, saw that slogan, and thought, "OMG. What have I done?!" 'Sure sign of an inferiority complex.

[TXlib]

84. Philly. On both counts.

[skippysmom]

85. Superiority complex: NYC

NYC really thinks it's the center of the universe. Ditto LA.

Inferiority complex: most small Northeastern cities, including Hartford, Albany, Springfield, etc.

[meow2u3]

99. NYC doesn't THINK it's the center of the universe....

NYC knows it's the center of the universe....

Disclaimer: uttered by a New Yorker in exile

[truthspeaker]

87. inferiority: Rochester, NY

My old home town. It's a medium-sized city with slightly better than average public schools and a decent amount of hi-tech industry. But the local news and newspaper (2 papers owned by one company) go out of their way to find "Rochester connections" to celebrities and news events, just to make the residents think they're on the map. Made a big to-do about renaming the Monroe County Airport to "Greater Rochester International Airport" (three flights/day to Canada and a customs office and you get to call yourself "international"). Nice city, albeit politically conservative, but with a chip on its shoulder.

[TopesJunkie]

89. Inferiority = Boston ; Superiority = New York City

I find it interesting to note that so many are saying Boston has the superiority complex, when everytime I visit, I am struck by how many people have an inferiority complex with NYC, and I am struck by how many other Bostonians know this and point it out.

My west coast version would be:

Inferiority = San Diego ; Superiority = Los Angeles

[mvd]

100. Yes, I agree that a inferiority complex can be hidden..

behind what looks like a superiority complex. Philly doesn't even try to hide theirs.

[tedoll78]

96. Superiority complex: Austin (or, to be more accurate, all of Texas)

Almost every T.V. commercial here in the state begins with "when you're in Texas.."

or the commercial will reference how BIG Texas is.
Texas-sized.
Texas-country.
Texas-powered.

Advertisers who may be reading this: yes, we get it.. we're in Texas, and the state has a lot of square footage. Can you come-up with some more original advertising? When I'm in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, or Tennessee, the ads on TV don't remind me of this every five minutes. They advertise the actual features of the products!

And then there are all of these ads with "country folk" advertising their "master plan" home communities. (I think of "master race" communities every time I hear these ads, since the property is just expensive enough to keep "the undesireables" out of the neighborhood..). I've lived here for how long now? I know that not everyone has that hyper-country-fied accent. Ugh.

Yup. You've got me started on Texas.. there's no place quite like it..