Should "Fairfax County" become a city?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

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That sounds like a positive to me. I find it pretentious when people say they're from Washington but don't live in the city.

Agreed. It's true for any city. If you don't live within the city limits, you are not from the city, so don't say you are, period.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Can you name any such areas?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

BTW, it's kind of amazing how completely me and Phil are in agreement here.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Is it that inconvenient to add the word "area" on after the city's name?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

It is useful to know if you're from a suburb or from the actual urban area considering how different they are. Just because they are within a 20 mile radius doesn't make them similar.

When I say I'm from "Minneapolis", I want people to know I mean just that. Not a suburb.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

No one in Minnesota ever says Twin Cities. Even when referring to the entire area (Then it's just "the cities".)

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

It is useful to know if you're from a suburb or from the actual urban area considering how different they are. Just because they are within a 20 mile radius doesn't make them similar.

When I say I'm from "Minneapolis", I want people to know I mean just that. Not a suburb.

The only way you're going to make people from out-of-state care about what insignificant part of the insignificant state you're from (not that I think Minnesota is especially insignificant, but that peoples' perceptions and knowledge of states that aren't their own are absolutely appalling) is by metaphor with a location they're familiar with.  ("The Twin Cities region has about 70% the population of the Detroit area."/"Plymouth is like Novi but with 20,000 more people and about 10 years older", which either leads to a frown or a pitying look.)

Besides, your point about being "within a 20 mile radius" applies to suburbs, too; I'll bet you'd be able differentiate Brooklyn Center from Minnetonka from Corcoran (or even, to borrow Detroit cities, Grosse Pointe vs. Novi), but as I've learned through painful experience not even people from as close as outstate know the difference, even though there is one.

Heck, I sincerely doubt anyone would bother to differentiate Minneapolis and St. Paul, even though they are distinct cities; hence the term "Twin Cities", which contrary to your pronouncement I do use.  If I'm not allowed to differentiate which suburb I'm from, why should you differentiate which urban area of the Twin Cities you're from?

Yes, you should differientate what suburb you're from, that's my point. Plymouth is not Minneapolis.