Report: If your phone has one of these 10 area codes, never get rid of it.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

That sounds like something only people from stupid area codes would say.

Area code is life!

Now shut up and drink your beer:


Source: https://beerconnoisseur.com/beer/goose-island-brewing-co/312-urban-wheat/

You callin' my western PA hillbilly area code stupid?!?

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[ChiSoxRox]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

My sister and her husband, even though they haven't lived in Hawaii since 2011 or 2012, kept their cell phone numbers. They like their 808 area code; maybe they think of it as proof they've lived in Hawaii?

I'm the same with my old Alaska number (907), keeping it as a nice little reminder of the years I spent in the Last Frontier.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

In 1947 the entire country of Canada had 12 million people. At that time the State of New York had more people than all of Canada.

I think the most populated U.S. state has always been more populous than Canada.

[LA21st]

I've kept my 312 code but havent lived there in 12 years now

I keep it as a connection to Chicago, lame or as pathetic as that sounds. Idgaf

[lrt's friend]

The area code system was devised in 1947 but it was often several years before you could make a long distance call without operator assistance.

Here in Ontario, Canada, what they called 'direct distance dialing' using an area code first became available in Windsor (across from Detroit) in 1956. It became available in Toronto in 1958 and here in Ottawa, not until May 5, 1963.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by LA21st

I've kept my 312 code but havent lived there in 12 years now

I keep it as a connection to Chicago, lame or as pathetic as that sounds. Idgaf

Keeping your old area code is nice as a sort of provenance of where you've been or where you're from.

I've also been in Vancouver for several years now and still keep my 647 Toronto number (not quite as prestigious as the OG 416 area code though). Partly because it's my home, but mostly just because there's no real compelling reason to change it. It's more effort to make the change than it is to have a non-local area code; and then you'll need to update all your contacts with your new number, deal with the inevitable missed calls, and so on.

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I think the most populated U.S. state has always been more populous than Canada.

Canada, 2026: 41,547,549
California, 2026: 39,345,844

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

I didn't know what an area code was when I was a kid because we didn't make any long-distance calls. I think you might have still had to call an operator when I was a kid.

Dang, how old are you or where did you live as a kid that you might've even still had to call an operator to make a long-distance call?

I assume you lived in an area where the area code was in a pretty huge geographical area, so there was no need to dial an area code. It's funny, because the last time I was in New Mexico (back in 2005), it only had one area code for the whole state, and I would see advertising or phone numbers on businesses and it didn't include the area code, because I guess it didn't need to. It reminded me of being a kid, when all of Los Angeles was 213, and you also didn't see phone numbers with the area code, because it was presumably in the 213 area code.

I was used to area codes when I was a kid, because my parents had friends who lived in various parts of the LA metro. We lived in 213, but my parents had friends who lived in the Pomona Valley (Diamond Bar), and back then, their area code was 714 (before it became 909). Also, in 1984, the San Fernando Valley became 818, and we had friends who lived in the Valley, so we had to remember to dial 1-818 and then their number. When 818 was introduced, it also included the San Gabriel Valley (which later became 626), so to call our friends in West Covina, we also had to dial 818.

And people seemed to think that just because a number was in a different area code, it was automatically a toll call. At least in California, if a prefix/exchange is within a 15-mile radius, it's not a toll call, even if it's in another area code. I know this for sure, because I grew up in Cerritos back when it was 213, and as a college student I worked for a temp agency located in neighboring La Palma, which is in Orange County and had a 714 area code. Calling La Palma from Cerritos, even though it was in a different area code, wasn't a toll call.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by ChiSoxRox

I'm the same with my old Alaska number (907), keeping it as a nice little reminder of the years I spent in the Last Frontier.

I think there's nothing wrong with not changing your cell phone number even when you move. Whether you're somehow emotionally attached or show "pride" in the number or whatever, there's a practicality to it. Some years ago I almost came close to changing my cell number (which I've had since 2006) because I felt I was getting a lot of spam calls, but it seems my phone is pretty good now (I got a new phone last year) with denoting spam calls so my phone doesn't ring. Plus, I use my cell phone for authentication for certain things I use at work, so changing the number would be a hassle... and my doctor's office, dentist, barber, banks, etc. I would have to notify all of them and my friends and family/relatives if I were to change my number.

I didn't get a cell phone until 2006, believe it or not. That was already years after I moved into the 626 area code, and of course our landline was 626. But when I got my cell, I chose a 562 area code because at the time, I felt it would be easier for my parents to call me from their land line which was 562; they'd only have to dial 7 digits and it wouldn't be a toll call for them. But that became moot after they got their own cell phone the same year.

[xzmattzx]

646... What area, New Jersey?

No, no, it's right here in the city. It's the same as 212, they just multiplied it by 3 - ... and then they added one to the middle number. ... the same...

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Dang, how old are you or where did you live as a kid that you might've even still had to call an operator to make a long-distance call?

I assume you lived in an area where the area code was in a pretty huge geographical area, so there was no need to dial an area code.

I thought he was from Cincinnati? Cincinnati, because it is located on a state border, has always had multiple area codes within its region. Since area codes don't cross state lines.

[Six Corners]

I got my current phone number in college, so the area code is for a region hundreds of miles away that I lived in for four years and left nearly 20 years ago. It's probably the least prestigious area code of the places I've lived, but it's great for weeding out people I don't want to talk to. When someone calls me who also has that area code, I know it's one of three types of callers:

1. A wrong number
2. My school's alumni association wanting money
3. A scammer, trying to disguise their actual whereabouts

I don't particularly want to talk to any of these people.

The flip side is that people in St. Louis don't always pick up the phone when I call from this area code. If I try calling a second time from a work phone that has a 314 number, magically someone on the other line has appeared to answer the phone.

[Glow Fun City]

-double post-

[Glow Fun City]

I don't have an O.G. area code, but I do have my name as my last four digits 😁

[JManc]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Dang, how old are you or where did you live as a kid that you might've even still had to call an operator to make a long-distance call?

I'm 52 (soon to be 53) and I remember this. I lived in areas that had a single area code for the entire region so all we had to remember was the seven digit number and early on (early 80's), we used the operator to call long distance. I remember the calls being really static-y.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by JManc

I'm 52 (soon to be 53) and I remember this. I lived in areas that had a single area code for the entire region so all we had to remember was the seven digit number and early on (early 80's), we used the operator to call long distance. I remember the calls being really static-y.

In Delaware, you could just dial the 7-digit number for someone in-state until I think just after the pandemic, when 988 became the national suicide hotline in 2022. The only reason we now have to dial area code 302 is because there are some numbers that start with 988.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by JManc

I'm 52 (soon to be 53) and I remember this. I lived in areas that had a single area code for the entire region so all we had to remember was the seven digit number and early on (early 80's), we used the operator to call long distance. I remember the calls being really static-y.

I'm a bit older than you and Borg, and I don't remember any of that. My sister and I also talked about it tonight, and we knew our full phone number, including area code, when we were in the single digits.

[3rd&Brown]

I not only have a 215 number (the OG Philly area code), but my actual cell phone number mimics a business telephone with multiple repeating numbers and a XX00 ending.

Never getting rid of it. In fact, I presume I might be able to sell it at some point.

[niwell]

I managed to get a 416 area code when I got my first cellphone in 2007. They wanted to assign a 647 one but I asked and apparently it was no big deal. Holding to that one forever!

[(four 0 four)]

Originally Posted by JManc

I'm 52 (soon to be 53) and I remember this. I lived in areas that had a single area code for the entire region so all we had to remember was the seven digit number and early on (early 80's), we used the operator to call long distance. I remember the calls being really static-y.

I'm a bit older and remember in upstate NY only having to dial only the last 5 of the 7 digits of a phone number to make calls in our town.
When we first moved to the town, we had a 'party line' for the phone which means we shared the line with neighbors. There was often someone else on the line when you picked up the phone. No surprise, but long-distance calls were made only through an operator.

I'm clinging to my 404 for as long as possible.

[SteveD]

I've been in Atlanta since 1974 (I'm 63) and I've had more than one 404 number in my younger years but (and this is hard to believe) I don't know what happened to them! I've had a "678" Atlanta number since whenever that one was established.

I guess maybe my 404 numbers were land lines?