ChatterBank1 min ago
the Simpsons
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What state do the Simpsons live in?
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As far as I am aware, it has never been revealed. There is an episode showing a map of the USA but just as Homer and Lisa are about to reveal where Springfield is, Lisa stands in the way. I seem to recall Matt Groening saying in an interview that they wanted to keep the location vague so as not to upset people in a particular state.
Ahhh, the question that vexes Simpsonophiles more than any other.... Springfield is actually the *second* most common placename in the USA, after Fairview, but let's not split hairs...! There are in fact Springfields in 36 of the US States... 24 states have been featured as being 'out of state' in various episodes... We know it isn't Springfield, Illinois or Springfield, Massachusetts... We can be pretty sure it isn't Nevada, as Homer and Ned get dumped at the state line after being chased out of Las Vegas... When Homer and Mindy are sent to Capitol City for the power convention, she's thrilled to be visiting the 'Windy Apple'... The state motto is 'Not just another state'... Someone has spotted lots of sly references to Matt Groening's home town of Portland, Oregon - but then lsy references are surelyone of the reasons we all love the show?
I've seen websites devote so much time to this question. As far as I'm aware the most in depth investigation, taking into account every piece of relevent information possible from every episode (for example, we know that they have the death penalty in Springfield, which immediately rules out a number of States) came to the conclusion that it was impossible for any one State to fit the bill perfectly, but the one which came closest was California. However, I seem to remember seeing something on The Simpsons (can't remember exactly what it was) that suggested Springfield's State didn't have a coastline. Obviously, it is deliberately vague so as to imply that The Simpsons could be taking place almost anywhere in the US. That's the whole point, they are a very average family (not that my dad's ever been into space, won a grammy or mud wrestled George Bush Sr.).
One interesting point, I once saw a reference in an encyclopedic book of terminology and events from The X-Files (also produced for the FOX network in the States) that Homer Simpson was a "yellow skinned resident of Springfield, Illinois", but I belive this just to be the result of bad research on the author's part.
I always assumed that it was a fictional state. However in a recent episode when Lisa adopts a Brazilian orphan, he tells her that he tried to write to her but didn't know what state she lives in and she tells him that all the clues are there.
Mikewith is right in that Springfield is one of the most common names in the States and that's why it was chosen.
We can also rule out Michigan as in the Hell's Satans episode Chief Wiggum tells Homer that they're wanted in four other states so we'll leave it to Michigan. In the episode where Moe has a facelift Lenny (I think) tells Moe that his licence is only valid in Rhode Island so it's not there. The Simpsons have also visited Washington when Lisa won the writing contest and New York when Homer's car was clamped.
You can't try to narrow it down by using clues from the show like the death penalty, no coastline. This is ALL made up within the show to coinside storylines. The place name is not based upon any real city/town in the USA. I imagine the name Springfield was chosed because of how common a name it is - 20 plus in the U.S.
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