Where the Simpsons Live

The state of North Takoma. The capital and largest city in that state is Capital City.

I live in a Springfield which has several similarities to the Simpsons' hometown, but the "Where do the Simpsons live?" debate is a futile one. The town is fictional, and meant to represent "Anytown, USA". Springfield is, after all, one of the most common town names (if not the most common).

The "Northern Kentucky" reference was just to shock people, as the topic has become so controversial that it needed some deflating. Covering up the state name has been an inside joke so long that anyone who still thinks they can somehow derive Springfield's actual location is out of his or her mind, or maybe just tired of looking for the Loch Ness Monster.

There is enough evidence to make a case for or rule out any of the 50 states.

Since Matt Groening hails from Portland, Oregon, he named several characters on the Simpsons after streets in Portland. Almost all of these streets are in Northwest Portland.

They are:

1. Ned Flanders, after Flanders Street
2. Rev. Lovejoy, after Lovejoy Street
3. Mayor Quimby, after Quimby Street

Since the streets in Northwest Portland are all arranged alphabetically, these streets are all within a few blocks of each other.

In addition, further south in Portland is an area called The Terwilliger Curves, from which Sideshow Bob Terwilliger derives his name.

The connection between the characters names' and the streets is a little vague--- the Terwilliger Curves are known for being a rather treacherous and dangerous place to drive, and Sideshow Bob is. of course, treacherous and dangerous. Flanders Street has always seemed vaguely wholesome to me, but I only spent time there after having watched The Simpsons. As for the other names, I don't think they were meant to suggest the characters of their streets'.

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2013 Update: Matt Groening has stated the (somewhat obvious fact) that as an Oregonian, Springfield, Oregon was the inspiration for Springfield. Of course, as a fictional locale with an unlinear history, Springfield is not "in" Oregon, but Springfield, Oregon is as close as a guess as any.

Throughout the history of Fox's hit show "The Simpsons", the state they live in has been obscured. This running gag can be deciphered quite easily if you follow the clues.

Logic places them in Oregon. Matt Groening grew up in Portland, attending a school that looks very similar to Springfield Elementary. Many characters have names of streets in Portland, i.e. Ned FLANDERS, Mayor QUIMBY, Milhouse VAN HOUTEN, Reverend LOVEJOY, the local bully KEARNY, and Sideshow Bob TERWILLIGER. Evergreen Terrace, the street on which the Simpsons live, is also a street in North Portland. Krusty the Klown is based on a Portland-based clown known as Rusty Nails. Finally, Portland contains a (inoperational) nuclear power plant.

There is also proof within the show. In the episode "Round Springfield", Bart buys a record that costs $500, and he pays exactly $500. What is significant about this? He doesn't pay a sales tax! This narrows it down to either Oregon, or one of the New England states, possibly Vermont. The Springfield local radio station has the call letters KBBL. The initial K means that it is located west of the Mississippi River. Thus, Oregon is the only possibility.

More subtle allusions are there. The episode where Springfield is divided into two area codes aired right after Portland went through a similar scenario, albiet without a wall dividing the town. When Albuquerque tryed to steal the Isotopes from Springfield, the Portland Rockies were forced out of town and replaced with the Albuquerque Dukes.

So, as you can see, the mystery of where the Simpson's reside is no mystery at all...if you follow the clues.

Incidentally, the "Behind the Laughter" episode states they are from Northern Kentucky. I have two theories that can explain this. First, they were originally from Kentucky, but moved to Oregon. Second, that episode treated The Simpsons as a show performed by actors. Thus, the actors are from Kentucky, but the show is set in Oregon.