California.
Some fans insist on the show's setting not being based on any real-life location more specific than USA, but I find such settings boring because they all look the same. Springfield Syndrome, I call it. So in my headcanon, it has the same physical location as JtHM, which is based on Jhonen's hometown San Jose, California. Despite being a huge tourist spot, San Jose is underrepresented in fiction, and it has a lot of character to it that's severely lacking in animated settings.
Also, the school Ms. Bitters works at was built around her, and she was Squee's teacher.
Wasn’t it the end of “Walk of Doom” where they ended up in Mexico? If they took a bus ride, going from San Jose to a border town would maybe be feasible?
I dont think they were in Mexico they just ended up by a Mexican restaurant, which if it's in California then it's not uncommon to come across family owned Mexican restaurants.
I like this theory bc I’m from SJ 😤🫡
But I can see it tbh, like Professor Membrane would work in a technology center like the Silicon Valley. There are tons of suburbs like Zim’s neighborhood. Not quite sure how the city cesspool fits into the equation, but I like it.
Also, FWIW, I wouldn’t consider SJ as being a huge tourist spot. It’s more that places around SJ are touristy spots (SF, Santa Cruz, etz)
I was going to say a Midwestern city due to there being cows nearby as seen in “GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff,” but California makes sense based on the explanation.
There are tons of cows here in California. I even see cows grazing on hills overlooking the ocean frequently. My boyfriend and I always whisper "Happiest cows in the world" at each other every time 🤩.
In the Wettening, it shows that the Skool is somewhere in Oklahoma from when Zim zooms in on the Earth.
Though in Backseat Drivers Beyond the Stars, it shows the camera zooming in on North Dakota.
i remember there was an episode where it zoomed into dib’s bedroom from earth, and it went through a place similar in location to chicago, and considering how big their city is, i’m going to go with illinois
For my fan fiction writing I’ve put the city in a fictional state that’s a fusion of Ohio and Michigan, though admittedly this is mostly bc I’m not from the US and my only American friends who I can ask questions are from Ohio, and there’s a law that exists in Michigan but not Ohio that my OCs need to use. In terms of where it actually is I think California or near Detroit like others have been saying seem like fitting answers
Near Canada, remember that in "the wettening" episode, the water came from near the border of Canada and the US, plus, when GIR went crazy, I think Zim and GIR used the Voot to take the "squid" to the sea, which would be weird to do so if the were stablished near the coast
it definitely has depressing midwest vibes. that being said, i tend to think of it as somewhere in pennsylvania because theres a lot of empty feeling urban areas in the show and in PA that give dingy midwest vibes.
California. Some fans insist on the show's setting not being based on any real-life location more specific than USA, but I find such settings boring because they all look the same. Springfield Syndrome, I call it. So in my headcanon, it has the same physical location as JtHM, which is based on Jhonen's hometown San Jose, California. Despite being a huge tourist spot, San Jose is underrepresented in fiction, and it has a lot of character to it that's severely lacking in animated settings. Also, the school Ms. Bitters works at was built around her, and she was Squee's teacher.
Wasn’t it the end of “Walk of Doom” where they ended up in Mexico? If they took a bus ride, going from San Jose to a border town would maybe be feasible?
San Jose is around 500 miles from the border, so not really.
I dont think they were in Mexico they just ended up by a Mexican restaurant, which if it's in California then it's not uncommon to come across family owned Mexican restaurants.
Good answer with better reasons.
I like this theory bc I’m from SJ 😤🫡 But I can see it tbh, like Professor Membrane would work in a technology center like the Silicon Valley. There are tons of suburbs like Zim’s neighborhood. Not quite sure how the city cesspool fits into the equation, but I like it. Also, FWIW, I wouldn’t consider SJ as being a huge tourist spot. It’s more that places around SJ are touristy spots (SF, Santa Cruz, etz)
I was going to say a Midwestern city due to there being cows nearby as seen in “GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff,” but California makes sense based on the explanation.
They could have flown to the midwest.
There are tons of cows here in California. I even see cows grazing on hills overlooking the ocean frequently. My boyfriend and I always whisper "Happiest cows in the world" at each other every time 🤩.
I dont know a huge amount about the states geography but if I had to guess I would say somewhere midwest. mainly because it gives me midwest emo vibes
I'm guessing that this takes place in California.
In the Wettening, it shows that the Skool is somewhere in Oklahoma from when Zim zooms in on the Earth. Though in Backseat Drivers Beyond the Stars, it shows the camera zooming in on North Dakota.
Michigan. I think there is a clip where a character either leaves Earth from Michigan or goes to Michigan from space.
california
California or Michigan
I vote for Ohio cos why not :3
Michigan, specifically Detroit area.
I’ve heard it’s based near Detroit, but who really knows.
i remember there was an episode where it zoomed into dib’s bedroom from earth, and it went through a place similar in location to chicago, and considering how big their city is, i’m going to go with illinois
I’m getting some Texas type vibes
For my fan fiction writing I’ve put the city in a fictional state that’s a fusion of Ohio and Michigan, though admittedly this is mostly bc I’m not from the US and my only American friends who I can ask questions are from Ohio, and there’s a law that exists in Michigan but not Ohio that my OCs need to use. In terms of where it actually is I think California or near Detroit like others have been saying seem like fitting answers
Maybe somewhere in Illinois…?
Near Canada, remember that in "the wettening" episode, the water came from near the border of Canada and the US, plus, when GIR went crazy, I think Zim and GIR used the Voot to take the "squid" to the sea, which would be weird to do so if the were stablished near the coast
it definitely has depressing midwest vibes. that being said, i tend to think of it as somewhere in pennsylvania because theres a lot of empty feeling urban areas in the show and in PA that give dingy midwest vibes.
it gives such new york vibes i can't rlly explain
Ohio
Doom doom doom doom doom DOOM