You sound like a yank. The international bias is against all of us. You might be able to get a different bias if you assert that you’re Californian, but a random Spaniard doesn’t know what a Midwest or a new jersey is and is annoyed that Americans expect everyone to know.

It’s like if a Mexican were to assure you that they’re from Chiapas when you ask if they’re Mexican. Firstly the average American doesn’t know what Chiapas is, and will probably assume it’s either a city or country, not a state, but even if they know it’s a state in Mexico they don’t know what the hell that means because most Americans don’t know shit about Mexican internal politics and safety.