Diversity of areas within states

[Moemg]

I have been traveling lately and it always amazes me how diverse it is in the same state . For example I was in New York City and then travelled to upstate New York . The difference is huge . Then there is Sarasota ,Fl and Arcadia ,Fl . polar opposites . Have you noticed this in your state ?

 

[WhoDaresWins]

Absolutely true in the good ole Keystone State. Philly and Pittsburgh and Harrisburg and Erie are quite different and a lot of the state is forested and sparsely populated. Vastly different lifestyles, economics, industries and histories all over the state. Even big climate differences depending on where you live.

 

[ziggy29]

Absolutely true in the good ole Keystone State. Philly and Pittsburgh and Harrisburg and Erie.

I've always associated western PA more with Ohio than with Philly.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

I have been traveling lately and it always amazes me how diverse it is in the same state . For example I was in New York City and then travelled to upstate New York . The difference is huge . Then there is Sarasota ,Fl and Arcadia ,Fl . polar opposites . Have you noticed this in your state ?

Yep. Northern California is completely different than the southern part.

 

[ziggy29]

Yep. Northern California is completely different than the southern part.

Our part of Texas is much different than the rest of the state that gets rain.

 

[W2R]

South Louisiana is south of I-10, and you have the Cajuns and bayous and pirogues and the music. There is a strong cultural divide at the I-10 freeway. North of I-10 it is more like Mississippi. Shreveport is almost like Arkansas, in some ways.

New Orleans is very different from other South Louisiana areas, as well. There is no place like it.

 

[W2R]

Yep. Northern California is completely different than the southern part.

California should be two different states! I have lived in Northern California, and in Southern California, and you are right - - completely different.

 

[ziggy29]

California should be two different states! I have lived in Northern California, and in Southern California, and you are right - - completely different.

I know a significant part of the north has wanted to "secede" from southern California for a long time. Some folks in the northern third of CA and the southern half of Oregon have long wanted to break away from their home state and come together to form the new state of Jefferson.

Of course, to that crowd, San Francisco and Sacramento are "southern" California and thus not a part of Jefferson...

 

[NW-Bound]

Arizona? Low desert vs. tall pines? Metropolitan suburb vs. chalets near the National Forest? Hot and cold?

Our part of Texas is much different than the rest of the state that gets rain.

But I thought fire ants and chiggers cover the whole state, no?

 

[WhoDaresWins]

South Louisiana is south of I-10, and you have the Cajuns and bayous and pirogues and the music. There is a strong cultural divide at the I-10 freeway. North of I-10 it is more like Mississippi. Shreveport is almost like Arkansas, in some ways.

New Orleans is very different from other South Louisiana areas, as well. There is no place like it.

My dearest friend from work grew up in Clinton, LA...went to nursing school in Baton Rouge. She makes the most wonderful pralines and etouffe(sp?). She wound up living here by almost as much of a circuitous route as I did.

 

[freebird5825]

You already covered NY for me.
NYC of course is/was the great melting pot.
If you drove upstate on the Thruway, you may have noticed the exit signs and the strong historical pattern of the city and town names.
For example, the Hudson Valley and Capital District bear primarily Dutch and British names, Leatherstocking Country (central) has a lot of Native American and Italian names (Utica, Syracuse, Rome) and western NY has a mix of everything. The North Country (I-87) has a lot of towns named after countries (Mexico, Poland, Russia) and the Adirondack Region has This Lake and That Lake for town names. It is very consistent.
The funny thing about NY (the state) is it is so diverse that it sometimes can be too fractured. Or should I say parochial.
A lot of the newer communities (1900s) were started up by immigrants who didn't stray too far geographically from Ellis Island. There are some very strongly ethnic towns and often not well mixed because of the past and present agricultural base and the snow being a barrier.

 

[Moemg]

Today I drove route 5 in New York which hugs Lake Erie and I could not believe how little development there was .

 

[Martha]

Northeast Minnesota of collectivist politics, iron ore, boreal forest, rocky ridges and deep lakes feels like an entirely different state than the south, a place of rolling plains and Michele Bachman.

 

[Orchidflower]

Illinois isn't that exciting. The only difference between upState and downState that I can find is that downState is more Southern in mentality. Midwestern food, as a whole, is pretty nonspicy, solid American food.
Now if you want to find great food and restaurants, you could eat in a different fantastic mom and pop place every night in Chicago. Great, great restaurant town!

 

[mb]

Yep. Northern California is completely different than the southern part.

CA is also very geographically diverse.

The SE is arid desert and the northwest is practically a rain forest.

The highest and lowest points in the continental US are only about 100 miles apart.

In fact there is a running race between the two points although I don't think that they let the runners continue to the top of Whitney any more.

 

[youbet]

Northeast Minnesota of collectivist politics.

I noticed when DW and I stayed at the new Sheriton hotel in downtown Duluth (nice!), both the concierge and the server at the lobby bar referred to me as "comrade" instead of "sir." Otherwise, we would have never know we were staying at a "collective."

We also noticed, Martha, the north shore from Duluth to Grand Marias was thick with million dollar homes and literally reeked of money. Many of the communes and collectives must be doing well!

Seriously though, why do you refer to Northeast Minn as the land of collectivist politics? Are you and your neighbors really ready to throw all you own into the "common pool?" If so, can DW and I get on the list to use the Lazy Daze (or however that's spelled) for a few weeks? The dirt bikes too?

 

[haha]

Washington has way more than 2 zones that all differ strongly from one another. This is changing a little as Seattle exerts a yuppifying influence wherever there is a lot of tourism, such as the wine country down along the Columbia or the Olympic Peninsula north or east of the Olympic Mountains, and as things like Spotted Owls shut down the historic logging industry. Also Washingto fisheries are a shadow of what they were.

Still there are big differences from place to place. Northeastern Washington is much like Northern Idaho. It is the poorest part of the state. The people are similar to Northern Idaho people, and had the same historic industries of mining (mostly silver and lead) and logging and they are conservative and they don't have much use for smarty-pants from Seattle.

Southwestern Washington is UncleMick territory, and historically it was logging and papermaking country and still is to a large extent. It orients to the Columbia. I believe that politics were mostly democratic bordering on pink early on, but light years from the Jim McDermott brand of Yuppie Democrats in Seattle.

Seattle itself has a log radical union history with some famous violent confrontations. Today it is the home of extreme gender and green politics. I guess it doesn't seem extreme to those involved in it, but to this older man who has lived here 2/3 of his life it seems extreme. This month we vote on whether stores will need to charge us $0.20 per bag if we should be so crass as to forget to bring our green bags with us. This in a state where plenty of people spent entire well paid careers operating a kraft paper making machine expressly to make grocery bags.

Southeastern Washington is wheat country, shipping much of the type of wheat prized in Asia for noodle making. And so it goes.

Except for needing a little sun in the winter a person would never get tired of life up here. At least I don't.

ha

 

[youbet]

Illinois - The 5 county Chicagoland area contains 99.99% of the population and votes 100% Democratic. The balance of the state is populated by 3 elderly, retired farmers who, when they last voted in the 80's, cast the last non-Dem votes recorded in Ill. Those three, however, are responsible for paying all taxes collected in the state and, despite this, aren't even allowed to "play" even though they "payed."

 

[Martha]

I noticed when DW and I stayed at the new Sheriton hotel in downtown Duluth (nice!), both the concierge and the server at the lobby bar referred to me as "comrade" instead of "sir." Otherwise, we would have never know we were staying at a "collective."

We also noticed, Martha, the north shore from Duluth to Grand Marias was thick with million dollar homes and literally reeked of money. Many of the communes and collectives must be doing well!

Seriously though, why do you refer to Northeast Minn as the land of collectivist politics? Are you and your neighbors really ready to throw all you own into the "common pool?" If so, can DW and I get on the list to use the Lazy Daze (or however that's spelled) for a few weeks? The dirt bikes too?

Rich people from the south build those fancy places. But yes, the commies are dying out and now we are just a bunch of liberals.

 

[REWahoo]

Rich people from the south build those fancy places.

You forgot to tell youbet what number he is on the Lazy Daze list...

 

[jambo101]

North Carolina is quite geographically diverse as you can explore the coastal areas of the Outer Banks and then drive up into the Smokey Mountains.

 

[freebird5825]

Today I drove route 5 in New York which hugs Lake Erie and I could not believe how little development there was .

You're in God's country!
The wide open spaces are one of the things I like about living here.
If you have time and have never been, try to get up to Niagara Falls on the American side. You will get a splendid view of the horseshoe falls on the Canadian side. Bring binoculars.

 

[NW-Bound]

A few years ago, on a trip to see Niagara Falls, we drove around Lake Ontario. At the end of the lake, we crossed the river on a high bridge and saw Thousand Islands, where there were houses on each of these tiny islands. Looked so interesting, but unfortunately, we did not have time to stop and explore.

So many places to go, so many things to see...

 

[REWahoo]

A few years ago, on a trip to see Niagara Falls, we drove around Lake Ontario. At the end of the lake, we crossed the river on a high bridge and saw Thousand Islands...

I suppose this occurred during your salad days...

 

[NW-Bound]

Yes, I wonder if the dressing came from there.

Anyway, just thought of looking it up in Google Earth. The little bridges for access to these tiny islands may be private, as well as many roads. So, one could only view from a distance.

Still, there's got to be an RV park nearby, ya think? This could be part of my future trip down the Hudson River.

PS. It's only 4AM my time. I need to go back to sleep.