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As far as New York and New Jersey go, I think that a lot of people, when hearing both those states, think of the NYC region and that becomes the whole state for each in their minds. In reality, upstate NY where the metro region ends and South Jersey, even the Jersey Shore region within the metro region I like to argue, is different from the actual metro region of northern/central NJ, LI, NYC, and the southernmost parts of upstate NY.
If you could split both NY and NJ into two, NY metro region and other, the NY metro region areas of NY and NJ are a near perfect match but as a whole, no NJ and NY are not very similar. It is easy to ignore the less known, and probably less popular, areas of each, though, therefore making NY and NJ as whole states "sister states".
When people think NJ, they think northern NJ for the most part (the stereotypical toxic fumes and wasteland? ). When people think NY, they think NYC instantly for the most part.
I always tend to lump OR and WA together, as well as VT and NH. For you PNW'ers and New Englanders, is that valid?
I dunno - I tend to think of New Hampshire as aligning more closely with Maine culturally, politically, and linguistically. Obviously Maine has a much longer coastline, but the two states share a similar geology, with the White Mountains of NH extending into Maine and lots of sizable lakes in both. Pines dominate the coastal forests, with maple-beech-birch forests in the highlands, and spruce-fir to the north. Both states have smaller pockets of agricultural land compared to the more widespread farming in Vermont.
The only thing really preventing a close "sisterhood" between NH and ME, IMO, is the much greater size of the latter - there are parts of Maine that are very much unknown to Mainers, let alone New Hampshirites. But if you look at the way the two states vote, or listen to the way they speak, I think you will see the kinship more closely than with NH and VT.
NH and VT do share largely mountainous landscapes and lack the kind of poverty or isolation that exist in some areas of Maine, but historically they have always been pretty distinct places (even back to the early 1800s, voting at opposite ends of the political spectrum in New England).
The general exception to this rule, I think, is western New Hampshire - along the Connecticut River Valley - which is very closely linked to Vermont in many ways. Both sides of the river rely on each other economically, in a way that is probably more symbiotic than anywhere along the NH-Maine border.
Many people assume West Virginia is part of Virginia. We are very similar to southwestern Virginia, but totally different than the rest of Virginia. Nothing like Hampton Roads, Richmond, the Shenandoah Valley, or Northern VA. Virginia as a whole is much more prosperous and Southern, and the average Virginian either lives in a suburb or in farm country, while the average West Virginian lives in a small city or small town and this state is more about coal mining than farming.
I think Kansas-Nebraska, New York-New Jersey, Alabama-Mississippi, Wyoming-Montana, Washington-Oregon, and Vermont-New Hampshire can be good pairings.
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
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Originally Posted by Tom Lennox 70
Many people assume West Virginia is part of Virginia. We are very similar to southwestern Virginia, but totally different than the rest of Virginia. Nothing like Hampton Roads, Richmond, the Shenandoah Valley, or Northern VA. Virginia as a whole is much more prosperous and Southern, and the average Virginian either lives in a suburb or in farm country, while the average West Virginian lives in a small city or small town and this state is more about coal mining than farming.
I think Kansas-Nebraska, New York-New Jersey, Alabama-Mississippi, Wyoming-Montana, Washington-Oregon, and Vermont-New Hampshire can be good pairings.
I agree with what you say about the Virginias.
However, if you do a little reading and research, you will find immediately that New York and New Jersey have little to nothing in common.
New York and Pennsylvania? Yes. New Jersey and Delaware? Yes. But outside of the NYC circle NY and NJ are night and day.
Upstate New York is mostly rural/small town. It's Appalachian in the southern tier, Midwestern on the lake, and Canadian in the "north country". Upstate has it's own bigger cities but you'd be surprised how disconnected the rural areas can be from them due to distance/hills and valleys or mountains blocking the way. What would be an hour's drive in a flat state can take two in NY. NYC has very little cultural influence outside of transplants on upstate. Upstate NY is also quite farm heavy. Lots of dairies and produce farms. NY also has a major Mennonite and Amish population.
Southern Jersey is very coastal. Beaches, resorts, a gambling town, and mostly flat (in contrast to NY's hills and mountains). Jersey is also much more connected to major urban areas along the coast. It also contains the pine barrens, which is a kind of spooky endless forest with no undergrowth.
I dunno - I tend to think of New Hampshire as aligning more closely with Maine culturally, politically, and linguistically. Obviously Maine has a much longer coastline, but the two states share a similar geology, with the White Mountains of NH extending into Maine and lots of sizable lakes in both. Pines dominate the coastal forests, with maple-beech-birch forests in the highlands, and spruce-fir to the north. Both states have smaller pockets of agricultural land compared to the more widespread farming in Vermont.
The only thing really preventing a close "sisterhood" between NH and ME, IMO, is the much greater size of the latter - there are parts of Maine that are very much unknown to Mainers, let alone New Hampshirites. But if you look at the way the two states vote, or listen to the way they speak, I think you will see the kinship more closely than with NH and VT.
NH and VT do share largely mountainous landscapes and lack the kind of poverty or isolation that exist in some areas of Maine, but historically they have always been pretty distinct places (even back to the early 1800s, voting at opposite ends of the political spectrum in New England).
The general exception to this rule, I think, is western New Hampshire - along the Connecticut River Valley - which is very closely linked to Vermont in many ways. Both sides of the river rely on each other economically, in a way that is probably more symbiotic than anywhere along the NH-Maine border.
Yes despite the rivalry, Texas is probably the state most similar to Oklahoma.
I think Nevada pairs better than Arizona than with California.
Yes, Texas does share much in common culturally with Oklahoma given an assessment of accents and the way people relate to each other is similar, no doubt. However, Texas' big city culture (not the smaller/more rural areas) is quite different than Oklahoma, especially given the excessive transplantation in Texas from other regions.
Personally, and from my experience, a slightly better pairing with Oklahoma is Arkansas as it is a small population state with many rural communities like Oklahoma with cultural commonality given dialects and the people (although Arkies are more a tad more reserved than Okies, while Texans are quite brash like Okies).
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