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I know WA well (domiciled on both sides of it), am mod of the forum, and it's true, many people think it's wall-to-wall rain and trees. No joke.
I always thought it was funny seeing "The Evergreen State" on license plates while driving through Central WA. Yet, few trees to be found.
The political thing is not as impressive IMO, many states are like that. OR (just like WA), CA (blue on coasts, red mostly otherwise), IL (Chicago vs downstate), there are several others. It's not so much that there are only liberals, just that there are more of them, and are mostly concentrated in the west of WA (along with most of the people).
I always thought of Washington as mostly forested (except for the cities, of course) and then a cousin of mine moved to the eastern side of the state. I was shocked--the pictures of where she lives look like a desert! I had no idea. She is definitely not liberal, either.
There's a lot of misconception about New Jersey, mostly that it's more urban than it is. There's a reason for that--our largest airport is located in the very most urbanized area of the state, and a lot of people only ever see NJ from driving through it on the NJ turnpike--which will take you through some of our worst areas plus the oil refineries.
There's a young woman working at my local drugstore who is from the PNW but living here because her husband is in the Coast Guard and stationed here. She told me that she was shocked that New Jersey is so green. (She also said that she previously lived in South Carolina and had always thought that SC was a desert, so I think she's a little geography-challenged anyway.)
The other misconception is about our supposed accent. People from other places will often say, "JOISEY?" when you say where you are from. No one from NJ pronounces it that way. Except for maybe a few old-timers from Bayonne or Jersey City, next to New York City, people say their "Rs" very distinctly here. The Joisey thing seems to be a leftover from old Bowery Boys movies or something that engrained into the collective memory of the nation.
Arizona isn't anything like the racist place the national media describes it as. Its been surprising what people have said to me or assumed about me while visiting other states.
I know WA well (domiciled on both sides of it), am mod of the forum, and it's true, many people think it's wall-to-wall rain and trees. No joke.
I always thought it was funny seeing "The Evergreen State" on license plates while driving through Central WA. Yet, few trees to be found.
The political thing is not as impressive IMO, many states are like that. OR (just like WA), CA (blue on coasts, red mostly otherwise), IL (Chicago vs downstate), there are several others. It's not so much that there are only liberals, just that there are more of them, and are mostly concentrated in the west of WA (along with most of the people).
And then the fact that dirt doesn't vote. The color coded maps by county can be deceiving.
The most common Wisconsin one is "fat," when in reality it's average in terms of obesity and better than average in health ratings. There's a very strong outdoors culture here. The fattest, most unhealthy areas are actually in the South.
Another misconception is that the beer/cheese that we're known for is just the crappy, mass-marketed kind. California (the state's main dairy competitor) is actually the industrial dairy farm state, whereas Wisconsin has more organic/boutique farms. No other states come anywhere close to Wisconsin in terms of international competition - only a few European countries can compete with Wisconsin for fine cheeses. It's the local heritage. Wisconsin is the only state to require licensed cheesemakers at every cheese plant. In fact, most cheese factories have several licensed cheesemakers on hand to oversee every vat produced. Wisconsin is the only state with certified Master Cheesemakers who have undertaken a rigorous three-year educational training and apprenticeship. The Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker program is the only one of its kind in the U.S. and is modeled after European advanced training programs.
The "drunk" one is truth, though!
lol! I love me some WI cheese though! Even with my beer
New Mexico is universally hot. And flat. And desert.
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