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Just to make it clear, I don't see "twin cities" or "twin states" as mirror images of each other. Minneapolis and St. Paul are different and Tampa and St. Petersburg are different. But they are large cities (one primary city, the other the secondary city) of influence within the same metro area and work within that relationship. That being said, some "twin states", per say, that come to my mind are:
NC/SC - They ARE twin states. Our main home is in NC and I've lived there all of my life. They are different, but have a kindred spirit with each other. We love visiting each other's vacation spots, playing each other in college sports, and having family members across state lines.
Some others: NY/NJ, WA/OR, GA/AL, NH/VT, TX/OK........I know there are others and I'm sure to get some who will swiftly correct me on my choices, lol. But these are just my personal impressions off of the top of my head. Interesting thread.
This is interesting
GA/AL & NH/VT make a lot of sense to me. I have not spent time in WA or OR so can't comment on that pairing. People in TX might have something to say about the TX/OK though, lol.
NY/NJ works with NYC/NJ. Upstate NY is very different in its overall feel and culture from NYC; I'm saying this as someone who grew up in Upstate NY and visited the city fairly often. You would have never guessed the two places were in the same state
- Alabama and Mississippi
- Ohio and Pennsylvania
- Illinois and Indiana
- Arizona and New Mexico or Nevada
- Kentucky and Tennessee
- Washington and Oregon
- Montana and Wyoming
- Virginia and North Carolina
I'm surprised you think they wouldn't be similar. They both have a huge college football rivalry(U. of Texas and U. of Oklahoma), and I hear stories of people spending time in both states. Oklahomians(sp?) often seem to look towards Texas(and the greater Dallas area), when they want to go to a bigger city, or find things not in OK. I always thought both were similar in ways, though yes I won't deny TX scenery at times might be a little different than OK(i.e. Big Bend National Park, Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo). Though I thought Oklahoma had some hills and mountains which aren't always talked often about, in the far east and southeast corners of that state.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChuckG2008
As a PA resident, I'd say our most logical twin would be Michigan overall. PA and Michigan are both dominated by deep-blue old industrial powerhouses in the southeast, surrounded by moderately affluent and racially segregated suburbs, and then deep-red conservative rural areas. Both states have voted for the same presidential candidate in every election but one since 1944 (including both states very narrowly supporting Trump in the last one). Both states are also infamous for poor roads and infrastructure, and each have a thriving hunting/fishing/outdoorsman culture. Both states are, for the most part, classic rust-belt old school America (places like Flint and Johnstown are somewhat comparable). Just my 2 cents - upstate NY and Ohio also share quite a few similarities with PA, but I feel Michigan may be the best fit
I thought this comparison wouldn't quite work at first, but yeah it doesn't seem weird the more I think about it! Both do have a big outdoors culture into hunting and other outdoor activities(fishing, guns, etc), both do have rural areas that are scenic in their own ways(i.e. Poconos, Upper Peninsula), and it's funny you're right about roads not always being in good condition in both states!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nafster
Definitely NOT.
The two states are completely different outside of the fact that they border one another.
Ohio/Pennsylvania
Minnesota/Wisconsin
Michigan/Wisconsin
Kansas/Nebraska
Ohio/Indiana (a stretch but I could see it because Indy and Columbus are VERY similar cities in many ways)
These might be the best Midwest pairings.
Illinois and Indiana are actually very unique states to both the Midwest and to each other. Moreso in terms of culture, government, and cities than simple geography.
I agree with you on what you said about Illinois and Indiana not being totally similar. Illinois only has 20% of its population south of I-80, while Indiana's population seems to be more evenly spread out throughout the state. And I agree with you about Indy and Columbus having similarities, to each other. And both states have a rust belt and working class feel, to them. With a touch of scenic areas in the southern parts of each state(i.e. around Madison, IN, Vevay, IN, Cincinnati having a hilly feel in various parts of it(i.e. near Eden Park), Portsmouth, Athens, OH, etc). I just thought of one more similarity between Indiana and Ohio, both states have areas where Amish people settled in!
I still can't deny northeast Ohio has more of a feel of being similar to like western Pennsylvania or western New York state, vs. the rest of Ohio though.
I'm surprised you think they wouldn't be similar. They both have a huge college football rivalry(U. of Texas and U. of Oklahoma), and I hear stories of people spending time in both states. Oklahomians(sp?) often seem to look towards Texas(and the greater Dallas area), when they want to go to a bigger city, or find things not in OK. I always thought both were similar in ways, though yes I won't deny TX scenery at times might be a little different than OK(i.e. Big Bend National Park, Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo). Though I thought Oklahoma had some hills and mountains which aren't always talked often about, in the far east and southeast corners of that state.
I thought this comparison wouldn't quite work at first, but yeah it doesn't seem weird the more I think about it! Both do have a big outdoors culture into hunting and other outdoor activities(fishing, guns, etc), both do have rural areas that are scenic in their own ways(i.e. Poconos, Upper Peninsula), and it's funny you're right about roads not always being in good condition in both states!
I agree with you on what you said about Illinois and Indiana not being totally similar. Illinois only has 20% of its population south of I-80, while Indiana's population seems to be more evenly spread out throughout the state. And I agree with you about Indy and Columbus having similarities, to each other. And both states have a rust belt and working class feel, to them. With a touch of scenic areas in the southern parts of each state(i.e. around Madison, IN, Vevay, IN, Cincinnati having a hilly feel in various parts of it(i.e. near Eden Park), Portsmouth, Athens, OH, etc). I just thought of one more similarity between Indiana and Ohio, both states have areas where Amish people settled in!
I still can't deny northeast Ohio has more of a feel of being similar to like western Pennsylvania or western New York state, vs. the rest of Ohio though.
Totally agree with you on Indiana and Illinois being so different. The accents, the politics, one bright blue the other deep red, one with Chicago as the behemoth, the other with a spread of population, U of I vs. IU. You notice the change immediately crossing the border on 80/94.
Totally agree with you on Indiana and Illinois being so different. The accents, the politics, one bright blue the other deep red, one with Chicago as the behemoth, the other with a spread of population, U of I vs. IU. You notice the change immediately crossing the border on 80/94.
Using nothing more than your gut reaction, based on similarity and common image, which two states would you most likely to be considered "twins"?
I'll go with....Vermont and New Hampshire
(note: It gets tricky when you consider states with the same names. VA and WV are some 180° different. NC and SC are merely neighbors. ND is issolated on the Canadian border; SD gets droves heading to the Blackhills and Badlands.)
I would agree that NC and SC are not twins. But I've lived in NC the vast majority of my life and NC/SC are way more than "merely neighbors". Even though we are different in many ways, the relationship between us is very close. Charlotte's metro spills into SC. The Wilmington/Myrtle Beach and the Asheville/SC Upstate influences cross state lines. We visit each other's cities and vacation spots regularly. We have our friendly high school and college sports rivalries. We're like the big brother/little brother; at deep relationship with a lot of respect on both ends. "Merely neighbors"? Far from it.
As an Alabamian, I find myself reluctant to consider Alabama and Mississippi as twins. Siblings? Okay. Much of the western side of the state blends well with Mississippi, but the eastern side not so much. The Appalachian areas make it feel a lot different. The Tennessee Valley feels more closely tied to Middle Tennessee. Much of the eastern side really blends well with Georgia, even in the Southeast. Southeast Alabama feels more like the Old Lower South of Georgia and South Carolina to me than Southern Mississippi.
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