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El Paso which is more isolated compared to the rest of Texas is someplace i associate more with states such as Arizona and New Mexico.Eastern New Mexico reminds me more of Texas and is isolated from the major New Mexico population centers of ABQ and Santa Fe.Its nickname is "Little Texas"
El Paso is immediately what came to mind for me too. I lived in Albuquerque for awhile, and it is practically considered a continuum of New Mexico and is just a short drive from Las Cruces. Its politics, culture, geography, history, etc., much closer matches NM than most of Texas.
Erie, PA is our isolated Great Lakes city, and the area is much different from the rest of the state. It has a lot more in common with Northern Ohio and Western NY than it does most of PA. It really is the stepping stone city between Cleveland and Buffalo. If it had to go to another state, it would probably be Ohio.
I also know a few people from interior Northern California. They really identify much more as interior Mountain West people than Californians. I am not sure that they would say they identify with Nevada though. The state of Jefferson? Definitely.
I am sure many in Eastern Oregon/Washington would love to have their own state, or perhaps just merge with Idaho?
Had a discussion and I thought it’d be interesting to see what people thought of places that are isolated from their state and which associate more with another state.
Brunswick County, NC is one (especially the southern part). That part is basically Myrtle Beach, with the sprawl that is associated with it. Once you cross the Cape Fear out of downtown Wilmington it is 49 miles to the SC line, all in one county. Leland and a couple other towns though are literally right across from downtown Wilmington. In fact, one of Wilmington's TV stations has their studio there.
The Eastern Shore of VA is another. Feels like a part of Maryland, as it feels much farther than across Chesapeake Bay from Virginia Beach and Norfolk (thanks to the expensive tolls).
What are your thoughts?
Probably the East Coast, especially the Mid Atlantic region is ground zero for what you are saying. Many of the boundaries were drawn haphazardly in the colonial era so states come together in weird ways.
Far western Maryland is a perfect example of that. So are the peninsulas of West Virginia and Downstate New York, which is essentially a peninsula off the bulk of New York State. And of course the entire Delmarva peninsula.
A few miles difference or some accident of history and Hudson County really could be the six borough of New York or Manhattan could have been part of New Jersey. Maryland could be part of Virginia or the entire Delmarva peninsula could be part of Maryland. Just a few changes and everything could have been different.
Murphy, NC is W-A-Y out in the far western tip of the state. They're closer to Atlanta and Nashville than they are Charlotte.
There are Atlanta suburbs that are 75-80 miles away from Murphy. It is actually in Chattanooga’s TV market currently. St. Louis is 55 miles closer to Murphy than Corolla, on the Outer Banks.
What about the Northwest Angle in Minnesota? More like Canada than Minnesota?
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