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Ok, so I'm a bit curious about what US States are most similar to single European countries, as there is a thread comparing US/Europe cities. Preferably, American countries can be included, even Asian countries as well. It can be either culturally, economically, linguistically or historically. For example:
UK - North Dakota - Brazil - Indonesia (I know these ones aren't similar, though this is the idea)
So go ahead and find similarities and equivalents.
I already love this thread. The OP asks about cultural, economical, linguistical or historical comparisons.. And everyone answer with geography
Ok, so I'm a bit curious about what US States are most similar to single European countries, as there is a thread comparing US/Europe cities. Preferably, American countries can be included, even Asian countries as well. It can be either culturally, economically, linguistically or historically. For example:
UK - North Dakota - Brazil - Indonesia (I know these ones aren't similar, though this is the idea)
So go ahead and find similarities and equivalents.
Definitely. Similar biome, "thestate of 10,000 lakes", spot on similar population with Finland, large Lutheran contigent, low pop density, 15% of Minnesotans have Swedish or Finnish ancestry, Hockey state, walleye the state fish (its close European relative zander is a delicacy here, and is the state fish of the most populous region Uusimaa in Finland)... it all fits, right?
So, there is another thread on here that asks what Latin American country is most like the United States/American. Which proves to be a very difficult question to answer as the U.S. is a huge place (geographically and population wise), with lots of cultural variation from region to region.
I say let us take things down a notch and compare U.S. States individually to their respective kindred souls in Latin America.
I will go first:
California and Chile
Why? They both have strong wine cultures, rugged mountains, hug the Pacific, extreme landscapes (we have Death Valley + Yosemite; Chile has the Andes + Tierra de Fuego), relatively well educated populaces . Also, I think, of all of Latin America Chile is probably the most innovative (as California is in the states) and attracting the most tech investment. Not to mention that they both also attract a lot of immigrant talent (Chile more recently), whether skilled or unskilled. Due to our geography, both California and Chile have felt relatively isolated from the rest of their respective regions.
Some major differences: Chile lacks California's diversity, and California with 38 million (as opposed to Chile's 17 million) is much more heavily populated. Also, Chile just really has Santiago as a global city, California has San Francisco and Los Angeles - some could make an argument for San Diego. California's GDP is in the 2 TRILLIONS and Chile's, at around 268 billion, is 1/8th of that. As for culture, Chile just doesn't have the influence in Latin America that California has in the U.S./the world when it comes to music, media, film and television.
All in all, Chile is like California's younger brother/sister.
In Europe, I would think Spain or Italy would be a natural fit, but both of them lack the innovative/creative enterprise currently in Chile and California and a few other things. In Africa, I would say South Africa is the closest to an equivalent to Chile and California. Can't think of a place in Asia. In Oceania, West Coast of Australia + New Zealand, but can't comment much on the culture or ethos.
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