Does visiting other states feel like a foreign country to you?

29 comments

1. No. We have lived in / visited a bunch of states and they all feel “American” compared to any foreign country.

2. Yes, I’ve lived all over but now I live on the west coast and when I go back to the east coast it always strikes me how everything is old and built close together. This isn’t a complaint, it’s probably my favorite thing about the east.

3. > Im from Virginia and recently visited West Virginia and it felt very different from my home state.

   Did you go from Arlington or Alexandria to Mullens or something? WV is fairly rural, a lot of VA is suburban and is more in common with the east coast megalopolis than a place like Morgantown. But Wytheville’s got more in common with Beckley than with Richmond.

   > Does visiting other states feel like a foreign country to you?

   No, IMO in most cases going to a neighboring state feels mostly the same except for changes in retailers and road signs. Going from Maine to Louisiana or Ohio to Hawaii, yeah those are different.

4. Depends. I grew up 15 minutes from the Delaware border, and 30 minutes from the Maryland border. Those just feel normal (I actually live in Maryland now, so it’s even *more* normal for me).

   I was recently out west, and while it didn’t feel particularly foreign, there were noticable “vibes” that were different. For instance, I was just north of Oakland and there was a real general relaxed vibe that I don’t really feel back in the east.

5. I visited Hawaii a couple of weeks ago, my first time in many years, and in some ways it definitely felt like a different country when compared to the the rest of the US. But overall, it wasn’t like it was a totally foreign-feeling place.

6. I’m actually struck by how similar they all are. There are geographical and climate differences of course but as far as everything else I find them all remarkably American.

7. Not really, but I’ve traveled to most of the states and lived in different regions, so I’m used to the same country being many different things.

8. Alaska and Hawaii are about as foreign you get in the states. But there definitely is a different kind of feel to each state.

9. Not really

10. No, it all feels like the same country. Things are different but not that different.

11. Hell no.

12. I have experienced culture shock when moving from Nevada to Utah. Nevada had liquor, slot machines, and all the things in the grocery stores and restaurants when I was younger in Nevada. Utah most definitely did not have those things lol. Don’t even get me started on the blinking red light outside of town limits in Nevada. Utah certainly didn’t have that. Utah has modesty panels over Cosmo magazine, weak beer, and magic underwear.

    It all still felt like the US…just a stark reminder that each state has a distinct culture all of its own — and I love it.

13. No. I live in Maine and grew up in Massachusetts. I work in NYC and have worked in California, Florida, Texas Louisiana Canada and Panama. America feels like itself and different states can vary slightly but to me they still feel much more like home than elsewhere.

14. The only state I’ve visited that somewhat feels like a different country is Hawaii. And that’s mainly because you have to fly halfway across the Pacific, tropical climate, and the Hawaiian and local culture and foods.

15. I’m from South Florida and it’s like a melting pot of so many different cultures here. Like in Miami there’s little Haiti, little Cuba, the Dominican neighborhood (El barrio Dominicano), etc. I’m so used to it that everywhere I go in the states feels American to me. I loved Boston when I went it was awesome. I liked the Ethiopian restaurants and the Dominican restaurants, made me feel like I’m at home 🙂 I love the feeling of landing in MIA from Dominican Republic. It’s a beautiful country but home is home.

16. One thing that stands out to me is when there is really high property crime. My region has relatively low property crime.

    Even in the city near me that is supposed to be sketchy [Worcester] I don’t always lock my car or feel the need to hide my purse in the car if it is locked.

    We don’t lock out house at night, etc.

    Having to be super careful about property crime was a drag when I lived in Florida[Sarasota].

17. The architecture of the old cities back east feel pretty foreign to me, but the people don’t feel foreign.

18. No. I’ve lived in three different states and on a ship. Everywhere in America feels like America to me.

19. I feel that way driving in my state of Illinois that not close to Chicago to many Field

20. No.

    Fun fact, Virginia goes further west than West Virginia; it is also roughly the same as West Virginia too for that general area, which leads me to believe you don’t really venture around your own state enough.

21. If West Virginia felt foreign to you man I want to know what you think of Blacksburg and radford lmao

22. Sometimes. I go to Massachusetts on a semi regular basis to see family and it feels like the same country. But when I visited Florida it felt so foreign I could swear I wasn’t in America anymore

23. Depends on the state and what you mean by foreign. When I go to the east coast or upper midwest, it feels just about as strange to me as Canada. Of course, America is basically Canada’s Pants, so they’re not to dissimilar. Compared to where I live, they have different stores, different food preferences, different attitudes, and different driving habits.

    Parts of the South and Texas feel culturally alien to me when I’m there. Just different priorities, attitudes towards public policy and social issues, etc. That’s not to say that I don’t find like-minded people when I’m there, but they aren’t part of the mainstream plurality. Comparatively, Baja California culturally feels like a natural extension of southern California culture, with the main differences being the amount of Spanish needed and the specific reasons we despise our respective governments.

24. It depends on where you go. Florida to Georgia isn’t too different. Texas to California is like night and day

25. I’m actually surprised that most of the responses so far are “no,” because one of the things I feel I read a lot on this sub is that each of the states is COMPLETELY different, that they may as well be fifty completely different countries loosely united, etc. etc. That response always makes me roll my eyes a bit, because in my experience the difference between states is usually pretty subtle (especially compared to the difference between the US and foreign countries), and there is more that unites us than separates us.

    That’s not to say that there aren’t differences, though they’re typically more stark when comparing region to region than state to state. A rural blues bar in Mississippi is gonna feel different than Waikiki beach is gonna feel different than Fargo, North Dakota.

26. Geographically? Yes.

    Culturally? Somewhat…But not really.

27. Bordering states no. But once I go far enough and the biome, people, and culture changes it can feel like a different country.

28. Not each and every state. But the west coast definitely has a different vibe to the upper Midwest.

29. It’s not to the same degree as visiting another country but I know what you mean.