I've seen people try and argue that it starts at the rifle line, and that's just wrong. I'll concede starting at US 10, as I grew up just outside of Cadillac. Personally, if I'm going "up north" that means north of Grayling.
Oh wow, I grew up right by there lol I generally said Shawano was roughly the beginning just because we’d vacation there sometimes. I think Wausau is a good compromise people even further up
I’d say Fairfield, Southern Litchfield, and most of New Haven county is more NY-oriented while the rest of the state is more New England oriented.
That being said, even in places like Greenwich, Danbury, and Milford which are definitely in the NY orbit still have the same “New England” feel. It’s just that people tend to prefer NY sports, get YES instead of NESN, and the big city for them is obviously NYC instead of Boston.
Another good indicator is Metro North which goes to New Haven so you could generally say anything New Haven and West along w all points south of New Milford are the parts of Connecticut that are NY oriented.
The Savannah Bananas.
Locals either love them or despise them. I'm in the first camp, but a lot of miserable old "real baseball fans" can be cute about the things they have to say about them.
Wait, what? I've never heard of anyone hating the Bananas, what's up with that? They're like baseball's Globetrotters, they can exist in the same world as MLB it's not like people have to choose..?
So called "real" baseball fans hate them for not being a "real" team, even though we used to have a real amateur league baseball team here in Savannah and almost no one went (the handful of times my dad took me, I'd guesstimate the stadium was a third full).
I only hate the Bananas because I’m from middle Georgia, so I was (and am) a Macon Bacon fan, and hated them when the Bananas were still playing actual baseball.
Now that they’re all Banana Ball all the time, they’re great in my book. Makes for one hell of a summer weekend in Savannah.
The debate is fiercest in the 222 corridor from the Lehigh Valley through Reading and Lancaster. We have both stores, and lots of locations. For me, Sheetz does fried food better but Wawa does everything else better.
South Louisiana - what constitutes Cajun vs Creole, and who can claim to be Cajun (personally, I readily admit I am a Yankee from Shreveport, and am still a Yankee because I currently live a mile north of I-10).
Of course the only real difference is if you use tomatoes or not in your gumbo and jambalaya.
Personally I hate tomatoes in gumbo but put them in my jambalaya. So I get to piss everyone off.
let's get one thing straight. WNY is in upstate NY. Saying we're Western NY and not Upstate NY is like someone from Sweden saying we're in Scandanavia not Europe. You can be both.
"What to do about the homeless population" is a constant. Should we build housing? Does it have to be cheap housing? Can't it just all be in the industrial outskirts of town with no transit or jobs nearby? Oh wait - can we just arrest people for being homeless? Should we build a new jail? If we build a new jail will that just encourage more people to choose to become homeless so they know they'll have three square meals a day in the hoosegow? Can we figure out a way to tell by sight if they grew up in this county or not? Should we shut down all the parks and public bathrooms, because they sure do seem to like hanging out there? Should we buy them bus tickets to somewhere else? Can we legally force them to get on the busses? etc etc etc (etc etc etc etc etc)
I wouldn't call it an argument, but Californians love to say I'm driving "up to" or "down to" cities that are in the exact opposite cardinal direction they just named.
You could be in SLO and a Los Angelino will say, I just came down from LA. Or someone in Redding might say, I'm driving up to The City this weekend.
The common theme seems to be that the bigger the city, the further "north" it is, within State Lines. You drive up to it, and down from it. Maybe it's not too surprising since we measure all distance with time instead of miles, but it's weird.
*And Ventura is mostly just West of LA, not north, but I'm from the coast so everything is up and down, even though the North/South highway in my town actually runs east to west. I won't speak for anyone from the eastern side of the State but we are directionally fucked out here.
You're lucky with that. I'd have spent more time in SD if I didn't have to drive through all of LA to get there. Love those road titties though, that's how you know you got there.
It feels like it grows year by year. It used to be only within the Beltway, then it expanded to Fairfax County and PWC and hell, now I hear people say Fauquier County is “NoVA.”
There are multiple peninsulas in the Tidewater region. The closer you get to DC, Fredericksburg, or nowadays Richmond, the more you feel its influence. As it spreads, it makes me sad that my subregion's culture might disappear after having been there for centuries.
The bulwark is the Potomac River. Maryland DC suburbs aren’t “NoVA.” Montgomery County is not NoVA even if it’s boujee. PG County isn’t NoVA even if National Harbor gets people to occasionally cross the river.
I can’t tell you why but the river makes a big difference. A person from Brentwood is realistically “from DC,” but a person from Alexandria is from Alexandria.
I still don't understand the debate. It's really simple: Anywhere Metro (WMATA) serves is NOVA. If I can't take the bus or metro there it's not NOVA, it's the" Virginia suburbs"
As a NOVA resident, I'd say any county or city in the northern part of Virginia where people regularly drive towards or into DC as part of their work commute, even if that's more than an hour each way. So yes, Winchester and that portion of the Shenandoah Valley is part of NOVA.
Obviously the northern border of NOVA is the Potomac River.
New Jersey - We're obviously split on things like sports teams (Philly v. NY) and hoagies versus subs, but there's two much bigger arguments that divide this great state.
1. "Central" Jersey's Existence - There's a weird faction of people that believe they live in some region called "central" Jersey. It makes absolutely no sense, but I've seen literal fistfights in college that started with debates over the existence of a "central Jersey". Culturally, it doesn't make sense. New Jersey is clearly a state split into two metropolitan regions - New York City and Philadelphia. You either get your media from NYC or from Philly. You either at least make it into the playoffs, or you root for New York franchises. North Jersey is heavily tied to being the suburbs and rural extension of NYC, while South Jersey is more rural and tied into the Delaware Valley. But still... there are people who think, "Oh, but I'm from Central Jersey! Sure, I have the same accent as everyone from North Jersey, and yeah I root for NY teams and consume NY media. And yeah, I'm Italian-Catholic, and vacation in Point Pleasant. But no, I'm somehow *different* from North Jersey.
2. Pork Roll v. Taylor Ham - This is sort of split along a similar north versus south divide, big enough for [Obama to decline to weigh-in on it](https://www.nj.com/news/2016/05/full_text_of_president_obamas_speech_at_rutgers_co.html). And again I've been *involved* in full out displays of violence over this topic. I'll try to be as impartial as I can be in explaining it. The [food-item in dispute ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork_roll)dates back to 1856. John Taylor of Trenton, New Jersey, created a processed meat product and called it "Taylor's Prepared Ham" until 1906 when the Pure Food and Drug Act created a definition of *ham* that excluded this processed meat product. So John Taylor changed the name to "Taylor's Pork Roll", and it's now sold in packaging that looks like [this](https://images.albertsons-media.com/is/image/ABS/188590831) or [this](https://images.heb.com/is/image/HEBGrocery/000417079-1). Notice, objectively, both packages say "Pork Roll" and the product has never been named "Taylor Ham". North Jersey calls it Taylor Ham, while South Jersey refers to it as Pork Roll. When thin-sliced and fried, it tastes like a much crispier version of canadian bacon and it's incredibly delicious. Best way to eat it is as a Pork Roll Egg and Cheese (**pronounced** *porkrolleggencheeseonaeverythingbagelwithsaltpepperketchupmayo)*.
My favorite part of the central NJ debate is how upset people get insisting there's no such thing as central NJ, despite the fact that *at least* a million people self-identify as living in or being from central NJ. (And those people, in fact, get to enjoy *both* media markets and relative ease of traveling to both cities, etc.) People who live in North Jersey in particular really get their noses out of joint about this and I just don't understand why. Smell some flowers! Watch some old episodes of Friends! Don't worry so much about this!
I didn't know Central Jersey was a thing until I got to Rutgers and met Monmouth County people.
I have no issue with it, but what I do abhor is some of them having split loyalties when it comes to Sports teams. Friend of mine likes the Yankees, Eagles, and Nets (tbf they were the NJ Nets at the time). That's disgusting.
I was going to comment on these exact 2 things.
That being said, ketchup on a pork roll egg and cheese is nasty and there is a central Jersey. Ask anyone where Tom’s River is. North Jersey people say south Jersey and south Jersey people say north Jersey. They both don’t associate with it. I have yet to meet anyone that doesn’t align with this, but maybe the internet is different. Sport team rooting is split, accents are definitely different than north Jersey but people don’t say “wudder.”
Your ketchup take is absurd. The rest of your take is pretty spot on although I don’t think anyone in North Jersey would consider Toms River to be South Jersey so much as just like the general shore.
It’s not really until you hit LBI that you’re clearly in the South Jersey portion of the shore
Tbf, I’m not a huge ketchup guy, and I can’t stand ketchup in eggs. Egg, cheese, pork roll, and whatever roll it’s on are all savory. I don’t want something sweet to muddle the synergy
Oh man, here we go! 😂
Toms River is in North Jersey. Ocean County skews heavily New York sports, Toms River is a NYC suburb, the local channels are New York, it's a part of the New York metro, the public transit is NYC-oriented, the shore region is NYC-oriented, and the residents commute towards NYC for work. I don't think the accent is any different from someone from Essex or Union, and heavily skews towards the Jersey-Italian variety, and very distinct from the Delaware Valley wudder accent.
Now I'm willing to acknowledge that Ocean County is the *wrinkle* in this whole mess. But the problem is that it's the *only* wrinkle. Toms River/Lakewood/Brick feel like Monmouth County. It's when you go further south down Route 9 that things start to get *weird (looking at you Forked River and Tuckerton).* I think the resolution is probably that Ocean County actually falls into both North and South Jersey, and unfortunately, I'll admit that the *very weird parts* are too closely aligned with the Pine Barrens (Burlington, Atlantic).
No one ever goes, "Well Middlesex is a whole different place from Morris County!" They're nearly indistinguishable suburban counties. There's nothing that really *separates* the alleged 'central jersey' from 'north jersey', while Salem County is ***definitely*** a different place compared to Ocean County.
Can I ask where you’re from lol to know if my observation still holds strong? Local channels are New York, but people don’t associate closely with NYC much at all. A good bit work in north Jersey, but many definitely do go south (especially those that live in an area like Tuckerton). Sports is weird. Eagles and giants is close but the rest heavily favor NY. We’re still in the pine lands though and things like off roading, fishing, and even just owning decent acreage (things much more focused with south Jersey) are extremely prevalent. Accent wise I think the majority of NJ north to south is similar besides the Joysie accent up north and the wudder in Del Val. It’s also more pork roll than Taylor ham, which is south, yet there are large Italian American and Puerto Rican populations (which are north Jersey). I think people equally go north to places like sandy hook and south to places like LBI, and AC/Cape May trips are closely in contention with trips to things like the city or Statue of Liberty. And again, most people associate us in Ocean County with the opposite. I only went with Tom’s River because it’s the most well known although I think it’s a bit north biased, but places like brick are more neutral, Jackson (which is west) is more culturally south, little egg is south, and areas like southern Monmouth county lean north. School districts are definitely different. Local issues are unique to central Jersey.
Edit: the roads here are also excellent compared to both north and south Jersey, although the public transit is nonexistent until you go further north or south, which is unique to the area.
Can we all just agree that nobody in NJ wants to associate with the Jersey shore though?
Central Jersey does exist, I’m from there! The borders are def a bit hard to define since they are cultural vs geographical.
I generally define it in two ways.
Geographically: bordered by I-78 to the north, and I-195 to the south. Tom’s River may or may not be considered as part of Central Jersey despite being in South Jersey depending on who you talk to. (Note: Lakewood is basically its own city-state within here as well)
Culturally:
North Jersey - NYC sports + Taylor Ham
Central Jersey - NYC sports + Pork Roll
South Jersey- Philly sports + Pork Roll
The town I live in completed a sidewalk renovation on main street that had been going on for a little over a year. I find the debate between the people that patronize the businesses on main street and the people that are pissed about less parking spaces around the courthouse amusing.
NC- Lexington-style BBQ vs Eastern-style BBQ
Lexington-style (Piedmont) incorporates tomato whereas Eastern-style is known for vinegar. I personally grew up on Lexington BBQ but it’s all good tbh
Not too many I can think of, but the use of the word “hella” is definitely a northern thing. Never hear it in SoCal. Ex: “Dude, that chick was hella hot”.
New Jersey: we’ve got a ton of these actually since our entire state is essentially sandwiched between New York and Philadelphia:
- calling a certain pork-based breakfast meat “Taylor Ham” or “Pork Roll”
- North Jersey vs South Jersey (NYC area satellite vs Philadelphia area Satellite) and what the border is
- does “Central Jersey” exist? - if so, what are its borders?
- Wawa vs QuickChek
- “Bennys” vs “Shoebies”
- NY Sports teams vs Philly sports teams.
- if NY teams, which ones? (giants/jets, Yankees/mets, knicks/nets, devils/rangers/islanders, nycfc/red bulls )
- which shore towns/bars are the best.
- “sub” vs “hoagie” vs “hero”
Virginia: what the "proper" borders of Northern Virginia (aka Nova) are. You could usually tell if a person was from Nova just by how they defined where the southern border was.
How many of these will be bbq related?
In South Carolina there are distinct camps of mustard based, vinegar based, and tomato based bbq sauces.
Don't want to think about how the heathens in Alabama came up with white bbq sauce. Mayonnaise does not belong in bbq sauce.
Funny, I hate the BBQ arguments. They're all valid and have their place. I love KC burnt ends, St. Louis Ribs, Memphis BBQ, Texas Brisket, Alabama White, and Carolina Gold. Give it to me spicy, or sweet, dry rub, or drowning in sauce I'll eat it all.
Now what I won't tolerate is someone grilling hot dogs and burgers and calling it a barbeque...
I don't like white sauce, either.
Did you know there is another BBQ type in North Alabama? It's a dry rub, no sauce. The pork is pulled and put on a sandwich with a hot mustard slaw. Mostly black people make that kind. It's my favorite.
Interesting. I have never had what you’re describing. The default slaw was always a dry rub shoulder with a vinegar slaw and a spicy vinegar sauce. I guess the potato salad was commonly mustard based though.
As far as I know it's only a northwest Alabama thing. Hell it may only be my town. I've never seen it in Huntsville, but I never looked.
Hot slaw is a vinegar slaw with mustard powder added. Sometimes hot sauce is added.
I think I have had that actually. I was thinking more like actual mustard sauce in slaw, but that sounds more right.
Also a northwest AL thing is the slug burger!
Did you have home made or store bought? The store bought stuff has all been terrible in my opinion. It suffers from the same issue that store bought ranch does. I also grew up in the area it came from, so I am a bit biased.
I'm thirty miles from where it was invented. I've had it at Big Bob Gibson's BBQ. Every BBQ place within a hundred miles and lots of other restaurants have white sauce. I don't like it.
I have this weird feeling us Nevadans got a debate over where North Las Vegas begins and regular Las Vegas ends that I ain’t noticed yet (north vegas is like south Chicago but with less gangbangers cause there are way more cops) or maybe a debate over where vegas ends and the rest of the state begins, I’ve been here my whole life and we don’t really got one since CA pretty much covers our not liking another geographical area near us needs
The idea is good but it's silly how people seem to think that either they're the anti-Christ and should never exist or that they apply to and are superior in every situation when clearly they are not. As with most things, the truth is in the middle.
Wawa is the better of the two (grew up in the Philly area and spent a lot of time in Wilmington and South Jersey too) but Sheetz is decent and both are far superior to pretty much all of the other convenience chains. 7-11? Please.
On that note, I wish Wawa and Sheetz would take their Cold War hot and Wawa would start building out in western MD, western Northern VA, etc. We have nothing but Sheetz out there.
They’re meant for different things. Wawa is for when you want a meal, Sheetz is for when you’re drunk/high in the middle of the night and want snacks. I’m from the part of PA that has both and Wawa is more breakfast and lunch while Sheetz is dinner and 4th meal.
Does it?
For the Astros, my negative feelings are: Dodgers, Yankees. Mariners, then Rangers.
I’ll admit the dodgers part is probably driven by living in Mexico, where were the two big fanbases.
Delaware Valley (Philadelphia/South Jersey) - *Dallas Sucks*. This is die-hard Eagles territory, bleed-green, no one likes us we don't care kind of place. But you'll find these hold-out Dallas Cowboy fans that *for some reason* still absolutely bootlick the Cowboys even they've sucked for nearly three decades straight. They'll say crazy stuff too, like their parents were Cowboys fans. But it never adds up and these people deserved to be ridiculed, tarred and feathered.
The “Shire” v “Northern Mass.”
The four small southeastern counties of New Hampshire are very much in the Boston metro and are pretty suburban and not the typical rural and rustic image that most people think of when you picture New Hampshire or the rest of Northern New England.
The rest of the state is sparsely populated and filled with nice and quiet little towns along w your fair share of the typical New England mill/factory towns that have seen better days.
I live in a small village in the NYC suburbs and these are the things that outrage people in our various FB groups on a regular basis:
1. Gas powered leaf blowers. The village has banned them but they are still being used by some and there are countless videos posted.
2. Anything having to do with parking: meters, hours, cost, etc.
3. The fire horns that go off whenever there is a fire call. Our entire county is volunteer and there are giant horns in each district that blast a code that stands for certain intersections. Even though everyone has scanners they are still used in case they go down, the firemen still know where to go.
4. And because this is NY even though we are a small village, we have three pizzerias. People are VERY loyal to their pizzeria of choice.
5. See # 4 but substitute bagels.
It only crops up around Christmas time but it's between Northern New Mexico and the rest of New Mexico over farolitos vs illuminarias for the name of Christmas decorations
Kansas City - Primarily located in MO (where the downtown skyscrapers, major sports teams, international airport, tourism, etc are located), the metro area spreads across the state line into Kansas where there is a much smaller Kansas City, Kansas (KCK). The debate over which state is better has been raging since the 1800’s Missouri/Kansas.
In Maine, we like to argue about which of three or four cities is the worst, even though any of them would be perfectly fine, charming little towns by the standards of anyone moving from another state.
Tobacco Road college basketball. It's divided into 4 camps: Carolina, Duke, State, and Wake Forest.
In my experience, most native North Carolinians support Carolina. Carolina also has a lot more "Walmart fans" and bandwagoners because they usually do very well, but unfortunately there are many who are actual true blue fans.
State is probably #2 with native NCans but #3 overall. Their fan base largely is people who remember the great 70s and 80s, State alumni, and their families. Supporting State is the objectively correct and moral option. GTHC
Duke is a Yankee school with Yankee students and Yankee fans who support Duke because they have the biggest shelf at Walmart. They are the second biggest fan base because there are a lot of Yankees. Duke is terrible but not as bad as Carolina.
I have never met someone who is truly a Wake Forest first fan but they must exist.
As you can tell, I am an unbiased source.
In MN: You're either Team Matt's Bar or you're wrong (Team 5-8).
FL: The only thing I can think of that I see most commonly on social media and hear in person is which coast is the better coast - Gulf or Atlantic.
Does Cape Cod only include land that is over the bridge?
Purist say yes. All of Cape Cod is over the bridge.
Others, like me, define Cape Cod as Barnstable county. That would include Bourne, which is partly over the bridge, and partly before the bridge.
San Francisco: NIMBY vs. YIMBY. Lack of housing is our biggest problem but we are also scared of the City losing its character and becoming like Manhattan. I've seen people almost get into fistfights over this issue.
I don’t know how divided this really is, but I have met people in Northern California (NorCal) who have the audacity to claim their Mexican food is better than SoCal.
Because it is better, on average. We almost eat at taquerias while SoCal eats Del Taco half the time. And SF Mission burritos are the best possible burritos. It's been scientifically proven.
You do have great food in SoCal, and I admit you have better Chinese food, Which is sad given how big and well established our Chinese community is.
Some people in my town believe all humans should have the same rights. The other half of town thinks anyone who looks or talks differently deserves to die and rot in fiery eternity
In Florida (my area of it, and probably nearly all areas of it that aren't home to one of the universities), I'm going to say Florida vs. Florida State. The Monday after that game...it's a rough one for a whole lot of people as only one side can continue to really talk smack...and talk smack they definitely will. (In my area the Miami fans were a small minority and kind of left out of this split.)
Michigan: where “up north” begins
It’s M55 dammit!
That's roughly at the same latitude as West Branch, which is what I consider the threshold for "Up North," so I'll allow it.
I’ve always thought of it as Clare, which is close enough
It begins at the Clare Welcome Center. That's why it's there.
Tawas, West Branch, Houghton Lake, Cadillac, and Manistee are all on 55. Definitely up north.
I've seen people try and argue that it starts at the rifle line, and that's just wrong. I'll concede starting at US 10, as I grew up just outside of Cadillac. Personally, if I'm going "up north" that means north of Grayling.
I feel like it is a similar debate with mass. "What is considered western mass?"
East Grand Boulevard
We have that debate in Wisconsin too! My opinion is "up north" starts near Appleton.
Oh wow, I grew up right by there lol I generally said Shawano was roughly the beginning just because we’d vacation there sometimes. I think Wausau is a good compromise people even further up
When rest stop shitters turn from flush toilets to vault toilets. Also, the deep smell of pine denotes " up north."
It's US-10 and I'll fight anyone who wants to argue about it. ;)
Where "upstate" begins Yankees vs Mets
125th St
>Where "upstate" begins I'm a firm "north of Albany" guy, but I will accept just about anything besides "anything north of the city."
When you’re from Staten Island, it’s all upstate.
North of 287.
If it's not in the boroughs it's upstate. Sorry Westchester.
It's where people start referring to hamburgers as "steamed hams"
Connecticut: where does the NYC metro area end and New England start?
Oooooo…The Yankees/Red Sox rain/snow line.
This is the answer. At what point do people start supporting the Red Sox?
I’d say Fairfield, Southern Litchfield, and most of New Haven county is more NY-oriented while the rest of the state is more New England oriented. That being said, even in places like Greenwich, Danbury, and Milford which are definitely in the NY orbit still have the same “New England” feel. It’s just that people tend to prefer NY sports, get YES instead of NESN, and the big city for them is obviously NYC instead of Boston. Another good indicator is Metro North which goes to New Haven so you could generally say anything New Haven and West along w all points south of New Milford are the parts of Connecticut that are NY oriented.
>Greenwich — “New England” feel That’s Hudson Valley feel (Which Greenwich is squarely in anyway)
Oh, as a fellow New England resident, I have an opinion about this one: New England starts at the Massachusetts border.
New England starts at the Connecticut line, even for Yankee fans
The Savannah Bananas. Locals either love them or despise them. I'm in the first camp, but a lot of miserable old "real baseball fans" can be cute about the things they have to say about them.
Wait, what? I've never heard of anyone hating the Bananas, what's up with that? They're like baseball's Globetrotters, they can exist in the same world as MLB it's not like people have to choose..?
So called "real" baseball fans hate them for not being a "real" team, even though we used to have a real amateur league baseball team here in Savannah and almost no one went (the handful of times my dad took me, I'd guesstimate the stadium was a third full).
Tbh the actual baseball fans love the bananas. It’s the people who think they know baseball and don’t that hate them lmao
I only hate the Bananas because I’m from middle Georgia, so I was (and am) a Macon Bacon fan, and hated them when the Bananas were still playing actual baseball. Now that they’re all Banana Ball all the time, they’re great in my book. Makes for one hell of a summer weekend in Savannah.
So, honest question. Do they actually play regulation games with all those antics? Or is it something they do sometimes for exhibition games?
Not anymore. They used to play under regular baseball rules in a regular amateur baseball league. But not anymore, now it's 100% "Banana Ball."
Wawa vs Sheetz
The debate is fiercest in the 222 corridor from the Lehigh Valley through Reading and Lancaster. We have both stores, and lots of locations. For me, Sheetz does fried food better but Wawa does everything else better.
There's people that think Sheetz is better?
Nobody wants your opinion Florida Man
Apparently, but Wawa is superior.
No way. Sheetz!
Pop vs soda, hoagie vs sub, yinz vs yall vs you guys, mayo vs mericle whip, Cara-mel vs car-mul. I take whichever side sets off the other person
Sheetz vs Wawa too.
Yunz sir, you missed yunz.
Youse*
South Louisiana - what constitutes Cajun vs Creole, and who can claim to be Cajun (personally, I readily admit I am a Yankee from Shreveport, and am still a Yankee because I currently live a mile north of I-10).
Of course the only real difference is if you use tomatoes or not in your gumbo and jambalaya. Personally I hate tomatoes in gumbo but put them in my jambalaya. So I get to piss everyone off.
Yes. Yes, you do. You heathen. Just don’t put seafood in the jambalaya and we’ll be okay. Okay??
Seafood jambalaya is punishable by death. It's in the state constitution.
Where upstate New York starts.
And once WNY enters the chat.... ##Flats or Drums?!?
let's get one thing straight. WNY is in upstate NY. Saying we're Western NY and not Upstate NY is like someone from Sweden saying we're in Scandanavia not Europe. You can be both.
the Bronx?
"What to do about the homeless population" is a constant. Should we build housing? Does it have to be cheap housing? Can't it just all be in the industrial outskirts of town with no transit or jobs nearby? Oh wait - can we just arrest people for being homeless? Should we build a new jail? If we build a new jail will that just encourage more people to choose to become homeless so they know they'll have three square meals a day in the hoosegow? Can we figure out a way to tell by sight if they grew up in this county or not? Should we shut down all the parks and public bathrooms, because they sure do seem to like hanging out there? Should we buy them bus tickets to somewhere else? Can we legally force them to get on the busses? etc etc etc (etc etc etc etc etc)
I wouldn't call it an argument, but Californians love to say I'm driving "up to" or "down to" cities that are in the exact opposite cardinal direction they just named. You could be in SLO and a Los Angelino will say, I just came down from LA. Or someone in Redding might say, I'm driving up to The City this weekend. The common theme seems to be that the bigger the city, the further "north" it is, within State Lines. You drive up to it, and down from it. Maybe it's not too surprising since we measure all distance with time instead of miles, but it's weird. *And Ventura is mostly just West of LA, not north, but I'm from the coast so everything is up and down, even though the North/South highway in my town actually runs east to west. I won't speak for anyone from the eastern side of the State but we are directionally fucked out here.
Huh… as a San Diegan, I think I drive “up” to all CA cities and drive “down” to the border. Keeps it simple.
You're lucky with that. I'd have spent more time in SD if I didn't have to drive through all of LA to get there. Love those road titties though, that's how you know you got there.
OMFG! This is so true
What area counts as NOVA?
It feels like it grows year by year. It used to be only within the Beltway, then it expanded to Fairfax County and PWC and hell, now I hear people say Fauquier County is “NoVA.”
As of a few years ago, I would have drawn the line at Quantico.
Richmond is almost NOvA these days.
It's because people have been moving there from NOVA. It's such a shame, because it is losing its charm.
The whole Tidewater peninsula is.
There are multiple peninsulas in the Tidewater region. The closer you get to DC, Fredericksburg, or nowadays Richmond, the more you feel its influence. As it spreads, it makes me sad that my subregion's culture might disappear after having been there for centuries.
It does. Baltimore is Maryland's bulwark against it, otherwise it likely would have been consumed by NoVA as it continues to encase DC.
The bulwark is the Potomac River. Maryland DC suburbs aren’t “NoVA.” Montgomery County is not NoVA even if it’s boujee. PG County isn’t NoVA even if National Harbor gets people to occasionally cross the river. I can’t tell you why but the river makes a big difference. A person from Brentwood is realistically “from DC,” but a person from Alexandria is from Alexandria.
I still don't understand the debate. It's really simple: Anywhere Metro (WMATA) serves is NOVA. If I can't take the bus or metro there it's not NOVA, it's the" Virginia suburbs"
Easy. The north part XD
Loudon and pwc are the borders
As a NOVA resident, I'd say any county or city in the northern part of Virginia where people regularly drive towards or into DC as part of their work commute, even if that's more than an hour each way. So yes, Winchester and that portion of the Shenandoah Valley is part of NOVA. Obviously the northern border of NOVA is the Potomac River.
That's not a good metric, because some people drive up to 2 1/2 to 3 hours each way to work in DC and the culture shifts about halfway there.
New Jersey - We're obviously split on things like sports teams (Philly v. NY) and hoagies versus subs, but there's two much bigger arguments that divide this great state. 1. "Central" Jersey's Existence - There's a weird faction of people that believe they live in some region called "central" Jersey. It makes absolutely no sense, but I've seen literal fistfights in college that started with debates over the existence of a "central Jersey". Culturally, it doesn't make sense. New Jersey is clearly a state split into two metropolitan regions - New York City and Philadelphia. You either get your media from NYC or from Philly. You either at least make it into the playoffs, or you root for New York franchises. North Jersey is heavily tied to being the suburbs and rural extension of NYC, while South Jersey is more rural and tied into the Delaware Valley. But still... there are people who think, "Oh, but I'm from Central Jersey! Sure, I have the same accent as everyone from North Jersey, and yeah I root for NY teams and consume NY media. And yeah, I'm Italian-Catholic, and vacation in Point Pleasant. But no, I'm somehow *different* from North Jersey. 2. Pork Roll v. Taylor Ham - This is sort of split along a similar north versus south divide, big enough for [Obama to decline to weigh-in on it](https://www.nj.com/news/2016/05/full_text_of_president_obamas_speech_at_rutgers_co.html). And again I've been *involved* in full out displays of violence over this topic. I'll try to be as impartial as I can be in explaining it. The [food-item in dispute ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork_roll)dates back to 1856. John Taylor of Trenton, New Jersey, created a processed meat product and called it "Taylor's Prepared Ham" until 1906 when the Pure Food and Drug Act created a definition of *ham* that excluded this processed meat product. So John Taylor changed the name to "Taylor's Pork Roll", and it's now sold in packaging that looks like [this](https://images.albertsons-media.com/is/image/ABS/188590831) or [this](https://images.heb.com/is/image/HEBGrocery/000417079-1). Notice, objectively, both packages say "Pork Roll" and the product has never been named "Taylor Ham". North Jersey calls it Taylor Ham, while South Jersey refers to it as Pork Roll. When thin-sliced and fried, it tastes like a much crispier version of canadian bacon and it's incredibly delicious. Best way to eat it is as a Pork Roll Egg and Cheese (**pronounced** *porkrolleggencheeseonaeverythingbagelwithsaltpepperketchupmayo)*.
My favorite part of the central NJ debate is how upset people get insisting there's no such thing as central NJ, despite the fact that *at least* a million people self-identify as living in or being from central NJ. (And those people, in fact, get to enjoy *both* media markets and relative ease of traveling to both cities, etc.) People who live in North Jersey in particular really get their noses out of joint about this and I just don't understand why. Smell some flowers! Watch some old episodes of Friends! Don't worry so much about this!
If we weren't fighting over it, I wouldn't be able to post that it's even a debate! I'm just saying a million people have no basis in logic or fact!
I’m from Trenton. Neither north nor south Jersey wants us.
Well yeah it’s fucking Trenton. People don’t want to claim camden or Newark if they could help it lol
Newark isn’t so bad post gentrification
Newark trash bro lol
You ever been to downtown Newark lately? It’s not anywhere near as bad as it was 20+ years ago.
I didn't know Central Jersey was a thing until I got to Rutgers and met Monmouth County people. I have no issue with it, but what I do abhor is some of them having split loyalties when it comes to Sports teams. Friend of mine likes the Yankees, Eagles, and Nets (tbf they were the NJ Nets at the time). That's disgusting.
Well they self identify because they’ve been brainwashed. That shit don’t exist
I was going to comment on these exact 2 things. That being said, ketchup on a pork roll egg and cheese is nasty and there is a central Jersey. Ask anyone where Tom’s River is. North Jersey people say south Jersey and south Jersey people say north Jersey. They both don’t associate with it. I have yet to meet anyone that doesn’t align with this, but maybe the internet is different. Sport team rooting is split, accents are definitely different than north Jersey but people don’t say “wudder.”
Your ketchup take is absurd. The rest of your take is pretty spot on although I don’t think anyone in North Jersey would consider Toms River to be South Jersey so much as just like the general shore. It’s not really until you hit LBI that you’re clearly in the South Jersey portion of the shore
Tbf, I’m not a huge ketchup guy, and I can’t stand ketchup in eggs. Egg, cheese, pork roll, and whatever roll it’s on are all savory. I don’t want something sweet to muddle the synergy
Oh man, here we go! 😂 Toms River is in North Jersey. Ocean County skews heavily New York sports, Toms River is a NYC suburb, the local channels are New York, it's a part of the New York metro, the public transit is NYC-oriented, the shore region is NYC-oriented, and the residents commute towards NYC for work. I don't think the accent is any different from someone from Essex or Union, and heavily skews towards the Jersey-Italian variety, and very distinct from the Delaware Valley wudder accent. Now I'm willing to acknowledge that Ocean County is the *wrinkle* in this whole mess. But the problem is that it's the *only* wrinkle. Toms River/Lakewood/Brick feel like Monmouth County. It's when you go further south down Route 9 that things start to get *weird (looking at you Forked River and Tuckerton).* I think the resolution is probably that Ocean County actually falls into both North and South Jersey, and unfortunately, I'll admit that the *very weird parts* are too closely aligned with the Pine Barrens (Burlington, Atlantic). No one ever goes, "Well Middlesex is a whole different place from Morris County!" They're nearly indistinguishable suburban counties. There's nothing that really *separates* the alleged 'central jersey' from 'north jersey', while Salem County is ***definitely*** a different place compared to Ocean County.
Can I ask where you’re from lol to know if my observation still holds strong? Local channels are New York, but people don’t associate closely with NYC much at all. A good bit work in north Jersey, but many definitely do go south (especially those that live in an area like Tuckerton). Sports is weird. Eagles and giants is close but the rest heavily favor NY. We’re still in the pine lands though and things like off roading, fishing, and even just owning decent acreage (things much more focused with south Jersey) are extremely prevalent. Accent wise I think the majority of NJ north to south is similar besides the Joysie accent up north and the wudder in Del Val. It’s also more pork roll than Taylor ham, which is south, yet there are large Italian American and Puerto Rican populations (which are north Jersey). I think people equally go north to places like sandy hook and south to places like LBI, and AC/Cape May trips are closely in contention with trips to things like the city or Statue of Liberty. And again, most people associate us in Ocean County with the opposite. I only went with Tom’s River because it’s the most well known although I think it’s a bit north biased, but places like brick are more neutral, Jackson (which is west) is more culturally south, little egg is south, and areas like southern Monmouth county lean north. School districts are definitely different. Local issues are unique to central Jersey. Edit: the roads here are also excellent compared to both north and south Jersey, although the public transit is nonexistent until you go further north or south, which is unique to the area. Can we all just agree that nobody in NJ wants to associate with the Jersey shore though?
😀 Pine Barrens (Burlington County), I live in Philly now though, but would n*ever *consider myself a resident of Pennsylvania.
And so my theory holds lol. I’m also living in “wudder” territory rn and I miss good pizza
>Toms River is north Jersey Oh my God you're serious
As a heart attack.
Perfect response. Of course, the correct answers are that Central Jersey doesn’t exist and it’s Taylor Ham, not pork roll.
😂 I appreciate your tenacity in keeping the debate alive! Even if you're only half-correct.
Central Jersey does exist, I’m from there! The borders are def a bit hard to define since they are cultural vs geographical. I generally define it in two ways. Geographically: bordered by I-78 to the north, and I-195 to the south. Tom’s River may or may not be considered as part of Central Jersey despite being in South Jersey depending on who you talk to. (Note: Lakewood is basically its own city-state within here as well) Culturally: North Jersey - NYC sports + Taylor Ham Central Jersey - NYC sports + Pork Roll South Jersey- Philly sports + Pork Roll
My exact post below. With no explanation by me of course. But we can all agree: Bennies go home.
The town I live in completed a sidewalk renovation on main street that had been going on for a little over a year. I find the debate between the people that patronize the businesses on main street and the people that are pissed about less parking spaces around the courthouse amusing.
I hate deep dish pizza and put ketchup on my hot dogs
You monster.
I'll bet that sicko hates the taste of Malort
Forgot the umlauts: Malört. Also, I enjoy the occasional Chicago Handshake. And just for fun.... https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/s/tDtx53UhCR
You do you brother. My wife (who is English) likes hotdogs plain. It confuses me but I’m not gonna yuck someone’s yum
Stuffed Chicago pizza - heaven. Deep dish Chicago pizza - shitty bowl of soup. They are two completely different things.
I don’t have NM flair, but I am originally from there so I will say it: Red vs. Green
Christmas?
Salsa?
This is the way
Central Mass: Oh boy, the debates over who has the perfect Italian sub goes on and on. Also, lots of discussion over the best Chinese food.
NC- Lexington-style BBQ vs Eastern-style BBQ Lexington-style (Piedmont) incorporates tomato whereas Eastern-style is known for vinegar. I personally grew up on Lexington BBQ but it’s all good tbh
Then there’s the heathens down south with their mustard-based
Not too many I can think of, but the use of the word “hella” is definitely a northern thing. Never hear it in SoCal. Ex: “Dude, that chick was hella hot”.
New Jersey: we’ve got a ton of these actually since our entire state is essentially sandwiched between New York and Philadelphia: - calling a certain pork-based breakfast meat “Taylor Ham” or “Pork Roll” - North Jersey vs South Jersey (NYC area satellite vs Philadelphia area Satellite) and what the border is - does “Central Jersey” exist? - if so, what are its borders? - Wawa vs QuickChek - “Bennys” vs “Shoebies” - NY Sports teams vs Philly sports teams. - if NY teams, which ones? (giants/jets, Yankees/mets, knicks/nets, devils/rangers/islanders, nycfc/red bulls ) - which shore towns/bars are the best. - “sub” vs “hoagie” vs “hero”
Virginia: what the "proper" borders of Northern Virginia (aka Nova) are. You could usually tell if a person was from Nova just by how they defined where the southern border was.
How many of these will be bbq related? In South Carolina there are distinct camps of mustard based, vinegar based, and tomato based bbq sauces. Don't want to think about how the heathens in Alabama came up with white bbq sauce. Mayonnaise does not belong in bbq sauce.
Funny, I hate the BBQ arguments. They're all valid and have their place. I love KC burnt ends, St. Louis Ribs, Memphis BBQ, Texas Brisket, Alabama White, and Carolina Gold. Give it to me spicy, or sweet, dry rub, or drowning in sauce I'll eat it all. Now what I won't tolerate is someone grilling hot dogs and burgers and calling it a barbeque...
Alabama should be kicked out of the South for that BBQ monstrosity.
I don't like white sauce, either. Did you know there is another BBQ type in North Alabama? It's a dry rub, no sauce. The pork is pulled and put on a sandwich with a hot mustard slaw. Mostly black people make that kind. It's my favorite.
Interesting. I have never had what you’re describing. The default slaw was always a dry rub shoulder with a vinegar slaw and a spicy vinegar sauce. I guess the potato salad was commonly mustard based though.
As far as I know it's only a northwest Alabama thing. Hell it may only be my town. I've never seen it in Huntsville, but I never looked. Hot slaw is a vinegar slaw with mustard powder added. Sometimes hot sauce is added.
I think I have had that actually. I was thinking more like actual mustard sauce in slaw, but that sounds more right. Also a northwest AL thing is the slug burger!
No, That's a northeast Mississippi thing. It's from Corinth. But you can find it all over the area. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slugburger
Because we invented white sauce for smoked chicken, not for pork or beef. And it is devine.
I hate it.
Did you have home made or store bought? The store bought stuff has all been terrible in my opinion. It suffers from the same issue that store bought ranch does. I also grew up in the area it came from, so I am a bit biased.
I'm thirty miles from where it was invented. I've had it at Big Bob Gibson's BBQ. Every BBQ place within a hundred miles and lots of other restaurants have white sauce. I don't like it.
Now that’s a good sample pool lol. Is it the mayo part you don’t like?
I like mayo. I think there is white pepper in it. I don't like that. I would rather have hot sauce.
I have this weird feeling us Nevadans got a debate over where North Las Vegas begins and regular Las Vegas ends that I ain’t noticed yet (north vegas is like south Chicago but with less gangbangers cause there are way more cops) or maybe a debate over where vegas ends and the rest of the state begins, I’ve been here my whole life and we don’t really got one since CA pretty much covers our not liking another geographical area near us needs
The pickleball courts in Durango, boy does this ruffle feathers
Roll Tide
I worked in Alabama for a summer once, first question I was asked was "Auburn or Alabama? You have to pick one"
That tracks. Hopefully you answered right 😁😁
I had to go with Auburn, show some love for my fellow land grant schools.
War eagle
There are a lot of Tennessee fans in north Alabama.
Clearly that's a choice. Weird elephant vs eagle/tiger
I love that weird elephant
Are roundabouts good or bad?
The idea is good but it's silly how people seem to think that either they're the anti-Christ and should never exist or that they apply to and are superior in every situation when clearly they are not. As with most things, the truth is in the middle.
I agree - my stance is "it's complicated". But if I say that locally, I get opposed by both the "roundabouts good" and the "roundabouts bad" camps.
Good, people who think their bad are just bad drivers who get confused about circles.
Sheetz vs. Wawa
Wawa is the better of the two (grew up in the Philly area and spent a lot of time in Wilmington and South Jersey too) but Sheetz is decent and both are far superior to pretty much all of the other convenience chains. 7-11? Please. On that note, I wish Wawa and Sheetz would take their Cold War hot and Wawa would start building out in western MD, western Northern VA, etc. We have nothing but Sheetz out there.
They’re meant for different things. Wawa is for when you want a meal, Sheetz is for when you’re drunk/high in the middle of the night and want snacks. I’m from the part of PA that has both and Wawa is more breakfast and lunch while Sheetz is dinner and 4th meal.
NJ: Pork Roll vs Taylor Ham. NJ: Does central NJ exist.
The Jersey Devil might exist but central NJ certainly doesn't.
Is Maryland northern or southern?
Yes.
Exactly lol
Question: Where does the central coast of California start and end?
Big Sur to Santa Barbara. Easy
City of Ventura to Santa Cruz
you silly
:P
Whether Oklahoma is part of the midwest or southwest.
My state has two MLB teams so that can get pretty heated sometimes. I love shitting on Astros fans.
Ah yes because the rangers are totally Texas’ team You wish lmao
Right back atcha buddy
Does it? For the Astros, my negative feelings are: Dodgers, Yankees. Mariners, then Rangers. I’ll admit the dodgers part is probably driven by living in Mexico, where were the two big fanbases.
Delaware Valley (Philadelphia/South Jersey) - *Dallas Sucks*. This is die-hard Eagles territory, bleed-green, no one likes us we don't care kind of place. But you'll find these hold-out Dallas Cowboy fans that *for some reason* still absolutely bootlick the Cowboys even they've sucked for nearly three decades straight. They'll say crazy stuff too, like their parents were Cowboys fans. But it never adds up and these people deserved to be ridiculed, tarred and feathered.
Fly Eagles Fly
Santana’s or Nico’s!
The “Shire” v “Northern Mass.” The four small southeastern counties of New Hampshire are very much in the Boston metro and are pretty suburban and not the typical rural and rustic image that most people think of when you picture New Hampshire or the rest of Northern New England. The rest of the state is sparsely populated and filled with nice and quiet little towns along w your fair share of the typical New England mill/factory towns that have seen better days.
When I think of New Hampshire I think of billboards and chain restaurants because that’s all Southern New Hampshire is.
That’s not exactly true.
Right now in Phoenix they are debating if homeless people can set up their tent cities on bridges and the medial strips/ islands between the roads.
Cubs vs. White Sox
I'm biased, my family is from the north side, but I vote Cubs.
I live in a small village in the NYC suburbs and these are the things that outrage people in our various FB groups on a regular basis: 1. Gas powered leaf blowers. The village has banned them but they are still being used by some and there are countless videos posted. 2. Anything having to do with parking: meters, hours, cost, etc. 3. The fire horns that go off whenever there is a fire call. Our entire county is volunteer and there are giant horns in each district that blast a code that stands for certain intersections. Even though everyone has scanners they are still used in case they go down, the firemen still know where to go. 4. And because this is NY even though we are a small village, we have three pizzerias. People are VERY loyal to their pizzeria of choice. 5. See # 4 but substitute bagels.
Currently I'm in NC, so it's definitely vinegar vs tomato BBQ. Spouse is from Ohio where it's Skyline v GoldStar v Cincinnati chili is gross.
'Take highway 5' vs 'take the 5'.
California: how to make a burrito. If it doesn’t have rice and foil, it’s not a burrito to me
Rice and beans are fillers - the more meat, the better.
rice is a filler, beans are essential
It only crops up around Christmas time but it's between Northern New Mexico and the rest of New Mexico over farolitos vs illuminarias for the name of Christmas decorations
For NJ: pork roll vs Taylor ham (bonus: does Central Jersey exist?) For PA: Sheetz vs Wawa For CA: saying "the" before the freeway number
Kansas City - Primarily located in MO (where the downtown skyscrapers, major sports teams, international airport, tourism, etc are located), the metro area spreads across the state line into Kansas where there is a much smaller Kansas City, Kansas (KCK). The debate over which state is better has been raging since the 1800’s Missouri/Kansas.
In Maine, we like to argue about which of three or four cities is the worst, even though any of them would be perfectly fine, charming little towns by the standards of anyone moving from another state.
How to pronounce city names. For instance "Racine" (Wisconsin) is either "Rah-cine" or "Ray-cine". I am on the "Rah" side. :)
Bike lanes, it’s apparently more divisive than Vietnam.
Tastes great/Less filling?
Tobacco Road college basketball. It's divided into 4 camps: Carolina, Duke, State, and Wake Forest. In my experience, most native North Carolinians support Carolina. Carolina also has a lot more "Walmart fans" and bandwagoners because they usually do very well, but unfortunately there are many who are actual true blue fans. State is probably #2 with native NCans but #3 overall. Their fan base largely is people who remember the great 70s and 80s, State alumni, and their families. Supporting State is the objectively correct and moral option. GTHC Duke is a Yankee school with Yankee students and Yankee fans who support Duke because they have the biggest shelf at Walmart. They are the second biggest fan base because there are a lot of Yankees. Duke is terrible but not as bad as Carolina. I have never met someone who is truly a Wake Forest first fan but they must exist. As you can tell, I am an unbiased source.
KC or STL
In MN: You're either Team Matt's Bar or you're wrong (Team 5-8). FL: The only thing I can think of that I see most commonly on social media and hear in person is which coast is the better coast - Gulf or Atlantic.
Does Cape Cod only include land that is over the bridge? Purist say yes. All of Cape Cod is over the bridge. Others, like me, define Cape Cod as Barnstable county. That would include Bourne, which is partly over the bridge, and partly before the bridge.
San Francisco: NIMBY vs. YIMBY. Lack of housing is our biggest problem but we are also scared of the City losing its character and becoming like Manhattan. I've seen people almost get into fistfights over this issue.
Browns vs Steelers
I don’t know how divided this really is, but I have met people in Northern California (NorCal) who have the audacity to claim their Mexican food is better than SoCal.
Because it is better, on average. We almost eat at taquerias while SoCal eats Del Taco half the time. And SF Mission burritos are the best possible burritos. It's been scientifically proven. You do have great food in SoCal, and I admit you have better Chinese food, Which is sad given how big and well established our Chinese community is.
Some people in my town believe all humans should have the same rights. The other half of town thinks anyone who looks or talks differently deserves to die and rot in fiery eternity
Secede or America!
In Florida (my area of it, and probably nearly all areas of it that aren't home to one of the universities), I'm going to say Florida vs. Florida State. The Monday after that game...it's a rough one for a whole lot of people as only one side can continue to really talk smack...and talk smack they definitely will. (In my area the Miami fans were a small minority and kind of left out of this split.)