"Forgotten" parts of your state

[hotdogPi]

The part of Texas that everyone forgets, including both of you: Brownsville and McAllen. Ask anyone in most of the country which state any of those three cities is in, and almost nobody will know.

Three cities? You only listed two.

Originally included Harlingen but then removed it for being smaller than the other two.

[webny99]

The part of Texas that everyone forgets, including both of you: Brownsville and McAllen. Ask anyone in most of the country which state any of those three cities is in, and almost nobody will know.

Three cities? You only listed two.

Originally included Harlingen but then removed it for being smaller than the other two.

Gotcha. I don't think I would have known Harlingen is in Texas. Definitely knew about Brownsville, but agree that it's largely forgotten.
McAllen is somewhere in the middle - I think I would have known it was in Texas just by associating it with Brownsville on this forum and Google Maps, but I wouldn't rule out getting it wrong, since there are a number of other places starting with "Mc".

[STLmapboy]

The part of Texas that everyone forgets, including both of you: Brownsville and McAllen. Ask anyone in most of the country which state any of those three cities is in, and almost nobody will know. They have over 100,000 people each, and it's a significant metro area. Compare with Laredo, which most people know is in Texas.

I think Corey's post was more pertaining to the Gulf Coast. But yeah, the Rio Grande Valley's isolation from the rest of Texas (and thereby the rest of the US) makes it easily forgotten.

[wxfree]

For Texas, I would point to what you might call the upper Rio Grande Valley.  Generally, between the river and I-10 from US 285 to the east and south, with the area curving away from Kerrville and San Antonio, to about I-35 (or even back to US 281).  The northwestern part of that, around Pumpville to Juno to Telegraph (names chosen intentionally because no one has ever heard of them), is pretty isolated.  The southeast is less isolated but is well forgotten.  When I hear of Cotulla or Crystal City, I know they're in Texas, but I'm thinking "where is that?"  The most isolated part of the state is, at least to me, one of the most famous and iconic.  Few people think of the Guadalupe Mountains when listing national parks, but the region in general is what Texas looks like in the minds of people who don't know much about it.

I could also argue that it's the rural part of the I-27 corridor, or north of I-40.  But to me, unlike Oklahoma, the Texas panhandle is one of the main things you think of, unlike, say, the coastal plains or the forest.  While those areas tend to be forgotten, the cities in them are less likely to be.

[US 89]

The most forgotten part of Utah is probably the Emery County portion of Castle Country (in other words, the SR 10 corridor south of Price) - yes, right in the middle of the state. Most Wasatch Front residents probably couldn't tell you where Huntington or Castle Dale are, even though those are the two main cities in that region. No real tourist destinations in that area either, so you'd never really have a reason to go down there unless you had friends or family.

It doesn't help that unlike most small towns in Utah, which are simple farming communities for the most part, the economy of Emery County has historically been centered on coal mining. So while most of rural Utah has remained stagnant or grown slightly, Castle Country has been hemorrhaging population in recent years.

Runner-up is probably the SR 16 corridor through Randolph and Woodruff. With the exception of Bear Lake, which is well known enough as a tourist destination, that whole area might as well be in Wyoming.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

In Minnesota it's probably anything west of US 59. Moorhead gets lost being the smaller city next to Fargo, and there's not much in the way of lakes or other tourism draws.

[Sctvhound]

Nobody has done North Carolina yet, so I'll do them. I'd say the westernmost 3 counties of the state (Graham, Cherokee, Clay). Murphy in Cherokee County is on the very western edge of the state, and is 355 miles from Raleigh, mostly on interstate.

Murphy is in Chattanooga's TV market, and is less than 90 minutes from some of the northwest Atlanta suburbs (the ones along I-575).

Meanwhile, it is 544 miles to Manteo on the Outer Banks, while either end (Corolla or Cape Hatteras) is close to 600 miles. St. Louis is 16 miles closer than Manteo from Murphy.

Before 1990, I'd say Wilmington was forgotten. They had no interstate highway link to the rest of the state.

[bing101]

The Cities of Drawbridge, Lexington and Patchen in the San Jose area are ghost towns near the most expensive parts of Northern California and they get overshadowed by Palo Alto, Cupertino, Mountain View, and San Jose the most influential cities in the Santa Clara Valley.
https://www.kqed.org/news/11549263/the-island-ghost-town-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco-bay

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawbridge,_California

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexington,_California

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patchen,_California

[Max Rockatansky]

The Cities of Drawbridge, Lexington and Patchen in the San Jose area are ghost towns near the most expensive parts of Northern California and they get overshadowed by Palo Alto, Cupertino, Mountain View, and San Jose the most influential cities in the Santa Clara Valley.
https://www.kqed.org/news/11549263/the-island-ghost-town-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco-bay

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawbridge,_California

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexington,_California

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patchen,_California

Port Chicago probably has the unique and unfortunately explosive story of any Bay Area ghost town. 

[webny99]

I would argue that the Northern New England states (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine) don't really have any "forgotten" parts, probably because they don't have areas that are prominent enough in the first place to make anything else pale in comparsion. That, and the fact that they're already smaller that most other states.

[kphoger]

Having lived in both rural and urban Kansas, I don't think I have a good perspective on what part of this state is "forgotten".  Any ideas?

[hotdogPi]

Having lived in both rural and urban Kansas, I don't think I have a good perspective on what part of this state is "forgotten".  Any ideas?

Where does the state legislature seem to not give funding?

[Roadgeekteen]

I would argue that the Northern New England states (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine) don't really have any "forgotten" parts, probably because they don't have areas that are prominent enough in the first place to make anything else pale in comparsion. That, and the fact that they're already smaller that most other states.

I would that anything north of US 2 in New Hampshire is "forgotten".

[texaskdog]

The part of Texas that everyone forgets, including both of you: Brownsville and McAllen. Ask anyone in most of the country which state any of those three cities is in, and almost nobody will know. They have over 100,000 people each, and it's a significant metro area. Compare with Laredo, which most people know is in Texas.

its in our Toastmaster district and I always point out how Austin has 100 clubs and the valley being the same size has 5.  and the kicker is many people know south padre island

[texaskdog]

In Minnesota it’s probably anything west of US 59. Moorhead gets lost being the smaller city next to Fargo, and there’s not much in the way of lakes or other tourism draws.

anything up north not east of US 53 as well

[jdb1234]

Easy one for Alabama.  It is the area known as the Black Belt.  There is a reason most consider I-65 between Montgomery and Mobile to be boring.  It goes through it.

[jp the roadgeek]

I would argue that the Northern New England states (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine) don't really have any "forgotten" parts, probably because they don't have areas that are prominent enough in the first place to make anything else pale in comparsion. That, and the fact that they're already smaller that most other states.

I would that anything north of US 2 in New Hampshire is "forgotten".

To add on here for the rest of New England:

CT: The Quiet Corner.  Basically anything in the area bounded by I-84, SR 533, CT 85, CT 2, I-395, CT 165, the RI border, and the MA border

RI: Anything west of RI 116 and north of I-95

MA: 2 areas.  The area in between Pittsfield, Williamstown, Greenfield, and Northampton.  Also northwestern Worcester County and around Quabbin Reservoir.

VT: The Northeast Kingdom
ME: The Allagash (nothing but logging roads)

[bing101]

The Cities of Drawbridge, Lexington and Patchen in the San Jose area are ghost towns near the most expensive parts of Northern California and they get overshadowed by Palo Alto, Cupertino, Mountain View, and San Jose the most influential cities in the Santa Clara Valley.
https://www.kqed.org/news/11549263/the-island-ghost-town-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco-bay

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawbridge,_California

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexington,_California

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patchen,_California

Port Chicago probably has the unique and unfortunately explosive story of any Bay Area ghost town.

Port Chicago gets viewed as if it's inside the city of Concord though even though these are separate areas officially.

[Roadgeekteen]

I would argue that the Northern New England states (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine) don't really have any "forgotten" parts, probably because they don't have areas that are prominent enough in the first place to make anything else pale in comparsion. That, and the fact that they're already smaller that most other states.

I would that anything north of US 2 in New Hampshire is "forgotten".

To add on here for the rest of New England:

CT: The Quiet Corner.  Basically anything in the area bounded by I-84, SR 533, CT 85, CT 2, I-395, CT 165, the RI border, and the MA border

RI: Anything west of RI 116 and north of I-95

MA: 2 areas.  The area in between Pittsfield, Williamstown, Greenfield, and Northampton.  Also northwestern Worcester County and around Quabbin Reservoir.

VT: The Northeast Kingdom
ME: The Allagash (nothing but logging roads)

Not New England, but what is it for New York? The US 11 corridor?

[jp the roadgeek]

I would argue that the Northern New England states (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine) don't really have any "forgotten" parts, probably because they don't have areas that are prominent enough in the first place to make anything else pale in comparsion. That, and the fact that they're already smaller that most other states.

I would that anything north of US 2 in New Hampshire is "forgotten".

To add on here for the rest of New England:

CT: The Quiet Corner.  Basically anything in the area bounded by I-84, SR 533, CT 85, CT 2, I-395, CT 165, the RI border, and the MA border

RI: Anything west of RI 116 and north of I-95

MA: 2 areas.  The area in between Pittsfield, Williamstown, Greenfield, and Northampton.  Also northwestern Worcester County and around Quabbin Reservoir.

VT: The Northeast Kingdom
ME: The Allagash (nothing but logging roads)

Not New England, but what is it for New York? The US 11 corridor?

Anything north of Westchester County if you ask Andrew Cuomo

I would say most of the area bound by NY 29, NY 12, US 11, and the Northway.  Also, the southwest corner southeast of the Thruway and west of I-390.

[Konza]

Having lived in both rural and urban Kansas, I don't think I have a good perspective on what part of this state is "forgotten".  Any ideas?

How about southeastern Kansas?  I think people know about the cities, the college towns, the wide open spaces to the west, and the Flint Hills.  But anything south of, say, US 54/Fort Scott and east of the Flint Hills is an area where the main industry was extraction and at best it's not as easy or cheap to extract anymore.  It's a bit Ozarky, but not enough that it gets the play that the Ozarks in Arkansas, Missouri, and even Oklahoma do. Not to mention it is bypassed by most of the main roads.

[gonealookin]

The best answer for Nevada, beyond the obvious "pretty much the entire state outside of Las Vegas and Reno", is everything north of I-80.  There are no towns, nothing, just a few ranches along US 95 north of Winnemucca...except for one week a year when 60,000 people pile into the Burning Man site.

Five US or state highways hit the Oregon or Idaho borders and these are some representative AADT:

SR 140:  350 (west of Denio Junction)
SR 292:  140 (at Denio)
US 95:  2700 (at McDermitt)
SR 225:  210 (near "Mountain City"; AADT is higher near the NV/ID state line at Owyhee because there's a tribal community right there)
US 93:  4100 (at Jackpot)

[michravera]

The Lost Coast of California has always been pretty much no man's land.  Much of the Sierra Nevada Mountains is uninhabited wilderness.  The Santa Lucia Range in Big Sur aside from CA 1 is also devoid of people.  Some of the coast range mountains contain nothing but ghost towns and ranches.

Is the northeast/Modoc County up there as well?

Most of California north of Lake Tahoe gets forgotten. But probably not by the couple million people who live there.

[Max Rockatansky]

The Cities of Drawbridge, Lexington and Patchen in the San Jose area are ghost towns near the most expensive parts of Northern California and they get overshadowed by Palo Alto, Cupertino, Mountain View, and San Jose the most influential cities in the Santa Clara Valley.
https://www.kqed.org/news/11549263/the-island-ghost-town-in-the-middle-of-san-francisco-bay

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawbridge,_California

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexington,_California

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patchen,_California

Port Chicago probably has the unique and unfortunately explosive story of any Bay Area ghost town.

Port Chicago gets viewed as if it's inside the city of Concord though even though these are separate areas officially.

In the same area some Crockett and even old US 40 on Carquinez Scenic Drive seems to have disappeared from collective memory.  Some of those old mining camps in Corral Hollow Pass have disappeared into obscurity also. 

[Max Rockatansky]

The Lost Coast of California has always been pretty much no man's land.  Much of the Sierra Nevada Mountains is uninhabited wilderness.  The Santa Lucia Range in Big Sur aside from CA 1 is also devoid of people.  Some of the coast range mountains contain nothing but ghost towns and ranches.

Is the northeast/Modoc County up there as well?

Most of California north of Lake Tahoe gets forgotten. But probably not by the couple million people who live there.

With Modoc I would say they were forgotten until they started actively defying the Governor's COVID orders.