Cities that you subconsciously merged with each other

Started by thspfc, May 23, 2023, 10:27:13 PM

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TheHighwayMan3561

Quote from: Chris on May 24, 2023, 04:02:22 PM
There are stories about European tourists booking a flight to Sydney and ended up in Sydney, Nova Scotia instead of Australia. They thought a transfer at Toronto was normal on a flight to Sydney, Australia.

I've heard similar horror stories (possibly urban legends though) about Auckland, NZ and Oakland, California.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running


Big John

I remember a story of a passenger having a ticket for an international flight to Auckland New Zealand but ended up in Oakland CA

Scott5114

I wonder if anyone trying to go on a Las Vegas vacation has ended up in Las Vegas NM.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

Rothman

There was at least one instance of foreign travelers showing up at the I-87 border crossing intending to go to Toronto and ending up Montreal-bound instead due to a sign that read "CANADA."  This was before widespread use of GPS, though, and updating of signage to "Montreal" and the like.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

index

When I was younger, I never thought of the difference between Boiling Springs, NC and Boiling Springs, SC. They're so close to each other but are two completely different places with no relationship.
I love my 2010 Ford Explorer.



Counties traveled

zachary_amaryllis

I don't know if it's common, but for me, anything from like .. exit 229 (104th) , to like Castle Rock, is Denver, even though it's several distinct municipalities alng the way. I could never keep track of the suburbs, and have gone to visit people in Wheat Ridge (a whole ridge of wheat!), and Thornton (is it Thornton, or Thorton? Ton of thorns, or ton of Thor?), but when I leave the house, I say I'm headed to Denver.
clinched:
I-64, I-80, I-76 (west), *64s in hampton roads, 225,270,180 (co, wy)

US 89

Quote from: formulanone on May 24, 2023, 08:43:41 AM
Nagadoches (TX) and Natchitoches (LA) I'd always thought were the same place. It wasn't until I was assigned to go to the Texas town, that I realized they were two places (with two different pronunciations, not the same as I'd figured). When I booked travel, I made sure to go through both because...why the hell not? 

Quote from: US 89 on May 24, 2023, 08:29:23 AM
I did not realize the degree to which Tampa and St Petersburg are different cities until I went there for the first time last weekend. I'd always figured St Pete was just a big suburb of Tampa, kind of like Aurora is to Denver. Turns out, this is not at all the case - they are very separate city centers with their own business districts and high rises, separated by a large body of water known as Old Tampa Bay.

Also, their residents of each city apparently hate the other and hate driving there, even though there's only a 10 minute bridge between the two sides of the bay. I asked my friend from Tampa if there was anything she recommended I do during my few hours in St Petersburg, and her reaction was something along the lines of "eww St Pete? why would I know anything about that place?"

The Salvador Dali Museum would be right at or near the top, though his works might be a little too much for some to handle.

I thought the same of Tampa Bay, there's a good deal of separation and they really grew with their own distinct histories and economic reasons. I think the traffic is slightly more annoying in Pinellas County, especially towards the northern environs of St. Petersburg, because it just seems to have nowhere else to go.

That was my observation as well; I did hit some traffic in Tampa downtown on 275 but it was nothing compared to what I sat through on the Pinellas side. It seemed to me that it could really benefit from 1) another lane on 275 from the Skyway through downtown St Petersburg, 2) a better freeway connection from 275 to US 19 north, and 3) an extension of the US 19 freeway up to at least the Pasco County line. None of which seem all that likely since they probably want to encourage people to use the tolled Suncoast Parkway.

Scott5114

Quote from: Rothman on May 24, 2023, 11:24:22 PM
There was at least one instance of foreign travelers showing up at the I-87 border crossing intending to go to Toronto and ending up Montreal-bound instead due to a sign that read "CANADA."  This was before widespread use of GPS, though, and updating of signage to "Montreal" and the like.

And people say control states work just fine...
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

hotdogPi

Quote from: Scott5114 on May 25, 2023, 09:38:19 PM
Quote from: Rothman on May 24, 2023, 11:24:22 PM
There was at least one instance of foreign travelers showing up at the I-87 border crossing intending to go to Toronto and ending up Montreal-bound instead due to a sign that read "CANADA."  This was before widespread use of GPS, though, and updating of signage to "Montreal" and the like.

And people say control states work just fine...

Control states work fine if it applies to the entire state, such as Indiana from Chicago, where even if you don't stay on I-80/90, you'll follow the "Indiana" sign to I-65 for many Indiana locations. (I do prefer South Bend there, though.)
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

DandyDan

I haven't done this, but I have known people who think Sioux Falls and Sioux City are the same.
MORE FUN THAN HUMANLY THOUGHT POSSIBLE

thspfc

Quote from: Scott5114 on May 25, 2023, 09:38:19 PM
Quote from: Rothman on May 24, 2023, 11:24:22 PM
There was at least one instance of foreign travelers showing up at the I-87 border crossing intending to go to Toronto and ending up Montreal-bound instead due to a sign that read "CANADA."  This was before widespread use of GPS, though, and updating of signage to "Montreal" and the like.

And people say control states work just fine...
1) they do, in certain cases and 2) Canada is the world's second largest country.

index

Quote from: DandyDan on May 26, 2023, 06:36:09 AM
I haven't done this, but I have known people who think Sioux Falls and Sioux City are the same.

Reminds me of how people often mix up Vancouver and Vancouver Island. One is a city and one isn't, but I'm surprised that wasn't brought up yet.
I love my 2010 Ford Explorer.



Counties traveled

hotdogPi

Quote from: index on May 26, 2023, 09:06:17 AM
Quote from: DandyDan on May 26, 2023, 06:36:09 AM
I haven't done this, but I have known people who think Sioux Falls and Sioux City are the same.

Reminds me of how people often mix up Vancouver and Vancouver Island. One is a city and one isn't, but I'm surprised that wasn't brought up yet.

I did it in the FritzOwl compilation OP.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

Stephane Dumas

Quote from: Chris on May 24, 2023, 04:02:22 PM
There are stories about European tourists booking a flight to Sydney and ended up in Sydney, Nova Scotia instead of Australia. They thought a transfer at Toronto was normal on a flight to Sydney, Australia.

And to confuse more thing, there's Sidney in British Columbia (note the different spelling) and Sidney, Manitoba.

Here in Quebec, sometime, I still think then Brossard is still part of Longueuil after the demerger. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000—2006_municipal_reorganization_in_Quebec#Demerger_referendums

JayhawkCO

I don't necessarily merge them together, but I always have to remember, geographically within Oregon, which one is Medford and which is Redmond.

skluth

There are a few St Louis suburbs that caused confusion due to having the same name but in different states. O'Fallon IL and MO are about 15 miles east and 20 miles west of St Louis. Troy IL and MO are a little further out in each direction. Also, while Columbia MO and IL are much different in size, it was easy to confuse the two because the MO Columbia also hosts the primary state university and has more relevance to most in the St Louis area, especially those north and west of the city. It could get quite confusing if the speaker did not specify which O'Fallon, Troy, or Columbia was being mentioned, especially in news reports.

Stephane Dumas

Also when you talk of the Pointes aka Grosse Pointe, Michigan. There's Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe Farm, Grosse Pointe Shores and Grosse Pointe Woods. 

GaryV

Quote from: index on May 26, 2023, 09:06:17 AM
Quote from: DandyDan on May 26, 2023, 06:36:09 AM
I haven't done this, but I have known people who think Sioux Falls and Sioux City are the same.

Reminds me of how people often mix up Vancouver and Vancouver Island. One is a city and one isn't, but I'm surprised that wasn't brought up yet.

Yeah, who's the doofus who decided Victoria should be on the island and Vancouver on the mainland?

Plus, that other Vancouver that's 300 miles away.


Quote from: Stephane Dumas on May 26, 2023, 11:01:10 AM
Also when you talk of the Pointes aka Grosse Pointe, Michigan. There's Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe Farm, Grosse Pointe Shores and Grosse Pointe Woods.

Meh, they're all considered the same place, except for the people who live there. If I have to go to some address in the Pointes, I really don't care which one it is. Just find the street address.


mgk920

Quote from: index on May 26, 2023, 09:06:17 AM
Quote from: DandyDan on May 26, 2023, 06:36:09 AM
I haven't done this, but I have known people who think Sioux Falls and Sioux City are the same.

Reminds me of how people often mix up Vancouver and Vancouver Island. One is a city and one isn't, but I'm surprised that wasn't brought up yet.

Don't forget to throw Vancouver, WA into this mix.

:nod:

Mike

hbelkins

New Albany, Jeffersonville, and Clarksville, Ind. They're all just suburbs of that one certain southern Indiana city called Louisville.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

Great Lakes Roads

Lafayette, IN and Lafayette, LA

Springfield, IL and Springfield, MO

Green-cities, IN

Lawrence and Lawrenceburg, IN

Bloomington, IN and Bloomington, IL

Flint1979

When you're in Chicago you come into Wisconsin and Indiana in a corner of each stte so you have other roads there that are going to take you to many places in that state so I think using states as control cities in Chicago works pretty well.

Henry

(They're on opposite coasts, but...)

Portland, ME and Portland, OR
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CNGL-Leudimin

Budapest and Bucharest get confused often. I remember some fans going to the Europa League final (which that year was played at the Romanian capital) went to the Hungarian capital instead.
Supporter of the construction of several running gags, including I-366 with a speed limit of 85 mph (137 km/h) and the Hypotenuse.

Please note that I may mention "invalid" FM channels, i.e. ending in an even number or down to 87.5. These are valid in Europe.

hobsini2

I'm surprised that no one in the Chicago area has mentioned the suburb variations.
Willow Springs and Western Springs
Park Forest and Forest Park
River Forest and River Grove
Oak Park, Oak Lawn & Oak Forest
Lincolnwood & Lincolnshire
Minooka, Minonk & Mokena
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