Ambiguous enough that any mention will require the state name (or other region) to avoid being asked "which one".
Note that in most cases, this is extremely local to where you live.
Here, there are a few that are ambiguous, plus two that would be if I moved a few miles.
Concord (MA vs. NH)
Hudson (also MA vs. NH)
Birmingham (AL vs. UK)
Rochester (NH vs. NY; MN is not a contender)
Washington (the state itself vs. the country's capital)
Amherst (MA vs. NH)
Where I live, Salem without a state name refers to Salem, NH, but moving ≈5 miles south or southeast (the number 5 is a guess) would make it ambiguous enough, with the other option being Salem, MA. I frequently go places where Salem, MA is the default meaning.
Newton without a state name refers to Newton, MA, even though Newton, NH is much closer. My guess is that going north into New Hampshire will result in Newton, NH being the default meaning as soon as you cross the state border; to find an area where it is ambiguous, I would have to go into Haverhill, MA (which is adjacent to Newton, NH).
Others that might seem ambiguous where I live, but are not:
* Portland refers to ME, not OR. People will talk about the other Portland, but they'll almost always apply the state name.
* Dover refers to DE, not MA or NH. Crossing the state border probably changes this to NH without any region of ambiguity, but there has to be a region of ambiguity somewhere for MA vs. DE.
* Springfield refers to MA, which makes sense since the three major ones are somewhat similar in population, and the one in Massachusetts is much closer than the other two.
* Franklin refers to MA, not NH.
* Brookline: Same as Newton; the one in New Hampshire is closer, but the one in Massachusetts is always meant.
* Groton: MA, even though CT is larger.
* Kingston: Could be 4-way (NH, MA, NY, Jamaica), but "Kingston" by itself refers to NH here.
* Burlington: MA, not VT.
* Bedford: MA, not NH; probably changes immediately upon crossing the state border.
* Rutland: VT, not MA.
* Greenland: Refers to the dependency of Denmark, despite the one in New Hampshire being within 30 miles.
Haven't encountered Milford enough to know (if it was ambiguous, it would be MA vs. NH). Same with Augusta (ME vs. GA) and Orange (MA vs. CA).
New York (city vs. state with same name). Almost everyone I interact with in my region assumes city is the one meant.
Pretty much everything else (Madison, WI vs. Madison, MN) is too vastly different in size and importance to cause confusion.
There are at least three areas that go by the name "Alexandria" in Northern VA:
1) The chartered City of Alexandria, which has a mayor, city council, etc.
2) The "Alexandria section" of Fairfax County, which is east of Annandale (VA-236/Little River Turnpike) and borders the western side of the City of Alexandria.
3) The "Alexandria section of Fairfax County, which is north of Groveton (US-1/Richmond Highway) and borders the southern side of the City of Alexandria.
Jackson in Amador County is a surprisingly bland and generic name for a California Gold Rush Town.
Washington Township, NJ
Growing up in Northern Virginia, if you wanted to refer to a certain state on the West Coast, you always said "Washington State." If you just said "Washington," people quite understandably assumed you meant the city just across the Potomac. (Back then people didn't generally say "DC" as is common now, and it was mainly TV and radio newscasters who said "the District." Nowadays the only person I usually hear exclusively saying "Washington" to refer to the city is one of the TV weathermen.) I never found this the least bit odd until I was in law school in North Carolina and referred to "Washington State" and someone assumed I was referring to the university.
Mentioning law school reminds me of Wilmington. If you said "Wilmington" there, many people understandably assumed you meant the one in North Carolina. But Duke had enough out-of-staters that the people from up north would use it to refer to the one in Delaware without distinguishing. It led to some confusion around interviewing season!
Regarding Alexandria, we live in #3 on the list above. It's the USPS that wrongly calls our address "Alexandria." We can use the alternative designation "Kingstowne" in our mailing address, so I often do that. Too many people hear "Alexandria" and assume you live in the City of Alexandria. (My wife lived just inside the city limits before we got married. It took a couple of years to get her to remember we live in Fairfax County, and she even paid her car tax to the City of Alexandria right after moving to my house because she had gotten the bill before moving....and I told her not to pay it. At least getting a refund was easy.)
In the category of "idiot," back around 1990 I knew someone who needed to go to Toronto. For some reason, though, he went to book a plane ticket to "Ontario," I think because the name of the organization whose meeting he was to attend included "Ontario" because it was a province-wide outfit, and he was surprised to end up in California. I kind of question that whole stunt because I can't fathom how someone heading to Toronto would ask for a plane ticket to "Ontario" (bear in mind this was 1990, so no online booking or the like).
Washington, VA, which is often called Little Washington and is always referred to as "Washington VA" on distance signs since it's not terribly far from DC.
Also Richmond County, VA is less than an hour away from the city of the same name.
Washington (DC vs state) is almost universally ambiguous. The same is true to a lesser extent with New York (city vs state), although internationally most of the times it's the city. Maybe I should add Georgia (state vs country).
Down to local level, the only potential confusion in my area is Cuarte. Cuarte de Huerva is a town and suburb of Zaragoza, while "plain" Cuarte is a village and rural neighborhood of Huesca (city, also the namesake of the province). There are a few others, such as Rivas (Vaciamadrid near, you guessed it, Madrid vs the "plain" Rivas in Zaragoza province), but they are apart enough so they aren't usually confused. Of note is that in Spain most provinces are named after their seat, but saying just such a name almost always refers to the seat, not the province.
There's a township in the Detroit suburbs that carries the same name as a small locale somewhere else in the state. Clinton is a small village along US-12 in Lenawee County, but Clinton Twp is a large suburb in Macomb County - most people in the metro area are referring to the township whether they say "township" or not. There may be other instances as well, around Detroit or one of the other metropolitan areas in the state.
But no one mistakes the city of Troy (a large Detroit suburb) for the one in NY, which I believe it was named after.
London ON and London England are sometimes ambiguous, but generally which one is being talked about can be determined from the context.
Wisconsin has the problem of:
Menomonie - western WI college town
Menomonee Falls - Milwaukee suburb
Menominee, MI - shares a border/metro area with WI
Quote from: Takumi on January 13, 2019, 11:24:34 AM
Washington, VA, which is often called Little Washington and is always referred to as "Washington VA" on distance signs since it's not terribly far from DC.
And you also have Washington, PA, because I-70 serves both it and the nation's capital (via I-270, of course.)
Around here, the city of Jackson and Jackson County have one county in between them, and are both served by KY 30, but there's always some confusion.
There are only two I can think of around here, and even they tend to have something of a "default" meaning:
"Dallas" usually refers to the large city in Texas rather than the city of 12,000 about 30 miles northwest of Atlanta unless you specify.
"Forsyth" typically refers to the county 30 miles north up GA 400, not the city 55 miles south down I-75.
Penn Township, PA.
Other common Southern New England/eastern NY ones:
Scituate: MA vs RI
Avon: CT vs MA
Natick: MA (almost always) vs RI
Coventry: CT vs RI
Manchester: NH vs CT vs VT vs MA ("by the sea" usually added in MA)
Portsmouth: NH vs RI
Portland (at least in my parts): CT vs ME vs OR
Brewster: MA vs NY
Plymouth: MA vs NH vs CT
Burlington: VT vs MA vs CT
Bristol: CT vs RI
Tolland: CT vs MA
Middlebury: CT vs VT
Woodbury: CT vs Orange County NY vs Suffolk County NY
Middletown: CT vs RI vs NY
I'd add NY for Hudson.
Quote from: Eth on January 13, 2019, 05:33:07 PM
"Forsyth" typically refers to the county 30 miles north up GA 400, not the city 55 miles south down I-75.
There's also a Forsyth Street in Atlanta, to make that more confusing. (off-topic, but except for a few annexations, the city limits of Forsyth appear to be a circle with a 1-mile radius.)
Anyway, that's one thing I've noticed about Georgia compared to other places I've been: many people seem to identify with their county just as much as their city, if not more. One isn't from Peachtree City, but rather from Fayette County.
Jax aka Jacksonville, FL and Jacksonville, NC. Not to mention that there's also a Jacksonville in Alabama and not one but TWO in Georgia. Also both Arkansas and Texas have one each.
Cedar Falls vs Cedar Rapids. I confused those quite often when I first moved to Iowa.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on January 13, 2019, 11:03:45 AM
New York (city vs. state with same name). Almost everyone I interact with in my region assumes city is the one meant.
Yep, not just your region. Pretty much everywhere. I've even been asked "what borough?". It is fairly frustrating to say the least.
Nope, not the city. The other New York, you know, the state? The New York that actually has decent, down to earth people, no traffic, chicken wings, and some great non-superficial natural beauty? Yep, that's where I'm from!
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on January 13, 2019, 06:54:09 PM
Cedar Falls vs Cedar Rapids. I confused those quite often when I first moved to Iowa.
I'm not from there and have never been there nor moved there, but yeah, that IS quite confusing.
Quote from: 1 on January 13, 2019, 10:43:45 AM
Rochester (NH vs. NY; MN is not a contender)
In my case, it is definitely Rochester NY vs. Rochester MN, with Rochester NH not even being a contender.
Similar to the story
1995hoo told, a friend of mine was in our Rochester, NY airport (ROC) once and encountered some elderly travelers looking a little befuddled; they proceeded to ask her for directions to the Mayo Clinic (1000 miles away in Rochester, MN!) :wow: :-D
Quote* Kingston: Could be 4-way (NH, MA, NY, Jamaica), but "Kingston" by itself refers to NH here.
Don't forget Kingston, ON (which is actually the assumed Kingston in my case since I have friends/family there!).
Kansas City MO/KS. Trying to tell non-locals which one is which is incredibly difficult at times.
I spend a decent amount of time in the St. Louis area, where there is an O'Fallon in Missouri and Illinois, although they're not right next to each other.
Quote from: SCtoKC on January 13, 2019, 08:15:39 PM
Kansas City MO/KS. Trying to tell non-locals which one is which is incredibly difficult at times.
I spend a decent amount of time in the St. Louis area, where there is an O'Fallon in Missouri and Illinois, although they're not right next to each other.
Jimmy Fallon approves.
Quote from: kevinb1994 on January 13, 2019, 06:19:04 PM
Jax aka Jacksonville, FL and Jacksonville, NC. Not to mention that there's also a Jacksonville in Alabama and not one but TWO in Georgia. Also both Arkansas and Texas have one each.
There are actually quite a few "Jacksonville" place names: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacksonville_(disambiguation)
Usually, when I hear a conversation mentioning "Jacksonville", most automatically assume FL. I think the exception is when you may be near one of the other ones, the local version is likely assumed.
TX has many place names that might make someone think of a like place elsewhere: Athens, Atlanta, Carthage, Italy, Moscow, Paris, Rhome, Venus, those are just a few.
There are even cases within TX, regarding county seats being the same name as (but not necessarily the county seat of) a county. Crockett, Henderson, Rusk, Sherman, and Tyler are just some that aren't in a same-named county. Most cities or counties in TX listed on Wikipedia in these instances have the customary italicized message at the top: "...not to be confused with...." .
Vancouver, WA and Vancouver, BC
Both being on the same freeway corridor and Amtrak line makes for their own confusion. During the 2010 Olympics, some international tourists actually booked hotels in Vancouver, WA, which was obviously not the Olympic host city.
The worst thing is that the smaller (WA) Vancouver is much older. There's been proposals to rename it to Fort Vancouver, but locals are too stubborn and point to their longer time with the name.
Quote from: webny99 on January 13, 2019, 07:02:10 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on January 13, 2019, 11:03:45 AM
New York (city vs. state with same name). Almost everyone I interact with in my region assumes city is the one meant.
Yep, not just your region. Pretty much everywhere. I've even been asked "what borough?". It is fairly frustrating to say the least.
Nope, not the city. The other New York, you know, the state? The New York that actually has decent, down to earth people, no traffic, chicken wings, and some great non-superficial natural beauty? Yep, that's where I'm from!
Heh. My parents sometimes get asked which borough they're from, but I can recall a couple of times when my father was asked "where in Brooklyn are you from?" (he was totally unsurprised and replied, "Foster Avenue" ). If you talked to either of them now you probably wouldn't guess they're from Brooklyn, but it used to be a lot more obvious.
Another example of name-stealing:
"Lakewood", a fairly generic suburban name, can refer to two areas within the Seattle metro area: a city of 58,000 incorporated in 1996 near Tacoma, or a small unincoprorated area that was created in the 1920s and annexed into other cities in the 1990s/2000s. The latter lost its post office and is now named "North Lakewood" because USPS couldn't sort out the letters without ZIP codes properly.
There were other historic conflicts over names here (like Snoqualmie / Fall City) that were resolved by railroads when it came time to name stations.
Nothing much comes to mind in Indiana. But I still don't know which is which of Sioux Falls and Sioux City. And I always mix up Great Falls, MT, with Grand Forks, ND. And Billings and Bozeman. I'd probably get it if I ever went to Montana.
One that I remember from my days as a Junior Roadgeek, studying the New York Thruway map, was DeWitt vs Depew. It took me a while to remember which one was near Buffalo and which one was Syracuse.
More locally, there is sometimes confusion about "Dansville" . The Village of Dansville is in the Town of North Dansville in Livingston County. The adjacent Town of Dansville, which contains the hamlet of South Dansville, is in Steuben County.
I have previously mentioned this in another thread: I once saw in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle a foreclosure notice for a property that was actually in the Town of Rochester, Ulster County, at the edge of the Catskills.
Quote from: SCtoKC on January 13, 2019, 08:15:39 PM
Kansas City MO/KS. Trying to tell non-locals which one is which is incredibly difficult at times.
I've noticed locals (at least in the part of the Kansas side that I'm familiar with) tend to disambiguate by referring to "KCK" or "KC Mo" (with Mo pronounced as if it were a word, as in Larry, Curly, and Moe). Obviously, non-locals would probably just be confused further.
I always figured the town of Kansas, Oklahoma would be somewhat confusing, as it's not too terribly far from the state of Kansas. They should make things more confusing and change their name to Kansas City.
Chicagoland:
- Lake County: Illinois and Indiana, both sides of Cook County.
- Matteson and Madison (WI). Both are pronounced the same.
- Palos - Which one, Hills Heights, or Park?
- There's both a Park Forest and a Forest Park.
And then there are the USPS names versus the actual municipality in an area:
- Plainfield. The two ZIP Codes cover a wide area, including parts that are incorporated into Joliet, Romeoville, and Bolingbrook.
Quote from: Brandon on January 14, 2019, 07:29:25 AM
Chicagoland:
- Lake County: Illinois and Indiana, both sides of Cook County.
- Matteson and Madison (WI). Both are pronounced the same.
- Palos - Which one, Hills Heights, or Park?
- There's both a Park Forest and a Forest Park.
And then there are the USPS names versus the actual municipality in an area:
- Plainfield. The two ZIP Codes cover a wide area, including parts that are incorporated into Joliet, Romeoville, and Bolingbrook.
It also seems weird that East Chicago is in Indiana, though of course it couldn't be due east of Chicago.
Virginia has a couple of border cities that share names with municipalities in the adjacent states -- Bristol (with Tennessee) and Bluefield (with West Virginia.) I'm not sure what locals do in those places to differentiate between the states.
It's hard to tell much difference between the Bristols. The downtown areas look much the same, and both have newer development, Virginia's out on US 11/19 north along I-81, and Tennessee's along US 11E/19 toward the speedway. But West Virginia's Bluefield has a much larger downtown area than does Virginia's, but Virginia has more newer commercial development, out along US 460 just abutting the state line.
Quote from: hbelkins on January 14, 2019, 10:22:27 AM
Virginia has a couple of border cities that share names with municipalities in the adjacent states -- Bristol (with Tennessee) and Bluefield (with West Virginia.) I'm not sure what locals do in those places to differentiate between the states.
It's hard to tell much difference between the Bristols. The downtown areas look much the same, and both have newer development, Virginia's out on US 11/19 north along I-81, and Tennessee's along US 11E/19 toward the speedway. But West Virginia's Bluefield has a much larger downtown area than does Virginia's, but Virginia has more newer commercial development, out along US 460 just abutting the state line.
What about treating them as if Bristol and Bluefield were each a single city, such as Lloydminster (AB/SK) currently is?
Quote from: Takumi on January 13, 2019, 11:24:34 AM
Washington, VA, which is often called Little Washington
Same with Washington, NC. When I was growing up in eastern NC, everybody called it Little Washington. They still do, AFAIK.
Naples, FL, vs. Naples, NY.
The former is bigger, the latter is better. :-P
Bluefield - The common way of saying things is just "Bluefield" and "Bluefield, Virginia". The core town of Bluefield, Virginia is really a separate place, at one time with undeveloped land between it and the core of Bluefield, WV. Odd side note, the Virginia HS is Graham, which was the original name of the core of Bluefield, VA and it shares a stadium, in WV, with the WV HS, which is just Bluefield, but is called by locals "Beaver" as in "I graduated from Beaver in 17". The mascot is the Beavers, but the singular is used to mean the school in everyday talk.
Others around WV and my TV market:
Charleston. Obviously the big one. In air travel if either city is involved say "Charleston CRW" or "Charleston CHS". Pilots use "Charley West" and "Charley South" on the radio. Getting sent to the wrong one happens more often than you think.
Chesapeake. Chesapeake OH is a suburb of Huntington, Chesapeake WV is a suburb of Charleston. TV will say "Chesapeake" to mean the one in Ohio, and 'Chesapeake, West Virginia" to mean the one in WV.
Lawrence County. Both Ohio and Kentucky have one, within this TV market, so the weather or news people always say the state name after it to make it clear which one.
Institute. The unincorporated town of Institute is home to WV State "University" (formerly College, calling it a university is like calling a Hyundai Elantra a Mercedes-Benz), formerly the WV Colored Institute. Just down the road, previously in Montogomery, just moved to Beckley is the WVU Institute of Technology. Locals say "town of Institute" and either "WV Tech" or "the Institute".
High School sports. Because it is a small state with statewide playoffs, and a few school names repeat, the system is somewhat like this. In Parkersburg the two HSs are always "Parkersburg High" and "Parkersburg South", in Morgantown the two are "Morgantown High" and "Morgantown University" (always using the word "High", never just "Parkersburg" or "Morgantown". In Fairmont, which is bisected by a river that totally divides the populataion, the legal names of the two schools are "East Fairmont HS" and "Fairmont Senior HS". People on the west side of town will say just that, "East Fairmont" and "Fairmont Senior", while those on the east will say "Fairmont East" and "Fairmont West". When names repeat in the state, they add the county after, as "Liberty - Raleigh" and "Liberty - Harrison".
Ohio U. For some weird reason, in Ohio the school in Athens, among the oldest in the midwest is always "Ohio U" or "Ohio University", never just "Ohio". Something to do with the school in Columbus.
Quote from: hbelkins on January 13, 2019, 04:58:24 PM
Quote from: Takumi on January 13, 2019, 11:24:34 AM
Washington, VA, which is often called Little Washington and is always referred to as "Washington VA" on distance signs since it's not terribly far from DC.
And you also have Washington, PA, because I-70 serves both it and the nation's capital (via I-270, of course.)
Around here, the city of Jackson and Jackson County have one county in between them, and are both served by KY 30, but there's always some confusion.
This reminds me of a sign in the Raleigh area that directs "Washington" bound traffic to take US 264 west at its junction with I-40. Not technically false for DC traffic I suppose since that's a route back to I-95 but they're referring to Washington, NC.
Quote from: SP Cook on January 14, 2019, 12:09:38 PM
Bluefield - The common way of saying things is just "Bluefield" and "Bluefield, Virginia". The core town of Bluefield, Virginia is really a separate place, at one time with undeveloped land between it and the core of Bluefield, WV. Odd side note, the Virginia HS is Graham, which was the original name of the core of Bluefield, VA and it shares a stadium, in WV, with the WV HS, which is just Bluefield, but is called by locals "Beaver" as in "I graduated from Beaver in 17". The mascot is the Beavers, but the singular is used to mean the school in everyday talk.
The exit where US 19 splits from US 460/Corridor Q in Virginia has a destination of "W Graham" listed.
Concerning the high schools and my other example of Bristol, I know the high school on the south side of the border is called Tennessee High School. Derrick Hord, UK basketball player of the late 70s-early 80s, went there. I think, but am not positive, that the one on the north side is called Virginia High.
QuoteLawrence County. Both Ohio and Kentucky have one, within this TV market, so the weather or news people always say the state name after it to make it clear which one.
And both are in the Charleston NWS office region, which I'm sure complicates things. The warning coordination meteorologist who was former with the Jackson (JKL) NWS office recently transferred to Charleston. He lives somewhere near Hurricane or Teays Valley. I've been in meetings with him a couple of times since he left.
Quote from: webny99 on January 14, 2019, 11:05:31 AM
Naples, FL, vs. Naples, NY.
The former is bigger, the latter is better. :-P
What about Italy?
Quote from: SP Cook on January 14, 2019, 12:09:38 PM
Ohio U. For some weird reason, in Ohio the school in Athens, among the oldest in the midwest is always "Ohio U" or "Ohio University", never just "Ohio". Something to do with the school in Columbus.
More like something to do with the school in Ann Arbor calling the school in Columbus "Ohio" instead of "Ohio State" or "OSU". Tends to peeve the school in Athens, Ohio.
Quote from: The Nature Boy on January 14, 2019, 12:57:06 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on January 13, 2019, 04:58:24 PM
Quote from: Takumi on January 13, 2019, 11:24:34 AM
Washington, VA, which is often called Little Washington and is always referred to as "Washington VA" on distance signs since it's not terribly far from DC.
And you also have Washington, PA, because I-70 serves both it and the nation's capital (via I-270, of course.)
Around here, the city of Jackson and Jackson County have one county in between them, and are both served by KY 30, but there's always some confusion.
This reminds me of a sign in the Raleigh area that directs "Washington" bound traffic to take US 264 west at its junction with I-40. Not technically false for DC traffic I suppose since that's a route back to I-95 but they're referring to Washington, NC.
I'd forgotten about it until your post, but there's a sign on I-95 in North Carolina that refers to Nashville (with no further clarification). My wife saw it when we were driving south and said she didn't think I-95 went that far west; she was then somewhat embarrassed when I said "it's not the famous one in Tennessee."
Whenever I'm in Mexico and tell someone I'm from Kansas, they immediately say "Kansas City!?" When I say no, they become quite confused.
Not my area, but speaking of which...
Mexico City is not in Mexico State, but rather borders it.
Quote from: kphoger on January 14, 2019, 02:36:52 PM
Whenever I'm in Mexico and tell someone I'm from Kansas, they immediately say "Kansas City!?" When I say no, they become quite confused.
Not my area, but speaking of which...
Mexico City is not in Mexico State, but rather borders it.
There's a tread all on its own, "National Capitals that are not in the State/Province of the Same Name". We also have Washington, DC not being in Washington, the state.
Quote from: AlexandriaVA on January 13, 2019, 11:07:42 AM
There are at least three areas that go by the name "Alexandria" in Northern VA:
1) The chartered City of Alexandria, which has a mayor, city council, etc.
2) The "Alexandria section" of Fairfax County, which is east of Annandale (VA-236/Little River Turnpike) and borders the western side of the City of Alexandria.
3) The "Alexandria section of Fairfax County, which is north of Groveton (US-1/Richmond Highway) and borders the southern side of the City of Alexandria.
Blame the U.S. Postal Service for that, for better or worse. Happens in many places around the country.
There are areas well outside of the City of Richmond, VA that have a Richmond P.O. address.
There are areas well outside of the City of Petersburg, VA that have a Petersburg P.O. address. I lived for a year near the VA-35/I-95 interchange, 9 miles from the city, and it had a Petersburg P.O. address; not sure if they still do that as it was over 30 years ago.
Quote from: kphoger on January 14, 2019, 02:36:52 PM
Mexico City is not in Mexico State, but rather borders it.
In that vein, in Argentina Buenos Aires (the city) is not in Buenos Aires (the province).
A pair of strong contenders for confusion are the neighboring Chinese provinces of 山西 Shānxī and 陕西 Shǎnxī. Their pronounciation only differs in tone, and when writting in English (i.e. without tone markers) they would be spelled exactly the same (Shanxi), so in order to disambiguate the latter is oficially spelled Shaanxi, with two As.
Quote from: kphoger on January 14, 2019, 02:36:52 PM
Whenever I'm in Mexico and tell someone I'm from Kansas, they immediately say "Kansas City!?" When I say no, they become quite confused.
When I was in England in 2000, no one had heard of Atlanta or Georgia (guess the 1996 Olympics hadn't had quite the expected impact). One person said they had, but we later figured out they thought I said "Atlantic City."
Quote from: SCtoKC on January 13, 2019, 08:15:39 PM
I spend a decent amount of time in the St. Louis area, where there is an O'Fallon in Missouri and Illinois, although they're not right next to each other.
It makes booking a hotel near St. Louis potentially troublesome. Many chains have locations in both and both will show up in searches. Woe to the would-be guest not paying close enough attention.
Here in Cincinnati, the most common one is Georgetown. Georgetown OH is closer, but Georgetown KY is a little bigger, and used to be the home to the Bengals Training Camp.
In Cincinnati, if you say Columbus, you mean our state capital. But if you go 20 miles west into Indiana, and say Columbus, people may think you mean Columbus, IN. Columbus, IN is actually a little closer to Cincinnati than Columbus, OH.
Dayton, KY is directly across the river from Cincinnati, but if you say Dayton, 9 out of 10 people will think of the larger Ohio city 50 miles north.
I remember taking an airline ticketing class back in the 70s (when plane tickets were manually generated, normally by a travel-agent), and being confused because they wanted me to route someone to Richmond, VA, but I assumed they meant Richmond, IN.
My dad once was taking a trip to Greenville, MS, and almost ended up on a plane to Greenville, SC.
Quote from: csw on January 13, 2019, 11:40:05 PM
Nothing much comes to mind in Indiana. But I still don't know which is which of Sioux Falls and Sioux City. And I always mix up Great Falls, MT, with Grand Forks, ND. And Billings and Bozeman. I'd probably get it if I ever went to Montana.
Columbus OH and IN, both served by interstates from Indianapolis.
St. Joseph Counties IN and MI, not far from each other.
Plainfield IL and IN (only ambiguous if you've spent a lot of time in both Chicago and Indy metro areas)
Quote from: 1995hoo on January 14, 2019, 01:43:18 PM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on January 14, 2019, 12:57:06 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on January 13, 2019, 04:58:24 PM
Quote from: Takumi on January 13, 2019, 11:24:34 AM
Washington, VA, which is often called Little Washington and is always referred to as “Washington VA” on distance signs since it’s not terribly far from DC.
And you also have Washington, PA, because I-70 serves both it and the nation's capital (via I-270, of course.)
Around here, the city of Jackson and Jackson County have one county in between them, and are both served by KY 30, but there's always some confusion.
This reminds me of a sign in the Raleigh area that directs "Washington" bound traffic to take US 264 west at its junction with I-40. Not technically false for DC traffic I suppose since that's a route back to I-95 but they're referring to Washington, NC.
I’d forgotten about it until your post, but there’s a sign on I-95 in North Carolina that refers to Nashville (with no further clarification). My wife saw it when we were driving south and said she didn’t think I-95 went that far west; she was then somewhat embarrassed when I said “it’s not the famous one in Tennessee.”
In the opposite direction, there are all those Rocky Mount NC signs on I-95 and I-295 in VA, though Rocky Mount VA is a few hours to the west. (However, 95 does meet VA 40, which goes to Rocky Mount VA, on that stretch.)
http://articles.latimes.com/1993-06-30/news/mn-8608_1_brentwood-news (http://articles.latimes.com/1993-06-30/news/mn-8608_1_brentwood-news)
In California there are 2 Brentwoods.1 is a District in Los Angeles and theres also a City in Contra Costa County that is named Brentwood.
Quote from: hbelkins on January 13, 2019, 04:58:24 PM
And you also have Washington, PA, because I-70 serves both it and the nation's capital (via I-270, of course.)
One of only a few places that has both the city
and state on a BGS to prevent confusion.
Similarly, there used to be a "Columbus, O" (without the H) as a control city on at least some highways around Indianapolis since there's also a Columbus, IN. The control city -- in both directions -- has since been replaced with Dayton, so I'm not sure if any of those signs are still around.
There is/was a sign on I-95 listing "Rocky Mount, NC", presumably to disambiguate the city by the same name in VA. The sign's location is/was is in VA, at the 85/95 split, I think where that extra-distant Miami sign used to be.
On I-95, near the MD-DE border, at the Elkton exit, there's a sign reading "Newark, DE". I presume that's to prevent confusion with Newark, NJ; the city may be kind of far away, but the state is not. But I remember seeing signs at the same exit that read "Elkton, MD". I think the state was added there just because it's near a state line, and I might have seen that done in other locations as well.
Ohio has both Warren County and a city called Warren, located in diagonally-opposite corners of the state.
Similarly, I once met a young lady who sometimes wore a shirt that read "Shelby". Oftentimes when people saw it, they would ask "city or county"? (they are approximately 100 miles apart) The answer was neither -- Shelby was her name!
Quote from: lepidopteran on January 15, 2019, 11:25:51 PM
Ohio has both Warren County and a city called Warren, located in diagonally-opposite corners of the state.
Similarly, I once met a young lady who sometimes wore a shirt that read "Shelby". Oftentimes when people saw it, they would ask "city or county"? (they are approximately 100 miles apart) The answer was neither -- Shelby was her name!
Shelby could also be someone's last name.
There's a great deal of ambiguity with regard to many place names in Pennsylvania–because of a number of factors.
First, there's the fractured nature of municipal government in the Commonwealth. Municipalities are generally very compact, and adjoining areas which may share the same ZIP code and are colloquially referred to as being part of that town/city are actually in a separate township or borough. Confusing the matter further, some bordering municipalities actually share names, such as the City of Wilkes-Barre and Wilkes-Barre Township.
Then also, there's a great deal of in-state duplication of names, both in terms of incorporated municipalities and of CDPs and other "place names" . Just take "Bradford" for instance. The best known "Bradford" is the city in northwestern Pennsylvania that's home to Zippo. Partially surrounding the City of Bradford is Bradford Township–a separate municipality but in the same ZIP code (along with several other townships having different names). Two counties away, there's another Bradford Township–completely unconnected to the first. And in the distant Philadelphia suburbs, there's a pair of twin townships: East Bradford and West Bradford . None of these Bradfords, by the way, are in Bradford County, which is in northeastern Pennsylvania and has no municipalities containing the name "Bradford" .
Quote from: briantroutman on January 16, 2019, 04:11:08 PM
Then also, there’s a great deal of in-state duplication of names, both in terms of incorporated municipalities and of CDPs and other “place names”. Just take “Bradford” for instance. The best known “Bradford” is the city in northwestern Pennsylvania that’s home to Zippo. Partially surrounding the City of Bradford is Bradford Township—a separate municipality but in the same ZIP code (along with several other townships having different names). Two counties away, there’s another Bradford Township—completely unconnected to the first. And in the distant Philadelphia suburbs, there’s a pair of twin townships: East Bradford and West Bradford . None of these Bradfords, by the way, are in Bradford County, which is in northeastern Pennsylvania and has no municipalities containing the name “Bradford”.
Many townships names repeat around the state, and some others are the same as a county name.
A region rather than a city, but the three largest metro areas in California all have a "South Bay" in common usage:
Bay Area: San Jose/Silicon Valley
Los Angeles: Redondo Beach/Manhattan Beach/Torrance
San Diego: Chula Vista/National City
Since they are generally only used within their respective metro areas, I don't see them causing much confusion, except for people (like me) who have lived/worked/have friends and family in more than one of them.
I live adjacent to the Town of Florida, NY, and previously have lived near Florida, MA, and I would always use and generally recall "Florida" by default meaning the state, and "Town of Florida" for the one near Amsterdam, and "Florida, Mass." or "Florida Mountain" for the one up the hill from North Adams.
Quote from: Jim on January 16, 2019, 05:21:18 PM
I live adjacent to the Town of Florida, NY, and previously have lived near Florida, MA, and I would always use and generally recall "Florida" by default meaning the state, and "Town of Florida" for the one near Amsterdam, and "Florida, Mass." or "Florida Mountain" for the one up the hill from North Adams.
Interestingly enough there's a Lorida in Florida. Also there's Florida City and both of these place names aren't too far apart from each other in South Florida.
Quote from: Jim on January 16, 2019, 05:21:18 PM
I live adjacent to the Town of Florida, NY, and previously have lived near Florida, MA, and I would always use and generally recall "Florida" by default meaning the state, and "Town of Florida" for the one near Amsterdam, and "Florida, Mass." or "Florida Mountain" for the one up the hill from North Adams.
Similarly, when people in Ohio say they are going to college at Miami, they typically mean Miami at Oxford, OH, rather than in Florida. For that matter, if they say they go to school at Oxford, they don't usually mean the one in England! (BTW, Ohio also has a Cambridge. They do have an Ohio University regional campus there; the main campus is in Athens... hey waitaminit!)
Along those same lines, folks in Pennsylvania might say they are going to college at either Indiana or California -- and neither are expected to leave the state to get there!
Fortunately Florida has no repeatsthat I know of but my old state had several Washington's with two municipalities with that name in the same county and neighboring each other.
Quote from: roadman65 on January 16, 2019, 10:14:39 PM
Fortunately Florida has no repeatsthat I know of but my old state had several Washington's with two municipalities with that name in the same county and neighboring each other.
NJ aka New Jersey aka Jersey? I'm from there as well and have also since moved to Florida (Jacksonville).
Quote from: lepidopteran on January 15, 2019, 11:13:55 PM
....
There is/was a sign on I-95 listing "Rocky Mount, NC", presumably to disambiguate the city by the same name in VA. The sign's location is/was is in VA, at the 85/95 split, I think where that extra-distant Miami sign used to be.
....
As of this past December 30, there was still one LGS listing Rocky Mount, NC, and Miami; it's on I-95 just south of the I-85 interchange. Street View shows it. I don't know whether it might be replaced with something listing someplace less distant.
https://goo.gl/maps/ZUaUXgRzpnF2
There are a good number of signs on both I-95 and I-295, including north of Richmond, that list Rocky Mount, NC.
Connecticut headaches:
Plainville, which is directly between the cities of New Britain and Bristol.
Plainfield, which is on the Rhode Island border.
Hartford
New Hartford, which is in eastern Litchfield County.
Milford, which is on the shoreline between Bridgeport and New Haven.
New Milford, which is in greater Danbury.
Canaan, which is in Litchfield County, not far from Massachusetts
New Canaan, which is in southern Fairfield County.
Portland, which is across the Connecticut River from Middletown. Despite having family members who live in Middletown, my family's use of "Portland" is almost exclusively Maine, as some of us have lived in southern Maine twice. My later maternal grandmother was from Biddeford, ME.
Although it's minor, you have another Hartford along I-91...Vermont. The village of White River Junction is part of it. Most signs on that road simply say White River Junction. You would pass through Weathersfield, VT when between there and Brattleboro. Yes, Vermont spells Wethersfield with an extra "a" like with "weather". We in Connecticut do not.
Quote from: kevinb1994 on January 16, 2019, 10:37:37 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on January 16, 2019, 10:14:39 PM
Fortunately Florida has no repeatsthat I know of but my old state had several Washington's with two municipalities with that name in the same county and neighboring each other.
NJ aka New Jersey aka Jersey? I'm from there as well and have also since moved to Florida (Jacksonville).
I know the Washington in the area of New Jersey Turnpike Exit 7A was renamed as Robbinsville not too long ago.
Quote from: KEVIN_224 on January 16, 2019, 10:49:00 PM
Quote from: kevinb1994 on January 16, 2019, 10:37:37 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on January 16, 2019, 10:14:39 PM
Fortunately Florida has no repeatsthat I know of but my old state had several Washington's with two municipalities with that name in the same county and neighboring each other.
NJ aka New Jersey aka Jersey? I'm from there as well and have also since moved to Florida (Jacksonville).
I know the Washington in the area of New Jersey Turnpike Exit 7A was renamed as Robbinsville not too long ago.
I remember when that happened in 2007-2008.
Quote from: Beltway on January 16, 2019, 04:48:55 PM
Many townships names repeat around the state, and some others are the same as a county name.
For what it's worth - I don't think boroughs and/or cities can directly match/duplicate. There are a handful of Mt. Pleasant townships in various counties, but the only borough is in Westmoreland County (directly adjacent to a Mt. Pleasant Township)
Quote from: Bruce on January 13, 2019, 08:53:45 PM
Vancouver, WA and Vancouver, BC
Both being on the same freeway corridor and Amtrak line makes for their own confusion. During the 2010 Olympics, some international tourists actually booked hotels in Vancouver, WA, which was obviously not the Olympic host city.
The worst thing is that the smaller (WA) Vancouver is much older. There's been proposals to rename it to Fort Vancouver, but locals are too stubborn and point to their longer time with the name.
This was the first one that came to my mind. This one is ambiguous across the entirety of Washington and Oregon, I would say. Unless you're in the Portland/Vancouver metro, then you assume Vancouver, WA, and if you're around Bellingham, you probably mean Vancouver, BC. But across the rest of the two states, it's ambiguous. Outside of those 2 states, I'd say people assume BC if you just say "Vancouver". Though since I grew up near Portland, it will always be ambiguous to me (even though people in Idaho probably don't really know about Vancouver, WA).
Also, someone mentioned "Ontario" being ambiguous in some contexts, but I think it can be even more confusing when you see simply "Ontario, CA". Because that can mean "Ontario California" or "Ontario Canada". Yes one is a city and one is a province, but like Washington State vs DC, there's not always enough context clues to be sure.
And if you're in Oregon or SW Idaho, "Ontario" probably means Ontario, OR, so now that I think about it, "Ontario" is definitely the most ambiguous name for people around Boise (and I'd imagine as you get further from the Treasure Valley, eg. you're in Twin Falls, where none of the "Ontarios" are very locally important, it can be totally ambiguous).
Quote from: KEVIN_224 on January 16, 2019, 10:43:20 PM
Connecticut headaches:
Plainville, which is directly between the cities of New Britain and Bristol.
Plainfield, which is on the Rhode Island border.
Hartford
New Hartford, which is in eastern Litchfield County.
Milford, which is on the shoreline between Bridgeport and New Haven.
New Milford, which is in greater Danbury.
Canaan, which is in Litchfield County, not far from Massachusetts
New Canaan, which is in southern Fairfield County.
Portland, which is across the Connecticut River from Middletown. Despite having family members who live in Middletown, my family's use of "Portland" is almost exclusively Maine, as some of us have lived in southern Maine twice. My later maternal grandmother was from Biddeford, ME.
Although it's minor, you have another Hartford along I-91...Vermont. The village of White River Junction is part of it. Most signs on that road simply say White River Junction. You would pass through Weathersfield, VT when between there and Brattleboro. Yes, Vermont spells Wethersfield with an extra "a" like with "weather". We in Connecticut do not.
Couple of other CT ones:
Preston: A town in the southeastern part of the state not too far from Foxwoods casino
New Preston: A CDP within the town of Washington in the western part of the state.
Norwalk: City in Fairfield County
Norwich: City in New London County
Waterbury: A city in northern New Haven County
Watertown: A town in Litchfield County which shares a border with Waterbury
Waterville: A neighborhood of Waterbury along CT 73 which connects Waterbury and Watertown
Waterford: A town in New London County
Middletown and Middlefield: One is a small city, the other is more of a farming town. They share a border and CT 66 and 217
Stratford and Stamford can sometimes be confused, considering there are both on I-95 in Fairfield County.
2 homophone towns (the latter is also a county): Hamden, CT and Ham
pden, MA.
Granby, CT and Granby, MA are about 30 miles apart on opposite sides of Springfield, and are both served by US 202
There's also Windsor, CT and Windsor, VT (the town and county) along I-91
A couple more out of state ones:
Farmingdale vs Farmingville on Long Island. One is in Nassau County, the other is farther out in Suffolk County on the edge of the Pine Barrens.
Pottstown vs Pottsville, PA. One is on US 422 between Philly and Reading, the other is up in the Poconos and is the home of Yuengling.
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on January 20, 2019, 02:55:45 AM
Pottstown vs Pottsville, PA. One is on US 422 between Philly and Reading, the other is up in the Poconos and is the home of Yuengling.
Yes, the two Potts-es–both being along the same river and in the same quadrant of the state–are a source of perpetual confusion for many in Pennsylvania.
But, speaking of confusion: Pottsville isn't in the Poconos. Neither are Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre, or Scranton, for that matter. Very roughly speaking, the Pocono Mountain region is the area east of I-476, north of US 209, and south of I-84–with the true Pocono Mountain region being the area just north of the I-80/I-380 interchange where you see a cluster of Pocono names–Mount Pocono, Pocono Summit, Pocono Lake.
Quote from: SCtoKC on January 13, 2019, 08:15:39 PM
Kansas City MO/KS. Trying to tell non-locals which one is which is incredibly difficult at times.
I spend a decent amount of time in the St. Louis area, where there is an O'Fallon in Missouri and Illinois, although they're not right next to each other.
O'fallontoo'fallon would make a great race horse name (horse naming restrictions warrant the one-wording). Although it would be challenging to the guys at TVG.
Quote from: Beltway on January 16, 2019, 04:48:55 PMMany townships names repeat around the state [of Pennsylvania]
Delaware County, PA, the county of my birth and breeding, has townships called Middletown, Newtown, Springfield, and Tinicum. So does Bucks County which is on the other side of Philadelphia from "Delco". Delaware County also has a pair of townships called Providence (Upper and Nether). Montgomery County OTOH has townships called Upper and *Lower* Providence (as well as a Springfield Township [like Delco and Bucks]).
ixnay
At my old auto parts warehouse job in Omaha, they dealt with store in Maryville, MO and Marysville, KS, which obviously got screwed up a lot because the Maryville store ended up with a different tag color than every other store we dealt with.
Going back further to the courier job I had before that, Oakland, IA and Oakland, NE would be confused.
Just tossing in Hamilton - there are two in Jersey. Hamilton Township and the Township of Hamilton.
2 Washington Townshlps in Jersey - one in North Jersey, the other in South Jersey.
And, don't know if this counts, but we have a Gloucester City, Gloucester Township, and Gloucester County.
Gloucester Township has a small piece of it in Gloucester County (Sicklerville, to be exact). The rest of it is in Camden County.
Gloucester City is in... Camden County.
Manistee and Manistique in Michigan get confused a lot. Both are on Lake Michigan. When I have told people I'm from Manistee, people have mentioned that I was coming from the UP.
Fun fact 1: I have never been to Manistique.
Fun fact 2: A recent school superintendent in Manistee came there from Manistique
Sheboygan WI (on the western shore of Lake Michigan) and Cheboygan MI (on the western shore of Lake Huron) probably generate some confusion.
Others in Michigan:
There's a Mason County, while the city of Mason is the county seat of Ingham County. They're about 175 miles apart by road.
Houghton is in the northwestern Upper Peninsula, while Houghton Lake is near the central Lower Peninsula. They're about 375 miles apart by road.
And a lot of people can't keep straight that the correct spelling of the island, the straits, and the bridge is Mackinac, but the correct spelling of the city is Mackinaw.
Quote from: 1 on January 13, 2019, 10:43:45 AM
Ambiguous enough that any mention will require the state name (or other region) to avoid being asked "which one".
Note that in most cases, this is extremely local to where you live.
Here, there are a few that are ambiguous, plus two that would be if I moved a few miles.
Concord (MA vs. NH)
Hudson (also MA vs. NH)
Birmingham (AL vs. UK)
Rochester (NH vs. NY; MN is not a contender)
Washington (the state itself vs. the country's capital)
Amherst (MA vs. NH)
Where I live, Salem without a state name refers to Salem, NH, but moving ≈5 miles south or southeast (the number 5 is a guess) would make it ambiguous enough, with the other option being Salem, MA. I frequently go places where Salem, MA is the default meaning.
Newton without a state name refers to Newton, MA, even though Newton, NH is much closer. My guess is that going north into New Hampshire will result in Newton, NH being the default meaning as soon as you cross the state border; to find an area where it is ambiguous, I would have to go into Haverhill, MA (which is adjacent to Newton, NH).
Others that might seem ambiguous where I live, but are not:
* Portland refers to ME, not OR. People will talk about the other Portland, but they'll almost always apply the state name.
* Dover refers to DE, not MA or NH. Crossing the state border probably changes this to NH without any region of ambiguity, but there has to be a region of ambiguity somewhere for MA vs. DE.
* Springfield refers to MA, which makes sense since the three major ones are somewhat similar in population, and the one in Massachusetts is much closer than the other two.
* Franklin refers to MA, not NH.
* Brookline: Same as Newton; the one in New Hampshire is closer, but the one in Massachusetts is always meant.
* Groton: MA, even though CT is larger.
* Kingston: Could be 4-way (NH, MA, NY, Jamaica), but "Kingston" by itself refers to NH here.
* Burlington: MA, not VT.
* Bedford: MA, not NH; probably changes immediately upon crossing the state border.
* Rutland: VT, not MA.
* Greenland: Refers to the dependency of Denmark, despite the one in New Hampshire being within 30 miles.
Haven't encountered Milford enough to know (if it was ambiguous, it would be MA vs. NH). Same with Augusta (ME vs. GA) and Orange (MA vs. CA).
In California, there are at least two or three cities or towns that sound like Arcata, Arcadia, or similar. There are two with the same exact name one on the North Coast and one in the LA area.
The term "The Valley" usually refers to "San Fernando" south of Santa Barbara, but to "The Great Central Valley" (often Fresno, Bakersfield, or Tracy, Stockton, Sacramento, Chico, or Redding, depending upon what part of the coast) north of there.
San Marcos refers both to a suburb of San Diego and a pass near Santa Barbara.
"Grapevine" is a small town at the extreme south end of the San Joaquin Valley, but is often used to refer to the entire grade on the Valley side of Tejon Pass (and sometimes to the entire section of freeway between Grapevine and Santa Clarita.
Quote from: michravera on September 02, 2019, 03:10:20 AM
Quote from: 1 on January 13, 2019, 10:43:45 AM
Ambiguous enough that any mention will require the state name (or other region) to avoid being asked "which one".
Note that in most cases, this is extremely local to where you live.
Here, there are a few that are ambiguous, plus two that would be if I moved a few miles.
Concord (MA vs. NH)
Hudson (also MA vs. NH)
Birmingham (AL vs. UK)
Rochester (NH vs. NY; MN is not a contender)
Washington (the state itself vs. the country's capital)
Amherst (MA vs. NH)
Where I live, Salem without a state name refers to Salem, NH, but moving ≈5 miles south or southeast (the number 5 is a guess) would make it ambiguous enough, with the other option being Salem, MA. I frequently go places where Salem, MA is the default meaning.
Newton without a state name refers to Newton, MA, even though Newton, NH is much closer. My guess is that going north into New Hampshire will result in Newton, NH being the default meaning as soon as you cross the state border; to find an area where it is ambiguous, I would have to go into Haverhill, MA (which is adjacent to Newton, NH).
Others that might seem ambiguous where I live, but are not:
* Portland refers to ME, not OR. People will talk about the other Portland, but they'll almost always apply the state name.
* Dover refers to DE, not MA or NH. Crossing the state border probably changes this to NH without any region of ambiguity, but there has to be a region of ambiguity somewhere for MA vs. DE.
* Springfield refers to MA, which makes sense since the three major ones are somewhat similar in population, and the one in Massachusetts is much closer than the other two.
* Franklin refers to MA, not NH.
* Brookline: Same as Newton; the one in New Hampshire is closer, but the one in Massachusetts is always meant.
* Groton: MA, even though CT is larger.
* Kingston: Could be 4-way (NH, MA, NY, Jamaica), but "Kingston" by itself refers to NH here.
* Burlington: MA, not VT.
* Bedford: MA, not NH; probably changes immediately upon crossing the state border.
* Rutland: VT, not MA.
* Greenland: Refers to the dependency of Denmark, despite the one in New Hampshire being within 30 miles.
Haven't encountered Milford enough to know (if it was ambiguous, it would be MA vs. NH). Same with Augusta (ME vs. GA) and Orange (MA vs. CA).
In California, there are at least two or three cities or towns that sound like Arcata, Arcadia, or similar. There are two with the same exact name one on the North Coast and one in the LA area.
The term "The Valley" usually refers to "San Fernando" south of Santa Barbara, but to "The Great Central Valley" (often Fresno, Bakersfield, or Tracy, Stockton, Sacramento, Chico, or Redding, depending upon what part of the coast) north of there.
San Marcos refers both to a suburb of San Diego and a pass near Santa Barbara.
"Grapevine" is a small town at the extreme south end of the San Joaquin Valley, but is often used to refer to the entire grade on the Valley side of Tejon Pass (and sometimes to the entire section of freeway between Grapevine and Santa Clarita.
In a similar vein, within CA there are two Brentwoods, a town along CA-4 in Nor Cal, and a neighborhood in West Los Angeles, famous for being where OJ Simpson lived.
There are also two Richmonds, both in the Bay Area. One in the east bay, a town north of Oakland, and the second was a neighborhood on the west side of San Francisco. Given how close these two are, it can sometimes be quite confusing.
Fox Lake, WI and IL is the only one I can think of.
There are 26 places named Springfield in the United States. The most prominent ones are Massachusetts, Illinois and Missouri. I-91 passes through Springfield, MA and Springfield, VT. The Vermont town won the right to premiere the Simpsons movie when it came out.
Besides Portland, ME and OR, there's also a Portland, CT. It's on the other side of the Connecticut River (and the Arrigoni Bridge) from Middletown.
Besides Hartford, CT, you also have one in VT and ME. VT's Hartford is "hidden" some because it contains the more prominent village of White River Junction.
Quote from: KEVIN_224 on September 02, 2019, 02:57:45 PM
There are 26 places named Springfield in the United States. The most prominent ones are Massachusetts, Illinois and Missouri. I-91 passes through Springfield, MA and Springfield, VT. The Vermont town won the right to premiere the Simpsons movie when it came out.
Besides Portland, ME and OR, there's also a Portland, CT. It's on the other side of the Connecticut River (and the Arrigoni Bridge) from Middletown.
There's also a Portland, Michigan, along I-96 between Lansing and Grand Rapids.
QuoteBesides Hartford, CT, you also have one in VT and ME. VT's Hartford is "hidden" some because it contains the more prominent village of White River Junction.
Not to forget Hartford, Michigan, along I-94, and Hartford, Illinois, between I-270 and Alton.
Quote from: Brandon on September 02, 2019, 09:22:50 PM
Quote from: KEVIN_224 on September 02, 2019, 02:57:45 PM
QuoteBesides Hartford, CT, you also have one in VT and ME. VT's Hartford is "hidden" some because it contains the more prominent village of White River Junction.
Not to forget Hartford, Michigan, along I-94, and Hartford, Illinois, between I-270 and Alton.
and Hartford WI, at hwy 60 and hwy 83 west of I-41
North Bend. Oregon, Washington and Nebraska have one. Then add in Bend and people thinking that North Bend refers to that city.
Port Orford. There is only one. However in Washington, there is a Port Orchard. That name has more familiarity than Port Orford does.
Brookings. One in Oregon and another in South Dakota.
Lakeside. There has to be a ton of them!
Rick
Which is not a municipality in New York?
Owego
Otego
Osego
Otsego
Oswego
Quote from: KEVIN_224 on September 02, 2019, 02:57:45 PM
There are 26 places named Springfield in the United States. The most prominent ones are Massachusetts, Illinois and Missouri. I-91 passes through Springfield, MA and Springfield, VT. The Vermont town won the right to premiere the Simpsons movie when it came out.
Besides Portland, ME and OR, there's also a Portland, CT. It's on the other side of the Connecticut River (and the Arrigoni Bridge) from Middletown.
Besides Hartford, CT, you also have one in VT and ME. VT's Hartford is "hidden" some because it contains the more prominent village of White River Junction.
There's also a Portland, PA along the Delaware River, on the PA side of the Columbia-Portland toll bridge that connects PA 611 (and used to carry US 611) with I-80 and NJ 94.
Milford, MA and NH were mentioned, but there is also a larger Milford, CT; the home of Subway, former home of Bic's US headquarters, and the Dan Patrick Show.
Also with Orange, lest us forget Orange, CT: the home of Pez Candy (and right next to Milford)
Also discovered a New Britain, PA along US 202; the first borough as you enter Bucks County from Montgomery. Much smaller than its CT counterpart. Also learned of a Southington, OH from when Mike Tyson was released from prison. Much smaller and lesser known than the CT one.
Then there's a few Bristols: Bristol, CT (the home of ESPN); Bristol, RI; a pair of Bristol Counties in MA and RI; and Bristol, PA (the Bristol referred to in the Bristol Stomp).
And then we have Berlin, and it's appropriate pronunciation. In CT, NH, and NY, it's BER-lin; in NJ, the syllables are equal, so it's essentially like two words (Burr Lynn), and in Germany, it's ber-LIN
Portsmouth can also be. For New Englanders, it's usually the city in NH; a control city for I-95 and I-495, and with a commercial airport. There is also the smaller one in RI next to Newport. For those in the Mid-Atlantic, it's part of Hampton Roads in VA.
A few more: Scituate (MA vs RI); Tolland (CT vs MA); Litchfield (CT vs NH); Westbrook (CT vs ME; both connected by I-95)
Quote from: KEVIN_224 on September 02, 2019, 02:57:45 PM
There are 26 places named Springfield in the United States. The most prominent ones are Massachusetts, Illinois and Missouri. I-91 passes through Springfield, MA and Springfield, VT. The Vermont town won the right to premiere the Simpsons movie when it came out.
Yet, the Illinois Springfield is the only one close to a Shelbyville.
Here's what immediately comes to mind for me...
Greenville, MS vs. Greenville, SC
Stuttgart, AR vs. Stuttgart, DE
Huntsville, AR vs. Huntsville, AL
Sheridan, AR vs. Sheridan, WY
Nashville, AR vs. Nashville, TN
Melbourne, AR vs. Melbourne, FL
Benton, AR vs. Bentonville, AR
As well as Norfork, AR vs Norfolk (UK and many states, but I'm sure that the one in Virginia comes to mind for almost everyone).
In Colorado, there is a front range city approximately 50 miles north of Denver called Loveland. About 60 miles west of Denver just before the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels there are Loveland Pass and Loveland Ski areas. There's no direct connection between the two.
Quote from: zzcarp on September 06, 2019, 05:45:34 PM
In Colorado, there is a front range city approximately 50 miles north of Denver called Loveland. About 60 miles west of Denver just before the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels there are Loveland Pass and Loveland Ski areas. There's no direct connection between the two.
Along that same line, Berthoud is a north Front Range city (actually pretty close to Loveland) that is similarly far away from the pass of the same name on US 40. There's also a Berthoud Falls fairly close to the pass.
Quote from: TBKS1 on September 06, 2019, 05:12:13 PM
Here's what immediately comes to mind for me...
Greenville, MS vs. Greenville, SC
Stuttgart, AR vs. Stuttgart, DE
Huntsville, AR vs. Huntsville, AL
Sheridan, AR vs. Sheridan, WY
Nashville, AR vs. Nashville, TN
Melbourne, AR vs. Melbourne, FL
Benton, AR vs. Bentonville, AR
As well as Norfork, AR vs Norfolk (UK and many states, but I'm sure that the one in Virginia comes to mind for almost everyone).
Didn't even think about this originally...
Fayetteville, AR vs. Fayetteville, NC
Not sure which one gets more recognition, guess that's up to what you believe.
Quote from: TBKS1 on September 06, 2019, 05:12:13 PM
Here's what immediately comes to mind for me...
Stuttgart, AR vs. Stuttgart, DE
DE as in .de (
Deutschland, Germany)? Or there's a Stuttgart in Delaware I'm not aware of?
I'm pretty sure there is Madrid, IA/NY vs Madrid, Spain.
Florida is pretty good about not being too redundant, but you have Edgewood, Englewood, and Edgewater all that can be confusing as the names are close. Sometimes I mix up the city with location too!
We have both Seminole, the county near Orlando, and the city near St. Pete. However that may not be what the OP is looking for due to one being not a city, and the fact Ohio and North Carolina both have city and counties that have the same names but no where near each other, so that may be more a common thing.
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on September 08, 2019, 09:11:35 AM
Quote from: TBKS1 on September 06, 2019, 05:12:13 PM
Here's what immediately comes to mind for me...
Stuttgart, AR vs. Stuttgart, DE
DE as in .de (Deutschland, Germany)? Or there's a Stuttgart in Delaware I'm not aware of?
I'm pretty sure there is Madrid, IA/NY vs Madrid, Spain.
Meant it as in Germany, not Delaware. Sorry if that was confusing.
Virginia (MN) vs. Virginia (state). Twin Cities not so much an issue since they're more likely just to use the blanket Iron Range, but Duluth people usually have to differentiate between the two.
And yes, I was going to college an hour from Virginia, MN with a guy from Virginia, the state.
Daviess County, IN (pronounced day-VEES) and Daviess County, KY (pronounced Davis)
Virginia City, Nevada and Virginia City, Montana
Quote from: royo6022 on September 09, 2019, 08:29:41 AM
Daviess County, IN (pronounced day-VEES) and Daviess County, KY (pronounced Davis)
Another classic case of Hoosiers mispronuncicating things. (See: Versailles)
Quote from: wanderer2575 on September 02, 2019, 12:59:45 AM
And a lot of people can't keep straight that the correct spelling of the island, the straits, and the bridge is Mackinac, but the correct spelling of the city is Mackinaw.
And they are ALL pronounced MACK-in-aw It't like nails on a chalkboard to me when someone says "MACK-in-ack"
Quote from: royo6022 on September 09, 2019, 08:29:41 AM
Daviess County, IN (pronounced day-VEES) and Daviess County, KY (pronounced Davis)
Like in NY City, the street called Houston Street is pronounced How-ston as it was not named after Sam Houston, who Texas' largest city was named. It was named after a man who spelled his name the same but used how instead of hew.
Quote from: roadman65 on September 09, 2019, 11:17:20 PM
Quote from: royo6022 on September 09, 2019, 08:29:41 AM
Daviess County, IN (pronounced day-VEES) and Daviess County, KY (pronounced Davis)
Like in NY City, the street called Houston Street is pronounced How-ston as it was not named after Sam Houston, who Texas' largest city was named. It was named after a man who spelled his name the same but used how instead of hew.
Actually the spelling should be HousTOUN, as that was the way he preferred it.
Quote from: cabiness42 on January 14, 2019, 04:59:46 PM
Quote from: csw on January 13, 2019, 11:40:05 PM
Nothing much comes to mind in Indiana. But I still don't know which is which of Sioux Falls and Sioux City. And I always mix up Great Falls, MT, with Grand Forks, ND. And Billings and Bozeman. I'd probably get it if I ever went to Montana.
Columbus OH and IN, both served by interstates from Indianapolis.
St. Joseph Counties IN and MI, not far from each other.
Plainfield IL and IN (only ambiguous if you've spent a lot of time in both Chicago and Indy metro areas)
I forgot to mention Lake Counties in Illinois and Indiana, which both border Cook County, IL.
Birmingham was mentioned in the original post as one causing confusion. No one thinks you mean Birmingham, England for probably a 4 or 5 hour radius (at least) from Birmingham, AL unless you're having a discussion about soccer.
Same would be true about Huntsville. And the next most likely Huntsville would be Texas - known for conducting executions for those sentenced to the death penalty.
Quote from: roadman65 on September 08, 2019, 09:39:32 AM
Florida is pretty good about not being too redundant, but you have Edgewood, Englewood, and Edgewater all that can be confusing as the names are close. Sometimes I mix up the city with location too!
We have both Seminole, the county near Orlando, and the city near St. Pete. However that may not be what the OP is looking for due to one being not a city, and the fact Ohio and North Carolina both have city and counties that have the same names but no where near each other, so that may be more a common thing.
Oh, don't get me started on the permutations in California such as "Palos Verdes" "Palos Verdes Estates" Rancho Palos Verdes" and "Rancho Palos Verdes Estates". All of these are fairly near each other. I am told that this also happens in a lot in the desert.
There is a "Cucamonga" and a "Rancho Cucamonga". As I recall, they are not very near each other.
There is a "San Jose" both in Alta California and Baja (as well as a "San Lucas" and "Cabo San Lucas").
Both "San Fernando" and "San Francisco" are often abbreviated "SF".
Winter Park, Winter Garden, Winter Haven, and Winter Springs could be something in the Sunshine State.
Then you have the many different Palm Beaches such as Palm Beach, then West Palm Beach (the big city of those), North Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, and Royal Palm Beach.
Miami is Miami, Miami Beach (not the same as the main city as Miami Beach is its own municipality), Miami Gardens, Miami Springs, and North Miami. Nobody refers to all as "The Miamis" like all the Palm Beaches.
Silver Springs, Florida and Silver Spring, Maryland.
Leesburg, Florida and Leesburg, Virginia.
Gainesville, Florida and Gainesville, Virginia.
We noticed those when we moved from Florida to northern Virginia.
Even saw a Virginia road mileage sign that had both Gainesville and Leesburg.
On US 211 E Bound because there is a Washington in VA along the way to Washington, DC, VDOT has to place the DC when referring to the Nation's Capital. Usually VA just uses Washington to refer to the capital on roads leading to it.
Then in WV and PA both states always say PA after Washington on I-70 E Bound to make sure that drivers do not think that they are talking about DC's Washington either.
Quote from: michravera on September 10, 2019, 04:04:47 PM
Oh, don't get me started on the permutations in California such as "Palos Verdes" "Palos Verdes Estates" Rancho Palos Verdes" and "Rancho Palos Verdes Estates". All of these are fairly near each other. I am told that this also happens in a lot in the desert.
Almost. The two actual cities are Palos Verdes Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes (usually abbreviated to PVE and RPV in local usage), although they are adjacent to each other. The entire peninsula is the Palos Verdes Peninsula. There is no such thing as Rancho Palos Verdes Estates.
However, there is another level of ambiguity, as the other two cities on the peninsula are Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates; and the two high schools serving the area (about two miles from each other) are Palos Verdes High School and Palos Verdes Peninsula High School - the later is usually just referred to as Pen.
The whole kit and caboodle is often referred to as Palos Verdes.
Quote from: michravera on September 10, 2019, 04:04:47 PM
There is a "Cucamonga" and a "Rancho Cucamonga". As I recall, they are not very near each other.
They're the same place. Cucamonga was the small farm town (located along Route 66) and (a mile south) railroad stop made famous by Jack Benny. As suburbanization took over the area, in 1977 Cucamonga, along with Etiwanda and Alta Loma, incorporated into the city of Rancho Cucamonga (the name of the 19th century Mexican land grant covering the area).
Quote from: roadman65 on September 10, 2019, 10:02:32 PM
Miami is Miami, Miami Beach (not the same as the main city as Miami Beach is its own municipality), Miami Gardens, Miami Springs, and North Miami. Nobody refers to all as "The Miamis" like all the Palm Beaches.
Then there's Miami, OK. Not confused by anyone because it's pronounced Mi-am-uh. It's at the last exit from I-44 before you get to Missoura.
Michigan has a Lake County and a community named Lake. Lake is not in Lake County, but is in Clare County. However, Lake (community) is on US-10, which also goes through Lake County.
Also in Michigan, Otsego is not in Otsego County, but in Allegan County. Oscoda is not in Oscoda County, but in (kiddy-corner) Iosco County. St. Joseph is not in St. Joseph County, but in relatively nearby Berrien County.
Quote from: ftballfan on September 12, 2019, 09:11:18 AM
Michigan has a Lake County and a community named Lake. Lake is not in Lake County, but is in Clare County.
WV has plenty of county - town mismatches.
Morgantown is in Monongalia County, not Morgan County.
Barboursville is in Cabell County, not Barbour County.
Point Pleasant is in Mason County, not Pleasants County.
Summersville is in Nicholas County, not Summers County.
Pleasant Valley is in Marion County, not Pleasants County.
Grant Town is in Marion County, not Grant County.
Jefferson is in Kanawha County, not Jefferson County.
Masontown is in Preston County, not Mason County.
Grantsville is in Calhoun County, not Grant County.
Berkeley Springs is in Morgan County, not Berkeley County.
Kanawha Falls is in Fayette County, not Kanawha County.
Summerlee is in Fayette County, not Summers County.
And Marshall University's main campus is in Cabell County, and it has major operations in Wayne, Putnam, Mason, Kanawha, Raleigh, Marion, Logan, Mingo, and Mineral counties, but none in Marshall County.
Quote from: SP Cook on September 12, 2019, 10:12:38 AM
Quote from: ftballfan on September 12, 2019, 09:11:18 AM
Michigan has a Lake County and a community named Lake. Lake is not in Lake County, but is in Clare County.
WV has plenty of county - town mismatches.
Morgantown is in Monongalia County, not Morgan County.
Barboursville is in Cabell County, not Barbour County.
Point Pleasant is in Mason County, not Pleasants County.
Summersville is in Nicholas County, not Summers County.
Pleasant Valley is in Marion County, not Pleasants County.
Grant Town is in Marion County, not Grant County.
Jefferson is in Kanawha County, not Jefferson County.
Masontown is in Preston County, not Mason County.
Grantsville is in Calhoun County, not Grant County.
Berkeley Springs is in Morgan County, not Berkeley County.
Kanawha Falls is in Fayette County, not Kanawha County.
Summerlee is in Fayette County, not Summers County.
And Marshall University's main campus is in Cabell County, and it has major operations in Wayne, Putnam, Mason, Kanawha, Raleigh, Marion, Logan, Mingo, and Mineral counties, but none in Marshall County.
Indiana has a bunch of these as well:
Brownstown and Brownsburg are not in Brown County
Decatur is not in Decatur County
Lafayette is not in Fayette County
Franklin is not in Franklin County
Henryville is not in Henry County
Jeffersonville is not in Jefferson County (but is in a county that borders two Jefferson Counties)
Knox is not in Knox County
Lawrenceburg is not in Lawrence County
Madison is not in Madison County
Marion is not in Marion County
Martinsville is not in Martin County
Newtown is not in Newton County
Noblesville is not in Noble County
Warren is not in Warren County
Waynetown is not in Wayne County
Whitestown is not in White County
and finally, none of Greensburg, Greenwood, Greencastle, Greentown, and Greenville are in Greene County
How about the variety of suffixes on the main word?
Waynesboro, Waynesville, Waynesburg.
Lewisburg, Lewistown, Lewisville.
Williamsport, Williamsville, Williamstown, Williamsburg.
Just for a couple examples. Sometimes when I am about to name one of them I need to make sure I got the right suffix.
Springdale, Utah is the town located closest to Zion National Park. However, people with a certain Utah accent frequently pronounce it as "Springdell", which is off US 189 east of Provo.
Plenty of Ontario's around here: the lake, the town (in Wayne County), the hamlet within the town, the county (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ontario+County,+NY/@42.8333539,-77.6612318,9.75z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89d121a465c4d3b5:0x9046c36f668a9a12!8m2!3d42.8509838!4d-77.2864879), and the Canadian province.
Also in Michigan:
Branch is not in Branch County, but is on the Mason/Lake county line.
Clinton is not in Clinton County, but is on the Washtenaw/Lenawee county line.
Clinton Township is not in Clinton County, but is in Macomb County.
Mackinaw City is not in Mackinac County, but is on the Emmet/Cheboygan county line. However, Mackinac Island is part of Mackinac County.
Schoolcraft is not in Schoolcraft County, but is in Kalamazoo County.
Van Buren Township is not in Van Buren County, but is in Wayne County.
Quote from: SCtoKC on January 13, 2019, 08:15:39 PM
Kansas City MO/KS. Trying to tell non-locals which one is which is incredibly difficult at times.
I spend a decent amount of time in the St. Louis area, where there is an O'Fallon in Missouri and Illinois, although they're not right next to each other.
There's also a Troy, MO and Troy, IL, both in the St. Louis metro area. I'm pretty sure one has to say Illinois or Missouri when determining which Springfield one is talking about. One more in the STL is Columbia. I was listening to a radio station while driving through the area and heard Columbia as the city of license. I was thinking Columbia, MO and thought how massive of a signal the station has until I looked it up and finding out it's Columbia, IL.
When in Memphis and you say you're going to or that you're from Jackson, you'll be asked which one. You could be asked the same when in Baton Rouge or Mobile, as there are Jacksons near both cities. And when you're in Nashville and going to Franklin, are you going to the booming suburb just south of the city, or to the town just across the Kentucky border?
Quote from: Jim on January 16, 2019, 05:21:18 PM
I live adjacent to the Town of Florida, NY, and previously have lived near Florida, MA, and I would always use and generally recall "Florida" by default meaning the state, and "Town of Florida" for the one near Amsterdam, and "Florida, Mass." or "Florida Mountain" for the one up the hill from North Adams.
Florida, NY, was the setting of a Law & Order: SVU episode. Benson and Stabler were looking for a suspect and thought the suspect would be in the state of Florida, but somehow realized it was Florida, NY.
Quote from: golden eagle on September 13, 2019, 08:07:37 PM
Quote from: Jim on January 16, 2019, 05:21:18 PM
I live adjacent to the Town of Florida, NY, and previously have lived near Florida, MA, and I would always use and generally recall "Florida" by default meaning the state, and "Town of Florida" for the one near Amsterdam, and "Florida, Mass." or "Florida Mountain" for the one up the hill from North Adams.
Florida, NY, was the setting of a Law & Order: SVU episode. Benson and Stabler were looking for a suspect and thought the suspect would be in the state of Florida, but somehow realized it was Florida, NY.
And Route 94 is in both Florida, NY and the State of Florida to make them look in Florida for the suspect .
There's also a Florida, MA along MA Route 2. I think I went through Worcester, NY on the way to Cooperstown once. :)
My father asked me years ago why are there so many "villes" in the south. Greenville, Fayetteville, Gainesville, Nashville, Huntsville...he has a point.
When I lived in New Jersey, I lived in the small town of Marlboro. However, when I mentioned it, many I met thought I was referring to Malborough, Massa.
We also have Marlborough, CT. It's along CT Route 2 in the southeastern corner of Hartford County. It's between Glastonbury and Colchester (New London County).
Quote from: cabiness42 on September 12, 2019, 01:39:29 PM
Quote from: SP Cook on September 12, 2019, 10:12:38 AM
Quote from: ftballfan on September 12, 2019, 09:11:18 AM
Michigan has a Lake County and a community named Lake. Lake is not in Lake County, but is in Clare County.
WV has plenty of county - town mismatches.
Morgantown is in Monongalia County, not Morgan County.
Barboursville is in Cabell County, not Barbour County.
Point Pleasant is in Mason County, not Pleasants County.
Summersville is in Nicholas County, not Summers County.
Pleasant Valley is in Marion County, not Pleasants County.
Grant Town is in Marion County, not Grant County.
Jefferson is in Kanawha County, not Jefferson County.
Masontown is in Preston County, not Mason County.
Grantsville is in Calhoun County, not Grant County.
Berkeley Springs is in Morgan County, not Berkeley County.
Kanawha Falls is in Fayette County, not Kanawha County.
Summerlee is in Fayette County, not Summers County.
And Marshall University's main campus is in Cabell County, and it has major operations in Wayne, Putnam, Mason, Kanawha, Raleigh, Marion, Logan, Mingo, and Mineral counties, but none in Marshall County.
Indiana has a bunch of these as well:
Brownstown and Brownsburg are not in Brown County
Decatur is not in Decatur County
Lafayette is not in Fayette County
Franklin is not in Franklin County
Henryville is not in Henry County
Jeffersonville is not in Jefferson County (but is in a county that borders two Jefferson Counties)
Knox is not in Knox County
Lawrenceburg is not in Lawrence County
Madison is not in Madison County
Marion is not in Marion County
Martinsville is not in Martin County
Newtown is not in Newton County
Noblesville is not in Noble County
Warren is not in Warren County
Waynetown is not in Wayne County
Whitestown is not in White County
and finally, none of Greensburg, Greenwood, Greencastle, Greentown, and Greenville are in Greene County
Of course in California:
Sutterville (a suburb of Sacramento) is in Sacramento county, not Sutter
Marysville is in Yuba County
Yuba City is in Sutter County, not Yuba
Placerville is in El Dorado county, not Placer
But, with those exceptions, most of the rest of California's counties that have a city or town name that is the same as the county, have at least one of the places so named inside the county. Now, places named "Little X" or the Spanish "Xito" may be named for a place that is far away. San Francisquito, for example, is in LA county.
One that might confuse people not from the area, Marine on St. Croix, MN and St. Croix Falls, WI (the latter also located in St. Croix County).
Not a settlement, but there are four mountains named Rich Mountain within a ten-mile radius of Boone, NC, and three named Rich Mountain within a ten-mile radius of Edneyville, NC. Western North Carolina and its immediate vicinity has...a lot...of mountains named Rich Mountain, for whatever reason.
Intersection with my personal hobby...
There's a LOT of places called Signal Mountain, TV Hill, Transmitter Hill, etc... ironically, the Signal Mountain nearest me, is completely devoid of any antennas.
Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on July 06, 2023, 06:54:17 AM
Intersection with my personal hobby...
There's a LOT of places called Signal Mountain, TV Hill, Transmitter Hill, etc... ironically, the Signal Mountain nearest me, is completely devoid of any antennas.
But as far as cities go, I can't think of a single one for Colorado. Not a lot of population in the states right around us and no cities of any size with the same name as cities here.
when I'm at a local sports bar and the feed on one of the screens starts scrolling a weather alert for 'menominee County', I start saying out loud "Monominee County in what state?", as both Wisconsin and Michigan have Menominee counties within the viewing/signal range of the TV stations in nearby Green Bay, WI.
Mike
Quote from: mgk920 on July 06, 2023, 11:13:17 AM
when I'm at a local sports bar and the feed on one of the screens starts scrolling a weather alert for 'menominee County', I start saying out loud "Monominee County in what state?", as both Wisconsin and Michigan have Menominee counties within the viewing/signal range of the TV stations in nearby Green Bay, WI.
Mike
There are two Lake Counties in the Chicago TV market, and two Jefferson Counties in the Louisville TV market. There are two St Joseph Counties, with one fully and one partially getting TV through South Bend.
Burbank there are two in California.
One a city in the Los Angeles area and another one a neighborhood in the San Jose area.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burbank,_Santa_Clara_County,_California
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burbank,_California
Pennsylvania has several township names that are repeated. In the Philadelphia metropolitan area alone, there are three Springfield Townships, in Bucks, Delaware, and Montgomery counties.
I didn't click every page, but St. Louis has two suburbs called O'Fallon: one in MO and one in IL.
Quote from: mgk920 on July 06, 2023, 11:13:17 AM
when I'm at a local sports bar and the feed on one of the screens starts scrolling a weather alert for 'menominee County', I start saying out loud "Monominee County in what state?", as both Wisconsin and Michigan have Menominee counties within the viewing/signal range of the TV stations in nearby Green Bay, WI.
Mike
Washington County, VA and Washington County, TN in the Tri-Cities area has occasionally caused some mix-ups. Only a single county away from each other.
There is more than one Beverly Hills in California. The More Notable one is in the Los Angeles area and another Beverly Hills in Vallejo, CA as a district in the city.
https://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Beverly-Hills-Vallejo-CA.html (https://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Beverly-Hills-Vallejo-CA.html)
https://www.gvrd.org/beverly-hills-park (https://www.gvrd.org/beverly-hills-park)
https://www.timesheraldonline.com/2020/01/11/vallejo-committee-recommending-lincoln-and-beverly-hills-schools-be-closed/ (https://www.timesheraldonline.com/2020/01/11/vallejo-committee-recommending-lincoln-and-beverly-hills-schools-be-closed/)
https://rosamondpress.com/2017/08/01/frank-h-buck-oil-spill/ (https://rosamondpress.com/2017/08/01/frank-h-buck-oil-spill/)
http://beverlyhills.org/citymanager/aboutbeverlyhills/historyofbeverlyhills/ (http://beverlyhills.org/citymanager/aboutbeverlyhills/historyofbeverlyhills/)
If one is wondering how Solano County, CA and Los Angeles County, CA got Beverly Hills according to this one from the official city website came from Beverly Farms, Massachusetts. However Beverly Hills the (Vallejo one) is tied to Frank H. Buck an influential person from Vacaville, CA who was part of the group to speculate on land in LA County back in the 1900's for oil drilling reasons before that land later became the city of Beverly Hills in LA County.
https://www.geni.com/people/Frank-Buck-Jr/6000000021324803567 (https://www.geni.com/people/Frank-Buck-Jr/6000000021324803567)
In the area around Kansas City, where I live, these examples come to mind:
There are towns named Edgerton in both Kansas and Missouri, each of them about 30 miles from downtown KC - the former just west of Gardner, the latter in between Smithville and St. Joseph.
Garden City is the name of a small town just southeast of Harrisonville, MO - as well as a town in western Kansas, which is much further away but is a lot bigger and better known that its Missouri counterpart of the same name.
And of course, the big one: Kansas City, MO, and Kansas City, KS themselves (the latter one referred to locally most often as "KCK").
There are also several examples nearby with county names. Johnson County, KS and Johnson County, MO border Jackson County, MO to the west and east, respectively. Jackson County is itself an example, as Jackson County, KS (where Holton is, just north of Topeka) isn't that far away. Also, Atchison County, KS (where the town of the same name is) and Atchison County, MO (in the northwest corner of the state) aren't that far apart either.
Also, some examples from elsewhere:
If I remember right, the exit on I-64 to Nashville, IL - a town just east of St. Louis - actually has "Nashville IL" on its signage because I-64 forms part of the main route from St. Louis to Nashville, TN.
Speaking of Tennessee, the signs for southbound I-55 in Memphis read "Jackson Miss" instead of just "Jackson" because Jackson, TN is located along I-40 east of Memphis.
Back in St. Louis, from that city you can either drive north on I-55 to Springfield, IL or west on I-44 to Springfield, MO; I'm sure it’s because of this that the signs for the latter road have Tulsa as the control city instead.
Quote from: michravera on September 02, 2019, 03:10:20 AM
Quote from: 1 on January 13, 2019, 10:43:45 AM
Ambiguous enough that any mention will require the state name (or other region) to avoid being asked "which one".
Note that in most cases, this is extremely local to where you live.
Here, there are a few that are ambiguous, plus two that would be if I moved a few miles.
Concord (MA vs. NH)
Hudson (also MA vs. NH)
Birmingham (AL vs. UK)
Rochester (NH vs. NY; MN is not a contender)
Washington (the state itself vs. the country's capital)
Amherst (MA vs. NH)
Where I live, Salem without a state name refers to Salem, NH, but moving ≈5 miles south or southeast (the number 5 is a guess) would make it ambiguous enough, with the other option being Salem, MA. I frequently go places where Salem, MA is the default meaning.
Newton without a state name refers to Newton, MA, even though Newton, NH is much closer. My guess is that going north into New Hampshire will result in Newton, NH being the default meaning as soon as you cross the state border; to find an area where it is ambiguous, I would have to go into Haverhill, MA (which is adjacent to Newton, NH).
Others that might seem ambiguous where I live, but are not:
* Portland refers to ME, not OR. People will talk about the other Portland, but they'll almost always apply the state name.
* Dover refers to DE, not MA or NH. Crossing the state border probably changes this to NH without any region of ambiguity, but there has to be a region of ambiguity somewhere for MA vs. DE.
* Springfield refers to MA, which makes sense since the three major ones are somewhat similar in population, and the one in Massachusetts is much closer than the other two.
* Franklin refers to MA, not NH.
* Brookline: Same as Newton; the one in New Hampshire is closer, but the one in Massachusetts is always meant.
* Groton: MA, even though CT is larger.
* Kingston: Could be 4-way (NH, MA, NY, Jamaica), but "Kingston" by itself refers to NH here.
* Burlington: MA, not VT.
* Bedford: MA, not NH; probably changes immediately upon crossing the state border.
* Rutland: VT, not MA.
* Greenland: Refers to the dependency of Denmark, despite the one in New Hampshire being within 30 miles.
Haven't encountered Milford enough to know (if it was ambiguous, it would be MA vs. NH). Same with Augusta (ME vs. GA) and Orange (MA vs. CA).
In California, there are at least two or three cities or towns that sound like Arcata, Arcadia, or similar. There are two with the same exact name one on the North Coast and one in the LA area.
The term "The Valley" usually refers to "San Fernando" south of Santa Barbara, but to "The Great Central Valley" (often Fresno, Bakersfield, or Tracy, Stockton, Sacramento, Chico, or Redding, depending upon what part of the coast) north of there.
San Marcos refers both to a suburb of San Diego and a pass near Santa Barbara.
"Grapevine" is a small town at the extreme south end of the San Joaquin Valley, but is often used to refer to the entire grade on the Valley side of Tejon Pass (and sometimes to the entire section of freeway between Grapevine and Santa Clarita.
In the San Francisco Bay Area I heard "In the Valley" to sometimes mean Santa Clara Valley and Silicon Valley whenever there's a big event in the San Jose area.
In Solano County we hear "In the Valley" to refer to Sacramento Valley and Delta part of the Central Valley given that some cities are in the Sacramento Delta and Valley like Vacaville, Dixon and Rio Vista.
California had an absurd number of Dog Towns:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogtown,_California
The Grosse Pointe suburb northeast of Detroit is actually five cities: Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Shores, Grosse Pointe Woods, and Grosse Pointe Park. I once heard a mnemonic that went something like "Park at the Pointe where the Shores meet the Farms and the Woods."
Quote from: wanderer2575 on July 09, 2023, 06:06:18 PM
The Grosse Pointe suburb northeast of Detroit is actually five cities: Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Shores, Grosse Pointe Woods, and Grosse Pointe Park. I once heard a mnemonic that went something like "Park at the Pointe where the Shores meet the Farms and the Woods."
There are several Barringtons on/near the Cook/Lake county border.
I always confuse Park Forest and Forest Park. Both are in the Chicago suburbs.
Town of Maricopa is a exurb/suburb of Phoenix and other cities in Maricopa County. But it's located in Pinal County.
It's generally considered to be an East Valley suburb even though it lies almost due south of the City of Phoenix. Parts of its projected growth area lie in the Goodyear Fire district, a far west valley suburb.
Paradise Valley is a neighborhood in the northeastern City Of Phoenix. There's also a town of the same name sandwiched between Phoenix and Scottsdale.
South Tucson in common usage refers to the southern half of the city. There's a city of South Tucson directly adjacent to downtown, about one square mile, entirely surrounded by the City of Tucson.
Quote from: 1 on January 13, 2019, 10:43:45 AM
Ambiguous enough that any mention will require the state name (or other region) to avoid being asked "which one".
Note that in most cases, this is extremely local to where you live.
* Kingston: Could be 4-way (NH, MA, NY, Jamaica), but "Kingston" by itself refers to NH here.
* Burlington: MA, not VT.
There's also Kingston, ON, which is I believe is larger than all of the above Kingston except Jamaica
Same for Burlington, ON.
In the Toronto area, there may be confusion over which "York" you may be referring to if you don't specify "York Region", "York University" or "York, Toronto". You may even have to specify the subway station if you're heading to the station named "York University"
Another is Waterloo. Region of Waterloo, University of Waterloo, or the City of Waterloo? Since the City of Waterloo is within the Region of Waterloo, I wonder how often both governments have to redirect complaints/requests to the other.
London. London, Ontario or London UK?
In the Toronto Area, usually, when someone refers to Niagara Falls, they would either assume the Niagara Falls ON or the physical falls themselves. You'd have to specify you'd be crossing the border if you are referring to Niagara Falls, NY.
This isn't a city name or town name but there's a Brock Road and Brock Street that are 11 km away and both have an interchange on Highway 401. Therefore one really needs to specify whether it's "Road" or "Street", or specify the city it's in (Pickering or Whitby).
Nobody confuses Paris, Texas with Paris, France. On a local level, I'm sure the disambiguity is not necessary or minimally so at most.
Slightly different, West Texas is actually a city in the east half of Texas and is no not a descriptor of western Texas.
Quote from: Big John on July 26, 2023, 07:57:08 PM
Slightly different, West Texas is actually a city in the east half of Texas and is no not a descriptor of western Texas.
Best known for a fertilizer plant explosion (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Fertilizer_Company_explosion).
On the subject of Texas: if someone in that state is saying they're going to Atlanta, are they talking about the town in the Piney Woods region, or the city in Georgia?
Quote from: US 89 on July 26, 2023, 11:18:38 PM
Quote from: Big John on July 26, 2023, 07:57:08 PM
Slightly different, West Texas is actually a city in the east half of Texas and is no not a descriptor of western Texas.
Best known for a fertilizer plant explosion (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Fertilizer_Company_explosion).
There is that, but they're more famous as a way stop for kolaches between DFW and Central Texas. Like several communities in that part of the state, West has a large Czech population.