Places isolated from their state that associate more with another state

[SP Cook]

Honestly, the whole vibe I get from the river cities and counties in West Virginia is much more "northern panhandle" than anywhere else. Maybe it's just me, but it seems to me like Huntington has more in common with Parkersburg, Wheeling, Weirton, etc., than it does with Williamson or Logan, which are much closer.

I get what you are saying, but the flat-er parts of WV (there ain't no flat part) which is along the Ohio, Monongalia, and Kanawha and much more industrial (steel, aluminium, and chemicals) than coal oriented do have something of a more rust belt-ish vibe, but I can see the distinction between the actual north and central Appalachia.  To me the transition is somewhere on WV 2 between Parkersburg and New Martinsville.   

In the south, or what I call the main part of WV, while the towns are industrial, or perhaps post-industrial, the family background of most people is central Appalachian, be it one generation or four.  They, or their great grandfather, moved from some place like Logan to some place like Huntington for a better life.  In the northern edge, the ethnic background of the people in the city, and of the people in the nearby countryside who might move to those cities, is far different.

I can say the same thing about places like Lexington, Ashland, Ironton, Bristol-Kingsport-Johnson City, Roanoke-Lynchburg, or even the Carolina Piedmont and further south along the Appalachian crest, even Cincinnati all of which I feel (as a person who did just that, moved from rural central Appalachia to the nearest city for a better life) far more at home in that I do in northern WV.

[hbelkins]

Honestly, the whole vibe I get from the river cities and counties in West Virginia is much more "northern panhandle" than anywhere else. Maybe it's just me, but it seems to me like Huntington has more in common with Parkersburg, Wheeling, Weirton, etc., than it does with Williamson or Logan, which are much closer.

I get what you are saying, but the flat-er parts of WV (there ain't no flat part) which is along the Ohio, Monongalia, and Kanawha and much more industrial (steel, aluminium, and chemicals) than coal oriented do have something of a more rust belt-ish vibe, but I can see the distinction between the actual north and central Appalachia.  To me the transition is somewhere on WV 2 between Parkersburg and New Martinsville.   

In the south, or what I call the main part of WV, while the towns are industrial, or perhaps post-industrial, the family background of most people is central Appalachian, be it one generation or four.  They, or their great grandfather, moved from some place like Logan to some place like Huntington for a better life.  In the northern edge, the ethnic background of the people in the city, and of the people in the nearby countryside who might move to those cities, is far different.

I can say the same thing about places like Lexington, Ashland, Ironton, Bristol-Kingsport-Johnson City, Roanoke-Lynchburg, or even the Carolina Piedmont and further south along the Appalachian crest, even Cincinnati all of which I feel (as a person who did just that, moved from rural central Appalachia to the nearest city for a better life) far more at home in that I do in northern WV.

Cincinnati and Dayton, along with the areas around those two cities, are full of families that are two or three generations removed from eastern Kentucky.

I'm getting ready to (finally) read "Hillbilly Elegy," written by an Ohio native whose family's roots were in Breathitt County. The book's been both praised and panned; I guess I'll finally see what all the hoopla was about.

[Sctvhound]

The lower 3 counties in South Carolina (Jasper, Beaufort, Hampton) all lean toward the Savannah area. All 3 are in Savannah's TV market. Savannah's TV market is larger than Charleston because of that, while the SC counties strangely aren't in Savannah's radio market (even though most of Savannah's stations cover Hilton Head and it is only a 30 mile drive).

West Virginia is a varied state as SamC would know. Princeton to Wheeling is a 271 mile drive, and a good chunk of it goes through Ohio. Weirton is almost a 5 hour drive. It's a closer drive to Charlotte and even Columbia, SC from Princeton than it is to Weirton.

[roadman65]

NJ has no identity as North Jersey tends to lean more to New York City (part of NY State of course) and South Jersey toward Philly.

However when radio comes in, like Toms River has its own market and one station (I forgot the call letters) but prides itself in saying Ocean County's best music catering to Ocean County's businesses to sponsor.  In Morris County( WDHA) was made it known it was Morris County's own station and had sponsorship with Morris County businesses. 

I do often wonder about Phillipsburg as its in Lehigh Valley's market both in radio and TV, so I wonder if that part of the state is neither NY or Philly but PA at that area adjacent.

[ftballfan]

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan tends to run more with the Wisconsin types than the Lower Peninsula. 

The central and western U.P. is definitely that way - from about Munising/Manistique west is closer to Milwaukee and Madison than Lansing and Detroit. For example, you get more Packers fans than Lions fans. Houghton and Marquette have a large number of college students from the Lower Peninsula, which helps keeps a Michigan connection. But folks drive to Green Bay, Wausau, Duluth, or Minneapolis to shop rather than a Lower Peninsula location.

The eastern U.P. is physically closer to Lower Peninsula markets, and the residents tend to identify more with the Lower Peininsula. Radio and television markets are tied to the Traverse City area, for example (if not the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario market).

From Munising to Newberry and south is mostly forest with few residents, which results in a Central/Western U.P. cluster and a (much smaller) Eastern U.P. cluster. Then there's Wakefield/Bessemer/Ironwood, which are in Duluth TV markets and within a 4 hour drive of the Twin Cities. To them, Detroit might as well be in another country.

The UP appears to have a very sharp divide at about M-77. Areas west of there tend to associate more with Marquette and Green Bay, while areas east of there tend to associate more with Sault Ste. Marie and Traverse City. Outside of the Lions, most of the UP either tends to lean toward Detroit for major sports or doesn't care about major sports at all.

Several Green Bay radio stations get listenership along Lake Michigan between about Glen Arbor and Silver Lake. In fact, years ago (I'm talking 1950s and 1960s), Manistee and Mason counties were even in the Green Bay TV market! As late as the early 1990s, the Ludington Daily News had more stations from Wisconsin in their TV listings than Michigan stations! Also, Ludington and Manistee were among the few areas of Michigan that never had WKBD on cable (they had WGN and WTBS, as well as WVTV very briefly). To this day, there are still a sizable number of Packers fans in west central lower Michigan as it usually has been easier to get the Packers on radio (it helps that their longtime Milwaukee affiliate sends all their juice north and northeast) than the Lions.

[golden eagle]

I could argue that the Florida Panhandle seems more being a part of Alabama than does the rest of the state.

[KEVIN_224]

Plus much of it is in the Central Time Zone, just like Alabama is.

[The Nature Boy]

I have only been to the Plattsburgh area once, but in general the North Country and Vermont have a lot more in common with each other, than they do with Western and Central NY.

I still don't believe those in the Daks think that they're more of a part of Vermont than New York.

No, but that doesn't mean they have more in common with other parts of New York than they do with Vermont.

They certainly don't associate themselves with Vermont, which is where this discussion started.

To an "outsider" (of sorts) the area has a lot in common with Vermont. Maybe steviep24 should have phrased it differently, so it was clear that he is the one associating Plattsburgh with Vermont, not Plattsburgh residents themselves.

I live in the North Country. We certainly don't associate ourselves with Vermont... or anywhere else, for that matter. If anything, we associate more with Canada, but that's a stretch too.

Drive around in the North Country, then drive around in Vermont. Nothing alike. Vermont actually prides itself on beautification and natural beauty, for one, while the North Country is poor, with run-down buildings and overgrown weeds everywhere. It's long been said that this area is recession-proof because it's always in a recession. The two regions aren't even politically alike, either.

I've always thought that it was interesting that you could tell exactly when you cross the state line from Vermont to NY, even without seeing a welcome sign. The same natural scenery but such different economic circumstances.

Plattsburgh and Burlington do share a media market but I imagine the the North Country gets relatively little coverage on their shared stations.

[hbelkins]

On a trip out to the Jackson Purchase area a couple of years ago, I was surprised at just how much of the area is so much closer to Union City, Tenn., than any decent-sized town in Kentucky (Murray and Paducah, and to a lesser extent, Mayfield). The state line is probably a hard dividing line between Big Blue and Rocky Top fandom, but I wonder what other sports allegiances there are in that area. Pretty sure the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs are the dominant baseball teams.

[The Nature Boy]

On a trip out to the Jackson Purchase area a couple of years ago, I was surprised at just how much of the area is so much closer to Union City, Tenn., than any decent-sized town in Kentucky (Murray and Paducah, and to a lesser extent, Mayfield). The state line is probably a hard dividing line between Big Blue and Rocky Top fandom, but I wonder what other sports allegiances there are in that area. Pretty sure the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs are the dominant baseball teams.

How far would Tennessee Titans NFL fandom extend into that area? It's not that far from Nashville and with the Rams gone now, you'd think that the Titans could grab that entire region.

[hbelkins]

On a trip out to the Jackson Purchase area a couple of years ago, I was surprised at just how much of the area is so much closer to Union City, Tenn., than any decent-sized town in Kentucky (Murray and Paducah, and to a lesser extent, Mayfield). The state line is probably a hard dividing line between Big Blue and Rocky Top fandom, but I wonder what other sports allegiances there are in that area. Pretty sure the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs are the dominant baseball teams.

How far would Tennessee Titans NFL fandom extend into that area? It's not that far from Nashville and with the Rams gone now, you'd think that the Titans could grab that entire region.

I'd guess that's the dominant football team unless that place was already Cowboys country. I haven't followed the NFL in years so really, I don't pay it much mind, and if I did, well the Titans are the recycled Houston Oilers, and I couldn't stand them when they were in the Bengals' division back when I did watch the NFL.

The only good thing about the Browns moving to Baltimore and Browns 2.0 being established is that it would give me two sets of Cleveland Browns to hate. 

[Sctvhound]

I remember going on vacation a couple of years ago (to St. Louis), and we stayed in Kuttawa, KY one night. There was this sports bar called the Oasis there, and they had Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tennessee Titans stuff all over the walls.

Western Kentucky supports the Cardinals more than any other baseball team. The Titans as well. Eastern Kentucky is mostly Bengals and Reds.

Kuttawa is 90 minutes from Nashville and Evansville, 3 hours from St. Louis, and a little over 3 from Memphis. I was getting FM from all four of those markets there on a hot summer night.

[Takumi]

Williamston and Ahoskie are lonely cities and with declining population. There's not much to do there and they are very isolated with low population.

While that might be true I don't think that exactly fits the bill of the thread, as they're still very much associated with NC, also being part of the 'Inner Banks' region.

So, maybe Emporia or Elizabeth city?

Elizabeth City somewhat, they associate a lot with Hampton Roads.

Moyock, a growing town (thanks to sprawl and residential development spilling from Virginia) is located right over the border on NC-168, and most definitely is associated with Hampton Roads.

Can’t say too much about Emporia as my knowledge isn’t strong on that city. It is only 40 minutes from Petersburg and an hour from Richmond, comparable to Elizabeth City with Hampton Roads, but that’s within the same state.

Emporia’s kind of its own little ecosystem, maybe a bit of cross-state tandem with Roanoke Rapids. That said, I have met people who commute between the Emporia area and the Petersburg area, but not Richmond. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, though.

[TravelingBethelite]

On a trip out to the Jackson Purchase area a couple of years ago, I was surprised at just how much of the area is so much closer to Union City, Tenn., than any decent-sized town in Kentucky (Murray and Paducah, and to a lesser extent, Mayfield). The state line is probably a hard dividing line between Big Blue and Rocky Top fandom, but I wonder what other sports allegiances there are in that area. Pretty sure the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs are the dominant baseball teams.

How far would Tennessee Titans NFL fandom extend into that area? It's not that far from Nashville and with the Rams gone now, you'd think that the Titans could grab that entire region.

With the dissolution of the Rams fandom (as they were in St. Louis), the Chiefs Kingdom is expanding to the south and east. The Chiefs Radio Network has a growing number of affiliates in southern and southeast Missouri. Many affiliates in northeast Arkansas, too. See: https://www.kcchiefsradio.com/affiliate-team/.

[kevinb1994]

On a trip out to the Jackson Purchase area a couple of years ago, I was surprised at just how much of the area is so much closer to Union City, Tenn., than any decent-sized town in Kentucky (Murray and Paducah, and to a lesser extent, Mayfield). The state line is probably a hard dividing line between Big Blue and Rocky Top fandom, but I wonder what other sports allegiances there are in that area. Pretty sure the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs are the dominant baseball teams.

How far would Tennessee Titans NFL fandom extend into that area? It's not that far from Nashville and with the Rams gone now, you'd think that the Titans could grab that entire region.

With the dissolution of the Rams fandom (as they were in St. Louis), the Chiefs Kingdom is expanding to the south and east. The Chiefs Radio Network has a growing number of affiliates in southern and southeast Missouri. Many affiliates in northeast Arkansas, too. See: https://www.kcchiefsradio.com/affiliate-team/.

I already see a large rivalry at play, thanks to the void left by the Rams.

[ilpt4u]

On a trip out to the Jackson Purchase area a couple of years ago, I was surprised at just how much of the area is so much closer to Union City, Tenn., than any decent-sized town in Kentucky (Murray and Paducah, and to a lesser extent, Mayfield). The state line is probably a hard dividing line between Big Blue and Rocky Top fandom, but I wonder what other sports allegiances there are in that area. Pretty sure the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs are the dominant baseball teams.

How far would Tennessee Titans NFL fandom extend into that area? It's not that far from Nashville and with the Rams gone now, you'd think that the Titans could grab that entire region.

With the dissolution of the Rams fandom (as they were in St. Louis), the Chiefs Kingdom is expanding to the south and east. The Chiefs Radio Network has a growing number of affiliates in southern and southeast Missouri. Many affiliates in northeast Arkansas, too. See: https://www.kcchiefsradio.com/affiliate-team/.

I already see a large rivalry at play, thanks to the void left by the Rams.

Helps that the Chiefs are also the Defending Super Bowl Champs, with the Up&Coming Face of the League as their Starting QB

The Cape Girardeau, MO FOX and CBS stations aired every Chiefs Sunday Afternoon game in the 2019 Season ie they were given the "home"  team treatment in the TV DMA. The DMA covers Southeastern MO, Western KY, Southern IL, and a little bit of extreme Northwestern TN.

None of the market broadcast networks currently carry any team's NFL Preseason TV package of games, which the teams control the broadcast rights for, other than nationally broadcast preseason games. A couple of seasons ago, the NBC affiliate out of Paducah, KY for the DMA carried Tennessee Titan preseason games, but they have not carried them for a season or two now

The first year the Rams were gone, the Chiefs, Titans, Bears, and Colts staked claims to the vacated TV markets that the Rams controlled, including this one. In the St Louis TV DMA, the Chiefs, Bears, and Packers Preseason TV games are carried on local broadcast networks. In the Evansville, IN TV DMA, the Colts, Bears, and Titans Preseason TV games are carried on local broadcast networks

With the Chiefs success the last few seasons and capturing the Lombardi Trophy in February, I think their Claim is holding strong, at least for now

[ethanhopkin14]

I remember going on vacation a couple of years ago (to St. Louis), and we stayed in Kuttawa, KY one night. There was this sports bar called the Oasis there, and they had Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tennessee Titans stuff all over the walls.

Western Kentucky supports the Cardinals more than any other baseball team. The Titans as well. Eastern Kentucky is mostly Bengals and Reds.

Kuttawa is 90 minutes from Nashville and Evansville, 3 hours from St. Louis, and a little over 3 from Memphis. I was getting FM from all four of those markets there on a hot summer night.

Part of the reason Kentucky has a big Cardinal fanbase has to do with Louisville having the long time Triple A Cardinal Affiliate, Louisville Cardinals (Not the University).  They played where the football team used to play. 

[golden eagle]

Desoto County, MS, would fit in more with Tennessee since it borders Memphis. It's the second most populated county in the Memphis metro. Unlike the rest of the state that are mostly Saints and Braves, I'm willing to bet Desoto are more supportive of the Titans and Cardinals. Memphis also has an NBA team, the Grizzlies.

[JayhawkCO]

I'm surprised that a pretty obvious one hasn't been mentioned.  The Kansas suburbs of Kansas City are for more likely to go into Missouri than further into Kansas for anything.  Even when I went to school in Lawrence, I would way more likely find myself in KC, MO than Topeka despite KC, MO being about 15-20 minutes farther away.  Especially since there are so many KU and K-State grads in KC, no one on that side would ever call themselves "Missourians", but as far as associating more with it?  Especially with most of the pro sports teams on that side, I think it's pretty easy to say yes.

I don't think there are really many examples in Colorado.  Mainly because there aren't any sizable cities right outside the Colorado borders, nor really any towns of any size whatsoever in Utah near Grand Junction that would maybe feel a little more "Coloradoan".  Eastern Colorado sure feels more like Kansas or Nebraska, but there aren't any large towns that would draw someone across the state lines. 

I did see a University of Wyoming flag in Virginia Dale, CO as Laramie isn't too far away, but that's still certainly Coloradoan.

Chris

[Sctvhound]

Kansas Jayhawks basketball is also like a pro sports team to Kansas City in lieu of the NBA or NHL (both of which had teams in Kansas City but which moved to other cities). That's a good example. There are some people there that root for KU in basketball and another university in football.

Talking about Emporia, Virginia (a place I've been to several times), I'd say it leans towards Virginia more than North Carolina. Both Richmond and Hampton Roads stations are on the television at hotels there (before places like Hampton Inn went to full satellite).

Roanoke Rapids in NC feels more like Virginia than North Carolina to me. Emporia and Roanoke Rapids are only 18 miles apart. They're one of the only towns in NC that gets MASN (the Orioles and Nationals TV channel) on basic cable. Most of North Carolina has to get satellite to watch those two teams.