Ambiguous City Names

[thspfc]

Not a city name, but Oregon WI vs Oregon.
Monroe WI vs several other Monroes.
Cambridge WI vs Cambridge MA
Not so much in Wisconsin, but I imagine in other states, other Madisons vs Madison WI can create some confusion due to kids learning about state capitals in schools.

[ftballfan]

Minnesota has Shoreview and Shorewood in the Twin Cities. Shoreview is the junction of I-35W and I-694 while Shorewood is a wealthy community near Lake Minnetonka on the west side.

Shoreview is also where most of the big TV and radio stations in the Twin Cities broadcast from

[I-55]

Columbus OH and IN

Another confusing Columbus pair includes Columbus, MS and GA. More confusing is that they're both off US-82. Even more confusing is that they're both on the Alabama state line.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Jackson. If you're in Memphis, you would have to differentiate between Tennessee or Mississippi.

If you're in Memphis is the key. The rest of the country mostly only knows about the Mississippi one, although Michigan also has a decent-sized city named Jackson, and there could be potential confusion with Jacksonville, Florida.

I've never been to Ole Miss or Southern Miss, but I sure have been to Jackson Miss 

[Eth]

Columbus OH and IN

Another confusing Columbus pair includes Columbus, MS and GA. More confusing is that they're both off US-82. Even more confusing is that they're both on the Alabama state line.

Columbus, GA is on US 80, not US 82.

[AlexandriaVA]

Las Vegas is a tiny town in northern New Mexico, which happens to have an Amtrak station, while Las Vegas Nevada is obviously the gambling capital of the USA. I wonder how many travelers have been thrown off by that.

[SEWIGuy]

There are sizable "Bloomingtons" in both Illinois and Indiana.  Both are home to fairly significant universities as well.  (Yes, I know Illinois State is legally in Normal.)

There are also Clintons all over the midwest.  When I lived in Indiana, I had a coworker who just moved to the area accidentally go to the one in Illinois instead of Indiana for a meeting.

[Takumi]

One that's gotten some mild confusion around where I live is Roanoke, VA and Roanoke Rapids, NC. They're nowhere near each other, but I've heard people from the Emporia area talk about "Roanoke"  and meaning Roanoke Rapids.

[I-55]

Columbus OH and IN

Another confusing Columbus pair includes Columbus, MS and GA. More confusing is that they're both off US-82. Even more confusing is that they're both on the Alabama state line.

Columbus, GA is on US 80, not US 82.

Thanks for fixing, I'm much more familiar with their alignments west of I-65 (since I've actually been there).

[I-55]

Almost 1/2 of all states in the US have a Lexington. I've been to Lexington, KY, TN, and probably one I don't remember

[hotdogPi]

Almost 1/2 of all states in the US have a Lexington. I've been to Lexington, KY, TN, and probably one I don't remember

MA? It's a tourist attraction (because of history) and very close to Boston.

[Scott5114]

To me, Lexington means Lexington OK, which is the location of the next Canadian River bridge south of Norman.

[DandyDan]

There are sizable "Bloomingtons" in both Illinois and Indiana.  Both are home to fairly significant universities as well.  (Yes, I know Illinois State is legally in Normal.)

There are also Clintons all over the midwest.  When I lived in Indiana, I had a coworker who just moved to the area accidentally go to the one in Illinois instead of Indiana for a meeting.

Don't forget about Bloomington, MN, the home of the Mall of America and former home of the Vikings and Twins.  Also, don't forget about Clinton, IA.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the guy I worked with when I lived in Omaha who came from Cedar Rapids, NE. I assumed he had moved from Cedar Rapids, IA. Big mistake there and he never let me forget it as long as I worked with him.

The one that shocks me for not being mentioned yet is O'Fallon, Missouri and O'Fallon, Illinois. Both are in the St. Louis area.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Several flight confusion cases have involved Sydney, NS, Canada and Sydney, NSW, Australia. Another involved Konstanz, Germany and Constanta, Romania (both are Constanza in Spanish and Italian).

Though not similarly-named, I'm pretty sure Kinshasa and Brazzaville get confused more than often, both being capitals of their respective Congos (and across the Congo river from each other).

[frankenroad]

Back in the 60s, my dad traveled a lot to various cities along the Mississippi River and Gulf Coast.   He would always have to fly to Atlanta and then change planes.   One time, he was on his way to Greenville MS, but got on a plane headed for Greenville SC.  Fortunately, being the "never met a stranger" kind of guy he was - he got talking to his seatmate before the plane took off and discovered he was on the wrong plane, and was able to get off before it left.

It never occurred to me to ask him if the travel agent had booked the wrong Greenville, or if he just boarded the wrong plane.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Wisconsin has Menomonie, Menomonee Falls, and is bordered by Menominee, MI.

Minnesota has two Split Rock state parks in opposite corners of the state; someone told me more people confuse them than one would think.

[NWI_Irish96]

Wisconsin has Menomonie, Menomonee Falls, and is bordered by Menominee, MI.

Minnesota has two Split Rock state parks in opposite corners of the state; someone told me more people confuse them than one would think.

It's right there in the name--Split Rock--once that happens of course there are two of them.

[michravera]

Several flight confusion cases have involved Sydney, NS, Canada and Sydney, NSW, Australia. Another involved Konstanz, Germany and Constanta, Romania (both are Constanza in Spanish and Italian).

Though not similarly-named, I'm pretty sure Kinshasa and Brazzaville get confused more than often, both being capitals of their respective Congos (and across the Congo river from each other).

I've heard several accounts of people boarding planes for Auckland, New Zealand instead of Oakland. CA, USA.

There are a number of airports in California whose local name is "South County". The are usually not close enough to each other or on the same CTAF frequency, but I always use the city or town name in addition to "South County" whenever I address traffic (e.g. "San Martin-South County Traffic ...").  One such airport is Q99 in San Martin ("South County of Santa Clara County") which is also the Spanish name of a French-Nederlandsk island in the Caribbean (airport is SXM). As far as I know, there are no scheduled direct flights to SXM from SJC, but lots of private pilots fly from SJC to Q99.

[SEWIGuy]

Wisconsin has Menomonie, Menomonee Falls, and is bordered by Menominee, MI.

And a Menominee County, which does not include any of the municipalities above. 

Two other oddities in Wisconsin:

*Portage isn't located in Portage County (even though it used to be.)  Portage is the seat of Columbia County, while Stevens Point is the seat of Portage County.

*Juneau isn't located in Juneau County (and it never was.)  Juneau is the seat of Dodge County, while Mauston is the seat of Juneau County.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Several flight confusion cases have involved Sydney, NS, Canada and Sydney, NSW, Australia. Another involved Konstanz, Germany and Constanta, Romania (both are Constanza in Spanish and Italian).

Though not similarly-named, I'm pretty sure Kinshasa and Brazzaville get confused more than often, both being capitals of their respective Congos (and across the Congo river from each other).

I've heard several accounts of people boarding planes for Auckland, New Zealand instead of Oakland. CA, USA.

I've spent some time around a New Zealand-based online Twitch community lately and "Auckland" pronounced in a NZ accent does sound a lot like "Oakland". I even mentioned that recently. Weird.

[webny99]

Minnesota has two Split Rock state parks in opposite corners of the state; someone told me more people confuse them than one would think.

It's right there in the name--Split Rock--once that happens of course there are two of them.

Q: What do you get when you split rocks?
A: Twin Cities

[thspfc]

Minnesota has two Split Rock state parks in opposite corners of the state; someone told me more people confuse them than one would think.

It's right there in the name--Split Rock--once that happens of course there are two of them.

Q: What do you get when you split rocks?
A: Twin Cities

Q: What do you get when you split I-35?
A: I-35E and I-35W

[I-55]

Minnesota has two Split Rock state parks in opposite corners of the state; someone told me more people confuse them than one would think.

It's right there in the name--Split Rock--once that happens of course there are two of them.

Q: What do you get when you split rocks?
A: Twin Cities

Q: What do you get when you split I-35?
A: I-35E and I-35W

An ambiguous split.

[formulanone]

I've heard several accounts of people boarding planes for Auckland, New Zealand instead of Oakland. CA, USA.

I highly doubt this has happened in the last 20 years; the boarding just won't scan, let alone the possible need for a passport check and the improbability of two very different types of aircraft.

[michravera]

I've heard several accounts of people boarding planes for Auckland, New Zealand instead of Oakland. CA, USA.

I highly doubt this has happened in the last 20 years; the boarding just won't scan, let alone the possible need for a passport check and the improbability of two very different types of aircraft.

I think that you are right. As I recall, the last time that I heard of it was around 1990. The incident of which I am aware was a younger person (maybe 12-16) travelling alone through LAX and in transito on an international flight when the LAX-OAK leg left from the international terminal or the LAX-AUK leg left from the domestic side for some reason. The person may have even had help from the airline personnel to get to the wrong gate.

[ftballfan]

Manistee and Manistique, Michigan. Both on Lake Michigan and both on a US Highway. Fun fact: The previous school superintendent in Manistee came there from Manistique