Three closest states that you have not driven in

[MikieTimT]

North Carolina
South Carolina
Michigan

Had planned on knocking the top 2 out this summer, but plans got changed and we had to empty an AirBnB to turn back into a rent house.  Would have replaced the top 2 with North Dakota and Pennsylvania otherwise.

I think North Dakota just might be the most common straggler in the lower 48.  You have to really want to go there.

[gonealookin]

The "flyover states" are named that for a reason.

Spoken like a true Californian......or Nevadian on the state line.

The disrespect is strong.

Well, yeah.

Those five states from ND down to OK have a lot of commonality of interest, primarily agriculture and to some extent oil.  It's reflected too in the fact that their Congressional representation by party affiliation is 10-0 in the Senate and 13-1 in the House.  I know the Founding Fathers set up the Senate that way to make sure small states had a voice in national politics.  Their political influence is way out of whack though; if you combine the five states into a single State of Flyover, it's still only the #10 state in the union by population.  Merge 'em and you have a single cohesive and fairly powerful state, and by reducing Senate representation from 10/100 to 2/92 you have more rationality in national politics.

[ethanhopkin14]

The "flyover states" are named that for a reason.

Spoken like a true Californian......or Nevadian on the state line.

The disrespect is strong.

Well, yeah.

Those five states from ND down to OK have a lot of commonality of interest, primarily agriculture and to some extent oil.  It's reflected too in the fact that their Congressional representation by party affiliation is 10-0 in the Senate and 13-1 in the House.  I know the Founding Fathers set up the Senate that way to make sure small states had a voice in national politics.  Their political influence is way out of whack though; if you combine the five states into a single State of Flyover, it's still only the #10 state in the union by population.  Merge 'em and you have a single cohesive and fairly powerful state, and by reducing Senate representation from 10/100 to 2/92 you have more rationality in national politics.

I am sure people living there love to hear their state called a flyover state.  "Your state is a means to get over it on my way from Los Angeles to New York."  You know, the only real places in the country......  sometimes Chicago.....

[fhmiii]

The "flyover states" are named that for a reason.

If that's your opinion, you can just keep flyin' over.

My list doesn't change with the admonition that I have to have started my trip from home.  My only trip to Nebraska was flying into Omaha, my only trip to Iowa my dad was driving, and I've never been to South Dakota.  I'm sure I'll check those off someday fairly soon now that I'm living in KCMO again, but for now they're glaring holes in my driving experience.

This also means I have to eliminate every state west of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado, as I've only flown to those and then driven, but those are farther away than my list, anyway.  As far as the East Coast from living in briefly in Connecticut and then many years in Georgia, I've driven to or through the majority of states east of the Mississippi River.  I'm missing Delaware, Michigan, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island.  And I've flown to or been in the passenger seat for many of those.

[jeffandnicole]

The "flyover states" are named that for a reason.

Spoken like a true Californian......or Nevadian on the state line.

The disrespect is strong.

Well, yeah.

Those five states from ND down to OK have a lot of commonality of interest, primarily agriculture and to some extent oil.  It's reflected too in the fact that their Congressional representation by party affiliation is 10-0 in the Senate and 13-1 in the House.  I know the Founding Fathers set up the Senate that way to make sure small states had a voice in national politics.  Their political influence is way out of whack though; if you combine the five states into a single State of Flyover, it's still only the #10 state in the union by population.  Merge 'em and you have a single cohesive and fairly powerful state, and by reducing Senate representation from 10/100 to 2/92 you have more rationality in national politics.

All well and good, buy people aren't traveling to pick up produce and barrels of oil. Every state has their importance to the nation, but to most travelers, they're "flyover states" for the facts you mentioned.

[frankenroad]

they also happen to be the three closest states I've never been to....

Arkansas
Nebraska
South Dakota

I've been to 45 states, and I believe I have driven in all of them, except Utah where all I've done is change planes.

[gonealookin]

The "flyover states" are named that for a reason.

Spoken like a true Californian......or Nevadian on the state line.

The disrespect is strong.

Well, yeah.

Those five states from ND down to OK have a lot of commonality of interest, primarily agriculture and to some extent oil.  It's reflected too in the fact that their Congressional representation by party affiliation is 10-0 in the Senate and 13-1 in the House.  I know the Founding Fathers set up the Senate that way to make sure small states had a voice in national politics.  Their political influence is way out of whack though; if you combine the five states into a single State of Flyover, it's still only the #10 state in the union by population.  Merge 'em and you have a single cohesive and fairly powerful state, and by reducing Senate representation from 10/100 to 2/92 you have more rationality in national politics.

I am sure people living there love to hear their state called a flyover state.  "Your state is a means to get over it on my way from Los Angeles to New York."  You know, the only real places in the country......  sometimes Chicago.....

I understand the complaint and the perception of condescension.  There are nice places to live in every state, and the people who choose to live in any specific location usually do so because they enjoy the physical environment, the culture, the weather, whatever, not so much because they are "stuck there" for some reason.

Living there is different from visiting though, and looking at some fairly objective ranking (hotel bookings) we have (out of 51 "states" including D.C.):

#36 South Dakota
#41 Oklahoma
#43 North Dakota
#46 Kansas
#49 Nebraska

Pretty low considering that all those states are decently large by area.  Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont are near the bottom of that list too, but they are tiny.  So, yes, people fly over them on their way elsewhere.

[wriddle082]

Living in South Carolina, the closest three for me are Iowa, Minnesota, and Maine.

[MikieTimT]

The "flyover states" are named that for a reason.

Spoken like a true Californian......or Nevadian on the state line.

The disrespect is strong.

Well, yeah.

Those five states from ND down to OK have a lot of commonality of interest, primarily agriculture and to some extent oil.  It's reflected too in the fact that their Congressional representation by party affiliation is 10-0 in the Senate and 13-1 in the House.  I know the Founding Fathers set up the Senate that way to make sure small states had a voice in national politics.  Their political influence is way out of whack though; if you combine the five states into a single State of Flyover, it's still only the #10 state in the union by population.  Merge 'em and you have a single cohesive and fairly powerful state, and by reducing Senate representation from 10/100 to 2/92 you have more rationality in national politics.

I am sure people living there love to hear their state called a flyover state.  "Your state is a means to get over it on my way from Los Angeles to New York."  You know, the only real places in the country......  sometimes Chicago.....

I understand the complaint and the perception of condescension.  There are nice places to live in every state, and the people who choose to live in any specific location usually do so because they enjoy the physical environment, the culture, the weather, whatever, not so much because they are "stuck there" for some reason.

Living there is different from visiting though, and looking at some fairly objective ranking (hotel bookings) we have (out of 51 "states" including D.C.):

#36 South Dakota
#41 Oklahoma
#43 North Dakota
#46 Kansas
#49 Nebraska

Pretty low considering that all those states are decently large by area.  Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont are near the bottom of that list too, but they are tiny.  So, yes, people fly over them on their way elsewhere.

The problem with using a site like that to gauge tourism interest, is that there are many ways to travel in and stay in a state other than by car/SUV to stay in a hotel.  In fact, hotels were quite recently shunned by many tourists for sanitary reasons as many folks stayed in AirBnBs/VRBOs as well as camped in tents or RVs to go to more remote destinations to avoid congregating.  Thus, I'd say that this ranking is heavily skewed away from the reality of the 2020/2021/2022 Covid era.  A lot of the middle of the country got visited by a lot more folks than was the case prior to Covid, and there is still a trend toward in-migration in the large to mid metros in the "flyover" states from the areas that got stupid expensive in housing.  I know I see lots of out of state plates in NWA over and above the typical Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri through travellers we used to see predominantly, now get a lot from areas folks typically think of as more touristy or left-leaning.  And I don't think it's just because the BVB got completed last year as it started during Covid before the completion of I-49.

[Rothman]

The "flyover states" are named that for a reason.

Spoken like a true Californian......or Nevadian on the state line.

The disrespect is strong.

Well, yeah.

Those five states from ND down to OK have a lot of commonality of interest, primarily agriculture and to some extent oil.  It's reflected too in the fact that their Congressional representation by party affiliation is 10-0 in the Senate and 13-1 in the House.  I know the Founding Fathers set up the Senate that way to make sure small states had a voice in national politics.  Their political influence is way out of whack though; if you combine the five states into a single State of Flyover, it's still only the #10 state in the union by population.  Merge 'em and you have a single cohesive and fairly powerful state, and by reducing Senate representation from 10/100 to 2/92 you have more rationality in national politics.

Eh, I think there are about 30 flyover states, by my count.

[ethanhopkin14]

The "flyover states" are named that for a reason.

Spoken like a true Californian......or Nevadian on the state line.

The disrespect is strong.

Well, yeah.

Those five states from ND down to OK have a lot of commonality of interest, primarily agriculture and to some extent oil.  It's reflected too in the fact that their Congressional representation by party affiliation is 10-0 in the Senate and 13-1 in the House.  I know the Founding Fathers set up the Senate that way to make sure small states had a voice in national politics.  Their political influence is way out of whack though; if you combine the five states into a single State of Flyover, it's still only the #10 state in the union by population.  Merge 'em and you have a single cohesive and fairly powerful state, and by reducing Senate representation from 10/100 to 2/92 you have more rationality in national politics.

I am sure people living there love to hear their state called a flyover state.  "Your state is a means to get over it on my way from Los Angeles to New York."  You know, the only real places in the country......  sometimes Chicago.....

I understand the complaint and the perception of condescension.  There are nice places to live in every state, and the people who choose to live in any specific location usually do so because they enjoy the physical environment, the culture, the weather, whatever, not so much because they are "stuck there" for some reason.

Living there is different from visiting though, and looking at some fairly objective ranking (hotel bookings) we have (out of 51 "states" including D.C.):

#36 South Dakota
#41 Oklahoma
#43 North Dakota
#46 Kansas
#49 Nebraska

Pretty low considering that all those states are decently large by area.  Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont are near the bottom of that list too, but they are tiny.  So, yes, people fly over them on their way elsewhere.

I don't care about the stats or the tourism data or whatever you have to use to justify you using that term.  My only point is using the term "flyover state" is derogatory to one's home and can lead you to your jaw being relocated if you say it to the right individual. 

[JayhawkCO]

The term doesn't bother me. As a born and raised Midwesterner, unless you're from there, you wouldn't realize the nice stuff to go see and therefore you don't visit. A lot of friends who have visited KC with me from out here in Colorado were surprised a) how nice it was and b) how much stuff there was to do.

A couple of European friends did a U.S. roadtrip and their favorite places on the trip were all Midwestern and they hit up every region in the continental U.S. If you know, you know.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I never visited either North Dakota or South Dakota until I was almost 25 despite living in a state that borders them my entire life.

[Rothman]

The "flyover states" are named that for a reason.

Spoken like a true Californian......or Nevadian on the state line.

The disrespect is strong.

Well, yeah.

Those five states from ND down to OK have a lot of commonality of interest, primarily agriculture and to some extent oil.  It's reflected too in the fact that their Congressional representation by party affiliation is 10-0 in the Senate and 13-1 in the House.  I know the Founding Fathers set up the Senate that way to make sure small states had a voice in national politics.  Their political influence is way out of whack though; if you combine the five states into a single State of Flyover, it's still only the #10 state in the union by population.  Merge 'em and you have a single cohesive and fairly powerful state, and by reducing Senate representation from 10/100 to 2/92 you have more rationality in national politics.

I am sure people living there love to hear their state called a flyover state.  "Your state is a means to get over it on my way from Los Angeles to New York."  You know, the only real places in the country......  sometimes Chicago.....

I understand the complaint and the perception of condescension.  There are nice places to live in every state, and the people who choose to live in any specific location usually do so because they enjoy the physical environment, the culture, the weather, whatever, not so much because they are "stuck there" for some reason.

Living there is different from visiting though, and looking at some fairly objective ranking (hotel bookings) we have (out of 51 "states" including D.C.):

#36 South Dakota
#41 Oklahoma
#43 North Dakota
#46 Kansas
#49 Nebraska

Pretty low considering that all those states are decently large by area.  Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont are near the bottom of that list too, but they are tiny.  So, yes, people fly over them on their way elsewhere.

I don't care about the stats or the tourism data or whatever you have to use to justify you using that term.  My only point is using the term "flyover state" is derogatory to one's home and can lead you to your jaw being relocated if you say it to the right individual. 

*shrug*

If someone wants to spend a night in jail, that's on them.  Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

[formulanone]

The term doesn't bother me. As a born and raised Midwesterner, unless you're from there, you wouldn't realize the nice stuff to go see and therefore you don't visit. A lot of friends who have visited KC with me from out here in Colorado were surprised a) how nice it was and b) how much stuff there was to do.

A couple of European friends did a U.S. roadtrip and their favorite places on the trip were all Midwestern and they hit up every region in the continental U.S. If you know, you know.

They're also comparatively stress-free places, from my travel and work experiences...

As a co-worker from New Jersey told me, "...if I'm training someone in the Northeast and South and they curse at me, I expect it; we've met at each others' level! If I'm in the Midwest and someone curses at me, I probably have to rethink my life and cry myself to sleep."

[jt4]

Steering back toward the topic: Georgia (have been when I was a kid, but never drove there), South Carolina, and Iowa.

[epzik8]

Connecticut, Kentucky and Tennessee, although I've been to all three.

[Bruce]

I don't care about the stats or the tourism data or whatever you have to use to justify you using that term.  My only point is using the term "flyover state" is derogatory to one's home and can lead you to your jaw being relocated if you say it to the right individual. 

Getting physical because of some vague words that aren't going to affect you personally is the sign of an inferiority complex.

Plenty of people say that my state is full of coastal elites and blah blah blah, but I'm not going to get violently upset over it. Usually a general statement like that is going to be wrong and is not to be taken that way.

[ethanhopkin14]

I don't care about the stats or the tourism data or whatever you have to use to justify you using that term.  My only point is using the term "flyover state" is derogatory to one's home and can lead you to your jaw being relocated if you say it to the right individual. 

Getting physical because of some vague words that aren't going to affect you personally is the sign of an inferiority complex.

Plenty of people say that my state is full of coastal elites and blah blah blah, but I'm not going to get violently upset over it. Usually a general statement like that is going to be wrong and is not to be taken that way.

It's more of an expression, not about someone being or not being violent with anyone.  Once again, the point is being ignored while we argue over whether or not violence is the answer.

[hotdogPi]

Back to the subject of this thread: New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island. I have driven in my home state of Massachusetts on a learner's permit.

[Rothman]

I don't care about the stats or the tourism data or whatever you have to use to justify you using that term.  My only point is using the term "flyover state" is derogatory to one's home and can lead you to your jaw being relocated if you say it to the right individual. 

Getting physical because of some vague words that aren't going to affect you personally is the sign of an inferiority complex.

Plenty of people say that my state is full of coastal elites and blah blah blah, but I'm not going to get violently upset over it. Usually a general statement like that is going to be wrong and is not to be taken that way.

It's more of an expression, not about someone being or not being violent with anyone.  Once again, the point is being ignored while we argue over whether or not violence is the answer.

Dear heavens, there were other arguments on here where allegedly metaphorical threats of violence distracted from one of the points being made?  Perhaps the solution is for the participant to cease making such allegedly metaphorical threats of violence...

[1995hoo]

.... whether or not violence is the answer.

Everyone knows it's the only thing that'll make you see sense.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93z8Xj7T9u8

[ethanhopkin14]

I don't care about the stats or the tourism data or whatever you have to use to justify you using that term.  My only point is using the term "flyover state" is derogatory to one's home and can lead you to your jaw being relocated if you say it to the right individual. 

Getting physical because of some vague words that aren't going to affect you personally is the sign of an inferiority complex.

Plenty of people say that my state is full of coastal elites and blah blah blah, but I'm not going to get violently upset over it. Usually a general statement like that is going to be wrong and is not to be taken that way.

It's more of an expression, not about someone being or not being violent with anyone.  Once again, the point is being ignored while we argue over whether or not violence is the answer.

Dear heavens, there were other arguments on here where allegedly metaphorical threats of violence distracted from one of the points being made?  Perhaps the solution is for the participant to cease making such allegedly metaphorical threats of violence...

Yes:

*shrug*

If someone wants to spend a night in jail, that's on them.  Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Getting physical because of some vague words that aren't going to affect you personally is the sign of an inferiority complex.

Plenty of people say blah blah blah.

Both these responses delved into the philosophical reasons behind using violence and why those find it barbaric.  Meanwhile my whole reason for bringing it up is, to be blunt, just stop calling people's home states "flyover states".  How dare I make an overdone expression while everyone defends disrespecting someone's home?  The irony is thick.

For the record, I never threated violence on anyone.  It's the ol "I don't care what you say, but you go over to them boys over there and say that and they may send you to the hospital."  Take it as advice when you sling around "flyover state" to the wrong person, just sayin.

I don't even know why I care.  I don't live in one of those states, so it doesn't offend me personally.  I guess I just don't like people saying to other people "I use your back yard to take a crap in." 

Maybe just think about it next time you call them "flyover states".  It comes off very "east and west coast is all that matters", aka pompous and arrogant, and I just can't stand arrogance. 

[Rothman]

I don't care about the stats or the tourism data or whatever you have to use to justify you using that term.  My only point is using the term "flyover state" is derogatory to one's home and can lead you to your jaw being relocated if you say it to the right individual. 

Getting physical because of some vague words that aren't going to affect you personally is the sign of an inferiority complex.

Plenty of people say that my state is full of coastal elites and blah blah blah, but I'm not going to get violently upset over it. Usually a general statement like that is going to be wrong and is not to be taken that way.

It's more of an expression, not about someone being or not being violent with anyone.  Once again, the point is being ignored while we argue over whether or not violence is the answer.

Dear heavens, there were other arguments on here where allegedly metaphorical threats of violence distracted from one of the points being made?  Perhaps the solution is for the participant to cease making such allegedly metaphorical threats of violence...

Yes:

*shrug*

If someone wants to spend a night in jail, that's on them.  Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Getting physical because of some vague words that aren't going to affect you personally is the sign of an inferiority complex.

Plenty of people say blah blah blah.

Both these responses delved into the philosophical reasons behind using violence and why those find it barbaric.  Meanwhile my whole reason for bringing it up is, to be blunt, just stop calling people's home states "flyover states".  How dare I make an overdone expression while everyone defends disrespecting someone's home?  The irony is thick.

For the record, I never threated violence on anyone.  It's the ol "I don't care what you say, but you go over to them boys over there and say that and they may send you to the hospital."  Take it as advice when you sling around "flyover state" to the wrong person, just sayin.

I don't even know why I care.  I don't live in one of those states, so it doesn't offend me personally.  I guess I just don't like people saying to other people "I use your back yard to take a crap in." 

Maybe just think about it next time you call them "flyover states".  It comes off very "east and west coast is all that matters", aka pompous and arrogant, and I just can't stand arrogance.

Then I find your stereotyping of people from flyover states as eager to punch someone's jaw when an offensive term is used equally pompous and arrogant.

[ethanhopkin14]

I don't care about the stats or the tourism data or whatever you have to use to justify you using that term.  My only point is using the term "flyover state" is derogatory to one's home and can lead you to your jaw being relocated if you say it to the right individual. 

Getting physical because of some vague words that aren't going to affect you personally is the sign of an inferiority complex.

Plenty of people say that my state is full of coastal elites and blah blah blah, but I'm not going to get violently upset over it. Usually a general statement like that is going to be wrong and is not to be taken that way.

It's more of an expression, not about someone being or not being violent with anyone.  Once again, the point is being ignored while we argue over whether or not violence is the answer.

Dear heavens, there were other arguments on here where allegedly metaphorical threats of violence distracted from one of the points being made?  Perhaps the solution is for the participant to cease making such allegedly metaphorical threats of violence...

Yes:

*shrug*

If someone wants to spend a night in jail, that's on them.  Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Getting physical because of some vague words that aren't going to affect you personally is the sign of an inferiority complex.

Plenty of people say blah blah blah.

Both these responses delved into the philosophical reasons behind using violence and why those find it barbaric.  Meanwhile my whole reason for bringing it up is, to be blunt, just stop calling people's home states "flyover states".  How dare I make an overdone expression while everyone defends disrespecting someone's home?  The irony is thick.

For the record, I never threated violence on anyone.  It's the ol "I don't care what you say, but you go over to them boys over there and say that and they may send you to the hospital."  Take it as advice when you sling around "flyover state" to the wrong person, just sayin.

I don't even know why I care.  I don't live in one of those states, so it doesn't offend me personally.  I guess I just don't like people saying to other people "I use your back yard to take a crap in." 

Maybe just think about it next time you call them "flyover states".  It comes off very "east and west coast is all that matters", aka pompous and arrogant, and I just can't stand arrogance.

Then I find your stereotyping of people from flyover states as eager to punch someone's jaw when an offensive term is used equally pompous and arrogant.

IT WAS JUST AN EXPRESSION!  I never said anyone was going to do anything.  It was just a way to say don't call them flyover states to just anyone walking down the streets, it might offend. 

You know what, call them whatever you want.  I was going to bat for those that live in those states, but as usual, no good deed goes unpunished.