Noticeable (Non-Freeway) Differences When You Cross The State Line...

[thenetwork]

I also forgot I-77 at the NC/VA border:

Virginia is one big mountain at the border, but as soon as you enter NC, the terrain flattens and much smaller hills immediately take over.  The last time I drove it, I literally "coasted" in my car out of gear on the final 7 miles in Virginia and coasted right into the NC Welcome Center.

[nexus73]

101 on the Oregon-California border used to have a weather pattern where rain was on the Oregon side and sun on the California side show up often.  Today the real difference is gas prices.  Oregon is in the high $3's while California is in the mid $4's in this area.  Other differences are in signage, California 101 has narrower shoulders, the fruit inspection stand on the California side and seeing CHP units.  Then you also see San Francisco finally show up as a control city!

Rick

[theline]

Every crossing into Missouri I've encountered will inevitably have a fireworks stand, sometimes right at the border.

Many entries into Indiana are also marked by fireworks stands, as the laws on purchase have gotten less restrictive than the neighboring states. This pic, stolen from GSV, is just south of the Michigan line.

At one point, buyers of the "good stuff" in Indiana had to sign a form stating they were buying the merchandise for transport out of the state. I guess that was to mollify the safety objections. ("We won't be blowing up Hoosier kids.") Of course, that stopped almost no one from lying on the form. They have since done away with that silly provision.

[Brandon]

Every crossing into Missouri I've encountered will inevitably have a fireworks stand, sometimes right at the border.

Many entries into Indiana are also marked by fireworks stands, as the laws on purchase have gotten less restrictive than the neighboring states.

At one point, buyers of the "good stuff" in Indiana had to sign a form stating they were buying the merchandise for transport out of the state. I guess that was to mollify the safety objections. ("We won't be blowing up Hoosier kids.") Of course, that stopped almost no one from lying on the form. They have since done away with that silly provision.

People actually told the truth on those forms? 

I remember having to fill them out, but of course, I was taking them to use in Illinois. 

The IL-IN border is littered with fireworks shops and stands, and the state police and Chicago police have been known to do stakeouts of the ones nearest the border.

[Pete from Boston]

Every crossing into Missouri I've encountered will inevitably have a fireworks stand, sometimes right at the border.

Many entries into Indiana are also marked by fireworks stands, as the laws on purchase have gotten less restrictive than the neighboring states. This pic, stolen from GSV, is just south of the Michigan line.

At one point, buyers of the "good stuff" in Indiana had to sign a form stating they were buying the merchandise for transport out of the state. I guess that was to mollify the safety objections. ("We won't be blowing up Hoosier kids.") Of course, that stopped almost no one from lying on the form. They have since done away with that silly provision.

Stories swirl occasionally about Mass. cops following folks out of NH border-area liquor stores and nabbing them for importing liquor without paying Mass. liquor tax, but it's rare because it's bad for interstate relations and is mostly pointless considering that the 20%+ discount on hooch will never stop luring folks over to stock up.

[kkt]

Gas prices 

Ex: Illinois vs Iowa, a 40-60 cents difference
I'm sure all the bordering states have lower prices than Illinois due to the taxes, but Iowa always seems to be the most dramatic

Roads into New Jersey from New York are littered with gasoline alleys, much as roads into New Hampshire from Massachusetts usually have a liquor store very close in.

The Bellingham Costco just south of the WA/BC border is regularly filled to the brim with Canadians searching for the best bang for their buck.

As for my own shocking border crossing, probably my first time crossing into BC from Washington. I was appalled by how horribly they treated our beloved I-5...having it just end in some southern Vancouver suburb.

I-5 ends at the 49th parallel.  It's BC 99 that ends at a city street in South Van.

[SD Mapman]

Every crossing into Missouri I've encountered will inevitably have a fireworks stand, sometimes right at the border.

Many entries into Indiana are also marked by fireworks stands, as the laws on purchase have gotten less restrictive than the neighboring states.

At one point, buyers of the "good stuff" in Indiana had to sign a form stating they were buying the merchandise for transport out of the state. I guess that was to mollify the safety objections. ("We won't be blowing up Hoosier kids.") Of course, that stopped almost no one from lying on the form. They have since done away with that silly provision.

People actually told the truth on those forms? 

I remember having to fill them out, but of course, I was taking them to use in Illinois. 

The IL-IN border is littered with fireworks shops and stands, and the state police and Chicago police have been known to do stakeouts of the ones nearest the border.

In a similar vein, apparently undercover Utah cops do stakeouts at the Evanston Walmart to catch people buying large amounts of liquor.

[Road Hog]

One thing I noticed about leaving Oklahoma to the east is that the constantly blowing wind stops at the border.

[tdindy88]

Something I notice when I leave Indiana and enter a gas station: beer in the coolers. Also, the ability to purchase beer (or any alcohol) on that most holy of days, Sunday. Hell, I was reminded of our wonderful laws to preserve the specialness of that first day of the week when driving up I-164 yesterday to see a billboard for a Kentucky car dealership announcing that it was open on Sundays.

Of the geographic changes I've seen before, heading north on either I-24 or I-65 out of Tennessee into Kentucky the landscape starts to flatten out a little (and by flatten out I mean rolling hills but more pastures and fields.)

[jakeroot]

...the ability to purchase beer (or any alcohol) on that most holy of days, Sunday. Hell, I was reminded of our wonderful laws to preserve the specialness of that first day of the week when driving up I-164 yesterday to see a billboard for a Kentucky car dealership announcing that it was open on Sundays.

That surprised me on my first visit to the south, Georgia to be exact. The whole concept of things being closed on Sundays made zero sense to me. Of course now, I understand, but it still bugs me.

[lepidopteran]

For municipal boundaries, going from New York City (Queens) into Nassau County on a main road, look at the traffic signals.  They shift from yellow signal heads on guy-supported mast arms to green signal heads on span wire (formerly, NYC used 8" lenses exclusively except for arrows, and Nassau Co. used 12".  But I think NYC has been slowly switching to 12" lenses)  I once wowed a car service driver with this factoid.  But he noticed something I didn't; that the NYC signals were powered by underground conduits while Nassau Co. used overhead wire.

Note that some residential neighborhoods in Nassau Co. do have 8" yellow signal heads, but they're usually mounted on a solid "bent" mast arm without guys.  (Insert joke about girls' night out here  )

[lepidopteran]

One difference that used to be more noticeable: gas stations.  For example, when driving from Ohio to Michigan, the Sohio stations suddenly became Boron, and the Amoco stations now read "Standard" in the same torch-oval logo.  Similarly, when driving from Tennessee to either Georgia or Kentucky, the Chevron stations turned into "Standard" on the same logo, though I think the smaller logos like those on the pumps themselves read Chevron regardless.  Also, though I'm not sure about this one, but I only remember seeing Tenneco stations in Tennessee.   I'm sure there were lots of others. 

Of course, with Sohio and Amoco now both gobbled by the BP banner, and the Standard logo vanished from the Chevron stations, (they reportedly keep at least one station per state branded Standard (Oil) to maintain the trademark, and the Sohio banner still hangs on marine fuel stations), and other oil companies played similar musical chairs stations over the years, this difference is probably not as evident as it used to be.

[mhh]

In Richmond, Indiana, at the interchange between I-70 and US-40 (the interchange straddles the state line!) there is a fireworks store in Indiana with its parking lot in Ohio. In fact, the store is accessible only through Ohio:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Richmond,+IN/@39.8320863,-84.8137585,528m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x883ff88c0dc58135:0xb591e05c2e82d34

I don't think Google's state line is quite accurate. AFAIK the actual state line is just east of the front wall of the store. The front wall of the store may even be the state line.

The boundary-straddling interchange has Indiana exit numbers

[Mr_Northside]

I think this was mentioned in some gas/gas station related thread months ago, but back in the day growing up, I knew I was in Ohio (other than signs, of course) when Boron stations became Sohio stations, but with the exact same looking sign.  Though that wouldn't help pinpoint the exact border.
Also, though I think it goes against the spirit of the OP (but I'm not sure) - from the same time period with the same trips - once in Ohio (I-76 both on the turnpike & the free section to Akron) the freeway lighting used curved arms as opposed to the angled ones I was used to in PA.  (Of course, as I got older and traveled more I realized that wasn't true everywhere in either state)
Also, and this might go against the criteria, once you cross into WV, you'll notice all the doghouse signals have the top red over the non-arrow heads, instead of centered between the arrows and "balls".

Possibly more to the idea of the thread, sometimes if you're on a road and you notice all the utilities (electric, phone, and cable) end at one property, and then the next property is the end of the line for utilities coming the other direction (sometimes with distinct construction characteristics), that might indicate you've crossed a state line (especially if you are expecting to somewhere in that area).

(NOTE: Someone else mentioned the Boron/Sohio example after I typed it but before I posted)

[vdeane]

In New York, you can tell which side of I-81 you're on based on whether the local grocery store is Wegmans or Hannaford.

Every crossing into Missouri I've encountered will inevitably have a fireworks stand, sometimes right at the border.

Many entries into Indiana are also marked by fireworks stands, as the laws on purchase have gotten less restrictive than the neighboring states. This pic, stolen from GSV, is just south of the Michigan line.

At one point, buyers of the "good stuff" in Indiana had to sign a form stating they were buying the merchandise for transport out of the state. I guess that was to mollify the safety objections. ("We won't be blowing up Hoosier kids.") Of course, that stopped almost no one from lying on the form. They have since done away with that silly provision.

Also entries into Pennsylvania from New York.

[Pete from Boston]

...the ability to purchase beer (or any alcohol) on that most holy of days, Sunday. Hell, I was reminded of our wonderful laws to preserve the specialness of that first day of the week when driving up I-164 yesterday to see a billboard for a Kentucky car dealership announcing that it was open on Sundays.

That surprised me on my first visit to the south, Georgia to be exact. The whole concept of things being closed on Sundays made zero sense to me. Of course now, I understand, but it still bugs me.

Massachusetts has only had retail booze on Sunday since 2004, after noted teetotaler Mitt Romney signed the Sunday allowance into law.

[cbeach40]

When you cross into Quebec from Ontario, all of a sudden everybody speaks French, it's bizarre. 

Unfortunately, terms like "resurfacing", "rehabilitation", and "structurally sound" don't appear to have French equivalents.   

[Zmapper]

Wyoming permits the sale of fireworks, Colorado does not. I wonder why four fireworks stands decided to locate so far from their core Cheyenne market at the first exit from Colorado...

Inverted, Colorado allows the sale of retail marijuana while Wyoming does not. One can only wonder how soon it will be before someone opens a pot shop at the first exit coming from Wyoming.

[SD Mapman]

Wyoming permits the sale of fireworks, Colorado does not. I wonder why four fireworks stands decided to locate so far from their core Cheyenne market at the first exit from Colorado...

Inverted, Colorado allows the sale of retail marijuana while Wyoming does not. One can only wonder how soon it will be before someone opens a pot shop at the first exit coming from Wyoming.

And then the customers get picked up when they cross the border.

[jeffandnicole]

Wyoming permits the sale of fireworks, Colorado does not. I wonder why four fireworks stands decided to locate so far from their core Cheyenne market at the first exit from Colorado...

Same can be said when one crosses from NJ or DE into PA. :-)

[jeffandnicole]

There are a number of liquor stores close to PA's state line in NJ (and I assume, DE, MD, WV, OH & NY), due to PA's pricey and limited selection of liquors and wines, along with their issue being closed on Sundays, Holidays, and non-Holidays (here's looking at you, Election Day).  Even with the toll, some people living close to NJ will save money by stocking up in NJ.  They'll buy gas while in the state too...which brings up my second difference:

Gas prices (and Full Serve Gas) in NJ.  With PA's recent tax but-not-a-gasoline-tax increase, gas can be a 40 cents cheaper or more in NJ compared to PA.  Generally, there's about a 10 - 20 cent difference going from NJ to DE.  I think purchasing in NJ before entering the NY & Conn areas results in a significant savings as well.

[elsmere241]

There are a number of liquor stores close to PA's state line in NJ (and I assume, DE, MD, WV, OH & NY), due to PA's pricey and limited selection of liquors and wines, along with their issue being closed on Sundays, Holidays, and non-Holidays (here's looking at you, Election Day).  Even with the toll, some people living close to NJ will save money by stocking up in NJ.

You see that crossing from DE to MD as well.

[jbnv]

The traditional sign that you have just entered Louisiana from another state is the marked drop in pavement quality. We seem to be abandoning this tradition. Coming in from Texas, the new indicator is the miniature city of truck stops with video poker casinos at the first Louisiana exit.

[Duke87]

Something I notice when I leave Indiana and enter a gas station: beer in the coolers. Also, the ability to purchase beer (or any alcohol) on that most holy of days, Sunday. Hell, I was reminded of our wonderful laws to preserve the specialness of that first day of the week when driving up I-164 yesterday to see a billboard for a Kentucky car dealership announcing that it was open on Sundays.

Connecticut recently got rid of their law banning the sale of Alcohol on Sundays. That said, there never were any liquor stores I saw conveniently located right over the border in NY, MA, or RI. When I lived in Connecticut, despite there being a liquor store in New York that was 10 minutes away, going there to buy alcohol on Sunday was rare. We usually just planned accordingly and purchased it on any of the other six days of the week.

I do remember, though, that there was a time when New York did not take part in Powerball lottery but Connecticut did. Whenever the jackpot got really high, you would see people lining up at the gas stations on the Merritt just over the state line to buy Powerball tickets.

[TEG24601]

On I-90 going from Washington to Idaho, you go from rolling, usually dry plains to lush mountains.


On I-69 from Indiana to Michigan, lush fertile plains to what looks to be a disaster areas (and I'm not talking about Clearview).  I'm not sure I have ever seen anything growing in the fields in Michigan along I-69.