The Megaregions driving the global economy

[JManc]

I've mostly flown to CA but I have driven to AZ to CA and driven to LA to Vegas once or twice and never seen those checkpoints. Truly bizarre. Don't let Texas see that shit and get any bad ideas...

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Maybe this is because America is a more culturally diverse place. Michigan feels far more like Ontario than it does to Texas. From an American perspective, other than the different retail stores, bilingual signage, and British English spelling habits, Ontario feels very much like the U.S. states that it borders.

It is and it isn't. I've been nearly everywhere in the US and apart from some outliers, the big urban cities, most of the country is pretty culturally homogeneous. There are a few nuances here and there depending on the region but the differences say between Texas and Michigan are pretty overstated. I am from New York (state), the 'antithesis of Texas' and there are more similarities than there are differences.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Maybe this is because America is a more culturally diverse place. Michigan feels far more like Ontario than it does to Texas. From an American perspective, other than the different retail stores, bilingual signage, and British English spelling habits, Ontario feels very much like the U.S. states that it borders.

I can see what your saying and why. It's just something I can't put my finger on I suppose..You don't get more culturally different then Quebec though..Maybe because for starters, Ontarians have more of an affinity for Poutine and smoked meat sammies vs Mexican food? That, and some of the other the subtleties that differentiate Michigan and Upstate NY to Quebec for us. Maybe Southern Californians feel the same way with Mexico. Even though Mexico is right there, Oregan feels more comfortable to them?..Dunno.

[Handro]

Originally Posted by JManc

It is and it isn't. I've been nearly everywhere in the US and apart from some outliers, the big urban cities, most of the country is pretty culturally homogeneous. There are a few nuances here and there depending on the region but the differences say between Texas and Michigan are pretty overstated. I am from New York (state), the 'antithesis of Texas' and there are more similarities than there are differences.

Yep, a 4-lane highway bounded by Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, Kohls, ending at an intersection where you'll find a Shell, BP, CVS or Walgreens. You'll know you're in a different place only based on topography and flora.

that is about American as it gets, from sea to shining sea.

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

It's always great when Americans tell you they know more about your own country than the people who actually live there.

The North One secretly wants to be in Canada, hence his obsession with connecting Detroit to Canada.

[jd3189]

I’ve went through two of those Cali checkpoints before, one at the Arizona border and the other coming from Nevada. It was strange at first but I never had to wait too long, so it’s somewhat justified.

I haven’t been to Ontario yet, but I assume ( based on what I know so far) that it’s very American like many mentioned. Aside from the “ehs” and bagged milk, it might as well be an extension of the Great Lakes or Midwest meets NE.


I’ve recently driven to Quebec this past month, and that was almost like going to a North American version of France. Immediately, the language and culture felt different.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by JManc

I've mostly flown to CA but I have driven to AZ to CA and driven to LA to Vegas once or twice and never seen those checkpoints. Truly bizarre. Don't let Texas see that shit and get any bad ideas...



It is and it isn't. I've been nearly everywhere in the US and apart from some outliers, the big urban cities, most of the country is pretty culturally homogeneous. There are a few nuances here and there depending on the region but the differences say between Texas and Michigan are pretty overstated. I am from New York (state), the 'antithesis of Texas' and there are more similarities than there are differences.

have you spent much time or have deep connections to rural texas (i dont mean guys in pick up trucks who live in the suburbs or exurbs who sometimes hunt and consider themselves rednecks, im talking about actual hillbilly america)? i grew up with my summers in the ozarks down by the arkansas border and going to north mississippi and remember what a cultural clash that felt like even as a kid coming from a midwestern metro area. there was even a bit of a language barrier.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

have you spent much time or have deep connections to rural texas (i dont mean guys in pick up trucks who live in the suburbs or exurbs who sometimes hunt and consider themselves rednecks, im talking about actual hillbilly america)? i grew up with my summers in the ozarks down by the arkansas border and going to north mississippi and remember what a cultural clash that felt like even as a kid coming from a midwestern metro area. there was even a bit of a language barrier.

In Texas, very little in truly rural areas but I've had enough exposure to small towns over the years to realize there is a big disconnect between these communities where the local Dairy Queen is the center of culture where to them, cities like Houston and Dallas might as well be on another planet.

[Shwayze1994]

Centropolis. I definitely agree with you. There are huge differences between STL and KC verses the more rural areas of MO. I was raised by the first generation of college education people in our larger family, and when we have family reunions in southern central MO, Ive been told many times to talk “less smart” because they wouldn’t understand. They’re good people, just the level of poverty in the states rural areas are on another level. Especially in the Ozarks.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by JManc

There are a few nuances here and there depending on the region but the differences say between Texas and Michigan are pretty overstated. I am from New York (state), the 'antithesis of Texas' and there are more similarities than there are differences.

I don't know: I have yet to have to step over someone passed out on the sidewalk with a needle in his arm in Tucson. And I know the sh*t on the sidewalk isn't human (it might even be coyote).

That's "culture difference" enough for me--it provides the break I need periodically from city livin'.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

I don't know: I have yet to have to step over someone passed out on the sidewalk with a needle in his arm in Tucson. And I know the sh*t on the sidewalk isn't human (it might even be coyote).

That's "culture difference" enough for me--it provides the break I need periodically from city livin'.

i remember asking people ostensibly living on the street where they were from in places like portland or seattle and they were almost always from the midwest or south. i mean, this is just the way its been for a long time, people wash up on the west coast. beyond that, how cities handle this huge thing is another matter, to be sure.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

people wash up on the west coast

Like Japanese trash:


https://ratical.org/radiation/Fukush...ReachesWC.html

[The North One]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

It's always great when Americans tell you they know more about your own country than the people who actually live there.

I hope you're not referring to me in this comment as if I can't speak about a country I have citizenship to.

I'll admit calling them twins was too extreme. They're not exactly twins but they share a lot especially southern and northeastern Ontario.

[S Car Go]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

doing a bit of research, i found a map of all 16 of california's border inspection stations:

https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/PE/Ext...StationMap.pdf

and here's the one on I-15: https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5172...7i16384!8i8192


it's kinda funny how i had no idea that anything like this existed anywhere in the US.

Weird there's only 16, cause I'm fairly certain I've been through like 5-6 of them and I haven't even spent that much time in California.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

These are just agricultural stops. I've been through many in my 39 years of life and travel in and out of California. I've never been stopped, not once.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by The North One

LOL in what world does anglophone Toronto have more in common with Quebec than Windsor and Detroit?

Economically, politically, socially, and culturally Ontario - Quebec ties trump Ontario - Michigan. Maybe not in the Windsor area but Windsor is a de facto suburb of Detroit.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Crawford

But it's largely empty. There's zero wilderness between NYC and St. Louis, but it isn't some continuous corridor. Ontario gets really built up once you hit London.

There are 2.7 million people in Southwest Ontario. It's not a huge number but not empty either.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by isaidso

There are 2.7 million people in Southwest Ontario. It's not a huge number but not empty either.

The larger of the bounded purple shapes..London MSA? City 400,000, MSA 2.0 million ??

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by isaidso

There are 2.7 million people in Southwest Ontario. It's not a huge number but not empty either.

I'm not talking about Southwest Ontario. I'm talking everything past London, which, yeah, is largely empty. Ontario is very built up and populated once you hit London.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I'm not talking about Southwest Ontario. I'm talking everything past London, which, yeah, is largely empty. Ontario is very built up and populated once you hit London.

Nah, nah I was being facetious..Propping up London's numbers to encompass all of South Western Ontario to make it one giant MSA or whatever you call it..They can't do it like saay Detroit (city 672,000- metro 4.3m), because as you say.. it's too sparse for the most part, and I agree.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

These are just agricultural stops. I've been through many in my 39 years of life and travel in and out of California. I've never been stopped, not once.

Exactly. They are meant to keep agricultural pests that have become endemic in other parts of the country out of CA like the fruit fly. I pass through one every spring returning to CA from Arizona and when they are even open, which often they aren't, they just ask if I have any fruits or vegetables in the car. They don't even care about any that came from supermarkets--they are interested only in stuff you picked yourself or grew in your backyard.

Originally Posted by JManc

I've mostly flown to CA but I have driven to AZ to CA and driven to LA to Vegas once or twice and never seen those checkpoints. Truly bizarre. Don't let Texas see that shit and get any bad ideas...

Texas (Rio Grand Valley) and Florida, and to a lesser extent Arizona, citrus is one of their prime targets. I'm sure they know about it at the Texas Dept. of Agriculture.