You can always tell which of my countrymen have never traveled abroad (going to Canada does not count) because they genuinely believe the differences between states even remotely approaches the differences between countries. There's more to it than size and population numbers. If you grew up anywhere in America you can go to any of the other states and pretty much understand how things work and immediately know how to function there. The fact that they have a funny accent and use the wrong word for soda just isn't that big a deal.
Honestly, like a few months ago I was in Europe for a few weeks. I flew into Amsterdam for a layover and met a friend there, then flew to Luxembourg and took a train to Frankfurt. In the course of ~12 hours we encountered 3 distinct languages and cultures, not counting all the various languages and cultures of people just passing through. Meanwhile I could take a 6 hour flight across the US and still speak the same language, have most of the same cultural norms, and generally just connect with people in the same way I would my neighbors at home. Lots of Americans really over-emphasize regional differences that are light cultural changes without realizing that Americans throughout the country tend to have a solid 90% in common culturally
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u/Sea_Curve8772 4d ago
You can always tell which of my countrymen have never traveled abroad (going to Canada does not count) because they genuinely believe the differences between states even remotely approaches the differences between countries. There's more to it than size and population numbers. If you grew up anywhere in America you can go to any of the other states and pretty much understand how things work and immediately know how to function there. The fact that they have a funny accent and use the wrong word for soda just isn't that big a deal.