Besides the obvious “welcome to [state name]” sign. Is there a significant change in architecture, infrastructure, agriculture, store brands, maybe even culture?
Leaving South Carolina to enter North Carolina or Georgia, the roads are so much better and there’s a noticeable decrease in overall loudness in road noise.
Holy fucking shit the SC roads are B A D
Most major roads have a sign. If I’m using Google Maps, it will yell at me: “WELCOME TO [STATE NAME]”.
Between States with more or less lax laws on liquor, firearms, explosives, tobacco, etc, there’s usually various merchants immediately on the side of the border with more lax laws.
I don’t know if it is still the case, but the border between Washington and Idaho went from motorcycle helmet law to no helmet law and when people drove from Seattle to Sturgis there would be a ditch full of motorcycle helmets just across the border into Idaho on I-90.
Was that like some sort of take-a-helmet, leave-a-helmet situation? Were there bikers in the ditch who were heading westward looking for a brain bucket?
Don’t forget weed! Happens with Wisconsin and basically every state that borders it.
I don’t live near the border, but one difference I notice when crossing over is the roads are always better. Doesn’t matter which state I cross over into; roads a better (ours are shit).
When driving through the Kansas City metro area, the road that splits the two states is literally named State Line Road. Everything looks the same on both sides of the road.
Otherwise there tend to be signs on roads welcoming you to whichever state depending on the direction you are going. Those signs used to match up with a change in road maintenance quality but Kansas decided to join the race to the bottom so it isn’t as noticeable anymore.
West Coast perspective:
- Siskiyou Pass is both the biggest change in elevation and steepest grade on I-5
- the grass is literally greener on the OR side. CA is known for its golden grass that is much dryer (hence the Golden Gate. As a child I was disappointed that it is painted orange and not gold)
- Agricultural Inspection Station mentioned in another comment (only when traveling into CA)
- not a huge cultural difference between upper NorCal and Southern Oregon though
Further north…
- crossing the Columbia, the biggest river in the region, also has one of only several interstate draw bridges in the US. Prepare to be stuck in traffic if you’re remotely close to rush hour
- No sales tax in OR means there are large malls immediately off the first OR exits. Likewise there isn’t a single Best Buy in Vancouver because everyone drives across the river to dodge sales tax for big ticket items
When I lived in the Midwest one of the clearest signals (aside from the obvious signage) was the college football team swag on cars and in front of houses.
I can sometimes tell what county (not country) I am in from differences in the design of street signs (mostly the street name signs at stop lights), changes to the look of highway overpasses, and whether or not Flock cameras outnumber people.
I’ve lived near the Mason Dixon line for my whole life and you know when you get to Maryland because the roads aren’t covered with potholes and/or construction.
Wait are you coming from PA or DE? Because the Maryland roads near Virginia are god awful. And I mean the little roads as well as the Maryland half of the beltway that seems to always be under construction.
Coming from PA. As bad as MD roads are ours are worse
The same goes for the Netherlands and Belgium. Or at least it used to be, I haven’t been to belgium in years.
Highways go from being free to costing money (Illinois 😒)
Max speed limits can vary by states.
Yeah, the roads instantly change color and texture. If you cross into south carolina, BAM. All the roads are whiter and rougher.
I mean, thats kinda exactly what happens when you go from German highway to Czech highway
Everything just instantly gets yellow and dusty
Yes! Texas/Colorado for sure, and Texas/Louisiana IIRC are noticable changes, but I can’t remember if the change happens right at the border or not. Texas is big enough that we get different road types in different regions, like different asphalts near the coast vs the desert, or sometimes per county too. In retrospect it’s super obvious. Awesome comment 😁
When you pass into Indiana, you’re immediately overcome with this opressive sense of forboding and dispair. Also the roads immediately turn to shit.
Also, the ad signs will alternate between adult toy stores and anti-abortion messages every few hundred feet.
The roads get better, the drivers get worse, there’s jughandles everywhere, and they won’t let me pump my own gas.
Also I have to cross a river, and pretty much everything gets flatter.
Yo.
There’s a big ass river, so on this side of it you’re in IL and the other side is IA.
