In the Southwest, folks frequently say canyon, rocks, and “gnarly outcroppings” to give a sense of scenery. Case in point: This slot canyon (above) near the Arizona/Utah border.
Conversely, in the Northeast, we frequently use words such as trees, forest, and ticks to describe the landscape. Example: This New York State lake in the height of spring (below):
This is what scholars would call a fairly obvious difference.
Other differences between these two regions of the USA, however, are not quite so apparent. Let’s go over a few.
-When I gamble in the Northeast (Mohegan Sun; Foxwoods), I almost always end up losing money—to the tunes of hundreds or even thousands of pennies.
-In Vegas, I’m able to make back ten times what I gambled!
Note: I used a sample size of one. Also, in Vegas, I gambled one dollar. My winnings didn’t even cover my Pad See Ew at dinner.
-In Arizona, locals enjoy deep-fried food such as Navajo Indian Frybread (below). They take something that already has zero nutrition, and proceed to fry it, then top the whole shebang with cinnamon, sugar, honey, fruit syrups, chocolate, and other calories.
-In New York, we would never serve food like that. We believe in frying things that are already bad for you. Any street festival will provide offerings such as deep-fried Oreos, deep-fried cheesecake, and bacon. Deep-fried (below).
-In California and any states in the Southwest, Mexican food is popular and delicious. Restaurants provide complimentary topping “bars” filled with delicious taco spreads such as salsas, veggies, hot sauces, and slaws.
-In New York, Mexican eateries are run by Chinese immigrants. No one knows why this is a thing, but it is. Besides, how else would you get #29—a Chinese bean curd soft taco served with peppers, onions, and Chinese hot sauce?
-In the Southwest, people are friendly.
-No.
-In New Hampshire, vehicles travel in groups of four.
-Same thing in Utah, actually.
-In all of New England, there are multiple shades of green on trees, bushes, shrubs, grasses, river plants, and more.
-In California, there’s only one shade of green, and it’s sold at “medical” dispensaries.
Note: Keep the not-actually-ironic pity snickers to yourself.
-In California and Arizona, the sky is pink whether it’s sunrise, sunset, or in between.
-New Jersey is polluted. [photo redacted]
-In Arizona and Utah, lines are drawn by nature over time, and brought out in beautiful red-and-white sandstone.
-In New York City, no one knows where to draw the line–hence why we have park-wide pillow fights that result in many smiles and even more bruises.
-In Arizona, weather changes faster than 5,023 snaps of the fingers. The two photos below were taken while standing in the same place, but turned 90 degrees.
-In all of New England, we get approximately 5 months of snow and ice followed by 5 months of ridiculously hot summers. For a few weeks in between we usually celebrate spring and fall (below).
-What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
-What happens in Atlantic City is too depressing to even talk about.
In summation, you can see that these two distinct areas of our nation are different in remarkable ways. Whether it’s flora, friendliness, food, or more, we must celebrate our country’s amazing diversity. Next up: Rednecks of Arkansas vs. rednecks of Kentucky: Wal-Mart edition.