Welcome to the Many Different Cultures of the United States

So I wasn’t able to post anything last week. I was kind of in the middle of nowhere Oregon without an Internet connection to be found. It was kind of nice being so disconnected from the rest of the world while I was exploring the Pacific Northwest US. I’d never been there before and it was very different from anywhere else I’d ever been, especially in the United States.

I feel a bit silly admitting this, but I tend to forget that the United States isn’t one uniform cultural identity. When it comes down to it, each state is really it’s own country with its own culture and identity. The federal government is just a glue that holds all 50 states (plus several territories) in place on an international scale.

When I see the US portrayed on TV or in movies, it sometimes feels like the US has one umbrella culture with smaller cultures that branch out. As I’ve traveled in the US more and more, I’m finding this isn’t the case at all.

Sunset on the beach

I was born and raised in Northern Virginia. I will always love my home state and be extremely biased towards it. I love every inch of the state, from the hustle and bustle of DC, to the quiet tranquility of the Shenandoah, from the tidewater basin in Norfolk to the western mountains. Virginia is awesome!

And it’s definitely not New Jersey.

I might have experienced a little culture shock when moving from Maryland to New Jersey. Yeah, Maryland is it’s own state, but it’s not too different from Virginia and they share a lot of similarities (though Baltimore is still one of the most fun cities I have ever been to while DC is decidedly not). New Jersey is its own entity.

There are very few places that feel like the middle of nowhere in New Jersey. Everything feels like it’s on top of everything else. It’s a lot more aggressive than Virginia and there’s hardly any military presence to speak of.

Despite being an American, I have been to woefully few states in the US. I’ve been to almost every state on the eastern seaboard, but hardly any in the middle of the country (unless you count brief layovers in airports). All in all I’ve been to roughly 20 different states that I remember and actually explored. Oregon being the latest.

Oregon was laid back, big, full of nature, and adventure. For the record I wasn’t anywhere near Portland, so I can comment on the city life, but the rural areas felt remote and disconnected from the rest of the country. A lack of Internet access was both challenging and relieving (and it wasn’t because the CIA had set up a dead zone).

In the redwood forest!

I think the oddest thing I saw in Oregon was a sign demanding the return of a stolen cannon. Why the heck would someone steal a cannon? You can own a cannon? How does someone steal a cannon?

I think the only time I’ve seen a cannon is at the Colonial and Civil War re-enactment areas along the east coast.

Hawaii in particular is very different from the lower 48. I felt like I was going to a foreign country, I just didn’t need a passport to get there. I’d like to go back and experience more of Hawaiian culture and see the other islands.

The US is vast and is a mesh of many different cultures. There isn’t just one America. There are many. Parts have a high population density, while in some parts you might not see another human for hundreds of miles.

There are some areas where you need to talk fast and loud to be heard and other areas where people speak slowly, with a lot of thought behind their words. There are states where guns are a way of life and others where people might look at you funny for owning one. The military might be a big part of the economy and in others people might never see a tank going down the highway (yep I’ve seen that on 95).

The US is big and I haven’t seen or experienced nearly enough of it. Each state is unique and so are the people living there. We might present ourselves as one identity, but in reality we are many countries united despite our differences.

It's an amazing place to explore.

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Until next week.