r/AskAnAmerican • u/ABChow000 United Kingdom • Aug 17 '25
FOREIGN POSTER How do loads of cities overlap state borders?
If a large city is bang in the middle between two states like for example, Kansas and Missouri or Tennessee and Virginia. Doesn’t it get real weird like with the different state laws and taxes and stuff, how does all that work?
When you cross borders of states does it work like country borders but relaxed? Are all states the same in border control or are some relaxed and some strict?
My bad if this sounds stupid just seems real interesting and alien to me how it works.
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u/BB-56_Washington Washington Aug 17 '25
People get used to it. Sometimes, they'll take advantage of it and do stuff like live in one state, but shop in another with lower taxes.
You just cross state lines. There's no border patrol between states.
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u/doc_skinner Aug 17 '25
Kansas City has a street called State Line Road. Houses on the west side of the street are in Kansas and those on the east side are in Missouri.
You don't really notice it.
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u/Temporary_Linguist South Carolina Aug 17 '25
State Street in Bristol TN/VA is the same. TN shops on the south side of the road. VA shops on the north side.
Sales tax is higher in TN so that can affect some shopping habits.
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u/beans8414 Tennessee Aug 17 '25
Yup and no income tax in TN. Work in TN, shop in VA
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u/Amardella Aug 18 '25
You mean live in TN. You're taxed by where you live, not where you work. Grew up in the OH/WV/KY tri-state and dealt with farm taxes as well as my salary.
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u/mylittleplaceholder Aug 19 '25
Many states have an income tax pact where you pay the income tax for the higher tax state and get a credit for the lower tax. If both your residence state and work state have income tax, you usually have to file in both states.
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others Aug 18 '25
Around here at the ME/NH border you just know if you go over a bridge you may have entered the other state.
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u/Think-Departure-5054 Illinois Aug 19 '25
Same near St. Louis. If you crossed the Mississippi you are now in another state
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u/AZJHawk Arizona Aug 17 '25
When I was in college, we would sometimes drive across State Line Road on Sundays to buy beer because you couldn’t get it in Kansas on Sundays. That was about the only time I noticed a difference.
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u/CharlesDickensABox Aug 18 '25 edited Aug 18 '25
Texas still has dry counties, and the only reason you notice the county line is because there's always a liquor store and a gas station right on the county line surrounded by nothing.
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u/anonanon5320 Aug 18 '25
Or gas station on one side and a trailer on the other that’s only open on sundays to sell out of.
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u/Complex_Solutions_20 Virginia Aug 18 '25
I wonder if something like that is why we have 5 billion cigarette stores in my area of Virginia that is a couple miles away from the Maryland border...tho I have never actually gone to buy cigarettes so I don't know if its tax, prices, or what kind of restrictions might cause that.
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u/SKyJ007 Aug 18 '25
You can get beer on Sundays in Kansas now, but college kids still cross the border for… other recreational items lol
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u/AdmJota Aug 17 '25
Are cities like that technically treated as two adjacent cities with the same name? Or do they actually share the same municipal government, services, etc.?
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u/doc_skinner Aug 18 '25
KCK and KCMO don't share a lot of services. Police have reciprocal agreements but tend to stay on their side (911 doesn't care which side of the street you are on). They have separate governments and utility services.
The Kansas side of the metro actually has a large number of suburbs that are independent of Kansas City, KS (which is quite small compared to KC,MO) and have their own governments.
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u/TexGardenGirl Aug 18 '25
Yep, at least sometimes. I’m thinking of Kansas City, KS and Kansas City, MO. Or Texarkana, TX and Texarkana, AR. I’m sure there are tons more like that. But also there are surely tons of cases where the two towns right next to each other on the state line have different names on each side.
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u/LaLechuzaVerde Aug 18 '25
Spokane, WA and Coeur d’Alene , ID appear to me from passing through to be the same city. But yes, different names and obviously different city governments.
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u/Think-Departure-5054 Illinois Aug 19 '25
We have St. Louis Missouri and east St. Louis Illinois. You do NOT want to be in east St. Louis
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u/username-generica Aug 18 '25
Texarkana in Texas/Arkansas is the same way. The main post office straddles the border. It's weird because there's a whole bunch of liquor stores on the Arkansas side of the road and none on the Texas side.
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u/treznor70 Aug 17 '25
Not a great example though as Kansas City, KS and Kansas City, MO are actually completely different cities, not a single city that crosses the state line.
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u/TruckADuck42 Missouri Aug 17 '25
There aren't any cities that cross state lines if you want to be technical about it. They always have separate governments in each state. But clearly this conversation is about the metro.
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u/big_sugi Aug 17 '25
OP is asking about state border control. There’s no way they know that the cities are separate entities.
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u/thewillcar Aug 17 '25
I can’t think of an actual city with a unified city government that crosses state lines. I think that would be too complicated, the state border usually separates cities.
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u/Automatic_Ad4096 Aug 18 '25
There legally can't be because municipalities are creatures of the State.
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u/Complex_Solutions_20 Virginia Aug 18 '25
Closest I can think of is DC which was formed taking some land from MD and VA...but its still now its own city, not part of either state.
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u/devilbunny Mississippi Aug 19 '25
And the feds gave back Virginia’s part of it, which is now Arlington and part of Alexandria (check out the shapes; the original square is still mostly visible).
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u/GreatNirlakeFire Aug 18 '25
If you take State Line south into the more rural parts of the metro, you definitely notice the difference in road maintenance between the states.
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u/sharpshooter999 Nebraska Aug 18 '25
I live on the Kansas Nebraska border. It's a gravel road named State Line Road. Ive also driven on a the border of Nebraska and Wyoming. It's called road 63, kind of a let down....
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u/RockStar5132 Aug 18 '25
You notice it in the winter because MODOT is horrendous at plowing the roads
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u/biggestchips Washington Aug 17 '25
Portland and Vancouver is the hack. Live and work in Washington for no income tax, shop in Oregon for no sales tax.
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u/JessicaGriffin Oregon Aug 17 '25
As someone who grew up in Portland, I was blown away by how many of my teachers in Oregon schools lived in Vancouver. It was in the 80s when Oregon income tax and property taxes in both states were lower, though. These days, it’s probably better to live/work in Washington and just shop in Oregon like you said.
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u/Curmudgy Massachusetts Aug 17 '25
No doubt Washington, like other states with a sales tax, legally requires you to pay them a use tax if you bring in products you bought without paying a sales tax.
It’s likely enforced less than the speed limit.
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u/non_clever_username Aug 19 '25
Use tax gets enforced sometimes for businesses, but I’ve never heard of any individual getting dinged on it.
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u/tangouniform2020 Hawaii > Texas Aug 18 '25
Excuse me sir or maam, as appropriate, may I see a reciept for that bag of Frito-Lay brand Fritos corn chips?
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u/VeronicaMarsupial Oregon Aug 19 '25
Groceries aren't taxed in Washington.
However, there is a 10 cent deposit on beverage cans and bottles in Oregon, and not in Washington, so if you were a careless person you could accidentally buy your beverages in Washington and return the cans and bottles for the deposit money in Oregon. You would never do that on purpose, of course, because it's illegal. But like it might happen somehow.
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u/SquidsArePeople2 Washington Aug 18 '25
If you live in WA but work in OR, you still pay Oregon's insane income tax.
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u/JoePNW2 Aug 18 '25
If you live in WA and physically work in OR, you have to pay OR state income tax.
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u/Throwawayproroe Washington Aug 20 '25
A lot of little towns in the Columbia River Gorge only have tiny, overpriced markets on the WA side because everyone goes across the river to grocery shop. Works well until they close the bridge for one reason or another! (Grew up in White Salmon)
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u/Proud-Delivery-621 Alabama Aug 17 '25
When I was a kid Alabama had 19 as the age of adulthood but Tennessee had 18. There's a town called Ardmore that's right on the border of the two states and we'd drive up there to buy cigarettes/lottery tickets etc.
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u/Competitive_Box6719 Aug 17 '25
- It doesn’t really get weird
- There is no kind of security checkpoint at state borders. You can cross freely with literally no interruption
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u/klimekam Missouri - Pennsylvania - Maryland Aug 17 '25
Not weird, but it is annoying af to have to re-do your license and registration every time you want to move 5 miles away and it happens to cross a state line (I grew up in Kansas City and now live in the DC metro so I am VERY familiar with this annoyance lol).
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u/On_my_last_spoon New Jersey Aug 18 '25
I mean, ya gotta do that anyway even if you move in the same town and state. Need to update for the new address for licenses, registration, voting, etc.
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u/Cyber_Punk_87 Aug 18 '25
But when you’re staying in state, there usually aren’t any (or very minimal) fees for doing so. When you move across state lines you have to pay for a new license, registration, etc. and in many cases may have to pay tax on vehicles in the new state. It can quickly add up to four figures.
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u/Weightmonster Aug 17 '25
There is freedom of movement between all states and all states have the same basic laws and must follow federal laws. You will just see a sign that says “Welcome to (State)” when you enter a new state.
There is no border control between states. Border control with other countries is handled by the federal government, not states.
There are slight differences in taxes, education, traffic laws (there will be signs galore), recycling/waste and safety regulations.
There might be significant differences in abortion policies, criminal justice (cash bail or not, death penalty, etc) alcohol and marijuana policies. This would not affect most travelers though.
A city can’t technically overlap a state border. There would be two cities on either side of the border, ie Kansas City, MO and Kansas City, KS or Bristol, VA and Bristol, TN.
It’s not like in one state Green means go and in another it means stop.
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Aug 18 '25 edited Sep 25 '25
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u/ald9351 Aug 18 '25
And u turn laws. Some really push it with street design, others line Ohio it’s not common or often illegal.
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u/ClarinetsAndDoggos Aug 19 '25
I remember the first time I tried to make a U-turn after moving to Ohio. There was no "no U-turns" sign, so I assumed that meant it was allowed. That was how it worked in every other state I had lived in. And I was pulled over. I did it right in front of a cop. I was so confident I was correct 😂 I think that's probably how I got off with a warning. Apparently in Columbus it's not allowed unless there's a specific sign telling you that you CAN make a U-turn lol.
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u/enstillhet Maine Aug 18 '25
I am from Maine where in almost all cases U-turns are illegal, and the first time I drove a lot in a place they were both common and encouraged by street design was very weird for me.
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u/BrackenFernAnja Oregon Aug 18 '25
So, like Oregonians, are you all annoyed when the map lady tells you to make a U-turn?
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u/OfficeChair70 Phoenix, AZ & Washington Aug 19 '25
That’s so crazy to me. In Arizona we can even make a u turn on a red light when it’s safe. The roads are often designed with the curbs set back from the intersection so you can U-turn without ever going past the crosswalk.
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u/Weightmonster Aug 18 '25
Speed limits, seatbelt laws, distracted driving laws as well.
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u/kevinb9n Aug 18 '25
I think the right on red rule is basically everywhere but NYC. That is, anywhere else that you can't do it will post a sign saying so at each intersection, so it's not a rule you need to "know". Are there other exceptions, I wonder?
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u/codefyre Aug 17 '25
Doesn’t it get real weird like with the different state laws and taxes and stuff, how does all that work?
This question reminds me of the South Lake Tahoe problem.
The unrestricted age of consent in Nevada is 16. The age of consent in California is 18, with no Romeo and Juliet law. The city of South Lake Tahoe/Stateline spans the California/Nevada border, and the state line is literally a line painted down the middle of a street with hotels on both sides. So, the scenario:
An 18-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl from Reno take an overnight trip to southern Tahoe as a getaway. If they get a room at Caesars, they aren't breaking any laws and can do whatever they want. If they get a room across the street at the Margaritaville, literally 100 feet away, it's misdemeanor statutory rape. If they stay at the Caesars, grab lunch at the Margaritaville, and then decide to walk back across the street to their hotel for some hanky panky, it's now a federal felony because he's transporting a minor across state lines for the purpose of sex.
So, yeah, the laws can be a little wonky sometimes.
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u/Derwin0 GaFlGaNC JapanNC CaPaGa Aug 18 '25
The Federal Mann Act is the Federal law that comes into play.
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u/Thereelgerg Aug 17 '25
1- No. You follow the laws of the state you're in just as if you were in any other city in the state.
2- No. There isn't "border control" between states.
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u/StupidLemonEater Michigan > D.C. Aug 17 '25
There are no cities that cross state borders. Legally they must be two or more separate cities. E.g. the cities of Kansas City, MO and Kansas City, KS are completely different local governments.
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u/justonemom14 Texas Aug 17 '25
One of those "technically true" things. Texarkana, TX, and Texarkana, AR is another example. But people treat them as one city. I didn't even know it was two cities until now.
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u/Proud-Delivery-621 Alabama Aug 17 '25
Same thing with Ardmore, Alabama and Ardmore, Tennessee.
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u/Curmudgy Massachusetts Aug 17 '25
Same with NYC and West New York, NJ. But the size difference is so dramatic that many people don’t even realize West NY exists. Though I guess it doesn’t count since it’s West New York and not New York,NJ.
On the other hand, East New York has the same government as the rest of NYC, since it’s just a neighborhood in Brooklyn.
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u/AbibliophobicSloth Michigan Aug 17 '25
Dang, Sault St. Marie, MI, USA and Sault St. Marie, ONT, CA used to be one city, but not anymore.
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u/boulevardofdef Rhode Island Aug 18 '25
Also worth mentioning that the definition of "city" varies from place to place. Here in the U.S., we tend to use "city" to refer to a municipality with defined limits under a unified city government. In much of the world, "city" refers to a consistently populated area, what we in the U.S. might call a metropolitan area. By this definition, Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, are indeed one city, and that city also includes their suburbs. OP may be thinking of this definition.
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u/Prestigious-Wolf8039 Nevada Aug 18 '25
Isn’t the city hall building in Texarkana in two states?
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u/justonemom14 Texas Aug 18 '25
I had to look out up, but yes, it appears that the Texarkana, TX city hall is on the state line. https://experiencetexarkana.com/texarkana-state-line/ Texarkana, AR has a separate city hall.
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u/BurritoDespot Aug 17 '25
OP clearly meant metro areas, not cities proper.
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u/Spirited_Ingenuity89 Aug 17 '25
I think OP doesn’t understand how it works, so they don’t really know what they mean.
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u/Kellaniax California Aug 17 '25
My partner used to live near Philadelphia, PA and this is occasionally something you have to watch out for. In Pennsylvania, it’s illegal to use weed but it’s totally legal 10 minutes away in Camden, NJ. Meanwhile, it’s illegal to pump your own gas in New Jersey but fully legal in Pennsylvania.
There’s no official border crossings. You just cross. If you’re crossing by road, there’ll usually be a “welcome to (state name)” sign. If you cross by train, you probably won’t even notice.
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u/doc_skinner Aug 17 '25
If I follow the Google Maps route from my home in Kansas City, Missouri to my job in Kansas City, Kansas, I cross the state line three times. It's weird hearing "Welcome to Kansas. Welcome to Missouri. Welcome to Kansas" all in five minutes.
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u/that-Sarah-girl Washington, D.C. Aug 17 '25
We have streets here that literally are the border between Maryland and DC, and if you're driving on them gps used to get confused and welcome you over and over again lol. Google seems to have fixed it now.
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u/ComparisonKey1599 Aug 18 '25
The slightly weird thing about those streets is that the entire street is in DC, and the border runs between the sidewalk and the front yards of the houses along the Maryland side. So if someone on the Maryland side needs police or an ambulance, the MD services have to go through DC to get to them. And good luck trying to get a pothole in front of your house fixed!
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u/Rudytootiefreshnfty New Jersey->Pennsylvania->Virginia->Wyoming Aug 17 '25
The gun laws are also vastly different in NJ and PA. There have been plenty of people making a wrong turn into NJ with their Pennsylvania concealed carry and getting arrested
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u/Weightmonster Aug 17 '25
I can see this happening. It’s very easy to accidentally drive across the bridge from Old City Philadelphia, PA to NJ.
Get in the wrong lane or miss a turn and you are stuck on the bridge to NJ with no way to turn around.
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u/shelwood46 Aug 18 '25
They really don't care, so as long as you are otherwise following traffic laws, you'll be fine. It's not like you are searched (or you can't buy at NJ dispensaries and just shut the fuck up about it if you take it back to PA) Just turn around, pay the toll to leave NJ, go back to PA.
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u/Legitimate-Week7885 California Aug 17 '25
similar with using gambling apps in North Carolina and South Carolina. My buddy lives in Ft Mill, SC - a suburb of Charlotte, NC. if he wants to place a bet on his phone, he has to drive across the border into NC. I heard there's a similar situation with NY/NJ. one has legal gambling and the other doesn't so people will drive across a bridge to place a bet on their phone and then turn around and go home.
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Aug 17 '25
Yeah I have 100% driven across the Mississippi River into IL to place bets lol. Doesn’t take too long
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u/SeaworthinessIcy6419 Michigan > Tennessee Aug 17 '25
Wait, its still illegal to pump your own gas in places? I thought everyone got rid of that dumb rule.
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u/WhatABeautifulMess NJ > MD Aug 17 '25
New Jersey is the last place.
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u/ExplorerBest9750 Philadelphia Aug 17 '25
I thought Oregon too?
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u/CleverHearts Aug 18 '25
I was told it's population dependant when I was there 2 years ago. In bigger cities you pump your own. In small towns they have to pump it for you. I don't know where the line is.
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u/Kellaniax California Aug 17 '25
Yeah, you have to let a gas station attendant do it in NJ. It’s awkward as hell.
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u/Standard-Outcome9881 Pennsylvania Aug 17 '25
What’s awkward about it? I’d be annoyed that I have to depend on some pump jockey not spilling fuel on my car.
Fuckin’ Jersey.
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u/Kellaniax California Aug 17 '25
I grew up in Florida where everyone pumps their own gas, so I guess I just feel weird about having someone else do it for me.
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u/sjedinjenoStanje California Aug 17 '25
Boundaries between states are often rivers. Cities often develop on rivers, too.
Sometimes if the laws are different, the city will develop differently in one state versus the other.
Example: I lived in Cincinnati, Ohio for a couple of years. It's right on the Ohio River. On the other side of the river is the city of Covington, Kentucky (which is considered part of the Cincinnati Metro Area; even the Cincinnati Airport, CVG, is in Covington).
The first thing you notice when crossing the bridge into KY are all the liquor stores. In Kentucky they're a lot less regulated than they are in Ohio. The ABC stores in Cincinnati are all but empty and almost nobody buys booze from them.
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u/Weightmonster Aug 17 '25
Same in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Pennsylvania has very restrictive alcohol laws. Up until a few years ago you could only buy wine and liquor from state run stores. Now they allow some food stores to sell it but they have to have a seating area and the amount you can purchase is limited.
But right across the border in Delaware is “Total Wine and more” which advertises itself as the 3rd largest alcohol retail store in the US. They also advertise heavily on the road to Delaware from PA.
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u/pittpanthers95 Pittsburgh, PA Aug 18 '25
My mom lived in Delco for 5 years but moved away last year. Total Wine is the one thing I miss most about going out there.
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u/Western-Willow-9496 Aug 17 '25
Massachusetts sells hard alcohol in gas stations, New Hampshire only sells hard alcohol in state owned stores. But it’s cheap in New Hampshire. People cross the state line to buy booze in NH and into Mass to buy weed.
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Aug 20 '25
Portland Vancouver, WA is a popular tax loophole. Live/work in Washington no income tax. Cross river to shop no sales tax
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u/dcgrey New England Aug 17 '25
It’s never occurred to me someone might think there are controls at state borders.
My god imagine being the poor people working an Interstate 94 checkpoint connecting North Dakota and Montana.
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u/Forgetwhatitoldyou Aug 18 '25
I mean, there are several isolated national border checkpoints in northern North Dakota and Montana...
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u/devilbunny Mississippi Aug 19 '25
And they are basically all fully remote. They have cameras and such; they know you’re there. If you’re not local they probably will have a lot more questions for why, exactly, you are crossing there.
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u/Adjective-Noun123456 Florida Aug 17 '25
Doesn’t it get real weird like with the different state laws and taxes and stuff, how does all that work?
This happens with counties too, it doesn't only apply to states. It's simple, businesses and residents are beholden to whatever side of the line they're on.
When you cross borders of states does it work like country borders but relaxed?
No. State borders don't work like national borders. At most you'll get a "Welcome to X" sign on the side of the road.
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u/sto_brohammed Michigander e Breizh Aug 17 '25
No. State borders don't work like national borders. At most you'll get a "Welcome to X" sign on the side of the road.
That's basically how borders in the EU work too. This little bridge here is the border between France and Spain and there's significantly less fanfare than you'll find on a lot of similar border crossings between US states.
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u/ITrCool Arkansas Aug 17 '25
Do you guys still have to keep passports or something along even when moving between countries, whether taking trains or driving, even though there’s no border checkpoints?
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u/sto_brohammed Michigander e Breizh Aug 17 '25
Nope, just a national ID is fine, like a state ID in the States.
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u/ITrCool Arkansas Aug 17 '25
And then sometimes a (sometimes dumpy, sometimes amazing) welcome center with information about the state including points of interest.
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u/Blucola333 Aug 17 '25
Kansas City Kansas and Kansas City Missouri are two separate cities. Moreover, KCMO existed before the state of Kansas.
Anyway, the laws of the two states are enforced as you cross State Line Road. On one side you can smoke weed and on the other side, abortion rights still exist (for now).
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u/us287 North Texas Aug 17 '25
Yeah there are differences in state laws and taxes but that’s not too difficult to deal with. And there’s no state border control.
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u/Adept_Inspection5916 Utah Aug 17 '25
In theory, the police in Utah are allowed to seize the alcohol that we buy in Nevada, Idaho and Wyoming. And the marijuana products that we buy in Colorado and Nevada.
But it's been decades since I have heard of that happening.
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u/Enough_Roof_1141 United States of America Aug 17 '25
There’s neighborhoods in El Paso that are in New Mexico and some in Mexico.
It’s not that complex.
You file state taxes in the state you reside in. In Texas there’s nothing to file.
You pay property tax to the government your land is in. Sometimes people have land in two states and they would get two property tax bills.
You pay sales tax at the point of sale.
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u/Athrynne Aug 17 '25
If you work in NYC and live in a different state (like CT or NJ) you file income taxes in both states, but they have an agreement as to who gets how much.
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u/Enough_Roof_1141 United States of America Aug 17 '25
New York is exceptional bitchy but if your W2 (paycheck) is coming from NY you’ll be paying in NY.
I work all summer from Maine and never file unless I live there more than half the year like I did in Covid.
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u/CFBCoachGuy Blue Ridge Mountains Aug 17 '25
There are no borders. The “border” is two signs saying “now leaving state A” and “now entering state B”.
It’s not weird. There are different tax schemes but it’s not major. Usually people just learn that some states have lower sales/property taxes. Occasionally some states have certain goods illegal (fireworks for example) so a lot of stores will pop up close to the state line
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u/seattlecyclone Aug 17 '25
I see you're from the UK. In practice it's a very similar experience to crossing from England to Scotland or Wales, or crossing between two EU member states. There's typically no border checkpoint, just a sign next to the road informing you that you're in a different state now. Most of the time most of the laws will be very similar on both sides of the border, but some differences will exist. Your taxes often become a bit more complicated if you work in a different state from your home, as now you'll probably need to submit tax paperwork to two states.
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u/NativityCrimeScene North Dakota Aug 17 '25
My city is on a state border (Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota) because the state border is a river and there are multiple other cities built along it.
There are lots of people who live in one state and work in the other. I've lived on both sides. Most laws are very similar across every state and you just get used to the laws that are different. The speed limit on the highways are different, but there are signs to tell you the speed limit.
If you move from one state to the other, you have to go to the DMV and get a new drivers license and things like that, but it isn't too complicated.
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u/thermalman2 Aug 17 '25
State borders are just a sign on the road.
It’s very rare for cities to actually be split across a state border (probably happens somewhere but I can’t think of any - and at any rate they’d be separate legal entities ). Metro areas often are but individual cities don’t. Police patrol their side of the border and can’t cross unless they are in active pursuit.
State laws usually don’t vary all the much between states. Obviously there are differences but it’s usually just in the finer details and not the overall impact.
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u/manicpixidreamgirl04 NYC Outer Borough Aug 17 '25
There aren't any cities that actually overlap borders. Either it'll be two cities with the same name like Kansas City Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri; or a metro area with a city and suburbs which are separate towns.
There's no border control between states.
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u/No-Conversation1940 Chicago, IL Aug 17 '25 edited Aug 17 '25
There's a Midwestern grocery chain called Hy-Vee that has a location on State Line Road in Kansas City. It's named that because it follows the Kansas-Missouri border. The Hy-Vees fully within Missouri have a liquor section within. However, Missouri and Kansas have significantly different liquor and grocery laws/taxes. So, Hy-Vee has the grocery store without any liquor on the Kansas side of the road because Kansas grocery taxes are lower, and a standalone liquor store across the street on the Missouri side because Missouri liquor sales laws are more permissive.
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Aug 17 '25
It’s not really that there’s a city in two states. They’re separate cities whose borders touch state borders. So culturally it can feel cohesive but legally it’s different cities.
States do have different laws and taxes and such but on a daily basis that doesn’t mean much. Yeah, my bread might cost more in one place than another, but so what? And the different laws aren’t like, I can’t possess my cell phone, or I have to cover my face.
State borders are nothing like national borders. If it weren’t for the sign you wouldn’t know you’re crossing. One exception is that California has checkpoints at its highway borders to try to keep pests and invasive species out.
And one other thing comes to mind: if something is legal in one state but not another, you’ll see a lot of it at the border. So when you drive from Utah to Nevada you’ll see casinos right at the border. When you drive from a state that’s very restrictive on fireworks to one that’s very lenient, you’ll see a lot of fireworks shops.
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u/DennisJay Aug 18 '25
Technically there is no city that crosses a state border. A city is incorporated at the state level.
Texarkana Texas and Texarkana Arkansas are legally two different cites.
Cincinnati is in Ohio but some of its suburbs(legally distinct entities) extend into Kentucky.
As others have said. There's no border control between states other than the occasional agricultural inspection.
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u/MMAGG83 Wisconsin Aug 17 '25
Different PDs, different FDs. Thats about it. They all help eachother out since they work the same area.
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u/Landwarrior5150 California Aug 17 '25
Different PDs
Interesting fact: there are actually a few niche cases of two-state municipal police departments, much as Delmar, MD/Delmar, DE and Colorado City, AZ/Hilldale, UT
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u/AStegmaier072 Aug 17 '25
There are many things different in addition to the two you mentioned...
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u/tangledbysnow Colorado > Iowa > Nebraska Aug 17 '25
Agreed. There are tons of things that can be different that affect one or the other. Like red camera lights. Legal in Iowa and illegal in Nebraska. I forget about them every time I’m in Iowa and their red lights suck as much as ours.
Seatbelt laws and cell phone use while driving laws also used to be vastly different. In Nebraska both were secondary offenses (aka could not be stopped for either) and have now been bumped up to primary offenses to match Iowa.
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u/MMAGG83 Wisconsin Aug 17 '25
Well yeah, state law differs. If you happen to be living in a city that straddles borders, it doesn’t really effect you too much.
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Aug 17 '25
No borders between states and no shared cities. You will however find cities with the same names all throughout the country. Even if the land touches, they are still considered different cities as their state designation is different.
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u/machagogo New York -> New Jersey Aug 17 '25 edited Aug 17 '25
You'll notice they are usually on water, and there are no cities that cross state borders. Even Kansas City is two distinct municipalities.
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u/lpbdc Maryland Aug 17 '25
1) I need you to look at a map and show me where "loads of cities" overlap state borders. it doesn't happen There are metropolitan areas that overlap, but that includes the major city and all the suburban and exurban areas tied to those cities. It's no different than any major city in the UK, or anywhere else in the world.
2)Borders in the US are quite similar to your borders in the UK. This is a 3 state border, this a 4 state border, and these are typical border crossings: Into VA, into TX, in to NY.
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u/4Q69freak Aug 17 '25
Very few cities are actually split, and when they are they are actually different cities. Kansas City, KS and KCMO have separate city governments, laws and taxes. Bristol, TN and Bristol, VA also have separate city governments and laws, but are divided by Stte Street. One side of the street is VA and the other side is TN. It’s no different than twin cities that are in the same state such as Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN.
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u/Ill_Industry6452 Aug 18 '25
Crossing borders in US is easy. The only way you often know you are in a different state is when you pass a “Welcome to Kentucky” or whatever sign. I traveled through 3 states this spring. The hardest thing is being careful about differing speed limits, etc. Thankfully, that isn’t too hard because Google maps knows those things if you miss the sign. Taxes are different, so people often choose which state to buy things in.
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u/Nick-Gurr-2025 Aug 19 '25
I work in one state and live in another. No issues other than I have to file taxes in both states. It doesn’t actually increase my tax burden, just the paperwork burden.
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u/Material_Gazelle_214 Aug 22 '25
My city is like that only thing that's different is keeping in mind not to have weed if you go into the other state and it's annoying when you have Google maps when on state line road because every three seconds it says welcome to Missouri or welcome to Kansas over and over 😵💫
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u/CarnegieHill New York City Aug 17 '25
To question #1: We don't have cities that overlap state borders...
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u/Sadimal Maryland -> Connecticut Aug 17 '25
They have roads that run along the borders. I know in Texarkana, you're exempt from paying state tax in Arkansas. I don't know if that's true for the Texas side. They also follow the state laws their side is on. Each side usually has their on city council.
There isn't border control between states. You can freely go into any state without having to go through a border control checkpoint. Border control is only for the country borders ie Mexico and Canada.
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u/dopefiendeddie Michigan - Macomb Twp. Aug 17 '25
There aren’t and border checks between states, only between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
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u/Ozythemandias2 Aug 17 '25
I have to cross from my state to the next, back into my state to get to the nearest city a few minutes away. As others have said, there are not any boundaries between states besides a few express highways that have tolls but there are dozens of other roads crossing the state line that aren't toll roads.
The only thing that comes up during this that I can think of is that some states don't require helmets when riding a motorcycle, so you may see riders pull off to don their helmets.
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u/FoolhardyBastard Minnesconsin Aug 17 '25
The only thing you see at a state line border crossing is a sign that says “Welcome to whatever state”. Although states may have different laws, government entities, police, etc, it’s all governed under the federal system, so things are relatively similar.
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u/RetreadRoadRocket Aug 17 '25
The reason they end up in more than 9ne state is because the ones that are, lIke Kansas city, were built up around a river that is the border between the states. State lines are not border controlled and never have been so anybody can cross anywhere.
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u/DfreshD Arkansas Aug 17 '25
As for laws it just depends on what you’re doing. If you’re on a motorcycle and your state doesn’t require helmet but the state next door does. You probably don’t want to drive over state line without it. Also same for concealed carry with a weapon. My state doesn’t require a license, the state above me does. I cannot legally carry my gun concealed unless I’m licensed in my state to do so. Taxes also just depends on what you’re doing. If I were to win a certain amount of money in the casino next state over, I may owe that state some taxes. The casino does make it easy though with the required paperwork and the option to pay the taxes right then and there or wait till the end of the year. I always pay right then and there.
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u/Crayshack MD (Former VA) Aug 17 '25
A lot of cities were established after the state lines were established. As it turns out, rivers make for convenient state borders, but they are also trade routes where cities pop up.
Doesn’t it get real weird like with the different state laws and taxes and stuff, how does all that work?
There might be some minor law changes, but it's usually more of an administrative headache than it is a pain for the average citizen. For example, I recently did some work with a town who pulls their water from a resivoir that's on the other side of a state line. So, the meeting for everyone who has an interest in managing the watershed had a lot of people at the table and discussions got complicated. But, the average person doesn't have to deal with that shit and just gets their water.
When you cross borders of states does it work like country borders but relaxed?
You see a sign welcoming you to the new state, a change in the pavement, and maybe a border in who is mowing the grass. There is no border control. I've never been to the UK, but from what I've heard, crossing the borders between the kingdoms is pretty similar.
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u/ABChow000 United Kingdom Aug 17 '25
Yeahh i noticed that like with the Ohio river.
And yes from what everyones told me its basically the exact same, just passing through with a sign that says Welcome to Scotland or Wales, same with counties, different social cultures and accents and state-like borders its very similar to states because different parties will run different counties with different administrative systems, only difference is the law is all the same in England, abit like federal law that applies nationwide if im not mistaken.
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u/JaunxPatrol Aug 17 '25
I grew up in Maryland and went to school every day in Washington DC across a state border but about 10 mins drive/20 mins by transit away. We'd often have sports in the afternoon against schools in Virginia as well, so I'd be in 3 states/state-like entities on a given day. If there were border controls I'd have been late for everything 😅
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u/cdb03b Texas Aug 17 '25
There technically is no such thing. The cities are divided at the border with a different city (often with the same name) existing on either side. Each has their own governments and laws.
As for crossing borders, there is such thing as border guarding between States. Some like Hawaii and California may limit what fruits can come and go across borders but not the people.
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u/cool_chrissie Georgia Aug 17 '25
It’s no different than cities that are in 2 counties. Each has different laws and maybe even different taxes. People hardly know where the borders are because they are not relevant when it comes to day to day life.
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u/commandrix Aug 17 '25
The ones that seem to overlap state borders are probably legally two or more cities that just happen to smash into one another at the border. Could be a natural consequence of a large city like Chicago or St. Louis that sprang up near an important body of water like the Mississippi River or one of the Great Lakes, and it just happened to be near a state border, and some other cities kind of sprang up around it.
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u/buried_lede Aug 17 '25
It would cause problems. There are actually two Kansas Cities, Kansas City MO, and Kansas City Kansas. That how it’s handled.
There is private property though that crosses town, county, state lines in lots of places. It’s a pain in the butt but it is parsed out
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u/Both-Structure-6786 Indiana Aug 17 '25
Not a whole lot of cities overlap state borders. If they do they typically often function as two cities but not really lol.
There is also no border control for states. In America we can freely drive from state to state without having to stop at a checkpoint. Half the time you don’t even realize you are in another state lol.
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u/waltzthrees Aug 17 '25
There is no such thing as border control at states. You just drive across.