# Crossing Borders: Can you tell? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 22, 2006, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossing-borders-can-you-tell/353744 "2006-04-22T13:26:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossing-borders-can-you-tell/353744/41 "2006-04-25T00:21:51Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Sorry for the immediate followup. > > The other PA thing I’ve noticed; in rural areas, along state roads, there’s large-ish wooden shelters with ads posted on the side, spaced about a mile or so apart. The shelters look the same everywhere in the state; there’s almost no variation in design. I’ve never seen such shelters in other states. When I see those shelters, I know for sure I’m in PA. If I’m reading you right, the shelters are school bus stops. I looked for a pic, but couldn’t find one to link to. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossing-borders-can-you-tell/353744/42 "2006-04-25T00:59:42Z")
> [@The Mad Hermit](#): > > If I’m reading you right, the shelters are school bus stops. I looked for a pic, but couldn’t find one to link to. It’s strange, because those same shelters are nonexistent in New York and Ohio. In PA, they all seem to share a standardized design; a lean-to with three solid walls and a completely exposed front. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossing-borders-can-you-tell/353744/43 "2006-04-25T04:52:27Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > The start of billboard clutter is a very good indicator of where a state line is. > > I-25: Colorado - no billboards; Wyoming - everywhere > I-25: New Mexico - some billboards; Texas - yee-haw! > Missouri - billboards absolutely everywhere; Iowa, Illinois, Kansas - much less common > Ohio - not many billboards; Michigan - everywhere I 25 never enters Texas. I 40 runs east west though New Mexico and Texas. ---
**Author:** ![mrald](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@mrald](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrald)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2006, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossing-borders-can-you-tell/353744/44 "2006-04-25T08:19:35Z")
Oh yeah I can tell, once you leave Arkansas the roads improve and the construction stops. Unless you are headed into Memphis, then the construction gets worse. 😃 The deer quit jumping into your car as well. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossing-borders-can-you-tell/353744/45 "2006-04-26T16:17:04Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I 25 never enters Texas. I 40 runs east west though New Mexico and Texas. I meant I-10. I-25 merges into I-10 in Las Cruces and continues south for a bit, before heading east into the Big Empty. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossing-borders-can-you-tell/353744/46 "2006-04-26T22:32:10Z")
When I lived in NJ I’d cross into PA on I-95 all the time, and hardly noticed a difference. In California I cross into Nevada around Lake Tahoe, and the difference is a crapload of casinos right on the border. Hard to miss that. In California, you can you’ve crossed county lines by road conditions - Alameda is a lot better than Santa Clara, on I880 at least. In NJ I could tell township boundaries by how well they did snow removal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crossing-borders-can-you-tell/353744.md?page=2)