# How far do you live from the nearest state (country) line? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 13, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682 "2012-04-13T18:03:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/1 "2012-04-13T18:03:56Z")
Mainly for USA Dopers, but others can surely answer with reference to the appropriate political entity that’s nearest. In my case, I’m right at 40 miles (as the crow flies) south of the Kentucky border. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/2 "2012-04-13T18:05:00Z")
I’m in the DC area, so…close. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/3 "2012-04-13T18:05:24Z")
1/2 mile from Massachusetts ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/4 "2012-04-13T18:07:23Z")
About 50 miles north of the IL state line. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/5 "2012-04-13T18:07:55Z")
28 miles North of Kansas and 1,000 miles from anywhere interesting enough to dislike. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/6 "2012-04-13T18:20:20Z")
Gmap Pedometer tells me about about 2.2 miles from New Jersey as the crow flies. I am, I suppose, some fairly modest number of miles from international waters on some other side, but I have no idea which way I’d want to go for that. Probably southish, so I wouldn’t have to cut across Brooklyn. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/7 "2012-04-13T18:28:13Z")
129 km to New York, 475 km to Quebec and 1955 km to Manitoba. Damn Ontario is big. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/8 "2012-04-13T18:31:34Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > About 50 miles north of the IL state line. From Milwaukee, also about 50 miles to Illinois, and if I had to guess, probably about 7 or 8 hours to be out of the country and into Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/9 "2012-04-13T18:33:21Z")
In Massachusetts, about 10 miles from Rhode Island. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/10 "2012-04-13T18:34:04Z")
I’m about 5 miles away from the border with D.C., which I cross every working day. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/11 "2012-04-13T18:34:29Z")
I’m about 50 feet from the border with the Atlantic Ocean. Or about 90 miles from the border of New Hampshire. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/12 "2012-04-13T18:35:48Z")
Strtaight line: (county line)3.64 miles or 3441.98 [Smoots.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot) ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/13 "2012-04-13T18:36:20Z")
About 5 miles from Kansas. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/14 "2012-04-13T18:37:11Z")
From my house to the Nevada state line is around 166 crow-flying miles. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/15 "2012-04-13T18:37:24Z")
I’m about 2 hrs from the nearest state line. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/16 "2012-04-13T18:37:28Z")
I’m about fifty miles east of Ontario, Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/17 "2012-04-13T18:39:30Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > From Milwaukee, also about 50 miles to Illinois, and if I had to guess, probably about 7 or 8 hours to be out of the country and into Canada. You raise an interesting point that I should have made part of the OP: What’s the quickest way for you to get out of your country? My first thought was Mexico, but a casual glance at the atlas convinces me I could be in Canada (via Detroit) at least 500 miles sooner than Mexico (via Laredo). By the same logic I could be several hundred miles out in the Gulf by the time I had reached the nearest point on the Atlantic. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/18 "2012-04-13T18:39:45Z")
It’s about 65 km from my apartment to the US border at Lewiston. _waves at **Little Nemo** _ ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/19 "2012-04-13T18:46:28Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Strtaight line: (county line)3.64 miles or 3441.98 [Smoots.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot) Ya know, I really didn’t think this thread would lead me to a wiki page with a diagram of two people 69ing. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682/20 "2012-04-13T18:49:51Z")
About an hour from Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. > [@TriPolar](#): > > 1/2 mile from Massachusetts Years ago I was visiting some friends, and I was a little confused. I asked one of them which state we were in. He said we were in Massachusetts. I asked where the Rhode Island border was. He pointed at a house across the street and said “It goes right through his living room.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-the-nearest-state-country-line/618682.md?page=2)