# When tallying how many U.S. states you have been to, what is your criteria? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 29, 2016, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669 "2016-06-29T02:50:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/21 "2016-06-29T15:45:30Z")
I want to see something and talk to people more than just stopping at a gas station or seeing the check-in clerk at a motel. I want to have a relaxed meal or visit something within that state before I’ll call it a visit. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/22 "2016-06-29T16:16:24Z")
Not only does flying over not count, neither does landing in an airport. Airports are sovereign, like embassies. Simply landing and going through the airport does not mean you were in the state. Driving through is OK, because you see stuff along the way, even if it is just [farm land](http://www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_large/public/headlines/nebraskacorn.jpg?itok=IyuAT1fm), or [sites](https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/06/11/02/82/britten-leaning-water.jpg) [along](https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2623/3728722372_e50bb7d236_z.jpg?zz=1) [the freeway](http://www.takemytrip.com/images/550x_glencyn.jpg) . And if you drive through longer than, say, cutting the corner of Arizona on I-15, you eventually get out of the car, for gas, food or bathroom, so that counts. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/23 "2016-06-29T16:33:59Z")
I count peeing or eating or seeing some attraction. Going through an airport doesn’t count, but visiting something away from the airport does. Peeing at the airport doesn’t count! ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/24 "2016-06-29T16:42:23Z")
I count everything but fly overs. I mean, the airport is in the state so if I’ve been in the airport I’ve been in the state. I will qualify it by saying “Only to change planes/layover/etc.”, but I’ve still physically been there. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/25 "2016-06-29T16:47:25Z")
You have to leave the airport, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/26 "2016-06-29T17:43:22Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I don’t count a state unless I’ve been in every county/parish in that state. I’ve been in 48. Most of them, I’ve been in every county at least twice. > > I don’t think I’ve ever slept overnight in New Hampshire. Maybe not in Connecticut, either,except in my car at a truck stop, This is the most thorough survey of the US that I’ve heard. Have you been to all those counties because of your employment or is it something you’ve set out to do personally? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/27 "2016-06-29T19:19:02Z")
Having sex with a resident of the state counts, even if it was on an airplane. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/28 "2016-06-29T19:37:30Z")
Long enough to take a dump. Peeing doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/29 "2016-06-30T01:31:09Z")
I know I’m in the vast minority, but even plane-changing airport visits count in my book. As long as you set foot within the state boundaries, you have ‘been there’. (I do draw the line at a fly-over, though) Is anyone with me on this? Anyone? (didn’t think so) mmm ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/30 "2016-06-30T01:51:07Z")
I don’t think driving through or flying over counts. To me you have to get out of your car and actually examine something. A town, a natural formation, or something (not a restroom or fast food restaurant though). ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/31 "2016-06-30T02:13:03Z")
Oh, this is the sort of thing that keeps me up nights (or did). In theory, I always counted everything that brought me into contact with land, through my own feet or through a set of wheels…thus, everything in your poll EXCEPT flying over. (So, more or less agreeing with the OP, a couple of posts ago.) That being said, there were four states that at various times gave me pause: –Florida, where I had once changed planes in the Miami airport; and Arizona, where I once changed planes in Phoenix (and in both cases, that was it). –Delaware, which I had driven across a handful of times, stopping only to refuel and use the bathroom; and New Hampshire, which I had driven into solely so I could get out of the car, walk a few feet, and then drive back immediately back over the bridge to Vermont. They counted, all right, but they didn’t _count_ count. I have, thankfully, fixed all that now: a business trip to Orlando that had me staying overnight; a two-day trek to Arizona doing things in several different places; climbing Monadnock and going snowshoeing in NH; watching a ballgame, going for a hike, and ascending to the state’s highest point in Delaware. Now that that’s out of the way, my persistent issue is how to think about several states I visited as a young child (age 4 or less) but have not returned to since. I really don’t remember anything about being in Nebraska or Washington, for instance; is it enough just knowing I was there (photographic proof exists for the latter, anyway!)? Questions, questions. Back to insomnia. At least till I can come up with the time and money to visit those states again and make the whole thing moot… ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/32 "2016-06-30T02:44:14Z")
I generally count 1 non travel related activity outside of that state’s transportation infrastructure. So a stopover at the airport or bus station doesn’t count. Stopping for gas or food at a truck stop or roadside fast food restaurant doesn’t either. But stopping to eat at a restaurant or visit a local attraction does. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/33 "2016-06-30T02:45:02Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I’ve been to 49 states. I’m only missing North Dakota. Two years ago I had to drive from NYC to Vancouver, and I made a point of going through North Dakota, just to say I’d been there. Spent the night in Fargo and then headed west. The freeway is bloody BLEAK until you get to Teddy Roosevelt State Park in the western part of the state. It’s like passing through Fairyland after all those fields of grass. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/34 "2016-06-30T02:47:59Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > I count it if I’ve peed there. I did a thread on that years ago. I’ll look for it later, my tablet doesn’t like sdmb ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/35 "2016-06-30T04:30:42Z")
I have been to 39 states, meaning I have driven through it and stopped for a meal or some other purpose. I have a separate list of 22 states that I have landed an airplane in. I do the same for countries. 90 countries visited, and I have landed an airplane in 3 of them. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/36 "2016-06-30T05:31:30Z")
> [@Personal](#): > > This is the most thorough survey of the US that I’ve heard. Have you been to all those counties because of your employment or is it something you’ve set out to do personally? I set out to do it personally. After completing every state, I took a new wife, and we almost did them all again together. Counting counties has become pretty popular, one site has I think about 3,000 people logging in all their counties. I have no idea how many have done them all, but I think I might have been among the first dozen or so, before there was an internet to make it easy to tally the travels and share with others… ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/37 "2016-06-30T13:32:49Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I know I’m in the vast minority, but even plane-changing airport visits count in my book. As long as you set foot within the state boundaries, you have ‘been there’. > > (I do draw the line at a fly-over, though) > > Is anyone with me on this? > > Anyone? > (didn’t think so) > > mmm See post #24. Of course, my agreement and $5 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks… ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/38 "2016-06-30T13:42:41Z")
For “visit”: The destination may not be a touristy one: I count going to factories, or visiting with friends. Being in the train station, bus station or airport doesn’t count. For “set foot”: What do you mean, the airport doesn’t count? It’s there, isn’t it? Yes it counts! ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/39 "2016-06-30T13:45:49Z")
If you use the “set foot” rule, and you’re driving your own car, can you count a state you drive through without stopping or getting out of the car, like on I-70 in West Virginia or I-15 in Arizona? If so, does that also count for taxiing on the runway in a plane, where you remain in your seat and continue your flight? What about sleeping on a train in the middle of the night, passing through a state? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669/40 "2016-06-30T13:54:26Z")
Ingested or excreted outside an airport. Though the fact that I won $30 at a slot machine in the Las Vegas airport makes me think I can count Nevada too. ETA: There are no states that I’ve driven through without stopping, so I don’t know how I’d count those. But changing planes absolutely does not count. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tallying-how-many-u-s-states-you-have-been-to-what-is-your-criteria/758669.md?page=3)