Think the Ohio-Michigan rivalry begins and ends on a football field every November? It doesn’t. Some of these arguments started before either state had a governor’s mansion, and neither side has ever backed down. 1. Who Won the Toledo War Ohio and Michigan drew their shared border from a line Congress wrote into law in…
Can you name the four Kansas counties where the clocks run an hour behind the rest of the state? Kansas kids can. A Kansas childhood hands you a stack of facts, habits, and words that stop making sense the second you cross the state line. These are the things that only make sense to people…
Georgia’s gospel singing conventions once pulled crowds by the hundreds into a single country churchyard, starting with a county convention founded back in 1875. Many of those local gatherings no longer exist. These are the once-common Sunday morning traditions that are hard to come by nowadays at many churches in Georgia. 1. Dinner on the…
Think leaving town for a rural Virginia address just means a bigger yard for a lower price? That’s only partially true. These are the rural Virginia costs that blindside people who move out of town. Note: This is general information, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Permit fees, tax rules, and dollar amounts are subject…
A homeowners insurance bill in South Carolina now averages nearly $3,000 a year. That’s before flood coverage or a mortgage even enters the math. These are the South Carolina expenses retirees say became harder to justify once they stopped working. Note: This is general information, not financial, tax, or insurance advice. Rates, dues, and premiums…
Think a move to California means paying more for absolutely everything? A short list of California costs breaks that stereotype, and even longtime residents get the numbers wrong. These are the things that come in lower than California’s reputation suggests. Note: This is general information, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Insurance rates, tax rules,…
Wake County Public Schools raised student meal prices again this year, the fifth straight year of increases. North Carolina grandparents helping foot the back-to-school bill get no discount on any of it. A few of this year’s costs are brand new. A few are old costs that simply crept higher. These are the back-to-school costs…
Grocery shopping in Virginia used to mean a bag boy who carried your bags all the way to the car and a butcher who’d cut a steak exactly the way you asked for it. Try finding either one now. A wave of local chains vanished from Virginia in the ’80s and ’90s, bought out, renamed,…
A driver crosses a stretch of Florida’s Turnpike with no SunPass and without encountering a cash lane. The toll still arrives in the mail, plus an extra fee for not having a transponder. You never used to have to pay to drive on a road. These are the everyday things Floridians used to get for…
A Mississippi transplant stands in the condiment aisle of an Ohio grocery store, checking every bottle of ranch and Thousand Island twice. No comeback sauce anywhere on the shelf. These are the things Mississippians miss most once they’ve packed up and moved away. 1. Delta Hot Tamales Delta hot tamales are the food many Mississippi…
