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That said, overall I'd probably go with Kentucky as they are fairly similar geographically (flatter in the west, more rugged in the east), socially and politically (heavily conservative Christian populations), both are famous for their whiskey distilleries, etc. There are some differences of course (i.e. Kentucky is more college hoops driven, Tennessee is more into football; culturally KY is about 50/50 Southern and Appalachian, where the TN mix is slightly more Southern and slightly less Appalachian) and I think portions of Tennessee more closely resemble Mississippi (the far western portion of the state is the greater Delta region).
Well if they are twins, they certainly aren't identical twins.
I'd say Kentucky over North Carolina. Tennessee and Kentucky have no ocean and are similar east to west. You can tell you have crossed the state line though. No grocery stores on the TN side and no industry on the KY side (At least in western KY/TN)
Mutiny, I've spent a fair amount of time in Charlottesville (Grandparents lived there in the 60s and a friend lived nearby in the 00s). It doesn't feel like Knoxville to me. Roanoke does.
It may be that Cville doesn't have a twin in TN.
JayJay, NC doesn't have coal country (the Cumberlands), nor does it have a great valley. I'm not sure which is more likely or if one should just go with KY. There's no one easy answer, IMO.
Mutiny, I've spent a fair amount of time in Charlottesville (Grandparents lived there in the 60s and a friend lived nearby in the 00s). It doesn't feel like Knoxville to me. Roanoke does.
It may be that Cville doesn't have a twin in TN.
JayJay, NC doesn't have coal country (the Cumberlands), nor does it have a great valley. I'm not sure which is more likely or if one should just go with KY. There's no one easy answer, IMO.
I think it's the case that Charlottesville doesn't have a twin in TN. It's primarily a college town while Knoxville is a small/midsized city that hosts a flagship university, so there's a difference.
OP, Missouri and Tennessee are both tied. They border 8 other states. IIRC, several others border 6 states, but none border 7.
And most similar is Arkansas, IMO.
Kentucky borders 7 states: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, and Missouri.
As far as landscape goes, I think Kentucky is nearly identical to Tennessee from east to west, nearly a 500 mile long border.. I don't think any other two states are more similar landscape wise than Kentucky and Tennessee.
Culturally, Kentucky seems to move a little slower and Tennessee is more urban with some pretty good sized cities.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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Kentucky would be the no brainer answer if the main population centers were Paducah and Somerset, but instead they are Louisville (Midwest / South mix) and Northern KY - suburbs of Cincinnati (as Midwestern as milking a cow in Wisconsin), though Lexington is the 2nd largest metro and it is very Southern. Another difference is taxes, TN likes to keep them very low while KY is the highest in the South and even on line with some Midwestern states like Indiana. Quite frankly both states have major poverty and health issues outside the larger metro areas, although Eastern KY's problems are pretty extreme and worse than anywhere in rural TN.
Kentucky would be the no brainer answer if the main population centers were Paducah and Somerset, but instead they are Louisville (Midwest / South mix) and Northern KY - suburbs of Cincinnati (as Midwestern as milking a cow in Wisconsin), though Lexington is the 2nd largest metro and it is very Southern. Another difference is taxes, TN likes to keep them very low while KY is the highest in the South and even on line with some Midwestern states like Indiana. Quite frankly both states have major poverty and health issues outside the larger metro areas, although Eastern KY's problems are pretty extreme and worse than anywhere in rural TN.
I've been often curious about the Northern KY suburbs of Cincinnati. So these areas aren't really southern? They're more like Ohio?
Kentucky would be the no brainer answer if the main population centers were Paducah and Somerset, but instead they are Louisville (Midwest / South mix) and Northern KY - suburbs of Cincinnati (as Midwestern as milking a cow in Wisconsin), though Lexington is the 2nd largest metro and it is very Southern. Another difference is taxes, TN likes to keep them very low while KY is the highest in the South and even on line with some Midwestern states like Indiana. Quite frankly both states have major poverty and health issues outside the larger metro areas, although Eastern KY's problems are pretty extreme and worse than anywhere in rural TN.
I definitely think KY, being a TN native. NC has become more cosmopolitan and influential over the years. Much of TN is still pretty backward without significant cities, much like KY. Other states that TN borders, like AL, MS, and AR, are more deep South culturally than most of TN and were never influential.
Per the Tax Foundation, NC is either the highest or second-highest in the South, depending on whether or not you count Arkansas as being a part of the South (and goodness knows I don't want to get into THAT conversation for the 150123rd time). NC is ranked 17th in the nation for highest overall state-local tax burden, while KY is 23rd. Tennessee is 45th.
It's worth noting (from that same data) that that ranking is for average state and local tax burden. If you go by state taxes alone, Kentucky and NC are neck and neck with NC paying slightly more (most other southern states still pay less, though Arkansas once again pays more). However, there have been some income tax changes in NC since those numbers came out that may have given NC the edge.
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