Units of Government

[MoonCarolCafe]

Help! I'm trying to explain to my darling wife the definition of county. She has the idea of "state" down pat. Our definition of city does not match; I try to explain that a state has many counties; every city is inside a county; not everyone lives in a city/villiage, but everyone lives inside a county.

 

Per her understanding a county in the USA is like a city in China. ?????

 

Perhaps city in english does not mean the same thing as city in chinese? her english / my mandarin is not fluent enough to meaningfully discuss matters of regional jurisdiction. Can anyone shed a bit of light on this for us?

[Dynasty]

Province = State

 

District = County

[Robert S.]

I have spent hour trying to explain these things to my wife and it will seem like she understands but then a minute later I can tell she still has not got the concept. This way of thinking must be so horribly foreign to their underlying assumptions that they just can't grasp it. For nine months now I have been trying to make her understand what a state is. I tell her it is near the same as a Chinese province. She says she understands. Then we will get in the car and go 10 miles down the road in the middle of the state and she will ask me if this is Alabama. Or if we go to Atlanta and are on the way home we'll be just outside of Atlanta and she'll ask me if we are in Alabama. I have shown her the state line at least 20 times. And she is not stupid, far from it, but maybe she just has a particular handicap regarding geography. I hope other husbands do not have this same problem but I am afraid it is something in the Chinese mental makeup, their world view. They do come from the center of the universe after all.

[Bobby]

My fiancee received no training in geography. When I explain cities to her, I always give a reference in terms of time (Atlanta is 2.5 hours away, Myrtle Beach is 5 hours away, NYC is 15 hours away, etc). I'm hoping that once she gets here, I can sit down with a map and show her the hierarchy of jurisdictions.

 

Luckily Greenville city is in Greenville county, I'd hate to have to explain Atlanta or NYC..

[warpedbored]

Try telling her it is like a state within a state.

[tonyontherock]

state=province

county = Xian

A district is not a county. China has counties too. Don't know about Beijing or Shanghai, which is like DC and where the districts are equal to counties. But in every other city in Chinese provinces there are Xian (counties), as well as rural areas.

It even got the same feel. In cities, people don't realize which county they are in as much as in the countryside. Nor do people go to county fairs, be it fiddle playing country music and little stands or Re Hu playing Pangzi and butchers slaughtering pigs on a table.

[dewdrop]

Tony is right.

[keelec]

I try to explain that a state has many counties; every city is inside a county; not everyone lives in a city/villiage, but everyone lives inside a county.

Of course, as with any rule, there are always exceptions!!!!!!

 

Washington DC does not exist in any state, and I presume it doesn't have a county either.

 

St. Louis is not in St. Louis County. As I understand it, it isn't in a county either.

 

In the west, each state may have several large cities, but each county (except those in the big metro areas) has only one big city (or big town in some cases).

 

I think the best description is the "State within a State" description.

 

------ Clifford -----

[MoonCarolCafe]

Thank you gentlemen B)

 

Ever look at a map of the USA that shows county borders? On the east coast you have a bajillion teeny-tiny counties and as you work your way west they get larger and larger until you end up with the east coast state-sized county of San Bernardino.

 

I understand the reason for the small counties 200 years ago. There is no reason for them not to merge into larger units today. After all, look at California-- nice large county sizes and the state is in WONDERFUL shape!

[keelec]

Thank you gentlemen 

 

Ever look at a map of the USA that shows county borders?  On the east coast you have a bajillion teeny-tiny counties and as you work your way west they get larger and larger until you end up with the east coast state-sized county of San Bernardino.

 

I understand the reason for the small counties 200 years ago.  There is no reason for them not to merge into larger units today.  After all, look at California-- nice large county sizes and the state is in WONDERFUL shape! 

Unfortunately, when they tried to divide Rhode-Island, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire into counties, they had troubles fitting too many counties the size of Malheur, OR and San Bernadino, CA into the states.

 

Of course, that is assuming the idea was to have the counties inside of the states rather than the states inside of the counties, as well as avoiding too many overlapping boarders.

 

----- Clifford ------

[Robert S.]

We do live in Alabama, you see. She made a sweet comment the other day that I enjoyed when she said "you know, Alabama has so much trees." I am so happy that my city girl might be starting to appreciate the beauty here.

 

She was so cute this morning when she asked me what company made the car she was pointing to in the next lane. I told her it was Mitsubishi. She said "oh, America have a city named Mitsubishi?" I told her no that we have a State named Mississippi. She said "yes, a state, Alabama is a state and Georgia is a state. A state is like Liaoning." I was so happy that she has now apparently got the concept.