ido is also currently in Atlanta Georgia ("The Deep South"), which is much friendlier than some other parts of the US. I've lived all over the US and grew up in Georgia. There are regional differences here as well.
European countries have regional differences also...within the same country. In some cases these differences are very big also. Think of Spain where there is still a huge division between provinces and some don't even speak the same language. Think of the UK with Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland. Big regional differences.
It's a matter of scale. Country-level differences are far more significant. I don't think you can compare the cultural differences between someone of the "deep south" and NY, to those of, for instance, Sweden and Italy.
Yes, I lived in Germany for a time. However, many of the states of the US are the size of countries in Europe. And there are substantial differences in terms of mix and percentage of Ethnicities, religions, etc. I lived in Washington state, which is apparently Mormon country more than other places I have lived. I have lived in Columbus Georgia, where the population is nearly half white and half black. Very, very few Hispanics, Asians, etc. On the West Coast (where I lived in both Washington state and in California), there are a great many more Asians than there seem to generally be on the East Coast -- which makes logical sense since it is physically closer to Asia but was something of a shock to me when I first arrived on the West Coast. I didn't expect the West Coast to be as different from the East Coast as it was. I figured I was 'still in America' and it wouldn't be all that different. I was wrong.
