>It's all about scale. That is the point that almost everyone else is missing! The differences between New York and rural Idaho, in all, are smaller than the differences between Greece and Norway.

You'd be surprised.

Rural Idaho and New York have very little in common in buying preferences, business opportunities, employment opportunities, cost of living, potential market and such.

And New York and parts of Mississippi or South Dakota have even less. Would you base an startup on Holly Ridge or Indianola?

Heck, there are parts of South Dakota (the Indian reservations) that have a life expectancy of 48 years -- a third world like number.