History Main / QuirkyNeighbourCountry

* UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} to the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates. This even has [[CanadaEh its own subtrope]]. Not surprisingly, many Canadians also think of the US this way. Whilst many [=QNCs=] are smaller than their related country, Canada manages to invert this by being the second largest country by area. However, it is significantly less populated, and since most of the country is located in the frigid Arctic, most Canadians live in slightly less frigid territories fairly close to the American border.

* [[UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}} Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos]] (the [[UsefulNotes/TheFreeAnsSovereignStatesOfMexico United Mexican States]]) to The United States of America (Los Estados Unidos de America). Both countries have "United States/Estados Unidos" in their names, both are [[TheFederation federal republics made up of states]], both are governed by a president, both have a high obesity rate, both have a national identity that override racial and ethnic boundaries, both spell color, favor, and honor without a "u", both have eagles as their national animals, both have owning a gun as a right, and both use a rattlesnake for symbolism (Mexico has the rattlesnake on its national flag and the USA has the rattlesnake on the Gadsen "Don't Tread on me." flag).

* [[UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}} Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos]] (the United Mexican States) to The United States of America (Los Estados Unidos de America). Both countries have "United States/Estados Unidos" in their names, both are [[TheFederation federal republics made up of states]], both are governed by a president, both have a high obesity rate, both have a national identity that override racial and ethnic boundaries, both spell color, favor, and honor without a "u," both have eagles as their national animals, both have owning a gun as a right, and both use a rattlesnake for symbolism (Mexico has the rattlesnake on its national flag and the USA has the rattlesnake on the Gadsen "Don't Tread on me." flag).

* Liechtenstein to Switzerland and to a lesser extent Austria. The last remaining monarchy among German-speaking countries.

* Andorra to Spain and France - It's a tiny, mountainous region in the Pyrenees that sits on the border between France and Spain, yet serves as its own little country.

*** Vancouver and Seattle are this in the [[UsefulNotes/TheOtherRainforest Pacific Northwest region]].
*** On the southern side, there are two towns called Nogales - one in Arizona and the other in the Mexican state of Sonora. As detailed above with regards to the USA and Mexico's QNC perceptions of each other, the two towns' relationship to each other would be that of "those odd relatives living on the other side of the fence" (and in some cases, that's literal).

*** Gary, Indiana is the "nasty" part of Chicago.
*** East St. Louis, Illinois, is the "nasty" counterpart to St. Louis, Missouri.
*** North Jersey is this (both "nasty" and otherwise--think of [[{{Hipster}} Hoboken]]! Think of [[{{Suburbia}} Bergen County]]!) to New York.
*** South Jersey is broadly this to Philadelphia, with [[{{Gangsterland}} Camden]] serving as the "nasty" bit and the rest of South Jersey being merely quirky. (By the by, New Jersey is, as Creator/BenjaminFranklin said, "a barrel tapped at both ends"--you're either the quirky neighbor to New York or the quirky neighbor to Philadelphia. Although honestly, South Jerseyans are liable to consider Philadelphia to be the "quirky" neighbor: Philadelphia is something of a hipster mecca these days, while South Jersey is home to "average" All-American {{suburbia}}).
*** Baltimore is this to Washington D.C. The two cities are 40 minutes by car ride from each other (on a good day) and yet the difference is comparable to Gotham City and Metropolis respectively. As much of the D.C. suburbs are in Maryland or Virginia, there's a very localized version of this trope in how all three view the other two as quirky. This is especially pronounced in the metro-area's very insane driving conditions, which is a product of having to navigate three different attitudes as to proper road etiquette.
*** Milwaukee is this to Chicago. Similar German/Irish heritage, love of meat, cheese, and beer, but Milwaukee has slightly more serial killers and a less cosmopolitan flavor.

* Tasmania and New Zealand are like this to the whole of Australia. And within Australia itself, being both a continent (albeit a small one, hence its nickname "The Island Continent") and a country, it has a similar situation as the USA:

* The United States of America (Los Estados Unidos de America) to [[UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}} Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos]] (the United Mexican States). Both countries have "United States/Estados Unidos" in their names, both are [[TheFederation federal republics made up of states]], both are governed by a president, both have a high obesity rate, both have a national identity that override racial and ethnic boundaries, both spell color, favor, and honor without a "u," both have eagles as their national animals, both have owning a gun as a right, and both use a rattlesnake for symbolism (Mexico has the rattlesnake on its national flag and the USA has the rattlesnake on the Gadsen "Don't Tread on me." flag).

* UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} to the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates. This even has [[CanadaEh its own subtrope]]. Not surprisingly, many Canadians also think of the US this way. Whilst many [=QNCs=] are smaller than their related country, Canada manages to invert this by being the second largest country by area. It is significantly less populated, and most Canadians live fairly close to the American border, however.

* Given its geographical size, the main regions of the US often come off this way to one another. For example, NewEngland and the DeepSouth would be this to each other, and even then, it can be broken down further between the states themselves, such as [[BigApplesauce New York]] to [[{{Joisey}} New Jersey]] and the whole Michigan/Ohio situation.

[[folder: Literature]]

* UsefulNotes/{{Macau}} to UsefulNotes/HongKong. The former is often regarded by the latter as the place of egg tarts, gambling, with well-off, laid-back people who [[SeparatedByACommonLanguage speaks Cantonese slightly oddly]].

** UsefulNotes/{{India}} has a lot of quirky neighbor countries, just because of how big and dominating it is to all of them and how they all share cultural heritages with each other (think of them as Ancient Greece, but with the size of Europe and the diversity of [[UpToEleven New Guinea]]). Examples include: [[LongList Pakistan to India, Bangladesh to India, Sri Lanka to India, Maldives to India...]] (note that the first two are actually a part of India until shortly after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII).

%%* France and Italy to each other.
* Switzerland and Austria to Germany. All three are German-speaking countries.

%%* Ukraine and Belarus to Russia.

* Belgium to the Netherlands ''and'' France. In France, "Belgian jokes" are essentially DumbBlonde jokes, while Belgians make FrenchJerk jokes.
* Canada to the United States. This even has [[CanadaEh its own subtrope]]. Not surprisingly, many Canadians also think of the US this way. Whilst many [=QNCs=] are smaller than their related country, Canada manages to invert this by being the second largest country by area. It is significantly less populated, and most Canadians live fairly close to the American border, however.
* Quebec, a Canadian province, is this to English-speaking Canada and the United States.
* The United States of America (Los Estados Unidos de America) to Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos (the United Mexican States). Both countries have "United States/Estados Unidos" in their names, both are [[TheFederation federal republics made up of states]], both are governed by a president, both have a high obesity rate, both have a national identity that override racial and ethnic boundaries, both spell color, favor, and honor without a "u," both have eagles as their national animals, both have owning a gun as a right, and both use a rattlesnake for symbolism (Mexico has the rattlesnake on its national flag and the USA has the rattlesnake on the Gadsen "Don’t Tread on me." flag).

* Cambodia to Vietnam. Both countries have similar customs and traditions, as well as similar histories involving military takeovers, civil wars, and other kinds of general tragedies during TheSixties.
* The Czech Republic to Poland. And, for that matter, Slovakia to the Czech Republic, since they used to be one country before [[BalkanizeMe splitting up after the fall of the Iron Curtain]].
* Denmark, Norway and Sweden to each other. Finland to all of them. And then there's Iceland...
** Just across the Gulf, Estonia is this to Finland. Both speak languages that are closely related, both have been under periods of Swedish and Russian occupation, both have become sovereign nations after World War I, both are in The European Union and use the Euro, and travel between the countries is very common (to the point the capital cities have proposed [[https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/helsinki-tallinn-railway-tunnel-gulf-of-finland/ an underground tunnel]]).

* Ireland to the United Kingdom (and within the UK, Scotland and Wales to England).
* Israel and Jordan to each other.
** Also, Lebanon to Israel.
** Lebanon to Syria, too.
* Korea to Japan, mainly the South due to proximity and the North still being relatively closed off (Japan and South Korea have a TeethClenchedTeamwork type of relationship with each other regarding the North). Indeed, comparing Japan and Korea's relationship to that of Britain and Ireland is not an uncommon draw.
%%* Laos to Thailand.

* Malaysia to Indonesia.
** Brunei to both of them. It's the only one still ruled by an absolute monarch (others have adopted more democratic governments) and, though all three are Muslim-majority, it's the only one which is explicitly and ''seriously'' an Islamic state (the country is ruled by sharia laws).
* Nepal to India.
** India has a lot of quirky neighbor countries, just because of how big and dominating it is to all of them and how they all share cultural heritages with each other (think of them as Ancient Greece, but with the size of Europe and the diversity of [[UpToEleven New Guinea]]). Examples include: [[LongList Pakistan to India, Bangladesh to India, Sri Lanka to India, Maldives to India...]] (note that the first two are actually a part of India until shortly after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII).
* Afghanistan to Iran.
* Laos to Thailand.
* New Zealand to Australia.
* Niger to Nigeria.
* Portugal to Spain. The fact that Portugal doesn't border any other country doesn't help.
* San Marino to Italy.
* France and Italy to each other.

* Ukraine and Belarus to Russia.

* Macau to Hong Kong. The former is often regarded by the latter as the place of egg tarts, gambling, with well-off, laid-back people who [[SeparatedByACommonLanguage speaks Cantonese slightly oddly]].

*** There's the two cities of Niagara Falls - one in Ontario, Canada, the other in New York - which both sit directly opposite each other.

* Belgium to the Netherlands ''and'' France.

* Canada to the United States. This even has [[CanadaEh its own subtrope]]. Not surprisingly, many Canadians also think of the US this way. Whilst many [=QNCs=] are smaller than their related country, Canada manages to invert this by being the second largest country by area. It is significantly less populated, and most Canadians live fairly close the the American border, however.

* Given its geographical size, the main regions of the US often come off this way to one another. For example, NewEngland and the DeepSouth would be this to each other, and even then, it can be broken down further between the states themselves, such as [[BigApplesauce New York]] to [[{{Joisey}} New Jersey]].

[[Literature]]
* In Literature/{{Discworld}}, Ankh-Morpork seems to be surrounded by nothing but quirky neighbor cities/countries, from [[{{Qurac}} Klatch]] to [[SpaghettiAndGondolas Brindisi]] to [[{{Ruritania}} Sto Lat]]. Of course given Lord Vetinari’s highly idiosyncratic methods of governance, like legalizing the ThievesGuild, Ankh-Morpork is probably viewed as a quirky neighbor itself. It’s just the quirky neighbor everyone wants to move to.
[[/folder]]

* Liechtenstein to Switzerland and Austria.

* The United States of America (Los Estados Unidos de America) to Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos (the United Mexican States). Both countries have "United States/Estados Unidos" in their names, both are republics, both are governed by a president, both have states, both have a high obesity rate, both have a national identity that override racial and ethnic boundaries, both spell color, favor, and honor without a "u," both have eagles as their national animals, both have owning a gun as a right, and both use a rattlesnake for symbolism (Mexico has the rattlesnake on its national flag and the USA has the rattlesnake on the Gadsen "Don’t Tread on me." flag).

** Just across the Gulf, Estonia is this to Finland. Both speak languages that are closely related, both have been under periods of Swedish and Russian occupation, both have become sovereign nations after World War I, both are in The European Union and use the Euro, and travel between the countries is very common (to the point the capital cities have proposed [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsinki–Tallinn_Tunnel an underground tunnel]]).

* Laos to Thailand