In what ways is Cleveland Northeastern? In what ways is it Midwestern? (Columbus: houses, neighborhoods)

[Trimac20]

I haven't been there, but one area where it seems Northeastern is that there are quite a few Italians and a sizeable number of Jews. I'm not sure how dense it's urban core is, but does the city feel closer to somewhere like Buffalo than it does to Milwaukee?

The mainland European ancestry probably ties it more to the Great Lakes region...other than ancestry (since I've never been) in what way is it like the Northeast, and in what way the Midwest? I'm talking urban layout, culture, food.etc? I do know the accent has the NCVS in common with the Great Lakes and that extends into Upstate NY. Would you say it's more Northeastern in feel or Midwestern?

[SquareBetterThanAll]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

I haven't been there, but one area where it seems Northeastern is that there are quite a few Italians and a sizeable number of Jews. I'm not sure how dense it's urban core is, but does the city feel closer to somewhere like Buffalo than it does to Milwaukee?

The mainland European ancestry probably ties it more to the Great Lakes region...other than ancestry (since I've never been) in what way is it like the Northeast, and in what way the Midwest? I'm talking urban layout, culture, food.etc? I do know the accent has the NCVS in common with the Great Lakes and that extends into Upstate NY. Would you say it's more Northeastern in feel or Midwestern?

More Midwestern IMO. And whatever one will tell you, most do not sound even remotely Northeastern. If you dropped a native of Boston, Philly, NYC/N NJ etc. here they would stick out like a sore thumb (they turn up occasionally and they are noticeable). Setting aside a certain portion that has nasal-pronunciation issues, the larger metro sounds fairly generic (with a few regional quirks).

Cleveland is like any other 20th century industrial city with your typical mix of European immigrant descendants, Italians and Jews, but also heavily German and Irish and a good chunk of name-your-Eastern-European-country (most lines having been assimilated long ago). On the opposite end of the spectrum Hispanic pops are highly concentrated and largely Puerto Rican, but a much smaller proportion than comparable northeastern cities.

The layout is also industrial midwestern. Cleveland didn't boom until the turn of the 20th century and the neighborhoods reflect that. Many single family or two family stand-alone properties. Minimal row houses. A good chunk of the urban neighborhoods have been decimated physically and are no longer dense. Regional land use policy also favors fringe expansion at the expense of the core. Public transportation via rail exists but isn't much compared to east coast offerings.

So, in essence heavily Midwestern in my opinion. And there are lots of positives here. But I don't think you'll find yourself confusing Cleveland and Boston.

[AGuyFromCleveland18]

I have always thought of Cleveland as more like New York, culturally than Chicago. Perhaps that is because I'm on the East side though. I live in Minnesota right now, and let me tell you there's a huge cultural difference between here and Cleveland. Clevelanders who are quiet and demure compared to East Coasters seem loud and rude next to Minnesotans.

Actually I spent most of my childhood never really crossing the Cuyahoga River, but after spending some time on the west side I have come to think of the Cuyahoga as the dividing line between the East and the Midwest. The West side is more similar to Chicago and the East side is more similar to New York (neglecting the size aspect of course). I think the East side has a lot of similarities with the East coast. My girlfriend from Philadelphia who visited refused to believe that Cleveland was the Midwest (and she said I should be proud of that ).

[Alaskapat528]

Originally Posted by AGuyFromCleveland18

I have always thought of Cleveland as more like New York, culturally than Chicago. Perhaps that is because I'm on the East side though. I live in Minnesota right now, and let me tell you there's a huge cultural difference between here and Cleveland. Clevelanders who are quiet and demure compared to East Coasters seem loud and rude next to Minnesotans.

Actually I spent most of my childhood never really crossing the Cuyahoga River, but after spending some time on the west side I have come to think of the Cuyahoga as the dividing line between the East and the Midwest. The West side is more similar to Chicago and the East side is more similar to New York (neglecting the size aspect of course). I think the East side has a lot of similarities with the East coast. My girlfriend from Philadelphia who visited refused to believe that Cleveland was the Midwest (and she said I should be proud of that ).

Have you ever been to New York?

[AGuyFromCleveland18]

Originally Posted by Alaskapat528

Have you ever been to New York?

I didn't say it was that much like New York, but it's more like New York than it is like Chicago.

[Alaskapat528]

Originally Posted by AGuyFromCleveland18

I didn't say it was that much like New York, but it's more like New York than it is like Chicago.

Not knocking Cleveland, but it's nothing like New York, and in some ways that's a good thing.

[AGuyFromCleveland18]

I feel like Indians fans would get along better with Yankees fans than with White Sox fans, that's all I'm saying.

[Townes Van Zandt]

Originally Posted by SquareBetterThanAll

Many single family or two family stand-alone properties. Minimal row houses. A good chunk of the urban neighborhoods have been decimated physically and are no longer dense. Regional land use policy also favors fringe expansion at the expense of the core. Public transportation via rail exists but isn't much compared to east coast offerings.

Sounds like Buffalo?

I think the problem is that some of you are confusing "east coast" with "Northeast." Greater Cleveland is very similar to Upstate New York and Western PA. OTOH, Cleveland probably has very little in common with cities like Boston.

So to answer the OP, I think Cleveland is a wild card. How you see Cleveland will undoubtedly depend on your frame of reference(just like anywhere else). People from NYC will insist that it's "Midwestern" and people from Des Moines might say otherwise.

[Townes Van Zandt]

Originally Posted by AGuyFromCleveland18

Actually I spent most of my childhood never really crossing the Cuyahoga River, but after spending some time on the west side I have come to think of the Cuyahoga as the dividing line between the East and the Midwest. The West side is more similar to Chicago and the East side is more similar to New York (neglecting the size aspect of course). I think the East side has a lot of similarities with the East coast. My girlfriend from Philadelphia who visited refused to believe that Cleveland was the Midwest (and she said I should be proud of that ).

That's not the first time I've heard someone say that.

Cleveland certainly isn't bland old vanilla midwest. That's Columbus.

[blowingdown]

Cleveland is part of "the east", the east being the coast, PA, OH and Detroit metro. Physically Cleveland has similarities to Providence, RI and Milwaukee. Overall the character of the people seem solidly midwestern a la Detroit and Chicago, though a tad more eastern than either of the two.

Btw, Columbus physically is definitely eastern. Compares with cities in PA and NJ.