Why do some people think Colorado is in the Midwest? (Denver: neighborhoods, college)

[tablemtn]

Parts of Colorado are "Midwestern" in some regards.

The problems only come when you try to treat these things like hard-and-fast definitions, in which one option totally precludes all other options. Regional descriptions don't work like that; they are "terms of art" rather than terms of science or something similar.

If you stroll across the state borders of Nebraska or Kansas into far-eastern Colorado, there isn't a lot of difference. The areas blend together. If you feel that "the Great Plains" are a sub-region within "The Midwest, " then it's perfectly reasonable to feel that parts of Colorado are basically "Midwestern" in nature.

That's not to say that the entire state is "Midwestern," or that the Midwestern portion is completely Midwestern, since "Midwestern" isn't an exact term to begin with.

[BarryK123]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Is Pittsburgh the midwest?

Absolutely. I keep telling my in-laws that PGH is really part of OH. After all, the Pirates ARE in the Central Divison,

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by CO.Native.SW

You are almost assuming that there is no "Americanized Slop" in New Mexico. Sure there is americanized slop in new mexican restaurants in Denver, Greeley, COS, but there are plenty of good ones too. I guess my cousin Adrian (from Santa Fe originally) and Vivian (from ABQ) are liars when they say they are plenty of good places in CO cities like Denver, greeley, COS that serve good green chili and new mexican food. One thing people always seem to love if they visit denver is the green chili without a doubt.

What places have you ate at??? It sounds like you have just beenspending time at Casa Bonita or Blue Bonnet, which is complete crap. And Tex-Mex in CO??? There really aren't too many places here that serve Tex-Mex. I am just wondering what restaurants you have encountered here that you call slop. I have eaten at most all (or as many as i was able to) new mexican resturants in North Denver, West Denver, and SW Denver, where the best food is in Denver. And i have eaten in NM, and its great! But to say other places on the front range besides SoCo do not have good new mexican food is not true.

You didn't read my post very well, did you? I said that "It is an increasingly rare treat to find a true New Mexican-style food restaurant in Colorado." Not impossible, but rare--yes, there are a few in Denver metro, but--frankly--I spend as little time in Denver as possible, only going there when it is a business necessity. There are plenty of restaurants that serve "touristy" Mexican food slop in New Mexico, but one still can find really good New Mexican food there if one knows where to look. Also, just because something has green chile in it does not make it New Mexican food. There is more to it than that--and a lot of very good New Mexican food does not have green chile in it at all. My native New Mexican carne adovada recipe that I got from a 5th generation Nuevo Mejicano doesn't, as an example.

[denverian]

I consider Denver metro to be in a border area, but I like to think of it as the southeastern most point of the Northwest and the northeastern most point of the Southwest. It doesn't seem to completely fall into any one category, other than being Western. And the general accent here is about the same as the entier West.

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by CO.Native.SW

Southwest United States is usually the least accepted by geographers of America....

As a person with a degree in geography, I can tell you that you're oversimplifying too much. There are many fields of geography. An economic geographer looks at the US in a much different way (in fact, some of them prefer to look at the US & Canada together). A physical geographer looks at the country in a much different way. And so forth. Depending on what source you look at there are 6 or more separate fields in geography, and each looks at a given continent or nation in very different ways.

Indeed, the Colorado Geologic Survey lists about a third of the state as being part of "the Great Plains", divided into 3 sections -- the Colorado Piedmont, the Raton Basin, and the High Plains.

But that's just one way of looking at the state. This is one of those rare threads where to some extent, almost everyone can be correct. :-)

[CO.Native.SW]

Originally Posted by phetaroi

As a person with a degree in geography, I can tell you that you're oversimplifying too much. There are many fields of geography. An economic geographer looks at the US in a much different way (in fact, some of them prefer to look at the US & Canada together). A physical geographer looks at the country in a much different way. And so forth. Depending on what source you look at there are 6 or more separate fields in geography, and each looks at a given continent or nation in very different ways.

Indeed, the Colorado Geologic Survey lists about a third of the state as being part of "the Great Plains", divided into 3 sections -- the Colorado Piedmont, the Raton Basin, and the High Plains.

But that's just one way of looking at the state. This is one of those rare threads where to some extent, almost everyone can be correct. :-)

Thank you. I just enjoy hearing all opinions.

[CO.Native.SW]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

You didn't read my post very well, did you? I said that "It is an increasingly rare treat to find a true New Mexican-style food restaurant in Colorado." Not impossible, but rare--yes, there are a few in Denver metro, but--frankly--I spend as little time in Denver as possible, only going there when it is a business necessity. There are plenty of restaurants that serve "touristy" Mexican food slop in New Mexico, but one still can find really good New Mexican food there if one knows where to look. Also, just because something has green chile in it does not make it New Mexican food. There is more to it than that--and a lot of very good New Mexican food does not have green chile in it at all. My native New Mexican carne adovada recipe that I got from a 5th generation Nuevo Mejicano doesn't, as an example.

I did read it. You said basically that almost all mexican restaurants not in SoCo are not very good and are slop, which is not true. Just like New Mexico, you can search for really good ones, and you can find not so good ones. You have to know where to look. Its not a rare treat to find good mexican food in Denver, you have to know where to look.

[CosmicWizard]

CO.Native.SW wrote:

Thank you. I just enjoy hearing all opinions.

That's the thing we all have a tendency to forget. All of this stuff is just someones opinion. Even the 'offical' designations based on an all encompassing analysis of this, that, and the other thing is still............just an opinion when it comes right down to it.

[tfox]

I very often hear people refer to Denver as "midwestern." I think for two reasons -- first, Denver is geographically on the great Plains, and some people see the plains as "the midwest" -- ergo, Denver is midwest (if on the edge of it). QED. Second, I think many people, especially our Californian transplant neighbors -- use the term "midwestern" to mean "Middle American" -- in other words, a synonymn for provincial. The Mile High City is undeniably provincial -- we are not the SF Bay area and don't claim to be. So, we are "Middle American" in that sense in for some that's interchangable with "midwestern."

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by tfox

I very often hear people refer to Denver as "midwestern." I think for two reasons -- first, Denver is geographically on the great Plains, and some people see the plains as "the midwest" -- ergo, Denver is midwest (if on the edge of it). QED. Second, I think many people, especially our Californian transplant neighbors -- use the term "midwestern" to mean "Middle American" -- in other words, a synonymn for provincial. The Mile High City is undeniably provincial -- we are not the SF Bay area and don't claim to be. So, we are "Middle American" in that sense in for some that's interchangable with "midwestern."

You make a good point. One's definition often centers on one's own perceptions and experience. For example, when I lived in Wyoming and I told people that I was from Colorado, the response was frequently, "Oh, you're one of THEM." When I explained that I was from rural Colorado, it was, "Oh, well that's cool then--we just don't like all those metro Colorado egotistical ******'s that come up here and look down their noses at us."

My typical response is similar when somebody says they're from California, because transplants from California are often the "fruit and nut gang" from the metro areas and frequently have the same condescending attitude toward "hick" Coloradans. But, I also know a fair number of Californians from the rural parts of California, and I often have more in common with them than I do with residents of the Front Range metro areas. It's interesting to read on the California forum where they often refer to fellow Californians as "rednecks" unless they live in the LA or San Francisco metroplexes. Like I said, personal experience and perceptions.