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Something else I associate largely with the Upper Midwest is a very strong Polish/Eastern European influence. I had no idea what paczki was until I met someone from Michigan. I had no idea what a pierogi was at all until people talked about them on City-Data.
Also a stronger beer drinking tradition, sauerkraut, coleslaw, etc.
Is Northeastern PA also part of the Midwest then? Luzerne County (where Wilkes-Barre is located) is the only pluraity Polish county in the country. Scranton is up there too. And it's to the east of Baltimore.
Growing up in Connecticut, I knew a lot of people who were Polish too. When the mines closed down in NEPA a lot of people moved to Connecticut for jobs. So many that when my parents moved up and still had PA plates, everyone presumed they were from the Scranton area. Everyone knew what pirogis where as well.
Is Northeastern PA also part of the Midwest then? Luzerne County (where Wilkes-Barre is located) is the only pluraity Polish county in the country. Scranton is up there too. And it's to the east of Baltimore.
Irish and Italian are actually larger ancestries in the Scranton-Wilkes Barre metro though it does have a large Polish population. Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh all have German as their largest European ancestries and also have very large Polish populations. You really only see that combination in the Midwest. Calling soda "pop" is the icing on the cake.
Irish and Italian are actually larger ancestries in the Scranton-Wilkes Barre metro though it does have a large Polish population. Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh all have German as their largest European ancestries and also have very large Polish populations. You really only see that combination in the Midwest. Calling soda "pop" is the icing on the cake.
And in Eastern Pennsylvania. Lancaster County is 38% German ancestry, for example.
And in Eastern Pennsylvania. Lancaster County is 38% German ancestry, for example.
Lancaster County doesn't have a big Polish population. I said a "combination" so that means at least two different things.
It's clear these cities have a lot in common. And because they are much closer to cities in the Midwest than any other major cities in the East, it's easy to see why some people classify them as Midwestern.
Lancaster County doesn't have a big Polish population. I said a "combination" so that means at least two different things.
It's clear these cities have a lot in common. And because they are much closer to cities in the Midwest than any other major cities in the East, it's easy to see why some people classify them as Midwestern.
So does Cleveland. German is also the largest European ancestry in both metros.
Other than the state border being where it is, what makes Buffalo and Cleveland so different?
If anything, it shows that Cleveland has more in common with Interior Northeastern areas than most other Midwestern areas.
I believe that Buffalo and Pittsburgh are more Italian than Cleveland though. In fact, the Buffalo and Pittsburgh metros are more Italian than the NYC metro by about 3% or so.
I believe that Buffalo and Pittsburgh are more Italian than Cleveland though. In fact, the Buffalo and Pittsburgh metros are more Italian than the NYC metro by about 3% or so.
Italians make up a larger share of the non-Hispanic White population in Cleveland though. So it depends on how you look at it.
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