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Because they have never been to Wyoming is my guess. Spend a couple of months out here, and the Midwest will seem like Manhattan.
What is with this vendetta you have against Wyoming?? I have been reading your posts, and in all but one, all you do is complain what a hole Wyoming is! Why don't you leave your oil-boom town and take a look around!! Or better yet, just leave. You would be happier in Beverly Hills.
NO! Wisconsin is very rugged, almost the whole state. Northern and Southern Illinois are the same way as Wisconsin, towering bluffs and rolling hills. As you go east, though, it does get flatter.
Even Iowa. When people think "Iowa" they think, corn, flat, hicks. About 50 miles to the west of the Mississippi in Iowa, the terrain is hilly. Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Decorah, Davenport, Muscatine, Keokuk, Burlington.. all hilly. And even in Western IA there are hills, they are called the Loess Hills and one hill/mountain in far NW IA towers to almost 1,400 feet.
We aren't all hicks here, either. There are more liberals here than most would think, to many people's surprise. There are some very sophisticated, unique cities, Des Moines, Dubuque, Chicago, St. Louis, Madison, La Crosse, etc. The Midwest is essentially American...
((And it is one-hundred times cheaper than Cali or NY.)) So why all the hate?
Southern Missouri and Southeastern Ohio are also very hilly. Ohio has the Appalachian Foothills, Missouri has the Ozarks, Michigan has the Porcupine Mountains, extreme Southern Illinois also has the Ozarks. Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Southern Missouri and Eastern Ohio are also heavily forested in many parts.
There are a lot of hills around here, even moreso in Southwest Missouri around the Branson area, and into Arkansas. Though, here, you go Northeast and it gets flat around Sikeston.
The problem with most people is , they don't get out there and really see our country. Its airport to airport, and , all thats in between gets lost to them. Only to be referenced , by what they have heard, been told , or have seen for a brief moment in time , on a fictional TV show. Its a big land , go for it !!
This is quite true. In talking with people I know, most all their opinions of different regions of the country are shaped by what the media spoon feeds them. Most everyone is repeatedly told that the center of the country (meaning everything non-coastal) is boring and merely fly-over country. Yet you asked these people if they have ever driven through there and the answer is no.
NO! Wisconsin is very rugged, almost the whole state. Northern and Southern Illinois are the same way as Wisconsin, towering bluffs and rolling hills. As you go east, though, it does get flatter.
Even Iowa. When people think "Iowa" they think, corn, flat, hicks. About 50 miles to the west of the Mississippi in Iowa, the terrain is hilly. Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Decorah, Davenport, Muscatine, Keokuk, Burlington.. all hilly. And even in Western IA there are hills, they are called the Loess Hills and one hill/mountain in far NW IA towers to almost 1,400 feet.
Yeah, growing up in Iowa, I always just laughed it off when people made the random comments about it being flat and everyone being a farmer. I informed them that a mere 5% of people in Iowa ACTUALLY lived on a farm, and that 2/3 lived in urban areas.
That we actually DO have cities with buildings:
(flickr)
(AbsoluteDSM)
Shopping malls and urban sprawl
(flickr)
We weren't all afraid of gay people
(flickr)
Or blacks (Obama rally in the middle of winter)
And there are plenty of hills in the state, from the west...
Yes, they would, but time does change things. The founding states of this Republic no longer represent a good average of everything American. Local places within those states do, but neither the northern nor the southern east coast region as a whole is very representative of the national mean. There's a reason that the old saying goes "Will it play in Peoria?" rather than "Will it play in New Haven?" (Or . . . Greensboro, perhaps?)
Things are getting skewed , at least for Greensboro for example , as , a great part of the " American scene", has changed. The folks who lived in New Haven , now have moved to Greensboro ,. Peoria is moving to AZ......and the Southeast as well as Texas. An aging population, energy costs,taxes, as the industrial base demises. Peoria and Caterpillar were once one in the same. Now Cat is still in Peoria , but their market is China , mfg. and consumption . I an not sure what the " national mean" IS... anymore.
That part of Iowa is gorgeous, I absolutely love it out there. So quiet and serene, so beautiful, so untouched. If I could, Id plunk a nice little log cabin right out there on those hills and just live.
In my opinion, (no offense to other places in the Midwest,) most people can't see past Chicago. Many of the larger Midwestern cities are in decline. Comparatively, the other regions have multiple cities that are maintaining their status if they are not on the rise.
In my opinion, (no offense to other places in the Midwest,) most people can't see past Chicago. Many of the larger Midwestern cities are in decline. Comparatively, the other regions have multiple cities that are maintaining their status if they are not on the rise.
St. Louis is on the rise, Chicago is booming, Detroit is slowly turning its sorry self around, Louisville is rising, Columbus is rising, Milwaukee is turning around and smaller places like Bloomington-Normal and Champaign, IL are also booming. Minneapolis is steady and wonderful, etc. Madison, WI is strong and growing, etc, etc. The only places Im not seeing much change in are Cleveland and Cincinnati. If youre looking at little podunk towns in IA, etc, then thats not fair. You go to any smaller cities in the USA and most are faring just as bad, if not worse, than small rust-belt cities. Some of the most disgusting, delapidated, small towns Ive seen were down south and out west, and out east. Sure there are many midwestern smaller towns that have fallen hard, but so have many others across the country.
St. Louis is on the rise, Chicago is booming, Detroit is slowly turning its sorry self around, Louisville is rising, Columbus is rising, Milwaukee is turning around and smaller places like Bloomington-Normal and Champaign, IL are also booming. Minneapolis is steady and wonderful, etc. Madison, WI is strong and growing, etc, etc. The only places Im not seeing much change in are Cleveland and Cincinnati. If youre looking at little podunk towns in IA, etc, then thats not fair. You go to any smaller cities in the USA and most are faring just as bad, if not worse, than small rust-belt cities. Some of the most disgusting, delapidated, small towns Ive seen were down south and out west, and out east. Sure there are many midwestern smaller towns that have fallen hard, but so have many others across the country.
I most certainly dont hate the Midwest and I don't know if the rest of America is really seeing what you're seeing. It's not to bash, but according to city data St. Louis is one of highest crime rates in the country and Detroit is one of the most violent. Facts like these sometimes stimulate a broader generalization, whether justified or not.
I agree it's not fair to judge a region purely by it's large cities, but I think the larger ones leave the biggest impressions in people's minds. (Chicago, Detroit and St. Louis and maybe Minneapolis, don't know about anyone else but I don't think about the other ones too much.)
A lot of large Midwestern cities hover around the tops of these lists:
It's true that these cities may be rising, but they have to rise a lot farther than many of the cities in other regions. Yes, other regions cities have fallen hard, but we're looking at the current time and in the current time, the Midwest is the weak link. I think soon it will pass, it's just a tough time.
Last edited by theSUBlime; 05-22-2008 at 11:16 AM..
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