Why do so many people hate the Midwest? (crime, house)

[CTownNative]

Why do so many people hate the Midwest and Rustbelt?I mean the Midwest/Rustbelt region is one of the huge regions why are country has been so prosperous.Yeah i know theres crime and poverty in cities in the Midwest but there is crime and poverty in cities in all of the regions.I also know the economy is not that good right now in the Midwest,but can you really expect that to last forever.I mean if the economy in the West was to go bad would people hate that region?Than in the Midwest you have cities like Cleveland,Chicago,STL,Milwaukee,Indianapolis,and Detroit,cities which all have world class attractions.The Midwest has the great lakes,the cities also have nice architecture.Im posting this question because I wanted to see what people have to say on this topic.I mean Im suprised and kind of mad to see that so many people dislike the region I like so much.I mean I know not everyone is going to like the Midwest,but compared to the other regions,the Midwest seems to be the one that is the most disliked.

[Nafster]

They've never been there before and they assume

1. It's flat
2. People are hicks
3. It's boring
4. The weather

Here are the myths debunked:

1. It's not all flat. There are plenty of high hills and bluffs. There are even mountains in Michigan.
2. Not everyone is a country hick - There are cities here you know!!!
3. It's not boring! Tons of stuff goes on here!!!
4. Grow some balls and put on a coat! If your that afraid of cold, then you don't know what you're missing with the 4 seasons.

[MidniteBreeze]

I don't know, I seem to see a lot of anti-south posts (with related stereotypes) going on too. Just look at the "scary hillbilly town" thread.

I think the Midwest is a lot like Canada in some people's minds. They just don't think about it all that much. When they do, they think of nice (but boring) country folk who make an honest living toiling somewhere in the cold. If they think of cities, they tend to think of places like Detroit and assume that it (and all other Midwestern cities) are nothing but decaying, crime-ridden cesspools.

All in all I guess I don't mind that the masses haven't discoverd our secrets. I live in a place that looks a lot more like northern Maine than anything out of "Little House on the Prairie" but when I say I'm from Minnesota, people assume I live on a farm or something. Not that there's anything wrong with farms (thank GOD for farms!), but there's more to the Midwest than agriculture and economically depressed cities.

[scutfarcus]

No place is paradise, but many parts of the midwest are far nicer than other other place, including much of California - ever been to Fresno, yikes!

The "coolness police" have been barking for years about how anything away from the coasts is some kind of horrible backwater. Frankly I think it's driven by people who move from the midwest bitter and want to "be cool" in their new place.

bah.

[SpeedyAZ]

They've never been there before and they assume

1. It's flat
2. People are hicks
3. It's boring
4. The weather

The majority of the Midwest is flat with gentle rolling hills. SOME exceptions to this rule (Eastern Iowa, some of Wisconsin and Michigan).

People aren't hicks but unless you live in one of the big cities (Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, Omaha), people seem to be very set on their ideas and beliefs, not too progressive and to them change is not a good thing. I came from a big-Republican, Italian/ German Catholic family and I'd say the majority of people in our area were the same. There are very few liberal/progressive people in the heartland with again the exception of the big cities.

Well guess what? MOST of the Midwest is VERY boring! The Midwest is full of small towns with a population less than 10,000 people and they don't exactly cater to the younger crowd. I came from a SMALL town of about 2000 people in NW Iowa, we didn't even have a movie theater! Our Saturday nights basically revolved around drinking beer at someones farm; not exactly the most enriching experience but we did have a good time.

As for the weather, I've been there done that and HATED IT!! Snow is terrible, ice is worse, the summers are EXTREMELY humid and generally I just completely hate the entire 4 seasons idea, I just don't know how someone can WANT snow/ice/humid summers! In Phoenix we have 3 seasons; perfect, warm, and HOT.

[Katiana]

There are other parts of the country that have four seasons, such as the northeast, the upper south, and the Rocky Mountain West. In all of these places, the weather is not as extreme as the midwest.

[blueatari]

So, I guess a “non-boring” time is making sure the air conditioner always has Freon, the rock garden is weed less, and the windows aren't open because of the dusting involved the day after. Sounds like paradise to me.

It can be humid because we have these novelties called rain and plant life.

The Midwest is full of small towns because people actually choose to live there. Small towns in the dessert? Uh, no. Some, but we all know what they are like.

Keep that steering wheel crow bar locked tight, because you live in “Eden” and would never want to leave. It might be about quality of life, not quantity.

I choose to scrape my ice for 3 months; you choose to water your rock garden for 12.

Don't even talk to me about the filth and crime.

Keep living the dream!

[StuyTownRefugee]

Originally Posted by CTownNative

Why do so many people hate the Midwest and Rustbelt?I mean the Midwest/Rustbelt region is one of the huge regions why are country has been so prosperous.Yeah i know theres crime and poverty in cities in the Midwest but there is crime and poverty in cities in all of the regions.I also know the economy is not that good right now in the Midwest,but can you really expect that to last forever.I mean if the economy in the West was to go bad would people hate that region?Than in the Midwest you have cities like Cleveland,Chicago,STL,Milwaukee,Indianapolis,and Detroit,cities which all have world class attractions.The Midwest has the great lakes,the cities also have nice architecture.Im posting this question because I wanted to see what people have to say on this topic.I mean Im suprised and kind of mad to see that so many people dislike the region I like so much.I mean I know not everyone is going to like the Midwest,but compared to the other regions,the Midwest seems to be the one that is the most disliked.

What? You're kidding right? The South is by far the most hated and resented for much of US history and even now. It was destroyed.

But now that it has risen again, the same old exclusionary forces are in place. Now it's hated for different reasons.

People don't hate the MidWest, it's just they find that the opportunities from today's generations need a place to grow and prosper, and the South offers hope the way all the US did at one time. You can't stop it.

The US constitution thru apportionment dictates that the population rules and that is where people have moved and need resources and they will get them from the fed govt, by the way forever DC was looked down on for being "in the South" too. But it isn't actually, it's a national city and it gave resources willfully to the NE and Midwest and elsewhere when their times were the rule.

Yet people still now look at the South with a special but different type of loathing, I don't know why. They really don't realize this South has actually many regions of lesser or more traits of being Southern.

Not all the Midwest either is stagnant or rusted. There are reboundings in St Louis, and Ilinois, Ohio in technological industries, but true the weather will play a big part in the future because of the South's lower energy costs and alternatives such as solar, wind, oil, and gas, and lots of coal (WVa, KY, Va) it has many resources of its own before alternates.

There's enough coal in the South to run the whole US for the next 500 years with proper and cleaned up applications.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ

The majority of the Midwest is flat with gentle rolling hills. SOME exceptions to this rule (Eastern Iowa, some of Wisconsin and Michigan).

People aren't hicks but unless you live in one of the big cities (Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, Omaha), people seem to be very set on their ideas and beliefs, not too progressive and to them change is not a good thing. I came from a big-Republican, Italian/ German Catholic family and I'd say the majority of people in our area were the same. There are very few liberal/progressive people in the heartland with again the exception of the big cities.

Well guess what? MOST of the Midwest is VERY boring! The Midwest is full of small towns with a population less than 10,000 people and they don't exactly cater to the younger crowd. I came from a SMALL town of about 2000 people in NW Iowa, we didn't even have a movie theater! Our Saturday nights basically revolved around drinking beer at someones farm; not exactly the most enriching experience but we did have a good time.

As for the weather, I've been there done that and HATED IT!! Snow is terrible, ice is worse, the summers are EXTREMELY humid and generally I just completely hate the entire 4 seasons idea, I just don't know how someone can WANT snow/ice/humid summers! In Phoenix we have 3 seasons; perfect, warm, and HOT.

I would call Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Eastern Iowa pretty big exceptions. Missouri is naturally gourgeous. Southeast Ohio is Appalachian foothills. Arizona is cold and mountainous except for where all the people live. Flat isn't ugly either when you step into it. Just sucks to drive through. There is great wonder in a natural prairie or fields of grain.
There are more shades of gray than the urban/rural split. There are lrge cunks of the rural midwest that are liberal. the Iron Range, most Indian reservations, most college towns (there are quite a few).
There are boring places all across the nation. The rural south is boring, small New England towns are really quaint, and pretty boring. Upstate new York, rural Texas. Most of Nevada. That isn't the Midwest being boring, that is the small town being boring. No oone says I hate the Northeast because its rural areas are boring.
You can't change the weather, but that is no reason to dislike a geographic section of America. No one hates Switzerland because of all the snow on the Alps. I dislike the weather in Louisiana, seeing a plantation or New Orleans or a unique culture helps you to forget that a little. Same here.

[Colts]

I too am intrigued by this question and am looking forward to some of the responses.

I guess if a place ain't New York or San Francisco its bound to be hated here at some point or another.