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All of Florida is not south and the real Midwest does not
begin in Ohio until one is on the western half of Columbus
(or Franklin County) Ohio. It's literally a split right down
the middle of the state. Everything east of that
will be more east coast like by nature.
Last edited by Europeanflava; 10-06-2014 at 09:29 AM..
I think Miami was very southern at one point. The retirees and transplants just flooded the area.
when? In 1940, Miami-Dade County had 10% of its current population. 20 years earlier, it was 2%. The southern part was tiny. And for Atlanta, you don't have to go that far until you're in the deep south, not so much for Miami.
Cleveland has a higher Italian/Irish/Jewish/Polish % than any city not in the Census-designated Northeast.
Buffalo - 38.61% of MSA (48.57% of NHW population)
Boston - 36.45% of MSA (49.38% of NHW population)
Philadelphia - 33.03% of MSA (51.26% of NHW population)
New York - 32.26% of MSA (66.94% of NHW population)
Pittsburgh - 31.80-% of MSA (36.55% of NHW) Cleveland - 26.69% of MSA (37.01% of NHW population)
Chicago - 22.81% of MSA (41.78% of NHW population)
Detroit - 21.19% of MSA (31.16% of NHW)
Baltimore - 19.98% of MSA (33.78% of NHW population)
Washington - 14.25% of MSA (30.42% of NHW population)
when? In 1940, Miami-Dade County had 10% of its current population. 20 years earlier, it was 2%. The southern part was tiny. And for Atlanta, you don't have to go that far until you're in the deep south, not so much for Miami.
That's true today. It wasn't 50 years ago. I mean, what do you think was there before Aventura Mall and all of the golf resorts? It was a southern place and had southern ways. You just don't see it very much nowadays because of the demographic changes.
This link shows a map of the US in 1790. The region that is listed as Northwest Territories is much of what we consider to be the midwest today. However, notice the little region of Northeast Ohio that is not included in that territory, but rather is part of the Connecticut Western Reserve. Hence, that piece is historically separate from what is today considered the midwest, and was in fact more closely associated with the East Coast. This should put a wrench in the claims some people make that simply by virtue of being in Ohio, NEO is the midwest. Historically, it was not.
On the same subject, the area West of the Mississippi was originally part of the Louisiana territory. Today, this region has distinct differences from the states that were in the original Northwest Territories. Points west of the Mississippi are much less built up, and the roads are not gridlike like those East of the Mississippi. Those areas as well, I would argue, are not truly part of the Midwest, but are rather part of another region, perhaps we could call the Great Planes.
It is strange how the Southeast goes from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River (and sometimes beyond) while the North is divided into smaller sections. I personally believe most people in Ohio have more in common with Pennsylvania (Northeast) then they do with many of the Midwestern States such as Iowa or Kansas. And the Western Reserve itself is an interesting footnote and may explain some of the "bones" of Northeast Ohio.
Having said that IMHO, I believe that the Western Reserve tends to be exaggerated by some. It only lasted for a short time, was still sparsely settled when it ended and as someone mentioned New Englanders and other Northeasterners settled all over the Midwest, not just the Reserve.
Its not a historical footnote like the Reserve that makes Ohio seem like Pennsylvania. I think it is more geographical location, old industrial cities and natural resources.
NYC is not flat. Check out Todt and Grymes Hills in Staten Island and I believe the neighborhood of Bay Ridge Brooklyn (if it's not Bay Ridge it's another along the bay, there's a fort there but I can't remember its name) and look at the palisades in NJ and NY right across the Hudson from upper Manhattan.
Vermont and NH, NY, PA and even northwestern NJ are mountainous. NH has one of the highest peaks along the east coast, Mount Washington. Maine has a rocky, taller coast and a more rugged terrain feel overall. Acadia National Park is stunning. CT has mountains, so does MA. Ohio does not have heights at the scale of areas of those states, especially the more mountainous ones. The Midwest in general of course is not entirely flat, but the middle of the country doesn't have the mountains and peaks that each coast does - and the west obviously wins in height overall. Parts of NY, PA, and some of New England "wins" in the northeast.
I wonder what the story behind CT taking that portion of Ohio, rather than NY or PA, is. It's interesting. Scenery wise it is and was much closer to those 2 states than CT.
It is strange how the Southeast goes from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River (and sometimes beyond) while the North is divided into smaller sections.
Perhaps that's because the coastal southern states (Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia) had territorial claims in the lands that eventually became interior southern states. Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi were formed from southern states; the Midwestern states were formed from land held by the federal government.
As said, the hills are in the southeastern part of the state. If you drove through and across the northern part of the state you wouldn't see any hills. Cinncinati isn't flat. If you drove from Albany to Buffalo on I-90 you could call New York flat, but that would be silly.
Perhaps that's because the coastal southern states (Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia) had territorial claims in the lands that eventually became interior southern states. Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi were formed from southern states; the Midwestern states were formed from land held by the federal government.
Southern states are also larger than most northern ones, in the SE and NE at least and along the Gulf. You wouldn't want to split states for the sake of creating more regions.
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