Best Midwest Cities (live, dangerous, statistics)

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Woah, ease up there Nelly. We all have our opinions, Im sure she didnt mean any harm. Even though St. Louis is doing a little more with its downtown, its the surrounding areas that are very blighted and ugly.

Which surrounding areas are you talking about? If you are talking about all of them that's just wrong. Anything due west of downtown is NOT ugly. St. Louis is not an ugly city. Anybody who thinks so does not know the city like me, someone who has lived here over 20 years, born and raised here.

[christina0001]

I don't think St. Louis is ugly. No, it does not have the view of skyscrapers like many other cities have, but I thought the Arch was pretty cool and definitely one of a kind.

[GraniteStater]

The towns in the Midwest I like:
LaCrosse, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Decorah, Iowa
Brainerd, Minnesota
Traverse City, Michigan

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by Rawlings

Does Denver count as a midwestern city? If so you might like it. It's not terribly diverse or cultured--but it's a helluva town.

No Denver is part of the west (northwest). I've been there it does not feel like any Midwestern city I've ever been to. THe Midwestern states are Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. Some people like to include Oklahoma but not me. Oklahoma is the southwest.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by christina0001

I don't think St. Louis is ugly. No, it does not have the view of skyscrapers like many other cities have, but I thought the Arch was pretty cool and definitely one of a kind.

I wish there were more people who held your view of things.

[Katiana]

Denver is hardly the northwest. The Seattle and Portland folks would all be having strokes if they read that! Geographically, Colorado is part of the inter-mountain west (Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho [though parts of Idaho are considered the NW], Utah, Nevada and Arizona. Denver seems a cross between the midwest and the far west to me. Neither one nor the other.

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by madison soccer dad

Good choices! It is nice to see someone else besides me understand the Chicago, St. Louis, and Detriot are far behind the times, and have little to offer its residents besides crime and rust.

I live in Madision and can't imagine living anywhere else. I have been to LaCrosse several times, and can honestly say that if I was forced to live there, I would have no complaints. Another city to visit, Appleton, Wisconsin. Reminds me much of some of the smaller east coast burbs of Philidelphia.

I hate it when a city is stereotyped as bad because of its crime. the only place in St. Louis, Detroit, or Chicago where those so-called crimes happen are in the downtown or ghetto 'areas. In the 'burbs hardly any crime ever happens. these three cities are better than any small city you will find out in the Midwest as far as things to do and nightlife. If somebody told me I couldn't live in any big city in the Midwest, I would cry. My favorite Midwest cities: Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Cleveland, Detroit, Cincinnati, Columbus, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Milwaukee. St. Louis, Detroit, and Chicago are no different from any Midwest city as far as crime goes. Crime won't happen to you as long as are smart enough to stay out of the ghettos.

[GraniteStater]

Why do so many people include the plains states as part of the midwest? The people, climate, culture, and landscape is different in the plains than areas further to the east. Also, in the Midwest states trees are far more common and abundant compared with the plains
I also think that Kansas City is in between three different regions. They are located at the eastern edge of the plains, the far southwest margin of the midwest, and the northern extent of the south.
Here is my list:
Plains States:
North Dakota
South Dakota
Nebraska
Kansas
Midwest States:
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Iowa
Illinois
Indiana
Michigan
Ohio
extreme northern Missouri

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by pittnurse70

Denver is hardly the northwest. The Seattle and Portland folks would all be having strokes if they read that! Geographically, Colorado is part of the inter-mountain west (Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho [though parts of Idaho are considered the NW], Utah, Nevada and Arizona. Denver seems a cross between the midwest and the far west to me. Neither one nor the other.

Denver is also located at the far western edge of the high plains, so the weather is obviously very changeable. The towns just west and southwest of Denver are higher up in elevation than the International Airport, which is in the middle of the high plains.

[metroplex2003]

Originally Posted by ajf131

I hate it when a city is stereotyped as bad because of its crime. the only place in St. Louis, Detroit, or Chicago where those so-called crimes happen are in the downtown or ghetto 'areas. In the 'burbs hardly any crime ever happens. these three cities are better than any small city you will find out in the Midwest as far as things to do and nightlife. If somebody told me I couldn't live in any big city in the Midwest, I would cry. My favorite Midwest cities: Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Cleveland, Detroit, Cincinnati, Columbus, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Milwaukee. St. Louis, Detroit, and Chicago are no different from any Midwest city as far as crime goes. Crime won't happen to you as long as are smart enough to stay out of the ghettos.

I agree, lots of these statistics are skewed. If you include the MSA statistics, all of a sudden St. Louis MSA is a very safe area. I lived in STL for 4 years. It's very safe except in certain areas, it's just those certain areas that are outliers and make St. Louis proper look horrible on paper.

Dallas also gets a bad rap for its crime, but once again you throw in its surrounding 5 million people worth of suburbs, and all of a sudden you get a nice city on paper.

There are lies, lies, and statistics as one has said in the past.