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States that have not been done yet, unless I missed them:
Idaho
Montana
North Dakota
South Dakota
Nebraska
Kansas
Oklahoma
Arkansas
Maine
Vermont
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
Anyone lived in or spent serious time in any of these?
Idaho.
Most: Treasure Valley region. Conservative, large potato farming region.
Least: Moscow,Idaho. College town, the most liberal city in a very red state.
Montana.
Most: Bitterroot Valley: Ranching, agriculture, mountainous, tourism.
Least: Great Falls. Largest city in Montana, military is a major presence in the city, located on the Great Plains (albeit the Rocky Mountains are close by).
Most - The closest I could think of is Kansas City. KC brings together influence from the Plains (North & South) and much of rural Missouri. Honestly, there doesn't seem to be a great fit for Missouri since it changes so much depending on where you are.
Least - The Bootheel. The bootheel is flat, in contrast to the Ozarks which cover most of the rest of southern Missouri. Cotton & Rice are heavily farmed there, and there are even gas stations where you can get boiled peanuts, greens & any type of fried meat you can think of. There is also a significant black population, and much of the bootheel has only been settled for a little over 100 years or so, since the swamps had to be drained first.
Honorable Least - St. Louis. St. Louis to me almost feels like it should be in Illinois sometimes. It is very midwestern culturally for how far south it is, if you look at other cities on a similar latitude in the eastern U.S. It also doesn't seem to have much in common with the rest of the state culturally.
I'll take Arkansas- much of my family lives there so though I haven't lived there I've visited all over the state many times.
Most: Small rural towns like Magnolia, Stamps, Pine Bluff, Searcy, El Dorado, etc. Small, dusty Delta towns.
Least: Towns in the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains, that have an Appalachian vibe - Mt. Ida, Mountain View, and places like Hot Springs Village that are filled with transplants from all over the US.
I don't know - prior to family moving to these more mountainous areas, I always just thought of Arkansas as being sort of flat and rural and full of only people from Arkansas, because after all, who moves TO Arkansas?
My rendition of Arkansas.
Most: Northwest Arkansas. Part of the Ozarks. The Ozarks are what many people think of when it comes to Arkansas. Kind of rural in many places. Mountainous, rugged.
Least: Eastern Arkansas. It has more in common with the Mississippi Delta than the rest of Arkansas, geographically.
Most: Northwest Arkansas. Part of the Ozarks. The Ozarks are what many people think of when it comes to Arkansas. Kind of rural in many places. Mountainous, rugged.
Least: Eastern Arkansas. It has more in common with the Mississippi Delta than the rest of Arkansas, geographically.
LOL it's funny how different peoples' perceptions of a place are. When I think of Arkansas, I think of the delta region, maybe Little Rock, Texarkana, etc - not the Ozarks. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a beautiful area and it's one that's often overlooked (which may be a good thing) but it seems more like NC or TN to me than Arkansas. And by TN I don't mean Memphis!
Which brings me to another stereotype: Tennessee
Most stereotypical: Nashville and Knoxville.
Least: Memphis (totally a Delta city)
I agree with someone else who stated that St. Louis seems more like a northern rather than southern city. I also agree that it seems like it could be transplanted into Illinois.
Personally I don't much care for the vibe of St. Louis though I'm sure it has it's charms. I also don't much care for Memphis. Or Little Rock.
Don't get me started! Now that I think about it, I don't much care for bigger cities in general! Though I do sort of like Minneapolis, Portland (Maine), the Virginia Beach region, DFW (nice place to visit but I don't want to live there), and a few other larger metro areas.
Don't get me started! Now that I think about it, I don't much care for bigger cities in general! Though I do sort of like Minneapolis, Portland (Maine), the Virginia Beach region, DFW (nice place to visit but I don't want to live there), and a few other larger metro areas.
In fairness, Metro Portland Maine is not a "larger" metro area by just about any metric. It covers a land area more than twice the size of Rhode Island and has about 500,000 people which isn't even 1/3 the population of the next smallest metro you list (VA Beach). Portland, the principal city, has a population of just 67,000 and isn't busting at the seams. The whole metro area isn't even one of the top 100 metro areas in the country in terms of population. So the fact that you like Portland would really align with your not liking bigger cities.
Montana
This is a tough one. Most people only seem to know Missoula but Missoula does not have the western image that comes to mind when you hear Montana.
Most: Helena. It has a little of everything. Mountains, rodeos, ranching, libretarian, and dry. Pretty much every small town and virtually all "cities" in MT fit the stereotype in some way. Billings would make a good case too if you don't picture tall mountains but dry rugged plains (which is 2/3's of MT).
Least: Whitefish. It's wealthier than most areas, more educated, doesn't have that western feel (mostly a ski town), and I'd wager it has one of the highest population of non-native Montanans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by green_mariner
Montana.
Most: Bitterroot Valley: Ranching, agriculture, mountainous, tourism.
Least: Great Falls. Largest city in Montana, military is a major presence in the city, located on the Great Plains (albeit the Rocky Mountains are close by).
I gave our out of town wedding guests a version of this in their welcome bags back in 2009 to let them know what they were walking into. They're pretty spot on (except for the curious "waterfront home" in Big Sky).
I actually realized Lawrence MA is least like the stereotype. 80k people and 80% Latino. In 2009-2011 was one of the poorest cities in the country. Major drug trafficking hub-most Dominican city in the country.
Very true.. but for some reason Lawrence has that mill town vibe to it! It feels Mass like, but obviously is way different from the stereotype.
In fairness, Metro Portland Maine is not a "larger" metro area by just about any metric. It covers a land area more than twice the size of Rhode Island and has about 500,000 people which isn't even 1/3 the population of the next smallest metro you list (VA Beach). Portland, the principal city, has a population of just 67,000 and isn't busting at the seams. The whole metro area isn't even one of the top 100 metro areas in the country in terms of population. So the fact that you like Portland would really align with your not liking bigger cities.
Well, that makes sense.
It's big by Maine standards though - LOL! And no, it's not in the top 100 when it comes to MSA populations - it's 105 out of 383 metro areas in the US. So solidly in the top third when it comes to population of metro areas. So I stick by my assertion that it's a "larger metro area."
And there are many places larger than Rhode Island when it comes to size - for instance, Dallas/Fort Worth. Hong Kong is 1/3 the size of RI, with seven times the population! 41 counties in Texas are larger than the entire state of RI. In fact, the average size of a county in the US is the size of RI. And speaking of Maine, Piscataquis County is three times larger than RI!
NJ has two different "worlds" of stereotypes, which would be a stereotype for the urban part and a stereotype for the suburban part.
For the urban NJ world, I would say any area in the vicinity of the Newark Aiport and the stretch of the Parkway near the airport are the most of the NJ stereotype. People think all of urban NJ would be a dump like Newark. People think all of NJ has drivers as bad as the Parkway, but no, the Parkway will be the worst out of all the NJ driving.
For the suburban NJ world, I'd say Edison is the most of the NJ stereotype. Lots of Indians, everyone owns a big house with lots of land there as most people stereotype New Jerseyans. Also, Edison is near the Parkway.
The least like stereotype of NJ would be South Jersey. So many farms and less crowds.
LOL it's funny how different peoples' perceptions of a place are. When I think of Arkansas, I think of the delta region, maybe Little Rock, Texarkana, etc - not the Ozarks. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a beautiful area and it's one that's often overlooked (which may be a good thing) but it seems more like NC or TN to me than Arkansas. And by TN I don't mean Memphis!
Which brings me to another stereotype: Tennessee
Most stereotypical: Nashville and Knoxville.
Least: Memphis (totally a Delta city)
I agree with someone else who stated that St. Louis seems more like a northern rather than southern city. I also agree that it seems like it could be transplanted into Illinois.
Personally I don't much care for the vibe of St. Louis though I'm sure it has it's charms. I also don't much care for Memphis. Or Little Rock.
Don't get me started! Now that I think about it, I don't much care for bigger cities in general! Though I do sort of like Minneapolis, Portland (Maine), the Virginia Beach region, DFW (nice place to visit but I don't want to live there), and a few other larger metro areas.
Being trained in geography, I know of Arkansas being more than just the Ozarks. On the other hand, I've never been to Arkansas. I know part of Arkansas is the lower Mississippi River Valley. However, the Ozarks are the first place I think of. Everything from Little Rock westward is what I often think of. It's the places in Arkansas I hear of the most.
Funny thing about North Carolina. The only part of North Carolina I've been to is the mountainous part.
I know Memphis is in Tennessee. However, my perception is based on the places I've been to in TN: I've been to Nashville, Chattanooga, Maryville (near Knoxville). The furthest west I've been in TN is McNairy County (about 92 miles east of Memphis). Central and Eastern TN are the first places I think of, if you mentioned Tennessee. When you mentioned Memphis, then I think "Tennessee".
To me, Missouri is basically a Midwestern state. It just has some flourishes of the South. It's Midwestern in the way that Indiana is. St. Louis and Kansas City influence other states in my opinion. To me, the least "Missouri" part of the state is the Bootheel region. Geographically, it's more like Mississippi and western Tennessee than the rest of the Missouri. It was an important cotton growing region. It has a larger rural Black population than other parts of rural Missouri.
I couldn't live in St. Louis, or any part of eastern Missouri. I would be more inclined to try Kansas City.
I used to live in Texas. I was charmed by the Dallas-Ft Worth area. Same goes for San Antonio.
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