Ohio - Midwest or not? (Columbus, Cleveland: living, automobile, steel)

[MimzyMusic]

People in Ohio ALWAYS consider themselves Midwestern. It's weird it's a central state, it's as far east as Florida! Is this because of historical reasons, or is it similar to the Plains states?

[ericmc783]

i think mainly historical reasons.

[Stephan_K]

central state, eastern state, midwest state...na, all wrong...OH is in the twilight zone...

[CortlandGirl79]

Ohio could be considered many things. I think most consider it Midwest, but i think it's more complicated than that. Western and Central Ohio definitely look a lot more flat and Midwestern than eastern Ohio.

There are also several different accents in Ohio. Toledo and Cleveland have the Great Lakes accent. Everyone up there calls me Kaaaaaaaathy. Once you get down around Columbus people have a more noticeable twang to their speech, although i wouldn't call it completely southern. Then you have some people around me, in Youngstown and south of there (NOT all people in this area), that have the western pa or PITTSBURGHESE .com accent (instead of color they say kellar, first time i heard this i had no idea what they were talking about). Lastly, there is an Appalachian type accent that also sounds southern, maybe the same as the one in southern Ohio, I'm not sure.

I also consider Northern Ohio more Great Lakes than Midwest, even though part of the great lakes are in the Midwest.

For me it's pretty complicated, i live maybe 10 miles from the Pa border and an hour from Cleveland, Akron, and Pittsburgh. I sort of consider myself 1/3 Midwestern, 1/3 great lakes, and 1/3 rust belt.

There are also some New England influences in Northeast Ohio since it was once part of the Connecticut Western Reserve and because it was originally populated by people from Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Northeast Ohio is also very densely populated and it has (had) more industry than farmland.

Ultimately, i think everyone would consider it midwest because we weren't part of the original 13 colonies and most of Ohio was settled after the Revolution. To the colonies, Ohio was the West or the frontier, but to people out west we are East. It's all confusing me right now as i type. All i know is that I don't identify w/the plains states at all, or w/Cincy, C-bus, Indianapolis, etc. I identify w/places like Buffalo, Cleveland, Erie, Pittsburgh, Akron and Detroit..........must be the steel and automobiles in my blood.........

[Paddington]

I would say it's more redneck than Midwest, especially once you get South of the Lake Erie region.

[traveling_in_the_sun]

I think it just depends on who you're talking to. I normally just tell people I'm from Ohio when I'm out of the state. It makes it easy and then people know exactly where I'm from.

When I'm in California and I tell people I'm from Ohio, I'm obviously considered to be from the east.

[BuckeyeGal]

Ohio is the "Heart" of the midwest.

[Cincy-Rise]

Originally Posted by Paddington

I would say it's more redneck than Midwest, especially once you get South of the Lake Erie region.

Try telling that to someone in the mid-south, i.e. Memphis, Tupelo, Huntsville, etc! lol

WE'RE THE DAMNED YANKEES to them!

[Ohiogirl81]

Just goes to show you ... As soon as one person tries to put a label on something/someone, a second person will present evidence to refute that label.

[Traveler87]

Originally Posted by Cincy-Rise

Try telling that to someone in the mid-south, i.e. Memphis, Tupelo, Huntsville, etc! lol

WE'RE THE DAMNED YANKEES to them!

True, lol according to my friends from North Carolina living here in Cleveland, we are the Yanks.

NE Ohio represents more NE feel to it, SE Ohio more Appalachian feel to it, but not like West Virginia and Kentucky. SW Ohio is much more southern, and NW Ohio, midwest I would say. Now this is just my opinion, and what I have observed.