Peoples thoughts on Pittsburgh's dying connection with the midwest and new connections with some east coast cities (Philadelphia: live, store)

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by escilade18

Simply for an add on, I noticed a lot of DC influence just 70 miles south of the city in Morgantown WV, with quite a few shops adopting the name "mid atlantic" them getting a Ledo's Pizza which is almost exclusive to MD, DC, NOVA and DE along with seeing a lot of cars with DC plates on them. idk if that is a sign of things to come if the influence starts heading north

IMO it's one of the few benefits of the recession. People used to travel abroad much more, but these days it's fashionable to vacation closer to home. Morgantown may not be a vacation paradise you want to visit year after year but the older cities have a lot of appeal and can be very interesting places to visit.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by escilade18

Great answer, I would honestly like to see more connection via High speed rail from Pittsburgh to cities such as Baltimore/Washington, and Philadelphia where one could connect and go to cities such as NYC and Boston. With the increasing cost and increasing hassles of flying this will do wonders in improving/keeping business connections between the two areas, as well as my selfish ambition of more "road trips" to the coastal cities haha

Why not just HSR to NY and Boston? Seems silly to go to DC first.

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

Pittsburgh to me has always seemed like its own animal to me. We have our own warped version of the midwest rube (the yinzer), our own east coast hipster epicenter (the east end), our own brand of douchebag broski's (south side meatheads), and a football game that everyone in the city has to attend or pay attention to like a small midwest town.

A few stereotypes about the midwest, I'd say. Although I believe the farming/rural population is higher in the midwest than the NE, it is still true that most people in the midwest live in cities/suburbs. 50% of the people in Nebraska (arguably NOT the midwest but I'll get into that later) live in the Lincoln/Omaha areas. I like to tell people my DH is a city boy from Nebraska. (He is from Omaha.) One person said "that's an oxymoron". Actually, Omaha looks a lot like Pittsburgh (hilly with trees), and the stories he's told me of his childhood sound much like stories from my own childhood in the Pittsburgh area. Basketball is more popular in some midwestern states, e.g. Illinois and Indiana b/c of the small towns. It's easier to field a b-ball team than a football team.

Originally Posted by Caladium

The midwest is Illinois and Indiana and Kansas and Minnesota and Missouri and the Dakotas. And Ohio--although I agree with the poster who said Cleveland does not feel midwestern. Pittsburgh's connection to the midwest was primarily because it is a rust belt city. The connection was understandably stronger during Pittsburgh's steel years. As the Burgh redefines itself as a finance and business center it makes sense that the connections to the east coast cities will become stronger (right now--things can change).

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Cleveland feels very midwestern to me.

Your view of it seems to follow a more land-locked region of it.

You're missing the Great Lakes region of Michigan and Wisconsin...and Cleveland is very tied to that region...which is very solidly Midwest.

I'll take these two posts together. According to the census bureau, there are actually two divisions of the midwest: east north central and west north central. (See map; I'm not good at posting graphics.)

http://www.census.gov/geo/www/us_regdiv.pdf

Some people say the Dakotas, Kansas and Nebraska are their own region, the Great Plains, whereas others consider the Great Plains to be a part of the midwest. DH calls Nebraska the "Mid-Plains". Like the Pittsburgh area, it's not all one or the other.

[BrianTH]

Pittsburgh is definitely in its own linguistic region. Broadly we are within the Midland, which stretches from New Jersey through Iowa (Michigan and Chicago are not Midland, incidentally), but there is a distinct regional dialect in and around Pittsburgh.

Incidentally, the Midwest itself is really not a cohesive unit. For example, the Great Lakes areas are quite distinct from the Prairie areas.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Pittsburgh is definitely in its own linguistic region. Broadly we are within the Midland, which stretches from New Jersey through Iowa (Michigan and Chicago are not Midland, incidentally), but there is a distinct regional dialect in and around Pittsburgh.

Incidentally, the Midwest itself is really not a cohesive unit. For example, the Great Lakes areas are quite distinct from the Prairie areas.

Illinois is both a Great Lake state and a prairie state.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Why not just HSR to NY and Boston? Seems silly to go to DC first.

HSR to Philly gets you HSR to NY and Boston (it isn't really feasible to go more directly).

Meanwhile, DC is in fact much closer to Pittsburgh than NY, and particularly Boston.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Illinois is both a Great Lake state and a prairie state.

Correct. In general I think it is best to ignore state boundaries, because many states overlap more than one cultural/economic region.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by Katiana

According to the census bureau, there are actually two divisions of the midwest: east north central and west north central. (See map; I'm not good at posting graphics.)

http://www.census.gov/geo/www/us_regdiv.pdf

Some people say the Dakotas, Kansas and Nebraska are their own region, the Great Plains, whereas others consider the Great Plains to be a part of the midwest. DH calls Nebraska the "Mid-Plains". Like the Pittsburgh area, it's not all one or the other.

Actually that's where I personally place the Dakotas, Kansas and Nebraska - solidly in the Great Plains, or I'd even take the term "Mid-Plains".

Being a 'Great Lakes' boy...I quickly identify with that region....and I'll take IL, IN, OH, WI, and MN as all touching the Lakes as well, and therefore solidly Midwest. IA is taken because an extension of the cornfields of that lower IN/IL/IA continuum, and it doesn't seem like it could belong anywhere else, unless 'Mid-Plains' is a term that can take it, as 'Great Plain's can't.

Out there in SD, ND, NE, KS...while some cornfields on their eastern sides...those state in their entirety just miss that 'heart Midwest vibe' - i.e. national league baseball stadiums galore, former industrial giants, great lakes shipping, etc.

Missouri is one of those controversial ones. I do not consider it Midwest at all, but many other people do...depends on one's point of reference. Not flat enough, not a cornfield area like the places just north of it, and way too far from the Great Lakes. But being they were a big one for early baseball, lots of previous industry, etc...I can see the connection if people want to put it there.

[Katarina Witt]

^^My own personal opinion is that Missouri is not part of the midwest, but of the south, as it was a slave state that did not secede. However, most people seem to think of it as midwest.

[Blackbeauty212]

Pittsburgh also uses the term "MAC Machine" instead of ATM's......is that East or Midwest?....Philadelphia also uses the term but NYC and DC use ATM....I think Chicago says Mac Machine as well.

[globalburgh]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Correct. In general I think it is best to ignore state boundaries, because many states overlap more than one cultural/economic region.

Illinois has the same Appalachian/Midwestern split you find in Indiana and Ohio. That southern region stretches into Missouri. Prairie/high plains get going around the 100th meridian. It's a semi-arid climate and effectively splits a lot of "Prairie States" in half.