Does Chicago "feel" Midwestern? (Manhattan, Nashville: 2015, new home, architecture)

[Maintainschaos]

Originally Posted by Kamms

As I stated before, Chicago continues to try and create an image. It doesn't want to be Midwestern but unfortunately it is the heart of central time zone, flat, middle America. Nothing wrong with this except for the people that can't stand being identified as being Midwesterners. It's actually amusing listening to Chicagoans try to extricate the city from being Midwestern. You may hear as well ''Chicago is not Midwestern, it's just Chicago!'' Got so tired of listening to this nonsense.

An earlier post stated that a doorman at a jazz club said Chicago is starting to feel like the east coast. Heard the same thing in the '90s with the boom then. Maybe it was because Chicago was in free-fall in the 1980s, then the '90s boom and then the '00s bust again. Whatever.

Chicago is absolutely no exception to this idea. Minneapolis is trying very strongly to shift its identity, rebranding itself as "the North," saying it's more like Portland or Seattle. Some people will flip their lid if D.C. and the word "South" are mentioned. There were two forums on here asking whether Ohio is Northeastern or not. Some try to sell Austin as "Texas lite."

People try to rebrand cities and regions and places to live all the time, but the fact is that the majority of the populace know these tactics are smoke and mirrors. I think you are over exaggerating the number of people who try to pass off Chicago as anything but Midwestern. But just because it's Midwestern doesn't mean it has to be a carbon copy of another city in its region just on steroids, because it really isn't. But whether Chicago feels stereotypically Midwestern is a matter of opinion, so there is no right or wrong answer on the subject.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Maintainschaos

Chicago is absolutely no exception to this idea. Minneapolis is trying very strongly to shift its identity, rebranding itself as "the North," saying it's more like Portland or Seattle.

Oh yeah - living in Minnesota for many years, this is true. I've always felt like it's had more in common with the PNW and felt more like a PNW city in a way. However, most of the suburbs? Very midwestern. Minneapolis is pretty different than a lot of its suburbs.

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by compactspace

Seriously, is this still being argued?

I just wrote and deleted long paragraphs about how impractical and wasteful these arguments are... but hey, it's a net forum. That's the point. I will say that it makes me sad that people are angsting over where they stand in the Great Hierarchy of Cities. It's like we're all overgrown highschoolers.

Why does this bother you so? Debate is a healthy pastime in the right case. What is reminiscent of an "overgrown high schooler" is descending into a debate and calling everyone else juvenile.

[UrbanCheetah]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Oh yeah - living in Minnesota for many years, this is true. I've always felt like it's had more in common with the PNW and felt more like a PNW city in a way. However, most of the suburbs? Very midwestern. Minneapolis is pretty different than a lot of its suburbs.

I really want to check out Minneapolis. I heard its a pretty cool city. I am thinking in the summer of 2016 I will make a trip up there.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by UrbanCheetah

I really want to check out Minneapolis. I heard its a pretty cool city. I am thinking in the summer of 2016 I will make a trip up there.

It's pretty cool - though much smaller than you'd realize. Around 400K people - which is like the population of South Loop, Loop, Near North Side, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Uptown, and Edgewater combined. Of course, it's a city so it's not like the entire city is 'cool' - just certain areas like Uptown and North Loop. When and if you go, go to some of the suburbs - you'll see there's a noticeable difference. Some people spend their entire times in the city and never get to the suburbs, so they think the entire area is like Minneapolis, but it's not really. St. Paul is also a cool city that you should check out. There are some suburbs that have walkable areas too like West St. Paul - in spots but then there's suburbs like Eagan and Burnsville which you could drop anywhere in the US and it would fit in.

[TheSunshineKid]

It feels like Chicago. It feels like America. It feels like home.

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by steeps

I think this is a question for MANY of the Young Urban Professionals who moved to Chicago...... Do THEY feel Chicago is Midwestern in the sense of the Areas they came from?

It certainly is NOT about Chicago WANTING or SEEING itself as EASTERN... of somehow NOT Midwestern..... That ...Kamms... that is Much more YOUR Cleveland.

In a Cleveland thread last November.... you replied with these post to me....


After these post. The thread regressed into someone (not you) making it a BASH Chicago thread on its politics and Pension debt in ever new post....

I just still don't know what this Appalachian Vibe is you linked Cleveland to also? I live in Appalachian East Central PA. Perhaps Cleveland's.... even Pittsburgh's is a southern Appalachian one? I wouldn't call most of PA's as much as Southern Appalachia.

One thing that I learned from a couple Cleveland threads is..... Clevelander's WANT NOTHING AT ALL. TO BE LINKED OR LIKE A CHICAGO......

It's just that Chicago is a huge allegedly world-class city, the Boss-hog of the Midwest yet has to try to create a true, distinct image. So towns like Minneapolis, Columbus Cleveland etc should be expected to have image issues, since they are much smaller than the Prairie Metropolis of Chicago.

As far as Cleveland and the Appalachian vibe, its the western edge of the Alleghany-Appalachian area. Appalachia is a short drive south of Cleveland. The term ''Appalachia'' encompasses southeast Ohio; them hills are not far from Cleveland at all. The Alleghanys are due east; mountains in 1.5 hours east with the PA state line about as far as Wisconsin is from Chicago.

Much like Chicago wants to be arrogant with its Midwest peer cities, these same peer cities really don't want to be like Chicago. Many of the young professionals moving to Chicago come from dead of the Midwest farm towns so to them Chicago wouldn't feel Midwestern because there are over 1,000 people living in Chicago.

I will say this, given Cleveland's connection to Connecticut and its liberal history and geographic location it is less of stretch to say there is a decent connection to the east than Chicago.

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by Maintainschaos

Chicago is absolutely no exception to this idea. Minneapolis is trying very strongly to shift its identity, rebranding itself as "the North," saying it's more like Portland or Seattle. Some people will flip their lid if D.C. and the word "South" are mentioned. There were two forums on here asking whether Ohio is Northeastern or not. Some try to sell Austin as "Texas lite."

People try to rebrand cities and regions and places to live all the time, but the fact is that the majority of the populace know these tactics are smoke and mirrors. I think you are over exaggerating the number of people who try to pass off Chicago as anything but Midwestern. But just because it's Midwestern doesn't mean it has to be a carbon copy of another city in its region just on steroids, because it really isn't. But whether Chicago feels stereotypically Midwestern is a matter of opinion, so there is no right or wrong answer on the subject.

As I just stated, Chicago is not supposed to have an inferiority or image complex. As Chicago likes to point out, these lesser cities are nothing like it.

By the way, what is the ''Midwest culture'' everyone throws around but doesn't define?

[reppin_the_847]

Originally Posted by Kamms

As I just stated, Chicago is not supposed to have an inferiority or image complex. As Chicago likes to point out, these lesser cities are nothing like it.

By the way, what is the ''Midwest culture'' everyone throws around but doesn't define?

This is not true about everyone in Chicago, but there are certain folks in town that do have an inferior complex when comparing the town to NYC.

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by reppin_the_847

This is not true about everyone in Chicago, but there are certain folks in town that do have an inferior complex when comparing the town to NYC.

Of course not everybody but its not just certain folks, not everybody but enough to seep into the Chicago culture.