Eastern vs Western USA (Mississippi Divide) (best, cost, state, better)
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If we split the USA between the Eastern Portion and the western portion of the country, using the Mississippi River as the dividing point, which side of the country do you prefer overall?
For purposes of the thread, let's say that cities and metros that are along the Mississippi River (such as New Orleans and Minneapolis) count for the East.
Culture? East. Im 1/2 Irish/Italian, 1/2 Portuguese.. so my peepz east coast.
Nicer Cities? Boston, Portland ME, Alexandria, Savannah, Charleston SC, St. Augustine, DC, Chicago, NOLA, Asheville win it for me over my favorite West Cities of SF, Seattle, Sedona, San Diego, Aspen CO, Denver and LA.
Natural beauties? East hands down for me. There's no beaches like Florida in the USA in the rest of the contiguous states. And Appalachia is nicer than the Rockies to me.
Culture... East. Caribbean community.
Nicer cities? Still East. Miami... NYC... Chicago... Atlanta... Philly... come on now... Miami is the one that puts it over the top though.
Overall... Tie. I live in Houston and I love the living scenario here both for the jobs and for the COL. As well as what you get in other cities this way like DFW. But in visiting terms, East wins hands down for me.
Natural beauties? East hands down for me. There's no beaches like Florida in the USA in the rest of the contiguous states. And Appalachia is nicer than the Rockies to me.
Culture... East. Caribbean community.
Nicer cities? Still East. Miami... NYC... Chicago... Atlanta... Philly... come on now... Miami is the one that puts it over the top though.
Overall... Tie. I live in Houston and I love the living scenario here both for the jobs and for the COL. As well as what you get in other cities this way like DFW. But in visiting terms, East wins hands down for me.
Of all the cities that throw it over. You pick Miami. Smh. We trade you back to the west
I used to think the West is the best region of the country. I have drove all over the West Coast from San Diego to Vancouver Canada. However, after researching and going to the East Coast, I realized the East is the better side.
The West outside of the SF-LA strip is bare empty. Portland is over-hyped. Seattle and San Diego are the only 2 major cities that I'd consider decent outside of SF-LA on the West. The problem with the West is not just the lack of big cities in comparison to the East. But the fact that there's wildfires every year now. Not to forget, the cost of living.
The East has a lot more depth than the west. I mean you talk about Maine. New Hampshire. Pennsylvania. The Carolinas. Georgia. Florida. Not to forget NYC too. And plenty others. I personally drove through 5 states in 3 hours on the East Coast. You can never do such a thing on the West.
The East is better in scenery, cities, culture, food and things to do. The East is the superior side in every way possible.
West coast is over-hyped. Do not let the West Coast's blue skies fool you. This coming from a Pakistani Muslim American.
Culture? East. Im 1/2 Irish/Italian, 1/2 Portuguese.. so my peepz east coast.
Nicer Cities? Boston, Portland ME, Alexandria, Savannah, Charleston SC, St. Augustine, DC, Chicago, NOLA, Asheville win it for me over my favorite West Cities of SF, Seattle, Sedona, San Diego, Aspen CO, Denver and LA.
Overall, West for me.
This is exactly what I've long thought, myself as well. That the western half of the country is better for natural outdoor scenery, while the cities in the east are better and have a little more to do. As for a lack of nearby cities and stuff to do, I'd argue in a way there's a line of cities between Eugene, OR north to Vancouver, BC north of the border. And of course, there are other good cities and towns in BC besides Vancouver, such as Victoria and Nanaimo.
Also there are a lot of small town gem places in the west I think people sometimes sleep on, like Bisbee, AZ, Silver City, NM, Telluride, CO, Durango, CO, to name examples. And Nevada City, CA and Virginia City, NV look like interesting small towns as well. Of course the eastern half of the country has Maine, which is almost like the east's answer to say like Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, etc.
But like the 2nd poster in this thread said, that's still where things stand in my opinion. That the west has better natural scenery, while the east half of the country has more interesting cities and towns.
Scenery - To me scenery is not even close. California alone has Redwood Forests, stunning beaches, snow-capped mountains, classic desert. Washington State has rainforest, dense forested areas, high desert. Add to that the sheer amazingness of the Cascades and the Rockies, scenic hilly cities like Seattle, Oakland, and San Francisco and it's a slam dunk.
Culture - In terms of culture, this is subjective, but I prefer the laid back, more individualistic and creative vibes that come out of the West to the more conformist, sports-oriented culture of the East. I'm speaking in huge generalities here but there is truth to them.
Cities - Now in terms of cities, you have to separate quantity and quality. NYC is incredible and my favorite city in the country by far so that's a huge point in favor of the East. Pound for pound, though, I feel like San Francisco, Oakland, Seattle, Portland, San Diego, Vancouver, Denver and Los Angeles just offer this amazing balance of great urban amenities, a creative spirit, cool funky laid back neighborhoods and a better blending of natural elements. These are my kind of cities. Now I don't care much for Vegas as a city and can't spend more than a few days at a time there without hating everything about humanity by the end of it, but it is cool to have this insane 24/7 party city a short flight away for overnight or weekend trips.
The sheer density of cities in the East though is mind-boggling. Now, in my opinion, a lot of these cities kind of suck or are at best very unremarkable. But when you look at the amount of cities in the Midwest, South, and Northeast, you have so many places to explore. Both West and East have great small and medium-sized (under 200K) cities, but there are so many more big cities so much closer together East of the Mississippi. As someone who loves urban exploration that's hugely inviting for me. And I love the walkability of the Northeast (although the Midwest and South are worse than the West for that, in my experience). So I'd give the slight edge to the east based on NYC and sheer volume of big cities, although the West Coast in particular has more of my kind of cities.
Overall - West
Last edited by Vincent_Adultman; 03-26-2021 at 01:33 AM..
Scenery - To me scenery is not even close. California alone has Redwood Forests, stunning beaches, snow-capped mountains, classic desert. Washington State has rainforest, dense forested areas, high desert. Add to that the sheer amazingness of the Cascades and the Rockies, scenic hilly cities like Seattle, Oakland, and San Francisco and it's a slam dunk.
Overall - West
Stunning? Meh. Florida easily wins if we are talking beaches.
I used to think the West is the best region of the country. I have drove all over the West Coast from San Diego to Vancouver Canada. However, after researching and going to the East Coast, I realized the East is the better side.
The West outside of the SF-LA strip is bare empty. Portland is over-hyped. Seattle and San Diego are the only 2 major cities that I'd consider decent outside of SF-LA on the West. The problem with the West is not just the lack of big cities in comparison to the East. But the fact that there's wildfires every year now. Not to forget, the cost of living.
The East has a lot more depth than the west. I mean you talk about Maine. New Hampshire. Pennsylvania. The Carolinas. Georgia. Florida. Not to forget NYC too. And plenty others. I personally drove through 5 states in 3 hours on the East Coast. You can never do such a thing on the West.
The East is better in scenery, cities, culture, food and things to do. The East is the superior side in every way possible.
West coast is over-hyped. Do not let the West Coast's blue skies fool you. This coming from a Pakistani Muslim American.
Agree in full here. And I live West of the Mississippi and I'm not afraid to admit it. Albeit I live in Texas which is definitely the ugly state weather you count it East or west. But the idea that West has the better scenery... I just don't see it.
Scenery
Beaches - East easily and it's not close. Florida has hands down the unquestionably nicest beaches of the contiguous USA. The region of the Gulf that lies West of the Mississippi gets all the murkiness from the Mississippi while Alabama is even decent here.
Mountains and hills - I personally prefer East, but I admit this is a matter of preference. I just find Appalachia much more physically appealing than the Rocky super dry. The color and vegetation of the Appalachians easily pit it over the dessertous Rockies.
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