Best Midwestern states to live in and why? (home, employment)
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1) Wisconsin
(It is where I am from and where I love; my favorite city in the Midwest is the metro area of Milwaukee, and henceforth, it is in Wisconsin; plus, I love the Great Lakes, the Madison area, the area around the Mississippi River and Green Bay for the Packers)
2) Missouri
My favorite Midwestern climate, plus I love the Kansas City, MO area (and St. Louis is nice too)
3) Ohio
Another nice Midwetern climate, plus I love the Cincinnati, OH area (and Cleveland and Columbus are also nice Midwestern cities)
4) Indiana
I really like the Indianpolis area, plus, South Bend IN is a shrine of sorts in my life so Indiana is A-OK to me!
5) Nebraska
Some may find this to be an odd choice, but I have always had kind of a real fondness of the openness, ruralness, and flat open areas of Nebraska, plus I have always felt Omaha was an underrated Midwestern city
(Honorable metion to Illinois for the Chicagoland area, Iowa for largely the same reasons as Nebraska, and Michigan for the west side Lake Michigan coast plus the UP). I guess I like the Midwest!
A better question for me would be which city or cities instead of which states. I have lived in Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee, and have spent a lot of time in many others especially, Twin cities, Cincinnati, Louisville, Nashville, much of Indy etc.....
Twin Cities and Nashville are two I have enjoyed the most that I never lived in full time, but have spent a lot of time in.... I have enjoyed living in St. Louis, Milwaukee and Chicago, for different reasons.
I have also lived in and enjoyed other parts of the country as well.
A better question for me would be which city or cities instead of which states. I have lived in Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee, and have spent a lot of time in many others especially, Twin cities, Cincinnati, Louisville, Nashville, much of Indy etc.....
Twin Cities and Nashville are two I have enjoyed the most that I never lived in full time, but have spent a lot of time in.... I have enjoyed living in St. Louis, Milwaukee and Chicago, for different reasons.
I have also lived in and enjoyed other parts of the country as well.
Hate to break it to you, but Louisville and Nashville are not Midwestern cities, they are Southern. In any case, I don't want to argue about this. I agree that they are nice. A little too small for my taste though. Stick within the twelve states listed in the first post that are officially defined as the Midwest please. Other than that, please share the ups and downs of the Twin Cities, Milwaukee, and Chicago and Cincy Fishtacos. These are four that I may be calling home sometime in the future and would appreciate feedback from someone like you who has lived there. Which of these cities besides Chicago would be a good place for an aerospace engineer to reside? Ohio and Illinois are states I am looking at because of the aviation opportunities they have...Chicago is where Boeing is now headquartered. Which Midwestern cities would have something to offer for engineers in the fields of aviation besides Chicago and St. Louis? I have been looking at Detroit, Indy, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincy, KC, the Twin Cities, Milwaukee, and Chicago as places to possibly move to. Dayton in particular has captured my attention.
Well here we go....round 2 of a previous discussion started ages back...THE BIG TWELVE....what are your top five picks for a state in the Midwest that you'd want to reside in and why? Here are the twelve. Take your pick. HURRY, HURRY,HURRY!!! I'll give my choices later after hearing more from other people, as i am looking for input on other places to live in the Midwest besides where I am now in the near-future.
Well, the last four states you mentioned I would consider Great Plains states. Their is a difference between the Great Plains and the Midwest, and I have lived in both regions.
Here are my top five choices:
1) Minnesota (Ha, the big metro is Minneapolis/St. Paul and all other towns and rural areas are referred to as Greater Minnesota)
Advantages: Diverse economy, many high paying jobs, good schools, great outdoor activities at the lakes during any season.
Disadvantages: Major suburban sprawl, long winters, road construction.
2) Wisconsin (Madison is one of the strongest cities economically in the entire Midwest core. It has a diversified economy and has a fantastic natural setting on Lake Mendota and Monona. Median income and median home values are all above the Midwest average, and job growth has greatly increased compared with any other smaller city) Milwaukee is the largest metro but is struggling more in terms of creating more job growth.
Advantages of Madison: Smaller metro, diverse economy, University of Wisconsin, outdoor activities.
Disadvantages: Higher housing prices, not as much of a big city vibe.
3) Missouri (Obviously has a wide range of bigger cities, smaller cities, and small towns. The KC metro has been doing a little better economically than St. Louis lately.)
4) Illinois (Chicago is the big game in town and everything else is known as Downstate Illinois, or any town south of I-80. Chicago has a huge variety of jobs and is economically diverse. Their are more exciting downtown projects and new building(s) along the lakefront. Real estate prices in the suburbs are some of the highest in the entire Midwest region.
Advantages of Chicago: Very diverse economy, lots going on all the time, diverse population, Lake Michigan, GREENBELTS.
Disadvantages of Chicago: Bad traffic, pollution from coal plants, can be very crowded in some areas.
5) South Dakota (This state is bisected by the Missouri River. The towns east of the Missouri River are known as East River while the towns West of the Missouri are known as West River. Sioux Falls is a booming smaller metro area with lots of non-farm jobs and the West River area is being enhanced with more job creation recently around the Sturgis/Lead area which is northwest of Rapid City.)
Advantages of South Dakota: Affordable home values, central location
Disadvantages of South Dakota: Long winters, plains scenery.
Well, the last four states you mentioned I would consider Great Plains states. Their is a difference between the Great Plains and the Midwest, and I have lived in both regions.
Here are my top five choices:
1) Minnesota (Ha, the big metro is Minneapolis/St. Paul and all other towns and rural areas are referred to as Greater Minnesota)
Advantages: Diverse economy, many high paying jobs, good schools, great outdoor activities at the lakes during any season.
Disadvantages: Major suburban sprawl, long winters, road construction.
2) Wisconsin (Madison is one of the strongest cities economically in the entire Midwest core. It has a diversified economy and has a fantastic natural setting on Lake Mendota and Monona. Median income and median home values are all above the Midwest average, and job growth has greatly increased compared with any other smaller city) Milwaukee is the largest metro but is struggling more in terms of creating more job growth.
Advantages of Madison: Smaller metro, diverse economy, University of Wisconsin, outdoor activities.
Disadvantages: Higher housing prices, not as much of a big city vibe.
3) Missouri (Obviously has a wide range of bigger cities, smaller cities, and small towns. The KC metro has been doing a little better economically than St. Louis lately.)
4) Illinois (Chicago is the big game in town and everything else is known as Downstate Illinois, or any town south of I-80. Chicago has a huge variety of jobs and is economically diverse. Their are more exciting downtown projects and new building(s) along the lakefront. Real estate prices in the suburbs are some of the highest in the entire Midwest region.
Advantages of Chicago: Very diverse economy, lots going on all the time, diverse population, Lake Michigan, GREENBELTS.
Disadvantages of Chicago: Bad traffic, pollution from coal plants, can be very crowded in some areas.
5) South Dakota (This state is bisected by the Missouri River. The towns east of the Missouri River are known as East River while the towns West of the Missouri are known as West River. Sioux Falls is a booming smaller metro area with lots of non-farm jobs and the West River area is being enhanced with more job creation recently around the Sturgis/Lead area which is northwest of Rapid City.)
Advantages of South Dakota: Affordable home values, central location
Disadvantages of South Dakota: Long winters, plains scenery.
Maybe so, but the U.S. Census Bureau considers those four the Midwest...in any case, yes I agree that maybe the Plains should be considered separate from the Midwest. chances are I'm never going to live in KS, NE, SD, or ND anyway given how dead they seem to me compared to the other 8 states on the list. Thanks for your advice on the states Plains....this helped. More insight from others is welcome.
Maybe so, but the U.S. Census Bureau considers those four the Midwest...in any case, chances are I'm never going to live in KS, NE, SD, or ND given how dead they are.
Well, I would choose the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area if you are looking at the Upper Midwest. The city is known as a "gateway city" because it serves a huge area of the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains and is the biggest city in the entire area. It also has a fairly strong economy, and population growth. Its population is also diverse as well.
For smaller sized metros I highly recommend Madison, Wisconsin. It is home to the University of Wisconsin and has a very diversified economy for being a College Town. It is strategically located halfway between Minneapolis and Chicago.
Both Minnesota and Wisconsin and a large concentration of naturally occuring oligotrophic lakes that the residents enjoy during all seasons of the year. Boating and fishing are popular in the summer. In the winter skiing, ice hockey, snowmobiling, and ice fishing are popular. Fish houses are constructed on some of the lakes for the ice fishing excursions in the winter. Lake Mille Lacs is a good example of this in Minnesota.
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...to my snakes. 
The Midwest and Plains
