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I've been over a lot of the country, including the desolate route from Reno to Salt Lake City...and the most boring drive is from Chicago to St. Louis.
I actually find some of the heavily forested areas of the south to be the most boring drives. Both sides of the road.... just trees.... and more trees... and more trees. What do the houses look like in this area? I don't know. I can only see trees. What kind of crops are grown here? Apparently just trees. What does the landscape look like? It has trees.
At least in Illinois you can see beyond the edge of the highway and look at stuff. I like checking out the farmhouses, barns, fields, etc.
I actually find some of the heavily forested areas of the south to be the most boring drives. Both sides of the road.... just trees.... and more trees... and more trees. What do the houses look like in this area? I don't know. I can only see trees. What kind of crops are grown here? Apparently just trees. What does the landscape look like? It has trees.
At least in Illinois you can see beyond the edge of the highway and look at stuff. I like checking out the farmhouses, barns, fields, etc.
Once you get around Mt Vernon and South it gets a lot more forested and hilly.
Michigan has a lot of beautiful great lake coastline, making it pseudo-coastal. I still for the life of me will never consider a freshwater lake as coastal, no matter if it's big enough you can't see across it. It's the most beautiful midwestern state for sure, but it needs mountains.
I've been over a lot of the country, including the desolate route from Reno to Salt Lake City...and the most boring drive is from Chicago to St. Louis.
You have never driven from Barstow to Needles in the CA Mojave desert then. Make sure you have a caffeinated beverage (Coca-Cola or coffee) prior to making that drive or else you could fall asleep. Seriously! More boring than any Midwest drive I have done (grew up in Minnesota). I have been on drives in MN, WI, SD, IA, NE, MO, and MI.
1. Michigan - my home state! Great state great people!
That's the only state in the Midwest I ever lived in. After Michigan though, I would round out my top three with Ohio and Minnesota. Ohio is a great state, spent significant time there and really liked it. Would consider living there.
Out of the choices given, and me thinking of where I would live and where I would "play," meaning both cities and nature...
The northwoods/Upper Midwestern states:
1. Wisconsin, has a lot of Great Lakes footage, like Michigan; it also has the majority of The Driftless, unlike Michigan. Driftless and Great Lakes shoreline are my 2 favorite Midwestern natural spots. Throw in the moraines that run from the IL border up to NE WI, central WI Sands with the only collection of buttes and mesas east of the Mississippi...I've already lived in central WI, Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, and Door County, so just about anywhere would be fine with me.
2. Michigan, mostly for the UP. Northern mitt and the western shore are very nice. UP is gorgeous, but outside maybe Menominee, which is 45 minutes or so from Green Bay, I just can't see living there. Grand Rapids is nice, and Michigan is #1 in the US for beer, so I think I could handle being a Michigander. Dinged for having nothing like the Driftless or Upper Mississippi Valley, but makes up for it with absolutely gorgeous shoreline and wilderness.
3. Minnesota has a small chunk of the Driftless (they call it "Bluff Country"), and a small chunk of Lake Superior (which is quite beautiful, but no real beaches and that lake is COLD, brother). MN's northwoods is more wild than Wisconsin's, I would say there are areas comparable in the UP, though. All 3 of these states are beautiful, but people often forget that MN is only 1/3 forested, and about half flat farmed mostly treeless plains. The Twin Cities aren't San Fran East, like many locals would have you believe, but it's a nice and progressive area that I could easily live in. I could do Duluth or Rochester I'm sure, too.
The rest:
4. Ohio, mostly an urban decision. I like Columbus a lot. I like Cleveland. Could probably live in the 'Nati. Great Lakes footage (though it's nowhere near as nice as Superior or Michigan), and the southern foothills are very pretty.
5. Illinois, again, most due to Chicago. It's a great city. Wouldn't prefer living there, honestly, as I'm ready for a slower pace. But I could hack it. I know the town. I have a lot of friends there. I'd never be bored. Outstate, man, there isn't much and nearly all of it is on the border "tips" of the triangle. In the NE tip, you have Chicago/Lake Michigan/Lake Country; in the NW tip, you have a small chunk of Driftless; on the southern tip, you have...a southern feel in Shawnee. There are some nice river valleys, like Starved Rock, in the interior, but no one moves to Illinois for nature.
6. South Dakota is a Plains state, but whatever. I love the Black Hills and Badlands, which again aren't really Midwestern. But the beauty there overtakes the lack of urbanity. Rapid City, I suppose?
7. Iowa is maybe the most underrated Midwestern state. Lots of nice little cities/towns. Fairly progressive. The Driftless chunk is beautiful, and that's probably where I'd want to live, close to Wisconsin and Minnesota. It isn't the nicest town ever, but Dubuque would probably be the best location for me. I also like Iowa City and Des Moines, a quickly-growing metro that will probably look like a "real" city soon enough.
8. Missouri is beautiful on the southern end, however, the culture is fairly southern there, and it's not my bag. I could easily live in (also underrated) St Louis. Kansas City is a bit out in isolation for me, and I think it's an overrated town, but I could handle it. Hard to imagine living anywhere else in MO, though, personal choice - some will prefer the weather, the southern cultural blend, and the Ozarks, and who could blame 'em?
9. Nebraska for Lincoln, a nice college town. Lots of creativity there. Most of the state is absolutely painful to drive across, but there are some areas of stark, isolated beauty, like the Sandhills, which I love.
10. Wanted to rank Indiana higher, as I have a lot of pals there and have always had fun in the state, but there's a weird hyper-religious feel in the sticks that you don't usually get in the Midwest. Indianapolis I could do, but it just feels dull next to a lot of other Midwestern metros, even the ones that are "crappy" and more dangerous. Have had much fun in Bloomington and Lafayette - those folks can actually keep up with Wisconsin drinkers. Gary will rebound, the nearby dunes are pretty, and there are some nice far-southern forests. Just a turn-off, culturally.
11. Kansas, like Indiana, is not a cultural fit for me. Way too hot in the summer - I think some of you would be surprised! Wichita is the most boring "name" city I've ever been to. Spent a week there once, and was bored to tears. Topeka is crap, as well. Lawrence would be the only place I could see living, and it's close to KC I guess. Not much to mention in natural terms, either.
12. I realize I included SD above and North Dakota also has some badlands and blah blah blah, but Fargo is the only town I can imagine living in and...it's Fargo. So freaking cold up there, it's a whole 'nother deal compared with living in a place like Milwaukee. So isolated. Least visited state I think? I'm sort of fascinated by it, but that doesn't mean I'd ever want to live there.
I've not spent much time in much of the Midwest. But I can comment on the ones I have.
My number one pick would have to be South Dakota. Beautiful state with much variation in the western half. I even like the portion that is all plains...very serene. The Badlands are neat...the Black Hills very attractive...and all the history! Very nice place to visit. I'd live there if I could swing it.
Illinois.....well, I've only spent most of my time in Chicago, and just driven through the rural parts. But as far as big cities go, I really thought Chicago was a clean city with expansive sidewalks....great views....very interesting architecture....and basically just impressive. I don't care for the leftist attitude of much of it's leadership however.
Minnesota.....I was surprised at how much different the small towns and rural areas are compared to Minneapolis. Once away from the city and in the mid to northern parts, I found the state to be very pleasant. At least the countryside was. Many of the towns seemed a little bit depressed and tired....but still, the huge open tracts of land with farms as well as huge (and small) lakes everywhere made me feel relaxed. I COULD enjoy living here with a good income.
Anyway....not enough time spent in the other states to really have a valid opinion.
Minnesota and Wisconsin for me, although the pics of the shorelines around Lake Michigan and the Upper Penisula in Michigan are pretty spectacular. I just haven't spent much time in the state at all..
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