Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The majority of the Midwest is flat with gentle rolling hills. SOME exceptions to this rule (Eastern Iowa, some of Wisconsin and Michigan).
People aren't hicks but unless you live in one of the big cities (Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, Omaha), people seem to be very set on their ideas and beliefs, not too progressive and to them change is not a good thing. I came from a big-Republican, Italian/ German Catholic family and I'd say the majority of people in our area were the same. There are very few liberal/progressive people in the heartland with again the exception of the big cities.
Well guess what? MOST of the Midwest is VERY boring! The Midwest is full of small towns with a population less than 10,000 people and they don't exactly cater to the younger crowd. I came from a SMALL town of about 2000 people in NW Iowa, we didn't even have a movie theater! Our Saturday nights basically revolved around drinking beer at someones farm; not exactly the most enriching experience but we did have a good time..
In effect, because of the ideological conformity of the population, perhaps the initial question should be 'Why do so many Midwesterners hate the rest of the country'? Or, 'Why do they hate cities, or the coasts'?
Maybe they see dangers in new ideas where we are seeing the dangers of conformity?
I think, when the West was settled, because of the unpredictability of crops and the weather, people had to depend on their neighbors at times and that fostered a certain predictablility in the mindset 'My neighbor and I are the same, helping my neighbor is helping myself'.
So they ended up sometimes spending their resources on their neighbors as an insurance policy, knowing it would be reciprocated, if need be. So the stranger, who might just take and walk away, the guy with strange ideas from a strange place, was shunned.
In cities, people were more likely to be able to survive through their wits, and individualism was encouraged by the economy. People who you saw during the course of the day could easily be strangers. A person had to think fast and have a certain adaptability to newness and strangeness in order to do business.
I think eventually the West will change to be more like the coasts, but I also think such changes, often stimulated by an economic reason, which is quantifiable, will witness a certain loss in relationships that is not quantifiable, because in some ways the thing that we call 'our humanity' is tied to relationships, and the feeling of community and protecting 'our brother'.
Last edited by goldengrain; 11-07-2007 at 07:46 AM..
The Midwest is in part , geography , in the Great Plains . Temperature extremes are the norm , in the central part of our country . Thats just the way it is. People moved to the Midwest for farming , mostly. Then the cities grew , and industry followed.
I do not like the temperature extremes , never did , and , I guess the other areas of the country are now populated with folks , that came from the Midwest. These are the peoples that will post their dislike of where they are from. Many times , its an effort to justify the move to a warmer clime.( they found Az. was not what they expected , for example )....... I once was in a dinner in Sarasota , Fl. , that had a sign on the wall , that read " We don't want to hear about how great things are in the Midwest , If its that good , go back ! ")....... I found that statement a bit confusing , until I realized there were so many people who retired for their health to these warm places , and hated it , but had sold everything up north and were stuck in paradise........
I don't hate the midwest or anywhere else for that matter. I just don't want to go anyplace if it's not in Western Montana ! There is more here to see and do than I could see or do in ten lifetimes. Gotta go now, I've got places to go, things to see and people to do !!!
The majority of the Midwest is flat with gentle rolling hills. SOME exceptions to this rule (Eastern Iowa, some of Wisconsin and Michigan).
People aren't hicks but unless you live in one of the big cities (Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, Omaha), people seem to be very set on their ideas and beliefs, not too progressive and to them change is not a good thing. I came from a big-Republican, Italian/ German Catholic family and I'd say the majority of people in our area were the same. There are very few liberal/progressive people in the heartland with again the exception of the big cities.
Well guess what? MOST of the Midwest is VERY boring! The Midwest is full of small towns with a population less than 10,000 people and they don't exactly cater to the younger crowd. I came from a SMALL town of about 2000 people in NW Iowa, we didn't even have a movie theater! Our Saturday nights basically revolved around drinking beer at someones farm; not exactly the most enriching experience but we did have a good time.
As for the weather, I've been there done that and HATED IT!! Snow is terrible, ice is worse, the summers are EXTREMELY humid and generally I just completely hate the entire 4 seasons idea, I just don't know how someone can WANT snow/ice/humid summers! In Phoenix we have 3 seasons; perfect, warm, and HOT.
A) every state has "small towns". You should look no further than your own state of AZ. The poorest of the poor conditions you could ever imagine. Same goes for NM. At least here in the midwest, our small poor towns have electricity, flooring, indoor plumbing, etc. Ive seen people living in dirt homes in some AZ towns. Think Im joking? Head towards the reservations, or areas between Tucson and Tombstone, Nogales, etc. Ill take small town living here anyday over small town living in the southwest. And Id DEFINITELY take big-city living here over the SW too. Cities here are just better (for the most part). Sure we have problems too, but what area doesnt?
B) You can question why anyone would want to live here, but I can question why youd want to live in Phoenix. Who wants the most boring weather on earth like AZ? Who wants those kind of disgusting temps? Who wants to wake up every day of their life and look outside and see the same scene repeating over and over and over and over again? Let me break down the average AZ day... here goes... Wake up, look at cactus (that has looked the same for 400 years), stare at the rock "yard", hide from the oppressive sun, drive to an underpaying job to pay for an overpriced stucco home (which all look the same) that was built badly, eat tex-mex food for eternity, wish Phoenix was fun, wish AZ actually wasnt rated as having the worst schools in the nation, fend off venomous snakes and scorpions from time-to-time, lather up daily with lotion to prevent looking like a crocodile, go swimming to cool off, run the A/C for 6 months straight, deal with flash floods that wash the city streets with mud and dirt (which also raises the humidity levels), watch out for the car-sandblasting dust storms, pass over a "river" that is nothing but a rock bed, take hot showers in summer because the water there doesnt get cold, tell the kids they cant play outside because its too hot 1/2 the year, shop at endless strip malls that are repeats of one another, enjoy eternal drought conditions and wonder if PHX will become another ghosttown in the future because of said drought. Now dont get me wrong, I love the desert and its creatures, but living there???
Try not to look at these pictures and WISH you had this stuff in PHX.
Look! Water!!!! And a city that has something to do!!!
http://http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=94459&rendTypeId=4 (broken link)
Look! Trees! Color!!!!! And something other than cacti and endless brutal sunshine!!
http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~hillygus/ozarks.jpg (broken link)
More "boring" midwest shots:
http://www.science.siu.edu/zoology/anderson/Larue1.jpg (broken link)
What that area needs is a celebrity to move there and throw parties during the summer...like the hamptons. Or maybe a celebrity golf tournament like Pebble Beach or an annual charity event.
I think Oprah, being the mega-star that she is, would be perfect. But she's always in Santa Barbara or Maui it seems in her off time.
Or how about a Chicago Socialite...that city is loaded with elite people, all they have to do is call their friends on the coast and invite them to some small town on the lake somewhere and the press will follow.
Not that you really want attention, but getting the word out isnt a bad thing. It creates a buzz.
I'll continue to live in my "Eden" where I see natural beauty everyday, has literally tons of great restaurants to chose from, shopping GALORE, tons of cultural activities, hiking, biking, off-roading, driving up to San Diego for a beach getaway, going to Las Vegas for a fun weekend, and truly LIVING life.
You mean you can't do all that stuff in the Midwest, too? Have at it, but don't come running to us when you run out of water.
Many small Midwest towns are declining in population beause people are clammering to get out, the younger generation won't even give a second though about living in someplace rural.
Oh steering wheel lock? Haha you think you're funny, it's almost sad.
Have fun scraping off your widshield at 7 in the morning when you're already 15 minutes late for work and that damn ice just doesn't want to budge.
Have fun freezing your fingertips off trying to pull open the frozen door handles.
Don't let that ice slide you all over the road when you suddenly realize that 4WD only works for snow.
Have fun sweating outside when the humidity is 100% and the temp is nearly the same.
So enjoy living in your paradise because obviously you fail to acknowledge the Midwest has any problems.
I'll continue to live in my "Eden" where I see natural beauty everyday, has literally tons of great restaurants to chose from, shopping GALORE, tons of cultural activities, hiking, biking, off-roading, driving up to San Diego for a beach getaway, going to Las Vegas for a fun weekend, and truly LIVING life.
Ill scrape ice a few times a year than deal with 110 degree temps and hopping into a 200 degree car.
Also, its impossible to have 100 degrees and 100% humidity. If and when it rarely does reach 100 degrees, the humidity is low, its the morning and night temps that have highest humidity readings. I thought you would have known this.
As for that guy's steering wheel lock comment? Its right on. PHX is rated #1 or near #1 for car theft every year.
And its clear to see that you lived in Podunkville, IA. Those are the only types of people who'd see PHX as "paradise". You want real shopping and real food? I suggest you leave PHX immediately. Youd probably cry knowing whats out there and what youve been missing in REAL cities (ie NYC, L.A., Chicago, Boston, etc). Those who moved to AZ from Turdsville midwestern towns might ooh and ahh over Phoenix because its eons better than their one horse towns they came from, but I cant help but stand on top of Camelback and laugh my butt off at Phoenix while I survey it, its really quite hilarious and bewildering as to why anyone would praise it. Ugh. Keep it.
I took this pic this June on Camelback. People praise this?
And this???
Now northern AZ is beautiful, much more comfortable, and much more liveable. THAT Ill admit.
I don't think anyone HATES the midwest. It just isn't a hip place to people outside the area. People see it as farmer orientated, the cities as losing jobs, and the weather as very rough. Also, it is prairie-flat, so no mountains to look up to as well. It just doesn't have a cool vibe to it. I don't thing folks hate it though.
True, alot of it is farmland, but be thankful that we can feed your fat faces. Some cities are losing jobs, but those are the small industrial cities. Detroit has problems, we all know that. However, places like STL, CHI, MPLS, Louisville, etc are doing just fine. And there are not mountains per se, but the midwest has many large hills, alot more than youd think.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
..
.
