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I guess a lot of people use the term "boring" because the tourist angle really does mesh in with what it's like to live somewhere. I am from the Midwest, lived in Nebraska and South Dakota most of my life before eventually moving to Seattle. The touristy type of thing really does affect locals, because on weekends you want to go out and do things. Out here, on the weekend we pack up for day trips up to the Cascade Mountains for hiking, photography, or just scenic drives. We take a ferry over to the Olympic Peninsula for the same types of things in the rain forest, or out on the Pacific coast. There is just so much to see and do in the free time on top of the usual things we have in the city that of course all cities and towns have such as shopping, movies, etc.
We were bored out of our minds back home because what is there to do on the weekend? A drive for 100 miles in any direction from Lincoln or Omaha just took us through endless farm fields, there was nothing to actually go see. I guess that is the difference in mentality- when the people on the west coast say the Midwest is boring it's because the lifestyle out here is so different, people are used to having a million different jaw-dropping scenic places to go for all kinds of activities, that they would consider it boring if they did not have access to those things as is the case in most of the Midwest.
I don't know why you had this problem, never lived in Lincoln or Omaha.
My friends ride mountain bike, go fishing, camping, take photographs and hiking on weekends. There's no problem filling up the weekends. But to be honest nowadays my weekends are used to recover from the work I did.
There are white collar people in every city. If you're good, you can find a job in any city you like.
Not really... What I do now, and what I did before just isn't to be found in most midsize cities... generally only found in either massive cities or a handful of college towns, b/c it's usually only the large F500 companies or academia using the software, programming/consulting for large scale oracle/db2/aix platforms. I now do policy-media work with a tech/research twist requiring heavy database research, again... only a handful of cities have the specialized jobs. I'm sure I could find "a job" just not what I'm interested in doing or I'd be limiting myself.
How are we putting down our own culture when we don't act anything like that. Not spread out cities, not farms everywhere, not laid back life, more diversity..
Of course you are spread out. That is because all American cities are spread out compared to cities in other countries. This is just one of the hallmarks of America. And the Midwest being the "most American", has to be the most spread out also. Hahhahaha it's funny because it is true.
Nevermind. You don't know it now because you're 15. You will know it one day if you travel or live overseas.
(1) And that's the kicker. The Mississippi River in the Driftless Iowa (which you are not familiar with) region is far, far more spectacular as far as nature than the sand carted in and dumped in front of the tall buildings along the Chicago lakefront. And that's where there's actually LM frontage and not industrial rot. That tiny strip of LM is hardly notable outside the fact that it's all the Great Lake property Illinois has.
(2) Didn't I say that the very southern tip of IL is nice? Who was mentioning Indiana? If there were a Midwestern state with worse overall topography than Illinois, it's Indiana.
(3) I agree, as I mentioned that's what makes it a tough decision IA vs OH, the foothills and the Great Lake property. However, since you've never been to the IA driftless or Loess Hills, here are a couple photos so you can get an idea of what it looks like:
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Mississippi River (4th largest watershed in the world):
Big rolling hills and bluffs:
Charming small Driftless towns surrounded by river boats and giant bluffs/rock formations:
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The often alien Loess Hills in western IA, which rise suddenly in the plains and announce The West:
Loess winter scene:
Bizarrely shaped terrain you definitely don't see in Illinois or Indiana:
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Iowa ain't California or Utah, no doubt; but there are several large swaths of the state that are quite beautiful, including the ones pictured above. Check 'em out some day.
Great, except for I have been there. Several times. Poor assumptions....Given the fact that there is more forest (and a national forest), more river bluffs, more of the Mississppi, a scenic section of the Driftless region, actual Great Lakes shoreline (which obviously extends well past the city of Chicago) and slightly less farmland in IL than IA, I give the nod to IL pound for pound. It's all splitting hairs anyway.
Great, except for I have been there. Several times. Poor assumptions....Given the fact that there is more forest (and a national forest), more river bluffs, more of the Mississppi, a scenic section of the Driftless region, actual Great Lakes shoreline (which obviously extends well past the city of Chicago) and slightly less farmland in IL than IA, I give the nod to IL pound for pound. It's all splitting hairs anyway.
You've never been to either region I mentioned. We both know this is a fact, but whatever. There's a bit of hair-splitting between IA/OH/IL scenery, sure, but speaking of hairs: Iowa is in fact smaller than Illinois, and is 18% forested vs. Illinois 12%, which is quite a few square miles more forest when added up. You know that you can easily look this stuff up, right? Iowa has the Mississippi quite a bit north of the Illinois border, and it's simply a far more scenic portion of the river. The LM shoreline is the city of Chicago and its suburbs and that is it. Just drop it, you clearly have never been to the Driftless or Loess Hills and you are making up falsified "stats" to back your case...why lie in a public forum over a self-identified "hair splitting" discussion in the first place?
You've never been to either region I mentioned. We both know this is a fact, but whatever. There's a bit of hair-splitting between IA/OH/IL scenery, sure, but speaking of hairs: Iowa is in fact smaller than Illinois, and is 18% forested vs. Illinois 12%, which is quite a few square miles more forest when added up. You know that you can easily look this stuff up, right? Iowa has the Mississippi quite a bit north of the Illinois border, and it's simply a far more scenic portion of the river. The LM shoreline is the city of Chicago and its suburbs and that is it. Just drop it, you clearly have never been to the Driftless or Loess Hills and you are making up falsified "stats" to back your case...why lie in a public forum over a self-identified "hair splitting" discussion in the first place?
Yes you can look this stuff up. Apparently you aren't very good at it and have to resort to childish accusations of where people have and haven't traveled. How ludicrous. I think your poor prognostication skills need some honing. Illinois is only bigger than Iowa when you count its area of Lake Michigan out to the Michigan maritime border.
Yes but California and New York has a lot more attractions than somewhere like Iowa. Folk dream of visiting California and New York, not the Midwest. They dream of New York not Chicago.
Gary seemingly has no chance whatsoever of coming anywhere close to returning to its former glory (they actually made a song about it back in the day!), so it's amazing to see anyone put down half a mil to live in that city. The only cities I can think of off the top of my head that are in worse condition than Gary are East STL and possibly Flint.
Most people don't know that there are middle class people in East St. Louis, in fact some of these people even own lakefront property....no lie lol. I'd imagine Flint is similar.
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