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In other words, the Midwest is like New Sweden and the West is pretty much Mexico North. They couldn't be any MORE different, though the Great Plains is like both really. It has the flatness of the Midwest and the barrenness of the West put into one.
So then is the Plains the west or the midwest? To me it seems like i've seen some of both. Growing up in Eastern Nebraska, I was geographically and culturally closer to folks from Iowa than folks from Western NE
The easiest answer is in the topography and flora and fauna but that's the most un-satisfying answer. There aren't too many distinct cultural differences in the USA in my eyes, this being born to immigrant parents. But out of those 3 regions, the south is probably more distinct and the midwest and west somewhat similar. After all, the west was largely settled by midwesterners or similar demographics of white people anyway.
As I said in another thread, there is no such thing as western culture. Or midwestern culture, for that matter. But I think defining "western" in terms of landscape and land usage makes a lot of sense.
I go more by landscape myself because even while the west isn't defined by ethnicity much (except for the presence of Hispanics) it makes more sense geographically. I guess mountains work for the west but I would count almost anywhere west of about the 100th meridian as west though there are pockets of the midwest and plains that overlap (Flint Hills are in eastern Kansas and a ranching area and some of the Sandhills extends to Central Nebraska.
Nah. Catholic might be the largest single denomination but Protestants combined vastly outnumber them in most parts of the Midwest. And you're right, it's more German than Swedish but yeah the West generally has an Anglo-Mexican cultural vibe while the Midwest is more German-Scandinavian with some Eastern European, Black and Irish undertones.
These influences are still very tiny, both regions still share a very strong general American culture... there isn't that much differences between the West and the Midwest culturally to be honest.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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I think Indiana is a hard state to define because it has many Southern traits despite being in the Midwest. About 20% of the state is forested hills that looks like most of KY and TN, has low taxes (on par with the highest taxed Southern states), is the Reddest Midwestern state politically, and if you see maps like Percent with a passport, etc it is in the same tier as places like Alabama or Mississippi. The Southern 1/3 of the state was originally settled by Anglo Celtic Americans from Southern states like NC, VA, and KY and you can still hear the twang in most accents.
Look at the breakfast menu in a cafe, and you'll have no doubt as to whether you are in the South or not. See if they have biscuits and gravy, or grits.
Look at what is on the feet of the people eating breakfast. If they're wearing western boots, you're in the West. No Midwestern farmer would wear anything like that on his feet. Midwestern farmers wear plain-colored shirts, but if you're in the west, there ill be arows on the pockets and pearl buttons. And hats are a dead giveaway.
If you're heading west, you'll know when you got there, by the cattle guards across the country roads.
Outside of Kansas, the Great Plains are anything BUT flat.
Uh....OK. You do know that the name means Great (giant/large) Plains (a large area of flat land with few trees), right? I mean, the Great Plains were names because they were such an immense, flat area! From Wikipedia:
The Great Plains is the broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, that lies west of the Mississippi River tallgrass prairie states and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada.
Check out this map:
Have you ever driven through this section of the country? I have, quite a bit. And it's as flat as you can get.
I understand that parts of Nebraska, the Dakotas, and so on have some nice features, but the majority of these states are the very definition of flat; the rest of the states, like CO or MT or whatever, are only considered "Plains" in the flat sections.
I think the main difference between the West and Midwest/South is the demeanor of the people. Westerners are very private and more solitary, in my experience, and place a high value on private property whether they are trigger happy ranchers or IP-protecting Silicon Valley moguls. The Midwest and South are more about relationships with other people and religion.
Look at the breakfast menu in a cafe, and you'll have no doubt as to whether you are in the South or not. See if they have biscuits and gravy, or grits.
Look at what is on the feet of the people eating breakfast. If they're wearing western boots, you're in the West. No Midwestern farmer would wear anything like that on his feet. Midwestern farmers wear plain-colored shirts, but if you're in the west, there ill be arows on the pockets and pearl buttons. And hats are a dead giveaway.
If you're heading west, you'll know when you got there, by the cattle guards across the country roads.
To me the hats makes more sense than the shirts or the boots (a lot of farmers where cowboy style workbooks and my dad said they hurt the feet less than shoes or steel toed boots. If your'e talking cowboy boots as everyday footwear than yes.
The hat thing though is the giveaway in Nebraska. most of eastern and central Nebraska people where either John Deere, Seed Corn, or Husker ball caps while north central and western NE wear cowboy hats. No one east of about North Platte wears a cowboy hat everyday
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