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All regions have differences. The Midwest includes SD and ND...whether they seem more western, or not. Kansas and eastern Colorado are pretty much the same, but that doesn't make Colorado Midwestern, or Kansas a part of the west.
I was referring more to the Sandhills and NW part of the state, but yes, Omaha is very hilly.
Des Moines is actually hilly too. Both cities are built along rivers, and anywhere there's a significant river in the Midwest, you tend to see it sit much lower than the surrounding country side, and there are a network of hills and valleys that feed into that larger river.
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
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Originally Posted by IowanFarmer
I think when people debate "true" Midwestern, it's based on what part of the Midwest they are from.
I'm from northern Iowa, west of the Driftless Area. It is quite literally the eastern edge of the Great Plains (according to the EPA). It is flat, mostly treeless, windy as hell, and covered in corn and soybean fields with very low population. Windmills and grain elevators are your sky line. The Frontier Strip resembles my home much more than the Great Lakes do, and so to me those places are more in line with what I think of "true" Midwest.
Someone from Ohio or Michigan is going to see it completely different. Because the census Midwest is a massive area that has a lot of difference and diversity from one end to the other, and longitude is every bit as important as latitude in the final equation.
Pretty much every region is like that, sadly. Even in the relatively tiny Northeast, people have their (often terrible) opinions about what states are the "true northeast".
Some say Pennsylvania is southern, even. Which is the most egregiously incorrect BS I have ever heard in the context of regionalism. haha
Once, a fellow from Massachusetts on this very site posted that everything west of the Hudson river was actually the Midwest, in his eyes.
The south, of course, is no different. Though, in an act of unusual circumstance, the on-going debate about the identity of Maryland and Delaware has legitimate merit.
But you hear people from Louisiana call Arkansas "Yankee" all the time.
People in California sometimes consider Colorado Midwestern.
I think it gets more hate than warranted. Nationally I don't think people know how great of cities Milwaukee and Madison are for example. Or do people realize how much natural beauty there is here.
However, I will say I find Midwest culture bland which is what contributes to it. I think the Midwest has the mots balanced people in regards to temperament, politics, openness, etc. I also think it has what I consider a "nice" culture, nothing to in your face. I am not saying that it's a boring place, it's just not as interesting compared to other regions of the US. It just feels like there isn't as much going on in the Midwest. Chicago is the only stand out here. But Midwest has nothing that quite compares to places like New Orleans, Miami, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, etc. Outside of Chicago, the midwest cities like Milwaukee, Madison, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Columbus, etc. are nice cities in their own right, but just not as interesting or dynamic as other cities in other regions when grouped together.
I've lived in NYC for almost 8 years now and the attitude I've found that most native NYers have towards the midwest is ignorance and indifference. For example, many do not know that the eastern edge of Ohio is only a 7 hour drive from the city (nearly the same distance as Buffalo); many have some weird idea that Ohio is where Iowa is on the map. New Yorkers also think that the entire state of Ohio has the same climate as Cleveland.
I've lived in NYC for almost 8 years now and the attitude I've found that most native NYers have towards the midwest is ignorance and indifference. For example, many do not know that the eastern edge of Ohio is only a 7 hour drive from the city (nearly the same distance as Buffalo); many have some weird idea that Ohio is where Iowa is on the map. New Yorkers also think that the entire state of Ohio has the same climate as Cleveland.
I think that much of Ohio is closer to NYC than it is to Iowa, ironically.
I think when people debate "true" Midwestern, it's based on what part of the Midwest they are from.
Fair enough.
Having spent over two decades in MSP, I would never consider Western SD to be part of the Midwest.
Perhaps culturally, but from a topographical standpoint it’s not even close.
I doubt most residents of Rapid City would consider their town to be “Midwestern”.
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