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In contrast, I'd say Bentonville would be the positive stereotype for AR, thanks to Walmart and being the fastest-growing portion of the state, representing that the middle class is still alive and well. But AR nationally is still viewed as this "hillbilly" state with some Old South mixed in, and Little Rock's most famous historic event is a product of the Civil Rights era.
For my Maryland, I'd say Annapolis, due to its colonial/Federal charm that's common in many of the state's towns/cities, setting on the Chesapeake Bay, Naval Academy for the strong defense industry (along with Social Security and NSA), and pleasant but rather bland suburban outskirts that characterizes much of central MD and what most folks see when they pass through.
I saw someone say Oskaloosa for Iowa, but I would go with something like Carroll or Nevada. Tidy county seat towns who's economies revolve around farming and are big enough to have a couple chain fast food places or a box store, but not big enough to draw people in from more than 20-30 miles away.
Georgia: Atlanta (just cuz it's what people think of now)
South Carolina: Florence?
Pennsylvania: Scranton
North Dakota: Grand Forks probably (Bismarck's kinda the least IMO, as it has decent amount of rolling hills, as does Minot)
I'd say someplace more solidly working class and farther north would be more stereotypical, like Brainerd or Bemidji.
I know that the mythical town of Lake Wobegon from A Prairie Home Companion is supposedly somewhere in Stearns County (of which St. Cloud is the seat), but St. Cloud is too much of an education/commercial hub and a bit too influenced by the relatively nearby Twin Cities. Also, St. Cloud has too much of a "trashy" perception to be representative of the state as a whole.
North Dakota: Grand Forks probably (Bismarck's kinda the least IMO, as it has decent amount of rolling hills, as does Minot)
Grand Forks is way, way too classically Midwestern in character and vibrant to be stereotypical of North Dakota.
A place that's economy is entirely agricultural, far away from major highways, and largely depopulated seems like a better fit; somewhere like Carrington.
I don't see much Oakland, CA. Oakland has both a good and bad side, with a lot of hipsters as well. Furthermore, Oakland has a lot of hills, a common sight in California.
The urban rural divide is so deep in Missouri that it seems like two states. The cities of Kansas City and St. Louis offer one stereotype while the rural areas in the north, the Ozarks, bible belt, river towns and southeast bootheel would seem like an entirely different state. Even the two major cities are quite different.
I'd rather pick a county. The one spot might be Columbia in Boone County. Larger city over 100,000 pop. The flagship university gives it a sports scene but it is a little rural. It has a lot of big city stuff and problems as well. The county borders on the Missouri River. There are breweries. There are wineries and farms and small towns closeby. It is a little hilly toward the river. There is some German and some black heritage. Little Dixie isn't far away. It is a liberal city in a sea of right-wing conservatism, much like the two bigger cities.
For non-Californians though, the stereotype is definitely more like Laguna Beach or Beverly Hills.
We're not talking about the town that most accurately exemplifies the state here. We're dealing in stereotypes, plain and simple.
Yeah, I grew up in a tiny town in the foothills of NorCa- one stoplight in the (large) county that switched to a blinking yellow every evening. We all mostly drove pickups with gun racks, hunted and fished, water and snow skied or backpacked and river rafted. Crime, smog and most social issues were nonexistent. Basically a town with which you would assume to exist in Idaho or Montana.
To the vast majority of non-Californians that doesn’t really exist and yet in reality it is quite common. Laguna Beach and Beverly Hills were as foreign to us as Tokyo.
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