Where does the Midwest start and end? (move, manufacturing)
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I'm not always a "black and white" person, but to me this isn't arguable. The Midwest is the Midwest that the government designated, many, many years ago. I understand there are states that have qualities of different regions, but be that as it may, they're a part of one region...the one they're in when you look at the US map of regions.
At some point, basic geography has to matter. For example, the region shaded in red is near the middle of what, exactly?
In fact, Pittsburgh is farther away from the geographic center of the U.S. than the following cities and towns:
Atlanta, GA
Boise, ID
Brownsville, TX
Destin, FL
Greenville, SC
Guelph, ON
Kalispell, MT
Lake Havasu City, AZ
Las Vegas, NV
Lethbridge, AB
Macon, GA
Matamoros, TM
Needles, CA
Phoenix, AZ
Saskatoon, SK
Spartanburg, SC
The Pas, MB
Wytheville, VA
It is equidistant from the geographic center of the U.S. as Hickory, NC. Canadian cities are shaded in red. Mexican cities are shaded in green.
And Buffalo and Rochester are even farther away from all of the above.
I'm not always a "black and white" person, but to me this isn't arguable. The Midwest is the Midwest that the government designated, many, many years ago. I understand there are states that have qualities of different regions, but be that as it may, they're a part of one region...the one they're in when you look at the US map of regions.
It certainly doesn't bother me a bit that you feel that way. Don't know why it bothers you that others prefer a more nuanced view of this topic.
I grew up in northern Oklahoma about 15 miles south of the Kansas line. According to the government, Kansas is midwest and where I lived was southern. But having lived that experience the reality wasn't that simple.
But if you want to force us all to be southerners...then so be it.
The term "Midwest" is completely arbitrary (the middle of the West?) for a whole chunk of territory that should be broken down into specific areas -- Ohio and North Dakota or Minnesota and Kansas, share almost no similar characteristics culturally or geographically.
Up until the 1960's, Minnesota and Wisconsin were known as the Great Northwest -- it was only after the 1960s that they got lumped into the "Midwest".
Time for new geographical terms
Kansas and Minnesota certainly have their differences, but they're not devoid of similarities. Southwest Minnesota isn't radically different from much of Kansas, especially northeast Kansas. The only glue that holds the Midwest together is the farmland. Both KS and MN are known for grain. Corn, wheat and sunflowers are abundant in both states. They are also prone to tornadoes in spring and summer. Again... not radically different. Kansas is more like the Dakotas of course but the Dakota's DO border Minnesota, now don't they?
The difference is Minnesota is obviously more northerly not just in location but in vibes. It feels semi-Canadian. There's that lake culture, hockey is really popular, people in general are more socially liberal, the accents are similar, similar flora and fauna (sugar maples, birches, spruces, walleye, loons, moose, wolves) and Kansas is more westerly. The western part of the state is drier, sparser in trees, looks more to Colorado but lacking the mountains. But there's those areas that are fertile farmland that both states in common and that's the vast fertile landscape that encompasses the interior of our nation. And in any Midwestern state, most of the state's population is within that land. In Minnesota, more people live in the wooded prairielands of the southern half of the state and in Kansas more people live in the fertile grasslands in the eastern part of the state.
The "Midwest" has effectively become a catch-all term for East and West Coasters too lazy to consider or understand the nuances of the interior United States.
The "Midwest" has effectively become a catch-all term for East and West Coasters too lazy to consider or understand the nuances of the interior United States.
There, I said it.
Nah, that would be "Flyover Country". A lot of us in the Midwest are proud to represent the Midwest.
IL, NE, and KS are completely Midwestern. MO is mostly. OH is partly.
Kind of disagree with you on Missouri being mostly Midwestern. It's biggest cities, Kansas City and St. Louis definitely are. But everywhere else, Evangelicals are dominant all over the state, even as far north as places like St. Joseph or Hannibal. The majority of the state is very rugged and wooded as well.
I also don't think Kansas, Nebraska or even Iowa are as Midwestern as Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, despite what I've said before. In 2023, most Midwesterners now live in large urban areas, and Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa never quite urbanised to the extent of the other states east of the Mississippi.
Not enough people understand, or care to understand the differences between the Midwest, Upper and Lower, Mid South vs Deep South, Plans States. etc and so on. So sometimes people will throw out terms without spending much if any time in the places they are discussing.
Not enough people understand, or care to understand the differences between the Midwest, Upper and Lower, Mid South vs Deep South, Plans States. etc and so on. So sometimes people will throw out terms without spending much if any time in the places they are discussing.
Exactly. Add the interior Northeast to that list, too, which is what Western NY and Western PA actually are.
Exactly. Add the interior Northeast to that list, too, which is what Western NY and Western PA actually are.
As are Vermont, central and northern New Hampshire and non-coastal Maine. Actually, in land area, the interior Northeast is much larger than the more populous coastal Northeast.
As are Vermont, central and northern New Hampshire and non-coastal Maine. Actually, in land area, the interior Northeast is much larger than the more populous coastal Northeast.
Yes, very true. The non-coastal Northeast (aside from some vacation hotspots) is largely misunderstood or overlooked.
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