Which region is the most similar to the Midwest culturally? (vs., bars)

[NearFantastica]

I see many saying how cities such as Pittsburgh and Buffalo feel more similar to the midwestern than the northeast or outright claiming these cities to be Midwestern in culture.

[Bicala]

The Midwest doesn't have a "culture." The Great Lakes states aren't like Kansas and Nebraska, or Missouri, among others. For anyone to assume such a large, vast region has a "culture"...they don't know the Midwest very well. Western PA would be much more like Ohio, which is the Midwest, but nothing like Kansas. Everything is best off, left where it is. However, the Midwest should (and is, sometimes) divided by the Great Lakes states vs. the Plains states, as they don't have a lot in common.

[TheTimidBlueBars]

Western NY seems the most similar considering the gridded city/town layouts, the less insular and remote vibe (compared to Western PA), the dialect, and the prominence of the Great Lakes.

[585WNY]

Western Pennsylvania matches the feel of Ohio with the varied topography, post-industrial towns and so forth. Erie, PA could be the gateway to the Midwest.

Rural Western New York is kind of like rural Michigan, but not quite.

Northern Kentucky never really felt Midwestern to me. I see Kentucky as a full fledged Southern state. Even Cincinnati 60/40 belongs in the South. Just my opinion.

[Duderino]

I'd say a tie, maybe with a slight lean towards Western NY.

Upstate/Western New York really does have notably more Great Lakes identity than Western PA, which is really only limited to Erie County.

The vast majority of Western Pennsylvania is in the "Midland" or Northern Appalachia, which is where many Lower Midwest migrants originated, so there's some parallels to places like Cincinnati, Chillicothe, or Athens, but much less so Cleveland or Toledo. Kentucky has a similarly scoped overlay, but is Southern Appalachian.

But the Midwest is much more like Cleveland generally than Cincinnati.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by TheTimidBlueBars

Western NY seems the most similar considering the gridded city/town layouts, the less insular and remote vibe (compared to Western PA), the dialect, and the prominence of the Great Lakes.

Yes, my take exactly.

[Avondalist]

The Midwest was settled by three streams of people: from New England, from the mid-Atlantic, and from Appalachia/the upper south.

I would say the three example regions all reflect those streams, respectively. Missouri is like northern Kentucky, central Illinois is like western Pennsylvania, and Michigan is like western New York state.

[IowanFarmer]

Western Pennsylvania is more like eastern Ohio.

I think southern Ohio is more like northern Kentucky.

Western New York isn't Midwestern, period.

I'm not an expert or super familiar with any of these places, so these are from my roadside observations.

[SonnyDaze]

Originally Posted by IowanFarmer

Western Pennsylvania is more like eastern Ohio.

I think southern Ohio is more like northern Kentucky.

Western New York isn't Midwestern, period.

I'm not an expert or super familiar with any of these places, so these are from my roadside observations.

It's not midwestern but I would say it's most similar to northeast Ohio in look/feel/culture.

[aries4118]

Western PA.