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I don't know I used to think anything west of the Hudson was dead, I went to Milwawkee for a GE meeting. We TORE IT UP!!! We had such a good time, everyone was cool. We had a lot of fun, I'd go back in a second.
I love Milwaukee! It has improved IMMENSELY the past 5-10 years, especially 3rd Ward and downtown. Lots to do there now! I think the population in MKE proper increased for the first time in 10 years or something. Definitely on the upswing. The saying that all Midwest cities are falling apart is complete and utter BS.
The Midwest gets a bum rap from a combination of hollywood and media types stereotyping it. And there has to be an element of truth for stereotypes to form, so I'll leave it at that. I love it here, and don't really care how anyone else feels about it!
In the past two weeks, I've driven the estimated 2 hours to Chicago to spend a weekend with family there; going out, visiting downtown, etc. Had a lot of fun as usual there. The following week I went to my family's cabin in gorgeous Northwest Wisconsin (Sawyer County), where the biggest town is about 3,000 people. There is NOTHING like a sunny summer day sitting by a secluded lake in the northwoods.
Again, the Coasties can rip on the Midwest all they want, I don't care what they think. I love it.
On the LA forum references to the Midwest pop up from time to time; One person recently suggested that the Midwest should perhaps be considered more of a state of mind than a geographic location. the city-specific forums aren't the place to discuss stereotypes about the Midwest, so I restrained myself from following up on that thought there. It made me wonder, though, what exactly we're all talking about when we say "Midwest." Obviously it seems to mean different things to different people, and that goes beyond pure geography. A lot of people seem to associate Midwest with conservative social values, small towns, and farms. That's one aspect of the Midwest, but my Midwest experience (Minneapolis) -- that of cities and progressive politics -- is just as Midwestern as the small town and/or conservative parts. (and just as progressive as what you'll find on the coasts, and sometimes more so)
I like small towns just fine, but don't live in one, and don't think small towns define me in any way as a native Midwesterner. My personal politics lean pretty far to the left, as do many fellow Midwesterners, so I don't think it's fair to use cultural or political values to define the Midwest, either. (just as I would imagine that the conservative residents of the many very red portions of California are probably irritated at being characterized as ultra-liberal by those who assume that all of California is to the far left of the political spectrum).
I think some of the stereotypes about the Midwest (which can be good or bad, depending on point of view) come in part from this vision of the Midwest as part of "Middle America."
Lots of Indianans have Southern accents, the area near Louisville, Kentucky is known as Kentuckiana for Christ's sake.
I'm sorry, did you just say "Indianans?" Have you ever really been to Indiana? I've lived here all my life and never heard anyone use that term before. We're Hoosiers. Get it straight.
The reason it's called Kentuckiana is because of the broadcasting from Louisville. Very few in the area use the term except for the media.
There, in a sense, you have it. A longing for prettier things, prettier places, prettier people. The glamour of Park Ave, Rodeo Drive, Spago, is as remote to a lot of midwestern people as Camelot or Troy. What do boys do when another family farm is lost? You turn to other blue collar pursuits, perhaps, fixing cars or engines, working in a feed store, etc. Unless one has enough scholastic or athletic ability to get scholarships and leave, that is the reality for many.
You left out some glamorous things like high unemployment, high levels of illegal immigration, a staggering budget crisis, a housing crisis that is nearly the worst in the nation, overcrowding and high costs of living. I'll take a pass on that and stay in the boring midwest.
There, in a sense, you have it. A longing for prettier things, prettier places, prettier people.
Are you really so self absorbed and shallow that you really believe people think that way? I've been all over this Country and frankly I find the people in the Midwest much better to be around and raise my family around because those ways of thinking is NOT the norm. Where I am at, nobody gives a crap if you drive a Bentley or a Yugo; and yes, we do have both. Very few places I have been on either Coast are "prettier" than what I have right here. People are not prettier on either Coast either, more make-up and plastic, but that isn't prettier (at least in 90% of the worlds views it isn't, what it is, is sad.) As for prettier "things" what are you talking about here? What you are saying is that there is no way to have pretty things in the Midwest? Are you really that naive?
Because of the attitude of the midwest and like other said about the landscape. Compare to California, Seattle, and some of the East Coast, the midwest is behind when it becomes to progressive thinking. The segregation, jobs, and some even said we are lacking in fashion sense. Even great Chicago is critisize of its overwhelming segregation/bigotry by many people including MLK. Just being known as a friendly, hard working, and ordinary people region is not going to take you far in people recognizing it in a country like this. Outside of Chicago and maybe Minneapolis, a lot of people don't won't nothing to do with the midwest or don't expect much from it.
What are you talking about?
Segregation/bigotry? In the Midwest? That makes absolutly no sense. I have never witnessed any segregation or bigotry in the midwest. You know the civil rights movement was in the heart of the south? and why are you mentioning MLk? He has been dead for 40 years, and he was shot in the south. How does that have anything to do with the Midwest?
The midwest is a HUGE area of land too. It's not like the east or west coast where you can drive through handful of major cities in one car ride. That's why nobody goes there.
Landscape-wise the midwest is just as interesting as anywhere else in the USA. The beaches of Michigan are like any beaches in Florida, minus the salt. There are mountains and bluffs in Northern Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, ND, and SD that are just as impressive as anywhere in the country. The forrests, valleys, lakes and rivers are majestic.
People really need to get out of their house and experience their country. The midwest is gorgeous coupled with hard-working, intelligent, sophisticated, and genuine people. There is much more here than 'cornfields and flat land'
"The Midwest is behind on progressive thinking." Really? Um, no, at least not in all of the Midwest. I grew up in Minneapolis, and am proud of our progressive roots. The same can be said of many other ares of the Upper Midwest.
The midwest gets a bad rap because of the Media, and the way it is perceived.
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I love Milwaukee! It has improved IMMENSELY the past 5-10 years, especially 3rd Ward and downtown. Lots to do there now! I think the population in MKE proper increased for the first time in 10 years or something. Definitely on the upswing. The saying that all Midwest cities are falling apart is complete and utter BS. 
Get it straight.