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Old 04-14-2016, 12:40 PM
 
Location: Chicago
6,359 posts, read 8,768,236 times
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Michigan is unique: two peninsulas. no place like it. only one other of the 48 contiguous states is made up mostly of a peninsula: FLA.

So how does this affect you. Michigan is not "on the way" to anywhere in the US (although it can be if one is traveling to Canada)....so how does that peninsula mentality affect you, make you different.

does having your own more insular world make you different? and, if so, how?
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Old 04-14-2016, 12:42 PM
 
Location: Chicago
944 posts, read 1,199,031 times
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Not at all. Culturally, Michigan is not that distinct from the surrounding states in any way. Most of what is unique relates to settlements of immigration and can be compared to unique elements in other states (ie unique foods, a stronger emphasis on Finnish or Dutch culture in various place).
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Old 04-14-2016, 02:02 PM
 
Location: North of Canada, but not the Arctic
20,954 posts, read 19,401,209 times
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I live about 4 miles from Lake St. Claire, but I rarely see it. There is a nice stretch of road in Grosse Pointe where the lake is visible, but elsewhere you have to go to one of the few parks to see it. It's a shame they didn't ban construction between the entire length of Jefferson Avenue and the water. I really don't even feel like I live on a peninsula.
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Old 04-14-2016, 08:33 PM
 
Location: West Michigan
3,119 posts, read 6,569,366 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brodie734 View Post
Not at all. Culturally, Michigan is not that distinct from the surrounding states in any way. Most of what is unique relates to settlements of immigration and can be compared to unique elements in other states (ie unique foods, a stronger emphasis on Finnish or Dutch culture in various place).
Oh, I definitely think Michigan is unique. One side effect of living in an insular peninsula is that lots of people think we are "normal" or "generic America" or "talk without an accent" or other such things. But this is partly due to the fact that people in Michigan almost exclusively talk to and interact with other people who are just like them, which gives a false sense of everything here being "normal." Well, it's not true. We talk weird and do lots of weird Michigan things that I don't feel like taking the time to list right now. There are other threads devoted to that stuff.
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Old 04-14-2016, 08:39 PM
 
Location: Michigan
4,647 posts, read 8,551,660 times
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Most of the state's population, ironically enough, is not that far from neighboring states. Metro Detroit, for example, is overall closer to Ohio than it is to the UP. Grand Rapids and most areas west and south still get a decent influx of Illinois visitors. It's also more likely that those in the UP will have probably visited Wisconsin at some point or at least more often than those in the LP. So overall, it doesn't feel at all insular.


Also, in terms of air travel, Michigan is quite on the way to many destinations.
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Old 04-14-2016, 09:24 PM
 
Location: Chicago
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when most people in the UP visit "the city", they go to Minneapolis.
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Old 04-15-2016, 05:15 AM
 
Location: Louisville
5,253 posts, read 5,972,921 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brodie734 View Post
when most people in the UP visit "the city", they go to Minneapolis.
It's a 4-5 hour drive to MSP vs 8-10 to Detroit/Grand Rapids
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Old 04-15-2016, 11:11 AM
 
Location: Chicago
944 posts, read 1,199,031 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by michigan83 View Post
Oh, I definitely think Michigan is unique. One side effect of living in an insular peninsula is that lots of people think we are "normal" or "generic America" or "talk without an accent" or other such things. But this is partly due to the fact that people in Michigan almost exclusively talk to and interact with other people who are just like them, which gives a false sense of everything here being "normal." Well, it's not true. We talk weird and do lots of weird Michigan things that I don't feel like taking the time to list right now. There are other threads devoted to that stuff.
Most people don't feel they have accents. Virtually every region has it's little quirks. Michigan is not some special isolated place... it is closely connected with Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin. The Detroit area has tons in common with Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee and Buffalo. Even the less populated areas up north have deep connections with neighboring areas of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The Michigan accent is part of broad regional accent shift that can be found from St. Louis to Pittsburgh.
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Old 04-15-2016, 08:46 PM
 
Location: West Michigan
3,119 posts, read 6,569,366 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brodie734 View Post
Most people don't feel they have accents. Virtually every region has it's little quirks. Michigan is not some special isolated place... it is closely connected with Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin. The Detroit area has tons in common with Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee and Buffalo. Even the less populated areas up north have deep connections with neighboring areas of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The Michigan accent is part of broad regional accent shift that can be found from St. Louis to Pittsburgh.
Have you ever talked to people from St Louis or Pittsburgh? Those accents are quite different from here, and are actually classified as midland accents. The Michigan accent is placed into a completely different category on all of the linguistic maps I've seen.

This map shows that, while our accent isn't totally unique to this state, it is classified differently than most states, including our neighboring states like Ohio and Indiana:

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Old 04-16-2016, 10:23 AM
 
2,025 posts, read 4,145,386 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brodie734 View Post
Most people don't feel they have accents. Virtually every region has it's little quirks. Michigan is not some special isolated place... it is closely connected with Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin. The Detroit area has tons in common with Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee and Buffalo. Even the less populated areas up north have deep connections with neighboring areas of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The Michigan accent is part of broad regional accent shift that can be found from St. Louis to Pittsburgh.
I moved to MI from Alaska a few years ago and folks remark on my accent, so there you are.
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