I struggle with it. Cleveland and Pittsburg feel so similar to me that I have a hard time separating them into different regions. And they both feel more like the rest of Pennsylvania than they do Wisconsin. But Cincinnati and Columbus feel proper Midwest.
Yeah. They have a river in Cleveland too. And a lake is good and midwest but Buffalo has a lake. And I hadn’t thought about Buffalo in this relationship but I feel like it fits with the other two in a kinda but kinda not midwest category.
We should have normalized the “Great Lakes” region a long time ago. That would allow states not touching a lake to accurately be called either the plains or Midwest.
as the start of the NW territory, ohio just has a lot of similarities culturally/economically/politically w/ the other states in it bc of how and when they were settled by white people, & the terms by which political divisions (townships) were defined by the NW Ordinance, Ohio is the heart of it all
Minnesota’s Great Lakes in the east, plains in the west, but the population is concentrated in the east which dominates the west politically and culturally, much like Illinois.
If you split Ohio from the top right corner to the bottom left corner, you have two vastly different states. Columbus and everything on the northwest side of the line are Midwest and everything on the south east side are pretty much Appalachian.
Michigan, Ohio, and other nearby states are not "midwest". Historically only Kansas and Nebraska were called midwest. States on the shores of the 3 largest Great Lakes share more in common culturally and historically than the rest of those that are called "midwest".
And thus Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota should be considered as part of a "Great Lakes" region rather than being considered "midwest".
Saw the news story this week about another derecho storm hitting the Midwest and thought, "Oh man, Iowa and Illinois don't need that again." Clicked on the story and it was talking about Pennsylvania...I know a lot has changed recently, but what??
Can I let you know about a regionalism that drives me nuts. The use of Upstate NY so indiscriminately. Not everything above NYC is upstate, and Buffalo is in Western NY!!!!
That 3% is likely those making the Great Lakes/Great Plains distinction. Regardless, I can think of a much greater percentage of Iowans who have worse opinions.
To the 25% of Idahoans who think they're Midwest, who the hell do you think you're fooling? You're Mountain West or Big Sky, this is an open and shut case, and anyone who can't see that is a SAVAGE and an IDIOT!
Ohio is Midwest according to basically everybody. For east coasters, it is the quintessential Midwestern state. For people in the plains, it’s the cosmopolitan eastern edge of the Midwest.
yeah I would say, having lived in Evansville and spent a fair amount of time in Cincinnati and Louisville, the cities are all fairly distinct in individual character but all feel like they're in the same region. Which makes sense geographically
Once again, I refuse to accept Missouri into the Midwest, it’s the south. The Dakotas and Nebraska, even Kansas, are the Great Plains. I’ll accept Ohio before Missouri.
I'll never forget going into a McDonald's in Bloomington, IL about 20 years ago, and not being able to understand anything the girl behind the counter was saying. I thought I broke space and time for a minute
I base this on geography and the fact that I went there for an Alabama-Missouri game years ago and the night before all people were talking about was baseball and well, we just don't operate that way.
Completely agree. I lived my whole life on the east coast and had been to the 'midwest' places like Detroit and Chicago, even Minnesota.
But then I did a job in rural Kansas and I was struck how different it was. The Great Plains is a totally different vibe altogether.
The only reason that Michigan is at 86% is because the other 14% of the respondents are in the upper peninsula and they consider themselves to be Yoopers more than anything else.
ohioans claim midwest for sure, but when i imagine my geographic designation in my mind the words "rust belter" are what appear because I think Pittsburgh/Youngstown are part of the same cultural quilt Cleveland is but don't jump out to me as midwestern
Did the humans labeling territories and states back then place Ohio as 'Midwest' before the Louisiana Purchase? Ohio and others around should be labeled Mideast, technically, in my opinion.
Those percentages in Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania vote. No wonder this country is screwed up. People do not even know where they live.
Sure, if you live in one of the other 47 states that might be a bit confusing. But if you live in Idaho, you should know the difference.
Do people who live in WV forget and think they could walk into DC? Is there any difference between New Jersey & New Mexico?
Like, if you live west of the Rockies and tell people you consider that to be Midwestern, you should be detained until it can be ascertained that you pose no risk of harm to yourself or others
I stick with a definition of Midwest as the place between the Rockies and the Appalachians, north of and including I-70. There are subregions (Great Plains, Great Lakes) and border regions, but this is consistent with my 30+ years living in Iowa, Minnesota, and Ohio.
Comments
Absolutists
Would be a good time to just dissolve those states and add them to Minnesota. Then they will be midwest.
Different species of birds, plants, environment
I can also settle for "Ain't Texas"
"Here Be Dragons"
(at least 3 of those are Midwest states tho)
Michigan, Ohio, and other nearby states are not "midwest". Historically only Kansas and Nebraska were called midwest. States on the shores of the 3 largest Great Lakes share more in common culturally and historically than the rest of those that are called "midwest".
There's still enough in common between the two that is collectively "Midwestern" in a cultural and historical sense
Louisville and Newport (north border) are pretty damn Midwest, rest of the state is not.
Case in point: The first Saturday of May.
Starting a new thing...
Thems the rules.
Unfortunately, this means that Los Angeles is now in the Midwest.
https://www.uakron.edu/bliss/research/biop-2-the-five-ohios.dot
But then I did a job in rural Kansas and I was struck how different it was. The Great Plains is a totally different vibe altogether.
some would say Ohio is the MOST Midwest
the Roebling Bridge is the crossroads between the Midwest and the South
We should rename these regions now that we have satellite since we can see the entire United States.
Also did the Dakotas have the options of “Great Plains”
Do people who live in WV forget and think they could walk into DC? Is there any difference between New Jersey & New Mexico?
Can Idatana be a thing?
Beyond that, I don't think "Midwest" is constrained to state lines - here's my mental map of what I think of when someone says "Midwest"
Ohio was the first state made out of Connecticut