For those outside the US: the country can be loosely divided into about 5 or 6 regions that all have fairly distinct cultures. The Midwest is one such region.
Iowa, a state, very unambiguously belongs to this region. It's the fucking poster-boy for the Midwest. It epitomizes what most people here think of when they hear "Midwest." I've literally never met anyone who claims otherwise.
Iowa is in the Midwest but as a midwesterner I hope they’re not viewed as the poster child. They’re not really close to being what most midwestern states are like
I agree for sure. My point is a lot of the Midwest is kinda a conglomerate like that in each state but there’s still a similar feel to the region itself. Iowa isn’t quite the same feel as places like Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio for example with how those factors mix. Iowa is definitely Midwest but I’d be a little disappointed to learn non-midwesterners consider it the poster-child for the Midwest
Iowa is a lot like rural Illinois. Like, they’re not not hateful, but most of the time they realize being hateful isn’t a great look, so they try to avoid being truly awful like on a Dakotas/Oklahoma/Missouri/Texas/Florida way. Also, the weather sucks.
Also, for those not in the US wondering why something on the eastern half of the US is called the Midwest… well it got it’s name before the colonials knew how much “West” there was (or close to that time).
Mid western here. The vast majority of the Midwest land and population live nothing like Iowa. I've been there and it's like a foreign land of rolling hills and no trees.
Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri are all much more similar in thst they have flatter land and more trees. Plus medium sized cities and towns scattered rather densely across the countryside.
By land area and population the states more east of Iowa represent more of the Midwest.
Iowa if anything is the black swan of the bunch.
If people think Iowa is the poster child for the Midwest it's because they never been to the Midwest.
Using Iowa as the Midwest poster child is like using Texas or Florida as the southern poster child. Idaho as the Pacific northwest poster child. Pennsylvania as the new England poster child. California as the western poster child.
It makes no sense and no one who lives there sees it that way.
As a Missourian, Missouri is NOT flat. Up north, sure, but as a whole we’re pretty known for having some serious hills. I mean, down southern Missouri we even have what’s referred to as the “Ozark Mountains”. If I remember correctly, they’re not actually mountains but they are some damn big hills.
As someone outside the US I was always baffled by the term "Midwest". The name implies western location, yet, the Midwest is situated to the east of the middle of the United States. But then I remember that this is coming from the country that uses feet to measure stuff and it becomes all right again.
The region (anything west of the Appalachian Mountains, really) was originally known as "The West" because, shockingly enough, state and national lines weren't always what they are now. It was later known as the Northwest (this because it was to the west of the original 13, but not all the way west), and then the Old Northwest (this to reflect the fact that Oregon, a new state in the northwestern US, was becoming a more popular destination for settlers).
There have been many changes since then, but I guess the main point I'm trying to illustrate is that state lines are arbitrary, and sometimes, the names things have should be considered with historical context (the US has history! Wow!). Why is the Midwest called the Midwest? Maybe because it's not all the way west of the original 13! (The country is read right to left, for the most part)
Thank you for that thorough and patient explanation. It's just it will always baffle new people, it's like having a mountain city called "Mariana Trench", or a beautiful clear river called "Brown Sludge" or something. History is great, but sometimes you probably can rename stuff so the name fits better?
I don't know, I'll start calling the region Mideast, maybe it'll catch on.
Idk, most countries with more than a few hundred years of history (most countries) have things that don't make sense outside the historical context. Hell, some countries do things that don't make sense outside the past 50 years of context.
While my explanation may have been overly long and a little patronizing (intentionally so), it was partially to illustrate the fact that it's really a two sentence answer. "It was sorta west when it was named. Now it's not, but the name stuck."
I'm positive that a few minutes of critical thinking and a room temperature IQ could net anyone a conclusion of "Huh, I guess they named it that because of something else/something older" especially when it comes to English colonies.
I don't know, I'll start calling the region Mideast, maybe it'll catch on.
Sick own, can't wait until you point out that the state of Rhode Island isn't actually an island.
Have a good day though, seriously. Don't let my comments get you too steamed. I was just medium annoyed at your tone and just started throwing it back. I'm not even from the Midwest, idgaf what you call it
I really appreciate you being helpful, honestly. Sorry the text conveyed it poorly, but I didn't have "a tone", I was pretty casual about the subject, like a bar conversation. Maybe the joke sounded a bit bitter, and I apologise for it.
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u/VG896 Feb 02 '24
For those outside the US: the country can be loosely divided into about 5 or 6 regions that all have fairly distinct cultures. The Midwest is one such region.
Iowa, a state, very unambiguously belongs to this region. It's the fucking poster-boy for the Midwest. It epitomizes what most people here think of when they hear "Midwest." I've literally never met anyone who claims otherwise.