What is it like to live in the Midwest?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Michigan and live in Chicago. Just from reading this forum it's obvious it's a whole different world. I remember in one thread I was describing the PTA alpha moms -- overweight, tattooed hippies with anime colored hair and N95 masks even into 2023 -- and that is clearly not a thing in the DC area. People here are really proud about working class roots even once they have money and say things like "My grandfather was a union man on the railroad so that's why we'll always be Democrats". Almost everybody is a cultural Catholic but simultaneously very embarrassed by it. People also seem to take pride in looking like slobs and brag about being a "hot mess" because being thin and well-dressed is like a sort of snobbery. Most people exclusively socialize with their highschool and college friends.

How do newcomers make friends? How would a well-dressed, thin attractive woman meet friends? I'm being serious.

Like anywhere else you start by GTF over yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Michigan and live in Chicago. Just from reading this forum it's obvious it's a whole different world. I remember in one thread I was describing the PTA alpha moms -- overweight, tattooed hippies with anime colored hair and N95 masks even into 2023 -- and that is clearly not a thing in the DC area. People here are really proud about working class roots even once they have money and say things like "My grandfather was a union man on the railroad so that's why we'll always be Democrats". Almost everybody is a cultural Catholic but simultaneously very embarrassed by it. People also seem to take pride in looking like slobs and brag about being a "hot mess" because being thin and well-dressed is like a sort of snobbery. Most people exclusively socialize with their highschool and college friends.

How do newcomers make friends? How would a well-dressed, thin attractive woman meet friends? I'm being serious.

I lived in Chicago (Gold Coast +Hyde Park) for a few years and also just outside Milwaukee. There are plenty of well-dressed, thin, attractive women in those areas. I ended up leaving Chi because of the violence and it just wasn't for me. Also, Illinois is in a ton of debt, up the wazoo and no one wants to fix it.

Living outside Milwaukee I much preferred but the burbs I liked most have really high property taxes. People are nice, kind, and educated with a wide variety of careers which is nice. I really like Shorewood, which is more diverse and has good public schools. I joined activities, masters swimming, yoga, food festivals, etc and met people that way. A friend volunteered/ later became a docent at the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) and made tons of friends. I have a friend who moved from Minnesota to Green Bay and loves it. Minnesota was very expensive and they get more bang for their buck in Green Bay.

We moved back to the East Coast years ago and it is very expensive here and is very competitive and one-upmanship. I don't get it at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Michigan and live in Chicago. Just from reading this forum it's obvious it's a whole different world. I remember in one thread I was describing the PTA alpha moms -- overweight, tattooed hippies with anime colored hair and N95 masks even into 2023 -- and that is clearly not a thing in the DC area. People here are really proud about working class roots even once they have money and say things like "My grandfather was a union man on the railroad so that's why we'll always be Democrats". Almost everybody is a cultural Catholic but simultaneously very embarrassed by it. People also seem to take pride in looking like slobs and brag about being a "hot mess" because being thin and well-dressed is like a sort of snobbery. Most people exclusively socialize with their highschool and college friends.

How do newcomers make friends? How would a well-dressed, thin attractive woman meet friends? I'm being serious.

I guess move to a wealthy suburb. The place where I live is exactly as I described.

[Anonymous]

I am from the South Side of Indianapolis but have lived in DC since the mid-2000’s. Pros and cons to both areas.

-People in DC are definitely more worldly and intelligent, but these characteristics are undermined by many of them being type a jerks

-While there are more less intelligent people in Indianapolis, most people are friendly. However, friends back there tell me crime has gotten worse in recent years and some of that friendliness has gone away.

-I’m sure it’s improved in Indianapolis now, but I had never had Thai food before I moved to DC

-The Midwest is not the cultural desert some people say it is, yes Indy does not have the Smithsonian but they have a good art museum, a really cool museum dedicated to Kurt Vonnegut, and good orchestra in a really cool location downtown, and one of the best Children’s museums in the country. You will not lose access to culture by leaving DC

-Driving in the Midwest is so easy, running errands is a breeze whereas in DC it always feels like an ordeal

-DC has a reputation for being frumpy for a city, but Indy takes it to another level. It’s bad.

I’d probably move back to the Midwest if I could but my wife is a DC native and the pace of life is too slow for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is "fun" in the Midwest:

Anonymous wrote: People in Kansas City love wearing clothes that say "Kansas City." It's fun.

Do you have your answer?

lol!

[Anonymous]

As an immigrant, the only places worth living in the US are the coasts--that's where the worldly people are, especially DC metro area. If you don't care about that then why not move to the midwest or south for that matter.

[Anonymous]

I worked for a company out of Cleveland.

The sky is gray much of the year.

I was surprised at the frumpiness of the women working office jobs. Women are less likely to color their hair. People are more likely to have bad teeth or missing teeth. Many women appear to buy their office clothes at Walmart or KMart.

Jobs are tough to come by. It is not uncommon for a college grad to be operating a fork lift for $12 or $15 per hour.

Salads are iceberg lettuce, some tomato, cucumber and carrots.

Food has a strong Polish influence, ex. stuffed peppers etc are common.

Pros

People will help you if you break down on the road and it will be a safe situation for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Instead of being bores about their jobs people are bores about their mountain biking or college sports teams.

Mountain biking? In the Midwest? No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Michigan and live in Chicago. Just from reading this forum it's obvious it's a whole different world. I remember in one thread I was describing the PTA alpha moms -- overweight, tattooed hippies with anime colored hair and N95 masks even into 2023 -- and that is clearly not a thing in the DC area. People here are really proud about working class roots even once they have money and say things like "My grandfather was a union man on the railroad so that's why we'll always be Democrats". Almost everybody is a cultural Catholic but simultaneously very embarrassed by it. People also seem to take pride in looking like slobs and brag about being a "hot mess" because being thin and well-dressed is like a sort of snobbery. Most people exclusively socialize with their highschool and college friends.

How do newcomers make friends? How would a well-dressed, thin attractive woman meet friends? I'm being serious.

First, don't assume that being "well-dressed, thin, and attractive" is some superior state of being.

[Anonymous]

From a small city on the Great Plains, now in DC.

Pro:
People don't talk about their jobs all the time.
Con:
People's jobs aren't much to talk about.

Pro:
There's a great art museum, concert venue, and city park.
Con:
There's only one of each of those. After a visit, you've got a long wait until you want to go again.

Pro:
It's easy to drive everywhere.
Con:
You have to drive everywhere.

Pro:
People are willing to get together to just hang out and chill.
Con:
That's all they're willing to do.

Pro:
If you live there long enough, you know all the people you can turn to for anything you need, from a reliable home repair to a ride to the hospital to a recommendation for hospice.
Con:
Building that network requires that you stay there a long, long time.

The people who're happy there seem to be people who like to work a satisfying but not demanding job, spend quiet evenings at home, and see friends and family on the weekend. Sounds fine! It just wasn't for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of being bores about their jobs people are bores about their mountain biking or college sports teams.

Mountain biking? In the Midwest? No.

Mountain biking doesn't just happen on mountains

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of being bores about their jobs people are bores about their mountain biking or college sports teams.

Mountain biking? In the Midwest? No.

Mountain biking doesn't just happen on mountains

This place in Cleveland is awesome
https://www.core77.com/posts/106117/Check-Out-the-Worlds-Longest-Indoor-Mountain-Bike-Trail

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ll be the rare poster with no ties to Michigan or Chicago I guess.

People from the Great Plains (Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and the middle pf Texas) are generally speaking much tougher than their counterparts in the East Coast. 30 years into living in Washington and I’m still amazed at what a tender, fragile and often helpless bunch of people this is.

This encompasses everything from changing your own tire, to not believing words are “violence”, to having the fortitude to endure the crying of your child because you actually told them and meant it. And a million other things.

This is exactly how I feel after 15 years in DC. People here tend to be spoiled and weak-willed and subscribe to a “do as I say but not as I do” philosophy. Oh, they’re definitely smart, but they’d have a hard time surviving outside of their rich and liberal bubble. There are too many DC lawyers per capita to have a friendly, fun, gritty culture.

I grew up in Detroit and still think Detroit and its suburbs have some of the best food in the country. Going to a bar in Detroit is 1000x more fun than a bar in DC. Summers are amazing but winters make you want to hibernate/die.

DC has metro so there’s more ability to commute to a better job. DC has Feds, who are highly unionized, which sets up a stable and diverse middle class.

[Anonymous]

How do newcomers make friends? How would a well-dressed, thin attractive woman meet friends? I'm being serious.

You send your kids to Parker or Latin and you will fit right in. But make sure you're extremely wealthy. It might come as a shock but people like you exist everywhere, including a midwest city like Chicago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of being bores about their jobs people are bores about their mountain biking or college sports teams.

Mountain biking? In the Midwest? No.

The best mountain biking I've done was in FL which is flat as a pancake. I believe "mountain biking" refers to the type of bike you use and as others have pointed out does not require the use of mountains. Riding on trails through the woods is typical with or without hills or mountains.