What is it like to live in the Midwest?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you talking a big city, like Minneapolis, or living in some small town Iowa?

I lived in small town Iowa for a short while many years ago, the starkest shock for me having been raised in NoVa was that the nearest McDonalds was an hour and a half away. Times have changed though and now the nearest McDonalds to that town is only 30 miles away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Looks like you didn't read the previous response, idiot. Nowhere does it say that person thinks they are that, but is responding to what was written.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Unfortunately, I agree. Both my spouse are immigrants but from different continents. I think it would be hard for us to feel comfortable in certain parts of the country. Plus, I need my ethnic grocery store, which is mostly in the coastal states, and a couple of cities in the south, and one in Chicago and Detroit (but burrrr), so basically, the really big cities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ann Arbor has more in common with Charlottesville than typical midwestern towns.

+1 Well, minus the weather.

— grew up in SW MI

[Anonymous]

It really depends where in Midwest. Overall friendly people, horrible weather, nice quality of life, depending on where—many people grew up there and either still live there or return. It can be hard to make adult friends as many people are friends with all of their high school friends and don’t branch out.

[Anonymous]

I've lived in DC, Toledo, Minneapolis, and an insanely small town on the shore of Lake Superior, as well as a major Southern city.

Hands down, my least favorite was the soulless, sprawling, utterly lacking in any culture Southern city. Yes, even Toledo ranks above it. Even the tiny town that's been in decline since 1890 is better than the south.

Are there things I didn't love about the midwest? Absolutely. It's often provincial. (although so is the south) On the whole, it's not a place that values extensive knowledge or travel, and anything that might be "sophisticated" or "high brow" is immediately suspect (20 years ago drinking a Sam Adams got me labeled a snob, and some other less-kind words). On the other hand, they're way less obsessed with winning at EVERYTHING--so much less pressure about schools, kids sports, how much money you make, where you went to college, etc.

Toledo has a world class art museum and cheap AAA baseball. The food is mostly blah, but there are some solid Hungarian and Polish options. And it's only an hour from Detroit, which has museums, a major airport, pro sports, and a better food scene.

Loved Minneapolis. Great place, I miss being able to spend a week in a cabin on a remote lake for cheap. Amazing food, ample greenspace, lots of smart people who went to U Minnesota stick around. The winters are a little much sometimes, and Minnesota "nice" is very real.

Small town, I had a love-hate relationship with. Loved living in a walkable town, kayaking on the lake, amazing hiking and cross country skiing, and knowing people in my community so well. But ultimately my love couldn't overcome 6 or more months of snow and 3,000 people who knew all my business whether I wanted them to know it or not. And see above, re: Minnesota nice.

And all that said, I love DC the best. I manage to tune out a lot of the hypercompetitive rat race stuff. I don't care that you're not impressed with where I went to school and even are openly disdainful--we ended up in the same jobs making the same money, my path was just different. Living in DC, my neighborhood and the ones surrounding it remind me of the small town as far as being walkable, people know each other, etc. No where else has so many outstanding (and often free) museums, access to outdoor recreation is top-notch, my kid can try darn near any sport. The food!

Midwest living isn't for everyone, especially upper midwest living. I still rank it below DC. But it's waaaaay better than the south.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

This x 1,000,000. I'm an immigrant who moved to Midwest from Eastern Europe in high school. We had 6 (SIX!!!!) foreigners in the high school of 1,500 kids and one black person. I know it's changed now, but believe me when I say I ran to the coasts the first chance I got. People were nice, but extremely uneducated and not-worldly. No fashion, no travel, no world curiosity. Everyone is super into sports and kids get pushed into football or cheerleading early on, school hierarchy therefore was football players and cheerleaders first, and everyone else second. I would NEVER move back. I will move back to Eastern Europe first.

What I like about DMV area - speaking another language at home is normal, every school has international night, embassies, cultural festivals, saturday heritage language schools, smart educated people, ability to live without or with a limited use of a car, biking, architecture, multiple airports.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in the DMV but have spent a good amount of time in Chicago (which I like a lot), Cleveland (meh), and Denver (also liked— is that the Midwest)??

People have said the main things. But my time in those area solidified that I am an east coast person. I found the food to be pretty bad (except in Chicago, Denver was okay but more limited in options). I’m someone who likes to go out a lot and eat lots of different things, so someone who doesn’t care about a restaurant scene may not care as much. People were uniformly “nicer” but harder to get to know. People are less intense perhaps.

The biggest thing to me was the driving culture. Driving everywhere, all the time, for anything— and the most extraordinary distances (again, except for Chicago, but only in the city). People thought of nothing to drive an hour to do a basic errands. I can’t stand that— I like being able to walk my kids to school, walk to work, and walk to do most errands. So I hated that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

So.....................Indy and DC are equally awful? I find that hard to believe. Any city that is a breeze to drive around in sucks ass by rule.

[Anonymous]

I’ve lived in Minneapolis as a kid and as adult, and am now raising my kids in the DMV. I had a great childhood growing up in the suburbs of Minneapolis, and find it much more affordable and just easier in many aspects compared to DC. However, there is much more opportunity culturally in DC right at your fingertips (the DC mall never gets old to me), and all along the east coast.

In Minnesota, you have outdoor beauty that you can enjoy from about May-early October, but winter can be hard especially as you get older. You can start to feel a bit isolated if you want to get to a big city and experience something new, given Chicago is a 6.5 hour drive away.

While the economy is strong in MN, there is much more opportunity for job growth in a wider variety of industries in the DMV. There are so many educated people here from all over the world. In MN there are educated, hard working people, mostly originating from the Midwest.

While it’s cheaper in MN, the income tax is surprisingly high, especially compared to Virginia.

I miss Minnesota dearly and had a wonderful childhood. However looking back I was a little bit naive given my limited worldview growing up in such a homogeneous environment. This upbringing did not serve me well when I was older and left Minnesota.

I am consciously choosing to raise my kids here in the DMV where there is so much more exposure to different opportunities both educationally and culturally. But we do love going back to Minnesota in the summers!

[Anonymous]

Oh this thread! So much truth. My heart is in Michigan, my head is here.

[Anonymous]

I lived in a small town in Wisconsin. It was really effin cold. Like engine block heaters (plug your car in overnight), 4 foot snowdrifts against your front door, and wind chills minus 40. Parking lots filled with snowmobiles in the winter. Ice fishing. Falls filled with rabid deer hunters and Packers fans. Women expected to clean and pickle beans. Summers a little better. Four food groups were: brats, beer, corn, and cheese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pros - just about everything is easier. Grocery stores are bigger and well stocked (and cheaper). Housing is (generally) more plentiful and newer. Traffic is easier. Things are generally less expensive - property taxes, kid activities, car insurance, etc.

Cons - job markets are much smaller. Can be harder to find your social scene if it's a more insular city. The weather is more extreme.

We miss the midwest and would love to go back, but our jobs are here.

This is fairly accurate to the Detroit area where I live now. I was a North Bethesda dweller. The whole area is less intellectual. The vibe is "it's better to be nice than smart". If platitudes like that annoy you, don't move here. Children are less aggressively pushed here (in academics, sports parents are the same everywhere). It's a great suburban lifestyle for normies. I tell people I left the DMV because I couldn't afford the lifestyle I wanted. Here I can afford it with a much lower HHI that's still 90th %ile plus.

I posted above about being in the Detroit area, I wish we could be friends!

Me too, lol. Are you the Grosse Pointer from the U of M threads who knows that Gretchen Whitmer is a Spartan?

You mean the MSU Spartans, which as official university policy, hired a known sexual predator (Nasser) and the President, 'Lying LouAnna' the Sodomite, allowed and encouraged the rape of hundreds of MSU female athletes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

This is not true everywhere in the Midwest as I’m sure you know. I live in a large Midwestern city and hardly ever drive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

This x 1,000,000. I'm an immigrant who moved to Midwest from Eastern Europe in high school. We had 6 (SIX!!!!) foreigners in the high school of 1,500 kids and one black person. I know it's changed now, but believe me when I say I ran to the coasts the first chance I got. People were nice, but extremely uneducated and not-worldly. No fashion, no travel, no world curiosity. Everyone is super into sports and kids get pushed into football or cheerleading early on, school hierarchy therefore was football players and cheerleaders first, and everyone else second. I would NEVER move back. I will move back to Eastern Europe first.

What I like about DMV area - speaking another language at home is normal, every school has international night, embassies, cultural festivals, saturday heritage language schools, smart educated people, ability to live without or with a limited use of a car, biking, architecture, multiple airports.

The Midwest is a large region, and it’s not all like this.

Try Chicago or Minneapolis or Milwaukee—but at all like what you describe. Lots of diversity. Lots of well educated people and plenty of ppl who are worldly and enjoy traveling.