How do you define the Midwest?

[Flint1979]

For Arkansas, I have only been to that state three times. I entered from Missouri on I-55 and thought that area around there felt Midwestern to me, once I got to the outskirts of Memphis and onto Little Rock I started feeling like I was in the South. I think of it as being in the South but not the Deep South like I already said in a previous post but the NE corner feels Midwestern. And as far as Missouri goes that's Midwestern for sure. The part out by Springfield and Joplin feels more like a combination of Oklahoma, Missouri itself and Kansas.

[JayhawkCO]

For Arkansas, I have only been to that state three times. I entered from Missouri on I-55 and thought that area around there felt Midwestern to me, once I got to the outskirts of Memphis and onto Little Rock I started feeling like I was in the South. I think of it as being in the South but not the Deep South like I already said in a previous post but the NE corner feels Midwestern. And as far as Missouri goes that's Midwestern for sure. The part out by Springfield and Joplin feels more like a combination of Oklahoma, Missouri itself and Kansas.

Sure, but then get down by Thayer/West Plains and Missouri is more like West Virginia.

[JayhawkCO]

Saw this on Twitter. If you had to divide the country up with three straight lines...

[kphoger]

Dude, that's . . . well . . . now, hold on . . . that's actually not bad!

[JayhawkCO]

Dude, that's . . . well . . . now, hold on . . . that's actually not bad!

That's what I thought too. Western Maryland being the South? Check. Southern Illinois and Missouri being the South? Check. There's always nuance, but for three straight lines, I don't think you can do much better.

[kphoger]

I'd personally slant the West line a bit to the southeast-northwest, but leave the point of intersection the same.  So the north end of the line would be near the MT/ND border, and the south end would be farther down the Rio Grande.  But that's about it.

[JayhawkCO]

I'd personally slant the West line a bit to the southeast-northwest, but leave the point of intersection the same.  So the north end of the line would be near the MT/ND border, and the south end would be farther down the Rio Grande.  But that's about it.

I could be amenable to that as well. Eastern Montana, as we've discussed could be Midwestern. It would probably make Sterling, CO in the Midwest which isn't unreasonable. And something like Ozona, TX could be in the West.

[jlam]

I would probably put all of Colorado's High Plains (east of Limon but north of I-70) in the Midwest, but using the straight lines, that would put part of New Mexico in the South, which it is most assuredly not.

[JayhawkCO]

As always, it's more about how people from a certain place define themselves than outside opinions.

[Plutonic Panda]

It depends on how many parts you want to chop the country into.

AK and FL are different, and they're both in the South.

South Florida seems to be a completely different animal in its own.

[Rothman]

As always, it's more about how people from a certain place define themselves than outside opinions.

Meh.  Census got it right. 

[Plutonic Panda]

As always, it's more about how people from a certain place define themselves than outside opinions.

Meh.  Census got it right. 

Colorado having 42 percent of people thinking they're in the Midwest? What kind of Crack are they smoking? Oklahoma is also in a very weird spot that I just like to refer to as being an extension of texas and texas to me is it's own thing entirely. Everything else pretty much falls into place with South Florida being an anomaly as well.

[epzik8]

As always, it's more about how people from a certain place define themselves than outside opinions.

Meh.  Census got it right. 

Colorado having 42 percent of people thinking they're in the Midwest? What kind of Crack are they smoking? Oklahoma is also in a very weird spot that I just like to refer to as being an extension of texas and texas to me is it's own thing entirely. Everything else pretty much falls into place with South Florida being an anomaly as well.

Eastern Colorado is flat...

[JayhawkCO]

As always, it's more about how people from a certain place define themselves than outside opinions.

Meh.  Census got it right. 

Colorado having 42 percent of people thinking they're in the Midwest? What kind of Crack are they smoking? Oklahoma is also in a very weird spot that I just like to refer to as being an extension of texas and texas to me is it's own thing entirely. Everything else pretty much falls into place with South Florida being an anomaly as well.

Eastern Colorado is flat...

But certainly 42% of the population doesn't live in the flat, flat part. (Denver is pretty flat, but I don't think that's what you were talking about.)

[Big John]

As always, it's more about how people from a certain place define themselves than outside opinions.

Meh.  Census got it right. 

Colorado having 42 percent of people thinking they're in the Midwest? What kind of Crack are they smoking? Oklahoma is also in a very weird spot that I just like to refer to as being an extension of texas and texas to me is it's own thing entirely. Everything else pretty much falls into place with South Florida being an anomaly as well.

They are more marijuana.

[jlam]

Maybe the people in CO, ID, MT, and WY were a little confused. They are in the middle of the west, after all (but most certainly not in the midwest).

The Tennesseans, however, are trolling.

[SEWIGuy]

As always, it's more about how people from a certain place define themselves than outside opinions.

I would love to see how Ohio breaks down. My guess is there is a line, roughly along the I-77 corridor, that separates the Ohioans who think they are in the east from the Ohioans who think they are in the midwest.

[JayhawkCO]

I would bet it's a line marking 40 miles away from West Virginia or less.

[webny99]

As always, it's more about how people from a certain place define themselves than outside opinions.

[img snipped]

I would love to see how Ohio breaks down. My guess is there is a line, roughly along the I-77 corridor, that separates the Ohioans who think they are in the east from the Ohioans who think they are in the midwest.

I can say with a high degree of certainty that there are very few Ohioans who consider themselves to be from the East (or Northeast). Southern OH is pretty much the anti-Northeast. The 22% who don't consider themselves Midwestern are probably split between Great Lakes/Ohio Valley/Rust Belt/Appalachia.

[Rothman]

Ohioans should consider themselves left lane blockers.

[Mr_Northside]

Ohioans should consider themselves left lane blockers.

Maybe they do.... proudly.

[Road Hog]

The 27% in Arkansas saying so, are likely the ones in NWA who have long been focused more toward Kansas City and Tulsa as accessible cities. Until just before the turn of the century there was no direct interstate link between NWA and Little Rock. The Boston Mountains are formidable for travel, so there are perhaps large populations in other towns that feel separated from the southern part.

(Well, maybe not Harrison )