How diverse is the midwest?

[mom483]

Pizzagirl, how can you call yourself a Chicagoan, especially with that name and not like deep dish pizza? Does not compute. And why the rest of the world doesn't cut their pizza into squares is a mystery to me. That's just the normal way of doing things

[Pizzagirl]

I'm not originally a Chicagoan, I grew up in the east, and my screen name was poorly chosen (referring to a business situation I was in) and I'm really not a big pizza fan. Sorry!!

[bclintonk]

Originally Posted by cobrat

In my comment on this, I specifically cited large urban population centers in the midwest as exceptions to Chinese-Americans being reluctant to relocate to the midwest due to the need for authentic Chinese food.

Was talking about suburban/rural areas far from those centers.

None of the Chinese I knew had any issue relocating to Chicago.

Well, fine, but then your issue is not Northeast versus but Midwest, but urban versus rural/small town. I suspect the Chinese you know in New York would be much more comfortable relocating to Chicago than to Syracuse, Albany, Hartford, New Haven, Providence, Worcester, Portland (ME), Trenton, or Harrisburg. Or even, for that matter, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Washington.

Same on the West Coast. San Francisco, LA, and to some extent Seattle are fine for Chinese immigrants. But to be sent to Fresno, Boise, Salt Lake City, or Albuquerque? A fate worse than death.

Or anyplace in the South? Please.

So here's the problem: as others have said, there's a tendency on the Coasts--especially from the East Coast, but you also get some of it from California--to equate Midwest with small town/rural. But that's just a completely mistaken, geographically illiterate notion. Chicago is the capital and hub of the Midwest, and Chicago is the nation's third-largest urban agglomeration, after New York and LA. It's bigger, more complex, and more diverse than Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, San Francisco, or Seattle; and bigger and more diverse than anyplace in the South. Yes, there are rural areas and small towns in the Midwest, but there are also rural areas and small towns in the Northeast, South, and West.

So just get over your regional stereotyping. It only displays how little you know about this country.

[turbo93]

Unfortunately for us transplanted Midwesterners, there's only one Chicago. And while it is still #1 on my retirement list in a few years I can't help but wonder if financially it will be afloat by then...

[MiamiDAP]

I would never live in Chicago or on either coast. Not exciting for me at all, neither for my H. and one kid. She actually turned down opportunity to be in Chicago for 4 years and one of the (smaller) reasons was the city. Way too windy for our taste. We were walking there for couple days, looking for apartments. Living is very expansive and having a car was not even within any reasonable horizon, did not see a speck of grass anywhere.

[FinanceGrad]

Here is a link to average humidity by state/city in the U.S.

Average Relative Humidity USA

SteveMA - if you notice in the southern states the highest humidity coincides with the hottests times of the year. This creates the muggy effect that many people not from the area have a hard time getting used to. And haven't you been paying attention to this thread? Florida is not part of the south

[mathmom]

Chicago doesn't even make the top ten for windy cities: Interesting United States Weather Facts and Extremes (But Boston does at #9!)

[MiamiDAP]

Does it matter what list city makes? If it is too windy for you or too rainy or too hot or too cold, there is no reason to deal with it unless there is no choice of opportunties (like college, Grad. school, job, family, or whatever else require you to be there).

[mathmom]

Just wondered how long you'd been there? I used to go to Chicago nearly every Thanksgiving and the weather at that time of year certainly isn't going to get any prizes, but it was beautiful and not even a little bit windy when we went to the U of Chicago accepted students weekend. Obviously Chicago is not for everyone, but I was really sorry that my son decided against UC just because it meant I wasn't going to have an excuse to visit!

[MiamiDAP]

^We were in Chicago for 2 days. D. was at her Second Look event, she was inside and stayed with one of current students. She asked us to check apartments. We have checked every single one on the list, very many. We were walking all the time, every building was in walking distance from D's school and one time we waved at her thru the window while walking by. Anyway, it was not comfy. D. said that it would take great adjustment on her part. She ended up going to another school. She is concluding now that she is NOT a city person at all. Neither are we. Growing up in a big city and living there for half of our lives turned us of. We like to sit on a deck and observe trees on our back yard, this is the most entertaining activity, besides having TV on, being on computer (not me) and doing something else at the same time. NYC is very entertaining only from prospective of being with family members. visiting our favorite food places, visiting Pratt backgrounds, some other places (we are there every year, we have our "traditional" spots) but this is it.
So, you have clear personal definition of "exciting" before you decided to live somewhere. Others' "Exciting" might be very far from your "exciting"

[sally305]

Chicago doesn't even make the top ten for windy cities: Interesting United States Weather Facts and Extremes (But Boston does at #9!)

Apparently Chicago's reputation as the "Windy City" has nothing to do with weather. It goes back to the 1800s and alludes to the city's politicians who were "windbags" or "full of hot air."

Having said that, there are plenty of days in Chicago when the wind off the lake or through the canyons of buildings downtown is very noticeable--in the warmer weather it can be refreshing but in the winter it can be pretty uncomfortable.

[mathmom]

^NY can be just as bad along the river in the winter. I just about froze to death sometimes waiting for the bus when I lived there. (Back in the 80s when the subways were awful, now I never use a bus!) Our town has about four tall buildings and has the worst wind at the main downtown intersection - as bad as anything I've experienced anywhere - some strange wind funneling effect.

[CheckersMidwest]

I am right in the middle between Kansas City and Des Moines. i have been to both places and can tell you that BOTH offer a lot. For culture and diverse opportunities, Kansas City comes out a little ahead. Both have theater, concerts, outdoor opportunities, art, etc. kansas City offers more sports (chiefs and royals). Both have a zoo and parks, art festivals, etc. Kansas City offers colleges such as William Jewel, DeVry, UMKC, etc while Des Moines has Drake, AIB, etc. Iowa State is less than an hour north. My personal preference though is Des Moines.

I've been to Chicago. It was fine for what we went for, but I would never live there and have no interest in visiting again. Others love it. Chicago is "midwest" because it's more toward the middle....but it's NORTH.
Kansas City is right smack in the center of the country....north, south,east, & west. That is true midwest.

One big difference, college wise, between Iowa and Missouri is that Iowa does not have A LOT of bigger state colleges. Iowa has Iowa State and University of Iowa. otherwise it's smaller schools ("private") like Drake, Graceland, etc and several 2 year schools.

missouri has big public 4 year colleges such as Northwest Mo State, Missouri Western, Truman, university Missouri(main campus in Columbia but also in Boliver,St Louis, and Kansas City), Southwest Mo State, Central State, and more. It has a lot of smaller private colleges too.

If the original poster is looking for a more diverse college opportunity in an area with a lot to do and still be in the midwest, I recommend looking into those. They are located in towns from mid size to metropolitin. There are a lot of cultural opportunities in the midwest if you're willing to travel a little.

[cobrat]

So just get over your regional stereotyping. It only displays how little you know about this country.

If you looked at my previous comments, I did state that it was more of a rural/urban divide and that I've acknowledged that there are parts of the mid-Atlantic/NE which were just as/worse in the diversity department than parts of the Midwest...such as upstate NY and central Pennsylvania.

[mompop]

My D passed on the opportunity to attend Northwestern Univ. which was the perfect fit in every way. We visited 2 times and she did not feel she could live in a town that was soooo cold. The wind/breeze off of the lake was bitterly cold. On one of the visits it was about 50 degrees and we were bundled up. Our tour guide was wearing shorts and a button down shirt and seemed fine. She might've gotten accustomed to the weather, but she decided she wasn't quite that tough. It's a shame, I think she would've loved everything else about it.