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Chicago: Thank You, Midwest!

6K views 66 replies 18 participants last post by  JivecitySTL 
#1 ·
j;j @ down on your knees and thank the Lord above (or whomever we happen to believe in in our blue states) for the Middle West. Now. And everyday.

The Midwest: our salvation, the source of so much of our greatness, the buffer that protects us from what lies without.

Am I serious? Damned right I am.

If Chicago were on either coast, it would be overrun by people who just check in and check out. We would not be nearly in control of our own destiny as we are in the heart of the Midwest. Boston, NY, Philly, and DC play off of each other on the northeast corridor. The megalopolis, at times, overwhelms the city.

Not in Chicago. An island of a city, but a hugely important island, Chicago gets to keep power and identity.

There is a secret about the Midwest. We know it; many outsiders don’t. It can be a totally cool region to live in. What don’t outsiders know (and I may regret telling them):

• the midwest has terrific rolling and hilly scenery: Vermont like in Browns County, complete with covered bridges and blazing fall colors.

• the midwest is downright coastal. How about Michigan? Rocky and roughed, Cape Cod-like around Mackinac with beaches in Harbor Country that could put many in FLA to shame

• history...well, not colonial, but American. St. Louis speaks more about the might of the US spreading across the continent than Boston ever could. How about Galena. 1830’s and still in tact....and sorry, folks, in European eyes, 1830 is about as old as 1776 and 1607.....and all 3 are old to us. And US

• cool, sophisticated and liberal college towns? If Ann Arbor and Madison aren’t among the best nationally, which ones are?

• you want the super rich and the movers and the shakers? I have no doubt that Lake Geneva can give Newport a run for its money

• great resorts? plenty in Michigan, Wisconsin, elsewhere. The Grand Hotel in Macinack is a national treasure. Harbor Country and Door County provide resorts that are outstanding

In other words, a complete, whole, livable and lovable region. A lot more like Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania than it is with Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.

Chicago has plenty of places nearby, just a short car trip away, that are terrific. And if that weren’t enough, it’s pretty easy to fly off to further and perhaps more dramatic locales. I don’t know if you heard it or not, but we do have airplanes landing in Chicago these days. And when we return to O'Hare afterwards, we're pretty happy to be back in the midwest.
 
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#2 ·
I don't know how I managed to get this one so screwed up at the start, but let's give it another try...

******************

Chicago: get down on your knees and thank the Lord above (or whomever we happen to believe in in our blue states) for the Middle West. Now. And everyday.

The Midwest: our salvation, the source of so much of our greatness, the buffer that protects us from what lies without.

Am I serious? Damned right I am.

If Chicago were on either coast, it would be overrun by people who just check in and check out. We would not be nearly in control of our own destiny as we are in the heart of the Midwest. Boston, NY, Philly, and DC play off of each other on the northeast corridor. The megalopolis, at times, overwhelms the city.

Not in Chicago. An island of a city, but a hugely important island, Chicago gets to keep power and identity.

There is a secret about the Midwest. We know it; many outsiders don’t. It can be a totally cool region to live in. What don’t outsiders know (and I may regret telling them):

• the midwest has terrific rolling and hilly scenery: Vermont like in Browns County, complete with covered bridges and blazing fall colors.

• the midwest is downright coastal. How about Michigan? Rocky and roughed, Cape Cod-like around Mackinac with beaches in Harbor Country that could put many in FLA to shame

• history...well, not colonial, but American. St. Louis speaks more about the might of the US spreading across the continent than Boston ever could. How about Galena. 1830’s and still in tact....and sorry, folks, in European eyes, 1830 is about as old as 1776 and 1607.....and all 3 are old to us. And US

• cool, sophisticated and liberal college towns? If Ann Arbor and Madison aren’t among the best nationally, which ones are?

• you want the super rich and the movers and the shakers? I have no doubt that Lake Geneva can give Newport a run for its money

• great resorts? plenty in Michigan, Wisconsin, elsewhere. The Grand Hotel in Macinack is a national treasure. Harbor Country and Door County provide resorts that are outstanding

In other words, a complete, whole, livable and lovable region. A lot more like Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania than it is with Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.

Chicago has plenty of places nearby, just a short car trip away, that are terrific. And if that weren’t enough, it’s pretty easy to fly off to further and perhaps more dramatic locales. I don’t know if you heard it or not, but we do have airplanes landing in Chicago these days. And when we return to O'Hare afterwards, we're pretty happy to be back in the midwest.
 
#3 ·
I don't think Chicago owes anything to the midwest just as the midwest owes nothing to Chicago. Chicago and the midwest created each other in an intimate balance of economic properity where the farmers and loggers cleared the land and chicago provided them a place to hawk their wares. Chicago and the midwest grew in mutual harmony not in spite of each other.
 
#4 ·
Suburbanite said:
I don't think Chicago owes anything to the midwest just as the midwest owes nothing to Chicago. Chicago and the midwest created each other in an intimate balance of economic properity where the farmers and loggers cleared the land and chicago provided them a place to hawk their wares. Chicago and the midwest grew in mutual harmony not in spite of each other.
suburbanite, i realize that. what i was really trying to say is that chicago has benefitted enormously from its midwestern location. the region, of course, benefitted greatly, as well. chicago was always key as the middle man connecting the midwest with the east. and chicago is one of the key factors in this being one of america's most unified regions. there was an old line that you could tell the boundaries of the midwest by finding the line between places where you could buy the Chicago Tribune and where you couldn't.

My post was more of reminder to us that the midwest is a lot more of a blessing to us than we sometimes realize. i'm not about to send Millenium Park to Peoria or Navy Pier to Cleveland in gratitude.
 
#5 ·
Yeah, but the downside is that to get to another great city, we have to fly somewhere. We can't just hop on the train and take a daytrip to NYC like somebody from Philly can, even if that city is overwhelmed by its larger neighbor.

Frankly I'm not a huge fan of the Midwest as a region, but I'll leave it at that.
 
#6 ·
edsg25 said:
There is a secret about the Midwest. We know it; many outsiders don’t. It can be a totally cool region to live in. What don’t outsiders know (and I may regret telling them):

• the midwest has terrific rolling and hilly scenery: Vermont like in Browns County, complete with covered bridges and blazing fall colors.

• the midwest is downright coastal. How about Michigan? Rocky and roughed, Cape Cod-like around Mackinac with beaches in Harbor Country that could put many in FLA to shame
Here is aguably some of the best scenery in the Midwest:







And a few pics of my own:









Yup, that is the midwest.
 
#10 ·
Suburbanite said:
I would have to guess, the shores of Lake Superior perhaps on the Wisconsin side.
Close. It's the north shore of Lake Superior. The Wisconsin side doesn't have cliffs like that.

The Minnesota and Ontario shores of Lake Superior have the sawtooth "mountains" rising up from the shore, that's why there are so many waterfalls on the north shore.
 
#12 ·
That last pic is on the border! I've been there before. And the lighthouse.

It is nice, eh? The Norwester Moutains along the border were volcanoes, billions of years ago. Now they're huge mesas. The Northeast shore is also like that, but the cliffs are father away from the lake than in the North and west.

Here is pic from the Canadain side


Don't let the cliffs and boreal forests fool you though, the north shore has it's share of farmland as well. ;)
 
#13 ·
Chi-town said:
Yeah, but the downside is that to get to another great city, we have to fly somewhere. We can't just hop on the train and take a daytrip to NYC like somebody from Philly can, even if that city is overwhelmed by its larger neighbor.

Frankly I'm not a huge fan of the Midwest as a region, but I'll leave it at that.
MILWAUKEE! Its only a 1.5 hr drive, heh. :)
 
#14 ·
vid said:
Don't let the cliffs and boreal forests fool you though, the north shore has it's share of farmland as well. ;)
It does? I've never seen any in the north shore area of Minnesota, the area doesn't seen condusive to farming, with all of the hills and rocky soil. There might be a field here and there, but nothing like the acres of corn fields that you'll see in southern Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. I've been all over the north shore in Minnesota, and all I've seen are lakes, rivers, extremely dense forest, bogs, and rocks.

Speaking of boreal forests, did you know that Minnesota's arrowhead area is the only area in the lower 48 states that is a boreal forest?
 
#15 ·
vid said:
That last pic is on the border! I've been there before. And the lighthouse.
This pic?


This has to be one of the most amazing views in the midwest, if not the most amazing. It looks like it could be the ocean, except that the lake is too calm. I'm sure it really looks like the ocean during a storm.
 
#17 ·
No, the last waterfall pic. I't on pigeon river. i'll post another pic of it..


High Falls, on pigeon river. Actually, it might not be the same one.. They all look alike.

Even Kakabeka Falls, the tallest of all the waterfall in Northern Ontario (as far as we know, there could be some in places that have yet to be surveyed properly)



And another one from minnesota.

Split Rock Lighthouse

If you're interesting, here are some more pics from Northwestern Ontario and Northerm Minnesota mainly Omtario tyhough, cause it's a Canadain site. Still the midwest though.
 
#20 ·
The midwest is gorgeous. Thanks for the scenery and industry.

No thanks for places like Ohio and Indiana, though. Get a clue, guys, you're spending fuckin $2 per gallon to drive your annoying SUV like an ass just to buy a gallon of milk or go to work. Try supporting a train system instead of voting for another round of bombing innocent Iraqis while taking your family to Church in the morning.

My feelings about the midwest? Mixed, at best..
 
#21 ·
No thanks for places like Ohio and Indiana, though. Get a clue, guys, you're spending fuckin $2 per gallon to drive your annoying SUV like an ass just to buy a gallon of milk or go to work. Try supporting a train system instead of voting for another round of bombing innocent Iraqis while taking your family to Church in the morning.

Tell that to every state in the country. Everybody had votes for Bush and Kerry. Ohio went 51/49. Thus, 49% of us don't need to hear your rhetoric. But alas, I keep an open-mind, unlike others...
 
#23 ·
Well, even those parts of the midwest (Ohio, Chicago, etc.) have a beautiful aspect. I prefer the northern untouched beauty of North Ontario and Minnesota though. Remember, Bush only won Ohio by a bit, just because the entire state is now republican because of that, doesn't mean all of them are. There's lots of great people in Ohio. Well, I assume there is :p

SUVs have no place in Chicago or Ohio. If you want to live in the midwest and use an SUV, come up to northern Superior area. We have alot of places they'd probably like to see up here, and an SUV would be the best way to taravel. Even in the city, the roads here are nothing to brag about. But larger cities don't need them.
 
#24 · (Edited)
sharptent said:
i like the midwest.

even the red states.

seriously.
I hate all red states.


vid touches on a good point. There are at least 3 distinct regions within the "Midwest" that are vastly different from each other...


Plains states (KS, IA, NE, SD, ND):

Huge, boring, Republican, largely Bible belt, lacking major cities or anything much of interest (last one's an opinion, so leave it alone if you disagree). Basically serve to produce grain.


Farmbelt (all or most of MN, WI, IL, MO, IN, MI, OH):

Rural, heavily farmed, more scenic than the Plains with many small towns, and slightly more heavily populated. Vary from moderate to conservative politically.


Great Lakes (small geographic region encompassing greater Milwaukee, greater Chicago, northwest Indiana, greater Detroit, northern Ohio, southern Ontario, western tip of New York state):

The 19th century "rust belt" of heavily industrial urban trade centers, with legacies of huge immigrant populations, strong organized labor, and more left of center politics. This is the part of the Midwest that's much like the Northeast, but not quite as old.


It's hard to make generalizations about the region as a whole.
 
#26 ·
Chi-town said:
I hate all red states.


vid touches on a good point. There are at least 3 distinct regions within the "Midwest" that are vastly different from each other...


Plains states (KS, IA, NE, SD, ND):

Huge, boring, Republican, largely Bible belt, lacking major cities or anything much of interest (last one's an opinion, so leave it alone if you disagree). Basically serve to produce grain.


Farmbelt (all or most of MN, WI, IL, MO, IN, MI, OH):

Rural, heavily farmed, more scenic than the Plains with many small towns, and slightly more heavily populated. Vary from moderate to conservative politically.


Great Lakes (small geographic region encompassing greater Milwaukee, greater Chicago, northwest Indiana, greater Detroit, northern Ohio, southern Ontario, western tip of New York state):

The 19th century "rust belt" of heavily industrial urban trade centers, with legacies of huge immigrant populations, strong organized labor, and more left of center politics. This is the part of the Midwest that's much like the Northeast, but not quite as old.


It's hard to make generalizations about the region as a whole.
^are these actual divisions or did you make these up?
 
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