Here's what I don't get about people in the Midwest...

[ExcuseMyIgnorance]

Y'all are so into nature but you wreck it. What do I mean by this? You drive gas guzzling, polluting trucks even to Walmart. Then you litter on the way home after buying a bunch of cheap consumerist crap that'll end up in the dumpster in <1 year. Instead of admiring nature, you cluttering it up by having junk piles all around your house. Whenever Obama does something to help the environment, you say he's a communist. You look down on Prius's even though they are helping the planet in a profound way. You scoff at Tesla even though all-electric is the future (have fun arguing that with me). You eat so much garbage, you can barely even walk outside to appreciate this 'farm/country' lifestyle you 'live'. You spill chemicals on the ground as you work around your hick hobby farm and don't care even though you ARE damaging the environment in a very direct way. You insist on living out in the middle of nowhere even though you have to drive into town every day and thus damaging the environment even further.

You looooove the country life but you're wrecking it. What gives? People from California have far more respect for nature - even if you call them yuppies.

[rennigade]

People from California have far more respect for nature - even if you call them yuppies.

Most of California will be a desert in a couple years...and once the ice caps melt the rest of that state will be submerged. It will be fun cliff diving off of half dome though.

You also need to understand that people in the midwest arent as progressive as the rest of the country. Everything trickles to them...so they get everything last. Meaning their belief systems and innovation. They're at least 30 years behind on how they view the world. Its not their fault. Luckily the internet is slowly changing that. They're becoming much more educated. Religion is slowly creeping out of their culture...which is bringing them closer to 2015.

In the midwest it wouldnt surprise me if they just found out that women are now considered equal to men in almost everything...that gays can now marry (unless you visit kentucky where the one county worker refuses to issue marriage certificates yet she herself has been married 3 different times...what a peach of a christian she is) and that slavery has long ago been abolished.

[ronb]

Freaking fantastic post. A good point, too. I'd like someone to make a serious rebuttal.

[corn18]

Wow. I'm sorry we don't meet your expectations. I would generalize my thoughts on Californians, but that wouldn't matter since I don't live there.

[Spiffster]

Damn... you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, or what? Not all people from the "People in the Midwest" are dually driving, red-neck, fat arses... and not all Californians are environmentalists. Not sure how you came to this conclusion. I used to have a similar mindset, but decided that waking up every day more and more bitter at the world was unproductive and kinda pointless. People will continue to do what they do despite (or in spite) of your attempts to shame them for it.

[FrugalFish]

People from California have far more respect for nature

I have lived in CA for 41 of my 43 years and respectfully disagree. DH's last job was working in remote mountain locations outside of major cities. When the snowfall would come, the elitists from the more costly city (in their large, gas guzzling vehicles) would arrive in droves with their children and little plastic sleds/sliders. When the day was done, DH said there would be tons of garbage, including all the plastic sleds lying on the side of the road. As a pack-it-in-pack-it-out nature enthusiast, it made him sick. Funny that the garbage tossing, over-consumer you describe is something I associate wholly with CA. There are a lot of good people in CA, but there are a lot of entitled elitists who spew a politically correct belief system, but don't follow those standards themselves. Those other 2 years, I lived in the midwest; it's different, but I don't think CA is all that grand or superior by comparison.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Where did you get the word "yuppie"? I don't think I've heard that term since about 1996. You do know an essential part of its meaning has to do with urban living, don't you? It is not about California living.

Tell us again about that sports car you want to own.

[riverwed070707]

Y'all are so into nature but you wreck it. What do I mean by this? You drive gas guzzling, polluting trucks even to Walmart. Then you litter on the way home after buying a bunch of cheap consumerist crap that'll end up in the dumpster in <1 year. Instead of admiring nature, you cluttering it up by having junk piles all around your house. Whenever Obama does something to help the environment, you say he's a communist. You look down on Prius's even though they are helping the planet in a profound way. You scoff at Tesla even though all-electric is the future (have fun arguing that with me). You eat so much garbage, you can barely even walk outside to appreciate this 'farm/country' lifestyle you 'live'. You spill chemicals on the ground as you work around your hick hobby farm and don't care even though you ARE damaging the environment in a very direct way. You insist on living out in the middle of nowhere even though you have to drive into town every day and thus damaging the environment even further.

You looooove the country life but you're wrecking it. What gives? People from California have far more respect for nature - even if you call them yuppies.

Sounds like stereotyped vomit spilling on your keyboard. Have you ever been to the midwest? I've lived here all my life and I travel extensively for work and personal and I can say that I'd take Iowa over California any day. I can guarantee you that any of your major cities are doing far more damage to the environment daily with people commuting an hour+ to and from the city, over used roadways and smog, than my entire state. The less populated areas of California have the same truck driving, gas guzzling, trailer dwelling, hobby farmer hicks we have here. Sure there are plenty of Californians that live and work downtown, ride their bikes everywhere and spend a little more time reducing their footprint but we have the same in our downtowns here where the population is large enough to support the amenities to make that lifestyle possible.

Most of California will be a desert in a couple years...and once the ice caps melt the rest of that state will be submerged. It will be fun cliff diving off of half dome though.

You also need to understand that people in the midwest arent as progressive as the rest of the country. Everything trickles to them...so they get everything last. Meaning their belief systems and innovation. They're at least 30 years behind on how they view the world. Its not their fault. Luckily the internet is slowly changing that. They're becoming much more educated. Religion is slowly creeping out of their culture...which is bringing them closer to 2015.

In the midwest it wouldnt surprise me if they just found out that women are now considered equal to men in almost everything...that gays can now marry (unless you visit kentucky where the one county worker refuses to issue marriage certificates yet she herself has been married 3 different times...what a peach of a christian she is) and that slavery has long ago been abolished.

Obviously you've never been to the midwest either. I think you're confusing us with the south. FWIW, Iowa is one of the most progressive states in the nation. Our politics, especially surrounding the presidential election are watched by the entire nation. It was also the 4th state to legalize gay marriage.

I have lived in CA for 41 of my 43 years and respectfully disagree. DH's last job was working in remote mountain locations outside of major cities. When the snowfall would come, the elitists from the more costly city (in their large, gas guzzling vehicles) would arrive in droves with their children and little plastic sleds/sliders. When the day was done, DH said there would be tons of garbage, including all the plastic sleds lying on the side of the road. As a pack-it-in-pack-it-out nature enthusiast, it made him sick. Funny that the garbage tossing, over-consumer you describe is something I associate wholly with CA. There are a lot of good people in CA, but there are a lot of entitled elitists who spew a politically correct belief system, but don't follow those standards themselves. Those other 2 years, I lived in the midwest; it's different, but I don't think CA is all that grand or superior by comparison.

Ditto. I have a very vivid memory of the first time I saw the LA "river". I've never been more disgusted by the human race in my life. It also made me thankful for the midwest where we haven't turned our natural waterways into concrete channels while simultaneously killing every native species of fish.

[ua_guy]

There's a great author from the Midwest who's books I've thoroughly enjoyed reading. Michael Perry is his name. "Population 485" was a hoot to read and I look forward to picking up more of his works. He might give you a different perspective on life in the Midwest, and the kind of people you might find out there.


I am not from the Midwest, but I've spent a lot of time in California. You clearly have not spent enough time in California. Disrespect for "nature" is a human condition and it exists everywhere, California included.

I'd also wager to say you've never lived on rural property, or had to drive daily in a harsh winter. Sorry, a little Prius or an electric Tesla aren't gonna cut it. But I've towed a few of those little rat cars out of the way when I needed to get to the store (with a truck).

[bjl584]

Y'all are so into nature but you wreck it. What do I mean by this? You drive gas guzzling, polluting trucks even to Walmart. Then you litter on the way home after buying a bunch of cheap consumerist crap that'll end up in the dumpster in <1 year. Instead of admiring nature, you cluttering it up by having junk piles all around your house. Whenever Obama does something to help the environment, you say he's a communist. You look down on Prius's even though they are helping the planet in a profound way. You scoff at Tesla even though all-electric is the future (have fun arguing that with me). You eat so much garbage, you can barely even walk outside to appreciate this 'farm/country' lifestyle you 'live'. You spill chemicals on the ground as you work around your hick hobby farm and don't care even though you ARE damaging the environment in a very direct way. You insist on living out in the middle of nowhere even though you have to drive into town every day and thus damaging the environment even further.

You looooove the country life but you're wrecking it. What gives? People from California have far more respect for nature - even if you call them yuppies.

You sound like you are making some very general, broad, and inaccurate statements. Are you trying to start a debate? Did someone hack your account?

[pflyers85]

This has to be a facetious post because there is no way that someone could be so ignorant. Have you ever experienced the winter in the midwest? Sorry but its going to be impossible to get around the more rural areas of the midwest in a Prius. Also you have to consider the nature of much of the work in the midwest. Its a lot of farming and agriculture. Trucks make this work more efficient and productive. Not all midwestern states are bastions of right wing conservatism. Minnesota is a very progressive midwestern state. Outside of Gov. Walker, so is much of Wisconsin. Illinois, largely because of Chicago is also a very liberal state. Ohio is just about 50/50 red/blue.

[Spiffster]

As a side note, I think the "need" for truck or an SUV in snowy weather is way overblown. People who move here to Colorado automatically think they will need a truck/SUV to get around when it snows, when all they really need is basic driving skills. Perhaps in some rural/remote areas there is a "need", but anywhere around the city, you would be just fine in a regular car. Heck, I drove a RWD BMW for a few years and never had an issue. Actually, with the right tires, a RWD car is better in the snow than FWD... but obviously not as good as AWD or 4WD.

[riverwed070707]

As a side note, I think the "need" for truck or an SUV in snowy weather is way overblown. People who move here to Colorado automatically think they will need a truck/SUV to get around when it snows, when all they really need is basic driving skills. Perhaps in some rural/remote areas there is a "need", but anywhere around the city, you would be just fine in a regular car. Heck, I drove a RWD BMW for a few years and never had an issue. Actually, with the right tires, a RWD car is better in the snow than FWD.

I agree if you're not rural its not a NEED but it sure is nice to have. We have both and I make my commute to work just fine in my honda accord once the roads have been plowed but if we're traveling to our hometown in the winter or the snow is fresh, its always the 4wd. Could we get by without a truck? Maybe but we use it ALL the time. As a landlord we save money on delivery for construction supplies and appliances because we can haul them ourselves, trips to the dump from old cabinets and flooring we've pulled out of places we're renovating are far cheaper than renting a dumpster. We can use our own lawn mower for mowing - without a truck, we'd have to buy one for each property because you couldn't transport it between properties. We have a boat we pull almost every weekend. Lots of uses beyond driving in the snow. I'd have a hard time going back to borrowing or renting a truck every time we needed it.

[FrugalFish]

Ditto. I have a very vivid memory of the first time I saw the LA "river". I've never been more disgusted by the human race in my life. It also made me thankful for the midwest where we haven't turned our natural waterways into concrete channels while simultaneously killing every native species of fish.

Now, now, we don't always turn natural waterways into concrete channels. Sometimes we build housing tracts in them, so we can wonder what went wrong when they flood out in a wet year. Oh how I wish I were kidding...

[JulieAlbright]

Last time I looked, Obama IS from the midwest.



Kind of hard to take a post like that seriously but I actually think you make some good points in terms of damaging lifestyles. I would just say that having lived in the West and the South as well as the Midwest, many of those charges are true for many people well outside of the Midwestern United States.