Why America Needs The Midwest

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[@SomethingDifferentFilms]

Thank you for watching my video on the Midwest comeback, if you would like me to talk about a specific city, state, or region in a future video- please let me know here.

[@greywolf845]

Upstate New York, Vermont/New Hampshire region, Alaska, Appalachia, Great Lakes and St.Lawrence region

[@SomethingDifferentFilms]

Thank you Grey Wolf these are great places for future content

[@papaicebreakerii8180]

I think a video on the northeast would be dope

[@poseidon928]

Pacific Northwest, Tennessee/Nashville, or overseas US territories like Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Guam would be interesting.

[@SomethingDifferentFilms]

Thank you, I definitely need to address the North East more directly

[@ryanvandy1615]

The Midwest and Great Lakes Region are severely underrated when the subject of relocation comes up. Not to mention the vast supply of fresh water.

[@SomethingDifferentFilms]

Absolutely, the Great Lakes portion of the Midwest is a major factor for the regions future success.

[@voltage80x]

Lakes not for sale, y’all get your own water lol

[@jamminjimmie211]

I tasted the water when I was visiting Lombard, IL and I felt like I was drinking piss. Water's plentiful in the midwest but in some areas it's not pleasant to drink.

[@Kemet3.0]

@@jamminjimmie211 They actually suck it up from underground water??? Then process it, not the top layers.

[@thegmanpaints]

Missouri is called the Cave state! come, please, find a cave....do something cool with it. we have lakes too=

[@justindavis7928]

I hope everyone watching this in the Midwest (Iowa here) joins me in supporting regional rail - high speed rail alliance, rewilding- regenerative agriculture, and strong towns movement. We can support people but we have to heal our land and cities and reconnect our people with public spaces and transit networks.

[@Poisson4147]

That's one of the things that opponents of long-distance trains utterly (and maybe deliberately) ignore. OF COURSE people don't ride most routes end to end, but a lot of them take intermediate trips between smaller cities and towns. LD routes should be the backbone of regional connections. My usual response is to ask the naysayers how many people drive I-95 from Maine to Florida versus how many use it for trips between closer cities. If end-to-end travel were the only criterion, the naysayers would say the road should be dynamited.

[@jerichogonzales1290]

Littorally running for county commission in west Michigan on this issue. For the region to flourish we have got to link up our infrastructure and populations. Rail would stitch the lakeshore into a large and robust community. But I think we can all agree that Chicago is the best place for a central hub. At least at first.

[@MrEddieoutrageous]

Detroit here and I'm down with you. Biggest challenge is people. Cars were born here, people and their generations re used to it. Not saying it can't change but the mass transit idea [at least] here in Detroit is like a cardinal sin. Ford, GM, and Stellantis has it on lock. Gotta say I love cars though 🤷‍♂

[@davidkermes376]

i have lived and worked in several suburbs between two large cities. the "master planners" have spent thirty or forty years trying to convert a highway to an express way exclusively for those two cities, with no access for intervening communities. this is the narrow kind of thinking that kills cities, suburbs and rural areas that in reality depend on interaction between each other to survive.@@Poisson4147

[@stephanimeyers9570]

Yes how though?! I'm shocked there is no federal push for mass transit considering the climate crisis. Meanwhile Asia and Europe have had high speed rail for decades.

[@robertgronewold3326]

I think the only long term fear I have is too many people moving into the Midwest in the near future. I'm from Iowa, and we are already starting to see the beginnings of land buyouts. You have developers buying up valuable farmland to make housing developments, and it's driving up the cost of the land significantly, to the point where only big corporate farmers can get the land. And at the end of the day, agriculture is eternally the most important industry, because there is not a human on this earth that can get away with not eating food.

[@jacques8823]

I hate to be the one that teaches you this, but Iowa is not experiencing a large enough population boom to have that type of housing crisis. America is for sale, black rocks owns majority of real estate in America, all those homes are being bought at a loss so that they can be sold to mega corporations. The goal is to strip private citizen ownership of land. That includes farms and homes.

[@robertgronewold3326]

@@jacques8823 I wasn't talking about NOW, I was talking about the near future. You know, a decade from now, two. As the coasts become too costly or climately difficult to live on, people are going to move inland, and Iowa has some pretty damned affordable housing and cost of living.

[@user-fs9mv8px1y]

Building out into farms I've always considered as a incredibility short sighted practice. Building denser cities is both more efficient and better for economics. Cities and states need to put a lot more restrictions on development like that

[@redskinjim]

you are correct in a few years i want to move to aimes before the last of the cheap housing in the country is gone. I wanted to go to Idaho but the recent surge in housing makes that impossible i am afraid that i may be to late @@robertgronewold3326

[@pmpowalisz]

⁠@user-fs9mv8px1y You are absolutely right, but good luck convincing the short sighted and “free market economy” obsessed Republicans of that (as well as the shortsighted citizens who keep voting them in).

[@CMVBrielman]

A key advantage of the US is that it has so many different regions that are all very easy to get to (relative to how far away they are from each other) so that there’s always some part that is booming and some part that is declining. So, a region to push the overall economy and a region incentivized to figure out “what are we doing wrong?”

[@FreedomTalkMedia]

Imagine being stuck in some small country where if the economy goes bad, you just have to suffer because it's difficult to move across international lines.

[@thedirtybubble9613]

As someone from Florida, the Midwest is underlooked and that's a good thing. Most people fleeing Florida are going to nearby states like Georgia, Texas and the Carolinas. If I ever escape Florida I will be going to the Midwest because it's still sort of affordable and best of all no hurricanes.

[@greywolf845]

As in, the crazies can go for the current next best6 thing, we can look long term

[@SomethingDifferentFilms]

Literally the most affordable region of the U.S, and some Midwest cities have excellent amenities.

[@overundersidewaysdown]

Why would you want to "escape" Florida? It's great here.

[@thedirtybubble9613]

@@overundersidewaysdown Climate change being one.

[@overundersidewaysdown]

@@thedirtybubble9613 "climate change " The global brainwashing continues.

[@savagewaifu4694]

As someone who escaped Phoenix Arizona and living in Ohio this video basically highlighted all the reasons I moved.

[@logandodson1484]

Me, too

[@diodelvino3048]

I was actually looking at Arizona potentially moving out of Florida. Whats wrong with Phoenix?? Too expensive?

[@savagewaifu4694]

@@diodelvino3048 It's expensive, very hot and it's gotten dirty and there is a lot of traffic.

[@iattacku2773]

@@savagewaifu4694don’t forget all the junkies and hobos. I currently live in Phoenix.

[@bigthoughts2644]

Did you bring your democrat fuckery too or leave that behind to continue to make what makes the midwest great stay great?

[@justanothermichigander4683]

As someone who was born in Minnesota, but raised near Detroit during the Great Recession and currently lives in small town Michigan, people always underestimate the state of Michigan. Are there rough patches? Yes, absolutely. But there’s tons of natural beauty all over, friendly people, and manufacturing in the East and agriculture in the West, a lot of which is connected by brand new highway systems. Don’t count out the midwest

[@nicolesmrekar2046]

Im the opposite, born and raised in Detroit and now I live in St Paul!

[@TD-ug4mg]

everything from flint and east and Saginaw and south are a blight on the state that drag the state down.

[@Barbershoppod]

@@nicolesmrekar2046nice! I lived in Saint Paul. How do you like it?

[@ryanfoster6926]

According to this guys own video mapping, the Upper Peninsula isn't even part of the Midwest. Underestimating Michigan seems to be endemic.

[@ronv6637]

Michigan and Ohio had huge amounts of industry before NAFTA shafted the US

[@catherineobrien6223]

What concerns me is the sale of Midwest farm land to large Chinese corporations. My fear is loss of our food source to a country that hates America. You hear very little about this issue.

[@Dave-yw2wc]

Don't forget Bill Gates. He owns so much farm land now, much of it in Nebraska.

[@sasildapearce9008]

I share your concern. The Chinese are buying up a LOT of land in this country. How are we letting this happen???

[@kbrewski1]

Good point. The right wing Republicans that now run Missouri government are selling huge amounts of farmland to China and there is not enough outrage about this. Its pathetic.

[@ssssaa2]

Dude it's land. The Chinese can't exactly take it... if the US had to it could just ban exports or something and keep everything they produce.

[@oldskolacura9798]

Or the chemicals they use on the crops

[@DavidinSLO]

The best part of the Midwest is THE PEOPLE. ❤ from California

[@RareGenXer]

I think the brutally hot summer of 2023 in the western and southern US, not to mention lack of water and frequent hurricanes may finally start giving people who have flocked to the desert and deep south some pause. Personally I love our Midwest and Great Lakes summers! We can actually be outside during the long days instead of spending them in cold air conditioned building. Winter is cold and snowy (sometimes brutally so), but great "hunker in" time with a fire during the short days and long nights.

[@csnide6702]

desert* ...... not apple cobbler.......

[@soil-play]

Except for the fact that large portions of the western Midwest including most of southern Wisconsin are experiencing severe to extreme drought in 2023.

[@mrbr549]

I don't know where in the Midwest you live, but here in Illinois most people do spend their home time indoors in the a/c except for early mornings and late evenings. Temperatures in the high nineties and very high humidity levels make being outside for any reason miserable. Very high gas, food, and some of the highest real estate tax in the country don't help either.

[@Heavywall70]

@@mrbr549I’m from Texas working in Illinois. Coming up north always makes me appreciate my beautifully huge state. Yes it’s hot, ya get used to it. Yes the cost of living is on average low, as well as blue collar wages being high as hell, ya get used to that too. No income tax, short winters, and amazing food don’t hurt either. It’s literally always sunny in Texas.

[@SincerelyFromStephen]

@@Heavywall70nothing will ever get me used to weeks of 100+ degree days. AC can’t fix that

[@Theaqwert11]

Pretty surprising that the second largest metropolitan area in the Midwest by economic activity, the Twin Cities, wasn't even mentioned (not to mention the snubbing of Mayo Clinic in favor of the Cleveland Clinic)... Don't think this guy knows Minnesota exists

[@namegoeshere1]

The whole video was poorly researched and edited. I had the same exact thoughts.

[@SoupyMittens]

Man nobody knows minnesota exists

[@jamesl1806]

Southern Canada?

[@CJW0056]

Yea I was thinking about the Mayo clinic when he said Cleveland clinic, we came up there from Arkansas and that place is amazing

[@EDunn21]

Ohio resident here - I have been saying a lot of this for a long time. Ohio has a low cost of living, basically no natural disasters, will be relatively unaffected by climate change, has a growing and increasingly diversified economy, among many other factors. There are many good universities in Ohio and the surrounding states as you mentioned as well. It is probably quite boring compared to places like NYC, LA, Miami etc. but as I look around the country and see the rising cost of living everywhere (including here to a lesser degree), more frequent and extreme climate events, and issues like water scarcity in other parts of the country, I don't see why I would leave the Midwest. The media always paints the Midwest as poor with rotting infrastructure and few opportunities, but year after year there are improvements.

[@Sapwolf]

I love living in Ohio and leaving the water tap ON. CA, my home state, sucks when it comes to the water industry/markets. In Ohio, it rains in summer and the air is so darn clean and refreshing. Love it!

[@nicolesmrekar2046]

Yea, but I left Ohio for Minnesota where the same job type went from paying me 18 to 35 an hour, so theres nothing to hype up Ohio on.

[@VideoDotGoogleDotCom]

It's just the coldness... I live more than 60 degrees north, and I'm sick and tired of the coldness. However, I live by the sea, so the winters here aren't much colder than, say, in Ohio. Didn't use to bother me that much when I was younger, but I can't stand it anymore. I get why people move to south, even though many things suck ass there.

[@thedirtybubble9613]

I'm a former Miami resident. Please, it sucks there now. Florida as a whole sucks now because it's overpopulated, dirty, rude and has hurricanes.

[@thedirtybubble9613]

@@Sapwolf Everything is green in Ohio in the summer time too. It is a very green, lush state. I even went up there in the winter one year (Cincinnati) and the grass is still beautiful and green. I think I saw some Kentucky blue grass in that region of the state.

[@lukedornon7799]

I would personally find it hilarious if the Midwest can get high-speed rail networks linking the major metros sooner than California

[@LiamMcBride]

I’d love to see it happen, when midwesterners agree to get things done they get done quickly

[@loganleroy8622]

They actually could probably do it faster if they wanted to. It's mostly flat so building the rail line should be pretty straightforward and there's less infrastructure between the cities to have to work around. Imagine if you could connect Omaha, Des Moines, KC, STL, Chicago, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati by HSR.

[@LiamMcBride]

@@loganleroy8622 I’d ride it quite a bit maybe add stops in Iowa City/Coralville and other towns but with slightly less service to those places while continuing to serve the larger cities frequently

[@ShermanMark1]

I would really love to beat Cail to that.

[@cassidy_c]

not hsr but recently they started running trains at 110 mph from chicago to st. louis

[@devinleonarduzzi]

Why is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan left off of these Midwest area outlines? Half of Michigan is missing! 😳

[@citylimits8927]

That exclusion of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was the one really big mistake in this video.

[@bruceh4180]

Agreed, it was very irritating.

[@jeffreyhancks279]

The arrow pointing to Indianapolis at 1:30 isn't so great, either.

[@ShellymanStudios]

That's why the upper Peninsula needs to be its own State.

[@embodythejotun]

I feel it's likely the creator hasn't actually been to the midwest. Not that you have to in order to make a video about it, but several things stood out that made it seem likely.

[@joeym5243]

Another important factor is how the midwest (specifically the grea plains region) has a significant ammount of the USA's potential renewable energy sources inside it, and could very well be the nations future energy capital.

[@ShermanMark1]

Yeah, lots of places in my Area inside Ohio has gotten bought out by A Solor Farm for Arizona.

[@sargentthiccboi9333]

There’s even huge ethanol plants here

[@huwinner2428]

Minneapolite here with no intention of leaving. I work for a very large company involved in mining and infrastructure design. The Minneapolis office was really just a backwater last year - about 12 of us. We've pretty much doubled that, myself being one of the new hires, in the past year. The plan for the next several years is to increase the office to 200 people. The midwest is seeing SO much new investment in resource extraction and infrastructure development. Minneapolis is also a delta hub - I can get anywhere in the continental USA with just a 3 hour flight. It's incredilby affordable and Minneapolis is adding so much housing. We have our problems, and we're working to solve them and investing in our future. Thank you for this wonderful video.

[@cassidy_c]

went on a recent visit to minneapolis and one of the things that stood out to me was how much of the city was new, expecially the transit system and all the new developments

[@wayneanderson8034]

The thing i like most about the Midwest, the people are real. They are not personable. They often find it strange that a stranger is speaking to them. I am a full time traveler, the highway is my home & I don't belong anywhere. So I will talk to anyone anywhere. But I find Midwestern people are brutally honest once you get them talking, something not true in the South. In the South, people only want to know, "are you in my tribe? Or out? Because if you are in, I will treat you like gold. But if you are out, I will treat you like a pagan heathen". In the Midwest, people treat everyone the same, even people they don't like. I find that heartwarming & fuzzy.

[@KristNi]

Which part of the south? Lol. This sounds ridiculous 😂

[@titanicisshit1647]

So you're a full time traveler and you like that people don't want to speak to you, interesting

[@kristopherjazz9295]

I currently live in South Carolina and will say the people here hold a very strong bias. The whole “are you my tribe or not” vibe is very real here. That being said I have to also state that there have been some excellent people along the way here .. my conclusion is that it’s a mixed bag. I truly blame media and politics for polarizing Americans into this tribal thinking.

[@kristopherjazz9295]

@@FTBAFT you nailed it. I’m currently living in Spartanburg. I’m Hispanic and from NY and right off the bat I deal with the bias. I would love to see more diversity come this way but it will take another 5 years plus the people here are already sour with the way change has been happening here

[@thedirtybubble9613]

I live in the South. And you are correct to some degree. The people here will pretend to be nice to you but then the very next day say something behind your back. It is a phony culture I agree.

[@citylimits8927]

One question: On your maps, why did you include Michigan's Lower Peninsula, but exclude Michigan's Upper Peninsula, which is just as much a part of the Midwest as the lower? (I lived there for 4 years.) That aside, thanks for defending the American Midwest as a whole. The occasionally dreary and tempestuous winters and lack of balmy year-around conditions or high mountains for skiing mask innumerable advantages for living in the Midwest. We have all of the water that we need, we still have a massive talent base, numerous reputable universities, and the cost of living, while not always dirt cheap, is better than many areas of the country. And just in Michigan alone (both Lower and Upper Peninsulas), there are innumerable beautiful sights to see. As with Wisconsin, Ohio, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and the other regional states.

[@tomcollins5112]

I was wondering the same thing, but I think the U.P. is its own sort of animal. We're the odd part out of the Midwest because we don't have much agriculture, and thus we're likely never going to have a lot of economic growth. But I'm ok with that. The southerners can stay right where they are 🙂

[@citylimits8927]

@@tomcollins5112 Yes, but the Upper Peninsula still should definitely be considered a part of the Great American Midwest! 👍

[@tomcollins5112]

Naw, I prefer it this way. Stay away, ye fancy folk and city dwellers!

[@jbucata]

@@tomcollins5112 And, aside from the Soo Locks, and some mining around the Wisconsin end, I can't think of any meaningful industry up there either. Maybe lumber? (For that matter, the upper 2/3rds of the mitten seems the same... just a touristy respite for city dwellers closer to I-94 who want to go on vacation "up north".)

[@tomcollins5112]

@@jbucata During my time working as an enumerator for the census, I discovered that most of the houses in the township where I live are actually camps. If there's a reason why the U.P. isn't considered a part of the Midwest, it's because we're out of the economic and political mainstream. It's hard to survive up here and the guy who supposedly represents us in Congress actually has most of his constituents living south of the Mackinac Bridge.

[@sheeperskipps]

Okay this might sound weird but you tabled a wide variety of sources to create this video and it's really nice how you tied it all together to paint a broad and really comprehensive look at the future of American Cities in the Midwest

[@Texan_christian1132]

The USA is FAR from overpopulated. It could definitely support 1.6 billion people.

[@NamelessProducts]

People that complain about overpopulation would complain about it if there were just 100 million on the planet. They just hate people.

[@northerniltree]

Most states have some smallish lakes. Some have some decent lakes. Some have really good lakes. But, the Midwest takes it to a whole different level.

[@ubernerd83]

Yeah, the Midwest has some pretty great lakes.

[@brucecoppola8512]

Actually the lakes are concentrated in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Each of those states has over ten thousand inland lakes-natural lakes, not man made (we have those too). They are gifts of the glaciers. Props to the Finger Lakes of western New York too, which as the video says is at least partly Midwestern.

[@kbrewski1]

People who have lived their entire lives in the scorching hot dusty Southwest and the swampy humid Southeast have no clue how refreshing it is to swim, boat, fish or just canoe the amazing amount of natural glacial lakes of Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and Michigan, not to mention the Great Lakes themselves surrounding those states. I grew up as a kid in Minnesota for 12 years, we vacationed at cabins in Northern Wisconsin a lot because my Dad grew up in Wisconsin. We also lived in the NW Chicago suburbs and eventually St Louis, but we almost always went north to Wisconsin and Michigan in the summers. My dad spent years researching the best lakes to buy a cabin on, and he chose a lake that was the perfect size that was SPRING FED in Northern Wisconsin (not all lakes are spring fed), that had perfectly clean clear water and a beautiful gently declining sand beach that was perfect for children. The lake was packed with Eagle's Nests, big enough that you could water ski, but small enough and not too busy to quietly fish, or just canoe around the entire lake or just lounge on a pontoon boat all day.

[@northerniltree]

The eagles nests are big enough to water ski in? Sounds sus.@@kbrewski1

[@germxv]

Call it lakes if you want to. But they are really fresh water seas

[@csnide6702]

you see--- the MidWest has this thing ----- called..... THE WORLDS BIGGEST SUPPLY OF FRESH WATER...... it will always be valued.

[@poursomebeeronit]

Won't for long when everyone and their dog moves there.

[@csnide6702]

@@poursomebeeronit whoa.... AND their dog..... that's a lot ... !

[@Steve-kp9wy]

You got that right my Friend.

[@VinnyNajera-zn7th]

I missed living in Chicago I have been there for only 7 months but I know deep down in my heart this region of the United States will be doing better.

[@caitlin2600]

Watching this in Indianapolis (been here 2 years) having grown up in Austin, TX & lived in New England for the most recent 5 years before moving to the midwest. My spouse & I are both WFH so we got to choose our next move, as long as it was in the US. We chose Indy for many reasons, mostly family, but also hugely due to cost of living & relative safety from climate change disasters. We lived through a hurricane on the east coast, it knocked out our water & electric for 10 solid days-that ruled out anything on the east or gulf coasts for us. I never want to deal with another hurricane for as long as I live. We also refused to return to the blistering heat of the south, we got used to winters & I actually look forward to them now but I cannot bring myself to tolerate 100+ days of 100 degree weather. That really only left us with Colorado & the west coast, both of which have their own slew of housing, affordability & climate crises all happening at once. I never thought I’d move to the midwest but we started looking here only after ruling everything else out & honestly, I love it. Even if we lost our WFH jobs, we’d still find a way to stay in the midwest.

[@Chsoxrk]

I live in a town about an hour from Chicago where nothing major happened economically for the first 25 years of my life and now within the last 3-5 years multiple large national and international companies have developed distribution and tech hubs here. Things are definitely changing for the better.

[@robertreznik9330]

High taxes in IL will not let this happen.

[@Chsoxrk]

@@robertreznik9330 it's already happening. They've been giving 25 year tax breaks to the companies building here as long as they hit their employment projections within a certain time frame. Even Illinois is smart enough to realize 50% of the taxes from new business is better than 100% of nothing.

[@oatmeal710]

@@robertreznik9330 you'd be surprised how many people working in chicago live in indiana because of this

[@jaredsilvers2782]

@@robertreznik9330 LOL It has already happened.

[@chewy3141]

DeKalb? I went out there before to do work for some big tech data centers

[@YuriJohnson]

I love this! I have been eyeing Cincinnati and Pittsburgh a lot. I agree that the midwest will be the next location to flee too because the south is starting to cost a lot and it will eventually cost nearly what NY or California.

[@philipgermani1616]

Cincinnati is a hidden gem. I have lived all over the country, and this place is the best. Affordable. Relatively safe. Four seasons. No big disasters like hurricane or earthquakes. Lots to do. Nice people. Great food. I could go on.

[@thedirtybubble9613]

@@philipgermani1616 Cincinnati is underrated. The crime there used to be bad in the 90s but they have reduced the crime since. I went there in 2016 and for being such a big city it had a medium sized town feel to it. The people there are great too.

[@neighborhoodpranksters6214]

Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are both very similar, with Pittsburgh having the slight edge in my opinion. I also have a soft spot for Cleveland, which is becoming underrated.

[@proehm]

Depending on what you do, the Indy, Dayton, Columbus corridor has a lot to offer too.

[@JimPaul0627]

I'm from Pittsburgh but have lined in Cincinnati for 20 years now, Northern Kentucky to be exact. Both cities are great. One downside is many, maybe most people are overweight. Pittsburgh is a little more "east coast" than Cincinnati.

[@user-pq5kg7tr5p]

One thing people don't tend to recognize is that the area is incredibly sustainable, so long as you can survive the cold. The Upper Midwest, particularly the areas near major river confluences (Bdote), are generally considered the most ecologically vibrant and abundant amongst folks who know about foraging and hunting. This was widely recognized by local native americans and a key reason as to why so many transient native american tribes frequently came through to harvest, hunt and barter. The sheer number of edible and medicinal plants alone is completely unrivaled in a modern world where most land has been developed. It's quite stunning to compare the biodiversity of plant communities in the Upper Midwest, which only lasts for 6-7 months, to the other 6 continents I've traveled. The Dakota people and Seven Council Fires (Sioux) have known for so long, and continue to show us what's possible here.

[@joshuah5655]

Interesting 🤔

[@TheFixFinder]

The thing I love about where my wife and I ended up in the midwest ( Indiana ) is the extremely affordable housing. We also bought at a really good time and got a low, 2.75 interest rate. Its a simple small ranch style house on a .5 acre, but its home and perfect for us and you cant beat the just under $650 a month mortgage which includes property tax and insurance.

[@happycompy]

Jesus that sounds like a ludicrous fantasy to me down here in Florida. Happy for you and your wife!

[@TheFixFinder]

@@happycompy we moved here from Florida so I know exactly what you mean. Thanks!

[@hughrrrr]

I get the impression that, to an overwhelming degree, corporations and business interests prefer the sunbelt due to its' cheap labor force, and lack of taxes and regulations. I also suspect that the CEOs still prefer the sunbelt as they can insulate themselves from the problems that the sunbelt has. I don't think that where people want to live, peoples quality of life and even people's basic needs enter into the equation when business is deciding where to locate. Why locate to a place that has a high cost of living, transportation and housing problems, lack of water and no quality of life? I live in Duluth Minnesota and thousands of people would likely move to this region, if they could, but business owners don't want to be here. Most newcomers work online. The death of the commute downtown has been a huge improvement to Americans quality of life.

[@Magnulus76]

You nailed it. Corporations like the fact that southern states have union busting laws and lots of cheap (but uneducated) labor.

[@jaredsilvers2782]

The midwest has a more technically skilled workforce than the south, especially in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan. Those jobs that cheap labor in the south can do, are going to get eaten by automation, we're already seeing it. The non 4 year degree jobs that will remain will require technical ability, specialized training. You can't low tax yourself to long term prosperity in the future economy. Besides, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan taxes aren't even close to as high as NY and CA. Not to mention these states still will give major employers government support and tax breaks. A major logistics hub is looking at a spot an hour south of Chicago and they've been offered to have their property taxes frozen for 25 years which would save them 100M over that time.

[@AJ-ox8xy]

​@@jaredsilvers2782that isn't what is happening. Automation is overtaking more white collar and office jobs with the introduction of AI. Meanwhile trades jobs are only getting more and more harder to fill. Especially as the inevitable March of older tradesman retire which remove their experience and expertise from training new tradesman and working in the market.

[@dfgatorfan]

It's amazing to me people are moving to places that are oppressively hot for 5 months a year which makes going outside miserable. Winters are becoming more mild so the Midwest is certainly a place to be in the future. The cities also tend to have good "bones" to build around which makes redeveloping them a much easier task.

[@TK-gd9td]

dont have to deal with any of that in coastal california/mexico you can comfortably have the same outfit for outdoors year round. when it comes to weather you get what you pay for.

[@xavierjackson6779]

lived in Texas most of my life and the heat sucks sometimes, but as long as you're not stupid you can still go outside I've also spent time including winters in Nebraska. My conclusion is I rather deal with the heat than deal with the ice and snow. the food is better in texas as well, and there's just far more things to do for every age group

[@ivangrozniy1564]

Come to North Dakota for the Winter sports, stay because your car won't start.

[@laptv2144]

I seriously don’t understand how anyone can live in the sunbelt from May to September. At least in a midwestern winter you just put more clothes on and you’re fine. I lived one summer in atlanta and that was enough. Phoenix or Florida would be nightmarish

[@laptv2144]

@@xavierjackson6779 you can’t do physical activity for most of the summer in Texas. Like running, biking, etc. When it’s cold you just put another layer on and you can still exercise. Also of course the food is bad in Nebraska. Places like Chicago, Minneapolis, St Louis, and Detroit have great food though and more variety than Texas

[@will2003michael2003]

I live in a small town in Iowa, I pay $600 a month for a mortgage for a large five bedroom house with a half acre yard and two car garage. Beautiful town with most of the amenities of a city and the school district is top notch. A person could leave their door unlocked all the time, it’s extremely safe. There are few drawlbqck if you’re looking to raise a family.

[@stargazer-elite]

As a Nebraskan I say thank you for making this video people often forget about the midwestern states. Especially the flat states like my state. our farmers work extensively hard FOR YOU YES YOU OUTSIDE READERS to eat not only just for all the other states but exports to a lot of other countries. I’m just glad that lately in the past couple months we are finally getting the we deserve. we don’t even just make food but that’s our biggest thing like me saying I’m a Nebraskan you probably immediately thought of corn lol

[@jakeedits312]

As an Iowan I can’t agree more

[@positiveoptimist5060]

I moved from Texas to the Detroit area. And now after living for a few years here in Michigan, I can say that it's totally worth it.

[@blacksilverchair3315]

Please tell me more. I'm interested in moving there from California

[@dmystfy]

@@blacksilverchair3315metro Detroit is ideal. Birmingham public schools is great. Southfield Michigan is nice too, for families.

[@blacksilverchair3315]

@@dmystfy thanks a lot. When did you move? Or did you ever move.

[@sasildapearce9008]

@@blacksilverchair3315 I grew up in Michigan and moved to California after college. I'm now planning to move back to the Midwest, either Michigan or Northwest Indiana. California has declined so much over the past 35 years. Our governor sucks and the homeless have been given the right to destroy all the once-great cities here. In Michigan, check out Plymouth, Ann Arbor (crowded and liberal due to U-M), or any of the Oakland county suburbs. It's a great place to live and the actual city of Detroit has been renovated with lots to do near the waterfront. Grand Rapids is a nice place too.

[@michiganman8383]

@@blacksilverchair3315 Check out Grand Rapids and West Michigan.

[@margaretames6522]

I recently moved to Columbus from Denver, which has become crowded and expensive (especially housing costs). There’s lots to do here, Ohio State University, access to first-rate medical care, outdoor activities, etc. The Midwest is underrated!

[@mcap8396]

Cbus has a lot going for it. One thing it doesn’t is about the worst public transportation in the country for a city of that size or larger

[@GoGreen1977]

Columbus isn't "crowded?" That's news to me. Also, you have to get rid of the Republicans in the statehouse and other statewide offices. Colorado is WAY ahead of Ohio in that regard.

[@margaretames6522]

@@GoGreen1977 It’s all relative. I grew up in NYC, lived in VA and commuted into DC, lived in L.A., Raleigh/Durham, Las Vegas - Columbus isn’t as sparsely populated as East Tennessee (yes, I lived there for a year) so I’m willing to put up with crowds and traffic here with no problem.

[@michaelcap9550]

@@GoGreen1977 CO, CA, NY are not examples to follow.

[@MrPrivmack]

@@GoGreen1977hell NO!! Vote Republican! Just look at what’s happening with CA, NY, etc..

[@cabseyy]

I'm somewhat aware that the hype is pretty centered on Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio but still I'm prouder than ever to be a Minnesotan!

[@Name-kd5jj]

If you think about it the midwest is probably the most habitable place on Earth. It contains the largest continuous pieces of arable land, it has many navigable rivers, and it has way more freshwater than it needs in the form of the great lakes. The weather is also fairly mild and great for human development. Yes the winters are pretty cold but heat does way more damage than cold. People in colder climates tend to be more intelligent, more productive, less prone to health problems and less temperamental. The fact that people are moving to places like Texas which has none of these things is amazing.

[@user-pq5kg7tr5p]

This is true from the most basic form of living, so long as you can survive the cold. The Upper Midwest, particularly the areas near major River confluences, are generally considered the most ecologically vibrant and abundant amongst folks who know about foraging and hunting. This was widely recognized by local native americans and a key reason as to why so many transient native american tribes frequently came through to harvest, hunt and barter. The sheer number of edible and medicinal plants alone is completely unrivaled in a modern world where most land has been developed. It's quite stunning to compare the biodiversity of plant communities in the Upper Midwest, which only lasts for 6-7 months, to the other 6 continents I've traveled.

[@dippst]

midwest weather... mild? flooding, 40+mph winds, snow storms (6+ inches in half as many hours) and 100+F heat all in 1 town, in 1 year... and that's an average year. it's not uncommon to risk hypothermia on friday and heat stroke on monday.in late march and mid october. there's a reason you can buy a swimsuit and a snowsuit at the same time at Meijer 4 months out of the year.

[@Name-kd5jj]

@@dippst Yeah that's called weather. Try going to India, Mongolia, or anywhere in sub Saharan Africa. Trust me the Midwest is pretty mild by global standards. Maybe not compared to Europe but Europe is an anomaly.

[@Philtration]

Here in Chicago we never went through the same troubles as places like Detroit, Cleveland and towns across Ohio. The reason was Chicago adapted with the times and the changes. The city has reformed itself many times over. We have been a giant manufacturing hub, food processing hub, rail hub, airline hub, mail order hub, commodities hub, steel hub. Other cities were geared around one or two things and when those died or suffered then the whole region suffered far worse than Chicago did. Chicago and Detroit were pretty much sister cities but one was dependent on a single huge industry and when that industry hit hard times it was devastating for them. Now the rest of the Midwest is diversifying their economies around different power engines instead of having too many eggs in one basket and we are headed for a new era.

[@theuscivicsnerd7070]

I do think geography also has a role to play. Chicago is one of the biggest transportation hubs in the US which has made it too crucial to really experience the decline other cities experienced.

[@thedirtybubble9613]

I've always wondered why Detroit's city skyline wasn't bigger than it is now considering it used to be such a big city. I guess because it died or they just relied on the auto industry and no others like you said.

[@jbucata]

@@thedirtybubble9613 I think Detroit being a big city was literally its size... it grew to over 100 square miles. It seems that it grew by expansion rather than by further densifying the downtown core. It expanded to swallow up two enclave suburbs, evidently only stopped by the northern border of Wayne County (the infamous "8 Mile").

[@thedirtybubble9613]

@@jbucata Detroit is more similar to Cleveland than Chicago is IMO. Even Cleveland once used to be a pretty big city but it lost population because of urban decline like Detroit.

[@David011983]

chicago is just so damn beautiful too

[@OhioStateBuckeyefanstuckinMI]

I’m proud to be a midwesterner. Many great states and great hard working people in the Midwest

[@electriccatnd]

Interesting how in a video about the midwest, when you included states like the Dakotas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas in the map, they didn't make any of the actual bullet points of your list. None of the major schools there got listed and somehow Mayo Clinic wasn't included either. You didn't mention Minneapolis/St. Paul, Duluth or anything on the I-29 corridor running north to south and just focused in the rust belt.

[@bencook6585]

This is what I did. From rural Indiana, went to Purdue, got a tech job, moved out east for work for a few years. Made myself indispensable, started working remote, and moved back to rural Indiana with a MD salary.

[@FreedomTalkMedia]

I bought a condo in 2003 and when the crash happened I was stuck for years. So I didn't get the experience of moving somewhere to get a better job. But eventually I got a job out of Florida without ever having to move. Now I'm just waiting for the next crash so that I can buy some place nice and move out of this little condo.

[@Miguel-Del]

Big brain behavior.

[@kellywright540]

So I watched this and agreed with most of the views on this video. Being a Sconnie and loving it here I still couldn't figure out why every time they showed a map of the Midwest and the Great Lakes area, they kept leaving out the upper peninsula or UP of Michigan like it belonged to Canada or something... 🤦‍♀️

[@annephoenixgem9336]

agreed, this wrecked the credibility of the video: either address why the UP isn't in the Midwest for the purposes of the video, or include it.

[@vatefairefoutre0]

hahaha. they should give us free Mountain Dew like when Mtn Dew did it to us Yoopers hahaha.

[@89adman]

Yeah I noticed that, as a Michigander I was like what the heck

[@northernbohemianrealist1412]

Everyone forgot about the UP, except the bears and deer. What are homes selling for up there, anyway? $12,000?

[@vatefairefoutre0]

@northernbohemianrealist1412 lol I wish! A total falling apart fixer upper on Zillow is $50,000. Decent houses are still like starting $200,000 or more. Marquette is getting gentrified as fuck and rents for tiny one bedrooms alone are like $1,200... and trust me, wages aren't spectacular at most jobs here. Better off living in Green Bay area, if you value all that fancy living stuff lol!

[@redline1916]

A lot of people over here in the democrat blue northeast always complain about the midwest and south for being relatively red and say "oh we could survive without them" and would be dead within a moment's notice had they lost them. The same thing applies to my birth country of Canada, specifically my region and provinces in western canada. We supply all of Canada's grain, oil, uranium, fertilizer and crops as well as other resources. The east complains about us being more conservative and wanting to part because they treat us like trash from the get-go, and yet if they had truly lost us everyone there wouldn't have much at all. Most of the farmland up here has been sold to China or other conglomerates as well, so farming is absolutely out of the question for most areas.

[@huh9598]

Can you share your sources for each of these graphics? Would love to take a look at the underlying analysis and data for each. Tbh I am surprised by the high risk of flooding in the mountains and would be curious why that's the case; I would have low-lying land would have more flooding.

[@ramzilla1]

I’ve been saying this for years , Detroit will rise again.

[@uprebel5150]

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is part of the Midwest regardless of its exclusion on several of the maps included in this video.

[@chesterpanda]

I get disgusted whenever someone from New England or California moves to the Midwest.

[@bffaris]

MY wife and I moved from Santa Cruz California to Fort Wayne Indiana and are very happy we did. There is more diversity here and young people have way more opportunity starting businesses. I thought the weather would be a problem, but I found I am enjoying the different seasons. There is also city pride so the city maintains beautiful parks and bike paths.

[@g13magurany]

Hell brother! I’m in Hammond IN , literally right next too Chicago. And I can conquer with you on what you said !

[@elmie237]

The upper peninsula of Michigan never gets any respect. It often gets left off maps of Michigan too.

[@Differentbutrational]

Midwest needs to be its own country pronto.

[@Wichita0]

This is something I could get behind honsetly

[@CreedOfUnity]

Pls

[@SoupyMittens]

Yeah, we don't need the southerners running the north

[@inoahham]

YES. But then again, everyone probly don't want another civil war, eh?

[@Dave05J]

NO! The Union FOREVERRRR!!!!

[@EddieReischl]

If you move to Wisconsin, and you have a family, the best place to move to is the string of cities running from Green Bay through Appleton, Oshkosh and Fond du Lac.

[@SirSerene]

As someone who grew up and lives in Iowa, currently, I really don't understand why I keep seeing videos about how actually the mid west is amazing, we all need to move here. If cost of living was the primary concern, the midwest wouldnt be hemorrhaging people. There is literally nothing to do here. Everyone that can, leaves. They leave because there really isnt community here anymore and literally anywhere else in the country has better natural resources or greater access to the outside world.

[@JaySmith-pv2mw]

I've lived in Florida most of my life and hope to retire in five years to a small Midwestern city.

[@SomethingDifferentFilms]

I see more and more people looking to retire to the Midwest for it’s affordability and more relaxed pace of living.

[@nitedreamer23]

Why? Most people do the opposite. Is Fla not all it’s cracked up to be?

[@lucaspeddie3114]

Branson Missouri is amazing.

[@NotGord]

​​@@nitedreamer23Too hot that's my only issue. 100 degree weather in the summer. Can never get any snow.

[@Dsand23]

Something often overlooked is the sheer size of some of these Midwestern universities. The University of Minnesota system is a perennial top 10 when it comes to enrollment, and is in the top 5, or even top 1, global universities in some categories.

[@seththomas9105]

Basically left out most all of the Big-10 , Big-12(8) schools. Many top tier schools in the Midwest, and Iowa has been known for over 100 years to be a leading state in public education.

[@ubernerd83]

There's also a huge number of small (and often prestigious) liberal arts colleges that dot the region (e.g. DePauw, Wabash, Oberlin, Carleton, Kalamazoo, Grinnell, Macalester, Kenyon, Denison, etc.). My favorite one of these (besides my own alma mater, of course) is the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana. It's a small liberal arts engineering college that consistently rates at the top of the rankings for EVERY ONE of their undergraduate engineering programs. It often gets overlooked because they focus exclusively on undergraduate education, though.

[@hunterbidensvaxmandates]

Minnesota is flawed to it's core and it the future is NOT bright. mark my words-someone who left

[@T-ex1pi]

Forgot Washington University and University of Chicago too, which are both ranked higher than all the ones they named@@seththomas9105

[@kbrewski1]

Ohio St, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Penn St, Illinois are just gargantuan. I got into Michigan, Illinois and Iowa as an out of state resident but I decided on a top flight highly nationally ranked smaller liberal arts college not far from Chicago instead. Gargantuan doesn't always mean better. I loved my 4 years of incredible competition with my graduating class of 1600. Personal, small classes, taught by full profs not by TAs, some of my most intense classes were 15 to 20 students.

[@seththomas9105]

The Midwest has had a hard time of it economically for the last 40 years as farming changed dramatically since the 80's Farm Crisis and much of the manufacturing that was here was moved to Mexico and/or overseas around the same time. But I would NEVER leave Iowa.

[@jakeedits312]

Hell yeah brother born and raised in Des Moines and not leaving anytime soon!!!

[@seththomas9105]

@@jakeedits312 Damn right. 515/641 forever my brother! IOWA. FTW!!!!

[@kevendarcy]

Amazing video👏👏 would love to see some video on North Carolina V’s South Carolina or anything in that Tennessee/Carolina region

[@nathanpellow4428]

I live in indianapolis. I have a brain fart idea to move to Michigan and then eventually Canada. But making sure to stay close to the lakes. THE WATER WARS ARE COMING.

[@montyjackson8156]

Agree we nee a Great Lakes Defense League.

[@kberkstr]

​@@montyjackson8156 We already have the great lakes compact, which requires the governors and premiers of all great lakes states and provinces to agree on any diversions away from the basin. It would take a collapse of international diplomacy for things to begin resorting to war over our water

[@montyjackson8156]

@@kberkstr I know that.

[@SippingTea2x]

The Midwest is a Powerhouse in the USA that Americans seem to overlook. 🤦‍♂️ 🇺🇸 I’m a Canadian and I even Know this 🇨🇦

[@chriskriskovic5914]

Madison Wisconsin’s University of Wisconsin is a biotech generator and Epic Systems is an example of attracting young high tech employees

[@Dom-zk1sg]

Great video! Thanks for all the flattering footage of STL!

[@akarayan]

You missed the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in each of the map outlines. Don’t be racist against Yoopers, bro

[@mcap8396]

Looking at a map it doesn’t seem to make much sense the Michigan UP isn’t Wisconsin.

[@bretta3919]

Or maybe Wisconsin should be part of the UP...

[@patricklinsley3676]

​@@mcap8396In the 19th century there was a land dispute between Ohio and Michigan for a 10 mi wedge of land, the issue was resolved by giving the land to Ohio and the UP from Wisconsin (not sure if it was a territory then) to Michigan.

[@SuperLooneyrooney]

it wasn't missed. it was just snowed over

[@mic1240]

The BIG TEN schools, particularly those like Purdue and U of Illinois, which are both top ten engineering schools and largest STEM schools in all of US and producing huge numbers of STEM grads, are far more important than schools like Notre Dame (great school but vastly smaller and no where close in research outputs of BIG Ten schools (talking those before recent adds from West or East coasts).

[@proehm]

Some of these schools call it STEAM, because they have big Agriculture programs too.

[@ashleysisson2054]

As a Purdue grad and huge fan of the university, I got a little butthurt at Purdue being left out of the "elite midwest universities" list.

[@ubernerd83]

Don't forget Rose-Hulman for great STEM schools. They don't get a ton of press because they are exclusively focused on undergraduate education, but every single one of their engineering programs is top ranked.

[@midnightchannel7759]

The Midwest, Chicago specifically, is the most educated population in the country with 40% of people having college and post-graduate degrees. Technological expertise in particular is common, and for that reason more affordable in Chicago than other US cities, attracting an increasing number of businesses to that area and, in Chicagoland itself, pulling businesses from the suburbs into the city once again.

[@GeorgiaMoore.]

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[@Lincoln191]

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[@genavazquez2943]

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[@Hermanjackson89]

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[@Evelyn56067]

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[@joshhushed5890]

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[@haydnplus]

I’m from Iowa, and I’m pretty upset about how most people write off this state as being ‘nothing but corn’. Most of them don’t realize that without that corn, nobody in America would be able to have some of their favorite foods made with corn. Edit: I get it, everyone thinks that corn is such a bad thing and that Iowa is a really bad state because of that. If it makes you all happy, I can delete this comment, move to west river South Dakota like I always wanted to, and us Iowans can stop giving you guys corn, meat, eggs, and all those other essential goods and see how far the country’s economy goes without it.

[@SomethingDifferentFilms]

Corn (and other crops) are important to the economy, food supply, and many other products too.

[@haydnplus]

@@SomethingDifferentFilms Exactly

[@nitedreamer23]

Iowa is actually beautiful: rolling hills and fine, fine people. People laugh at me when I say I love Iowa-and Nebraska.

[@haydnplus]

@@nitedreamer23 I agree. Most people say that Iowa's landscape is 'flat and boring', when really, Iowa is really hilly and full of forests and rivers.

[@thedirtybubble9613]

Des Moines is underrated.

[@Brantleypop]

As a Nebraskan I thank god every day that I was born in paradise

[@Brantleypop]

Except for football

[@Neckername1]

The Midwest was very important. We made the chemicals and materials that helped win WWI. When that ended, the country dumped the remaining waste and had us build homes and schools on top. We made the steel that won both world wars, and helped build the largest buildings our country has. And when that wasn't enough, places like the LOOW north of Buffalo NY were enriching radioactive material for the atomic bombs that won WWII. We also paid the price due to the improper disposal of the radioactive waste. Cities like Buffalo NY also were home to companies like Bell labs, and the first planes to break the sound barrier like the X-1 were designed and built there. We really could use some local money to come fix things up.

[@jonathanstensberg]

I don’t know who needs to hear this but… …winter is actually kinda awesome

[@greywolf845]

*Gasp

[@SuperLooneyrooney]

snow and even cold is fine, but it is the general lack of sun and clear blue skies in much of the midwest during the winter that is a big negative.

[@Wichita0]

@@SuperLooneyrooney Yeah the winters do get depressing.

[@lionofgod1353]

I live in the Lincoln-Omaha area and I can say it’s underrated. You have cheap housing,low crime,low homeless, nice people. Only down sides are you have horrible long winter and the summers can be hot as hell and you don’t have the most fun activities, and you are land locked.

[@SomethingDifferentFilms]

I have long wanted to make a video that weighs if those two Nebraska cities are the best place to live in the U.S.

[@lionofgod1353]

@@SomethingDifferentFilms Both cities are nice, Lincoln is safer and cleaner and more bike friendly than Omaha but Omaha has a lot more fun and general activities to do. That’s how I would summarize them, living here for 21 years, it would be cool to see a video on them!

[@SomethingDifferentFilms]

At the very least I will address them in a video looking at the 5 or 10 best U.S cities very soon

[@RobertMJohnson]

And nothing to do

[@lionofgod1353]

@mattliehr3124 For sure Kansas City is only a 3 hour drive and Colorado is a 6 so I like do weekend trips when I have time

[@patricknapier5806]

As a Wisconsinite, I can for say that we are NOT maintaining any roads or bridges. We basically wait until it is gravel to fix anything especially SE Wisconsin.

[@smallstudiodesign]

Lovely editorial / opinion piece with some compelling points about how the Midwest may rise again to its former glory. My only critique is the overly quick flashes of certain map graphics and charts & a dizzying array of different stock images relayed a little too quickly.

[@TheRealBrook1968]

I am from South Dakota and we divide the state by the Missouri River. Those on the eastern bank are midwest and those on the western are western.

[@davehughesfarm7983]

I declare that Missouri and Kansas are the Heartland.

[@Dollsteak69]

The Midwest. Land of common sense, work ethic, integrity, affordability, educated population. Rest of the nation? Not so much.

[@titanicisshit1647]

Are the rest of us bothering you in your act of autofellatio

[@maplesyrup1805]

As a midwesterner I disagree.

[@UserName-ts3sp]

we got our share of nutjobs too

[@lanxy2398]

and if everyone started to move there from climate change, better job opportunities it would lose all of those. It would just be a region home to mega cities with high crime and drug use except instead of being on the coast it will be next to a lake

[@foodconnoisseur4498]

You had me until educated population lmao

[@tylerchurch2373]

As a resident of Northeast Ohio (near Warren and Youngstown) the heart of the former steel industry, I know we will prosper again eventually. Our belt may be rusty but it’s people are still as strong as steel.

[@legendaryhunter1672]

I'll move to wherever I can easily make my dreams of becoming a businessman a reality and have an easy time with the cost of living. Thank you for showing me great contenders to pick from if I decide not to move down to Georgia

[@kev492001]

Hopefully this works we can get people moving here, and especially Ohio, which is doing good economically, there is some nice lakes to enjoy and also 2 of the best parks in the country are here too!

[@glenndaugherity6187]

Be careful what you wish for !!

[@secretcomet]

If you grew up here... do all you can to be a homeowner as soon as possible... you will be mightily glad that you did.

[@jadenburns2656]

Right! property values are gonna sky rocket there’s only one way to go for the Midwest and it’s up

[@smexyvigoro]

Purchased a home in Columbus 2 years ago and the value has already gone up by 70k lol.

[@tylapederson3968]

3:44 For the most part yes, you just have to be careful up north. We get hit with polar vortexs leading to tempuratures down to -40 (F and C) in the winter. Shoveled parkinglots create snow mounds almost the size of buildings. You get snow days a plenty as well. School doesn't get cancled until it's -35 (F), anything warmer and kids are still expected to wait outside for the bus. Summers are super humid too. Compared to other places it's not the worst but it's no walk in the park either.

[@bcunni]

Watching this as I'm moving back to Chicagoland this month!!!😊😊😊 Leaving Florida and not looking back.

[@sebbidia69]

Yea I just left Tampa bay and moved back to Chicagoland, born and raised here. 5 years down south was way too long for me. Moving to Oak Park when I start working!

[@TimothyCHenderson]

Continental summers and fall are underrated. I live just north of Toronto and wouldn't trade these two seasons for anyone else's with the American Midwest having a somewhat similar climate. You can actually spend lots of time outside, even when it's hot because the heat doesn't last after the rain blows it out and then you get beautiful room temperature weather with sun/cloud mix. Literally perfect. Winter is only bad for Jan, Feb and March, once you're done with that window, it's fine. Three bad months out of 12 is great!

[@uss-dh7909]

North Dakota here and you're mostly right, but your also mostly wrong. If the occasional blizzy that dumps a foot or two (2/3rds of a meter) of snow is your definition of 'bad', then I'd include October, November, and December too. That, and the occasional tornado, but my town has never been hit by one for as long as I've been alive all these 25 some years. The nearest we've had was rotation on a golf course south of town.

[@robertdindoffer9846]

@@uss-dh7909 North Dakota is tougher in winter than Toronto, Detroit, and Chicago.

[@TimothyCHenderson]

@@uss-dh7909 North Dakota has more in common with the Canadian prairies but depending on the severity of our winters, we are no stranger to blizzards/accumulation. The great lakes have a moderating effect on the fall season which is why Oct, Nov and Dec aren't that bad for us. The reverse is true for spring and we can end up with the odd freak snow fall in May. Spring around the great lakes in general can be cooler. We get the odd tornado as well, especially in Southwestern Ontario. It's at the north eastern tip of tornado alley. Snow is pretty much a way of life here, what we dread is a bad ice storm.

[@xlerb2286]

@@uss-dh7909 Another North Dakotan here, yup you're spot on. The northern midwest doesn't have the stabilizing influences that the east and west coasts do so the weather here can be a bit chaotic at times. October for example can be a beautiful fall month with temps in the 70's for most of it or by mid month we can have significant snow on the ground and cold weather. Usually though it's a month where sweatshirts are all you need to be comfortable and snow is not (yet) seen ;) If you can come to terms with the climate the upper midwest has a lot to offer.

[@arandomzoomer4837]

Me personally I really like snow and cold winter so it doesn't matter to me

[@johncipolletti5611]

We need the Midwest for the food it grows!

[@cmartinm98]

Exactly, agriculture plays a big role in the Midwest such as growing corn.

[@johncipolletti5611]

@@cmartinm98 The only ACE up our sleeve is that we have 35 countries sending us their produce! So, does our government care? Probably not at this time!

[@mcap8396]

Let’s just hope the ogallala aquifer doesn’t dry up too fast in the plains area.

[@johncipolletti5611]

@@mcap8396 With just hope, we will be doomed! How about some real action to stop it from drying up?

[@jonathantower]

Great, and well-researched video. You may have already gotten this feedback, but you left half of Michigan, the upper peninsula, off in at least one of your maps. Also, the University of Notre Dame is commonly pronounced “Noter Daym”.

[@tractormanmike1830]

As a resident of the UP let me say "that's ok, things are just fine up here"

[@keefgtp]

If you're talking about the economic and cultural "Midwest" region, rather than a basic geographic definition that includes entire states, then the western edge of the Midwest stops at the border cities of Kansas City and Omaha. I struggle to include Sioux Falls, Fargo, and Grand Forks from an economic standpoint since they're relatively isolated farm-centric cities, but culturally they fit. The classic Big 10 NCAA conference is actually a great definer of the Midwest, from Penn State to University of Nebraska to University of Minnesota. Geographically we may define the Dakotas as "Midwest" but culturally only their far eastern border cities fit the bill, and economically even those cities don't fit because they're isolated from the Great Lakes economic area. Geographically, 95% of the Dakotas along with 80% of Nebraska and Kansas are Great Plains states with a ranching culture that is distinct from the Midwest.

[@calebahart8958]

Yeah KC and Omaha are very midwestern cities (KC native and have been to Omaha multiple times).

[@davehughesfarm7983]

I declare Missouri and Kansas are the heartland.

[@bradkrekelberg8624]

That high speed rail plan looks incredible!

[@ethanmcfarland8240]

Hopefully Detroit can become the blast furnace of America again

[@brianarbenz1329]

The downside of this is that when a region "comes back" or "booms" it usually means a new economy coming in, rather than the old economy resurging. What you are envisioning for the Midwest or Great Lakes regions could mean great opportunities for entrepreneurs and skilled workers looking for a new, affordable venue, and new cultural and social opportunities for longtime residents. But it would also certainly mean housing costs skyrocketing. And right now in places like Indianapolis and Louisville, rents have already skyrocketed because of heating costs jumping in the last 15 years. You have legions of people in this region who have the job skills that enabled their families to be homeowners with health care plans for generations, but today can't even afford a 1-bedroom apartment.

[@anthonyradtke4714]

If the upper peninsula gets to not be part of the Midwest, can the arrowhead region of minnesota join it?

[@hint0122]

I love this video. I am from Minnesota, and we get written off as a "fly over state"

[@juliagarb]

Minnesota is awesome. Esp for travel to national nature wonders.

[@cassidy_c]

i’ve heard people call illinois a flyover state lmao we basically share the 3rd busiest airport spot with denver, and that’s not even the only airport in its city

[@cassidy_c]

idk why i said “it’s city” what other city would it be lmao

[@hint0122]

@@cassidy_c because pretty much all that's in Illinois is chicago

[@daniellincoln3744]

So... when the maps of the Midwest are brought up why is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan just left out?

[@SuperLooneyrooney]

it wasn't left out. it was just snowed over

[@user-kk1qx8jw1u]

“Notre dom”💀

[@uvhciM]

There's another point I like to mention, which you can briefly see if you freeze the video at 3:21: the Great Lakes Megalopolis holds the largest population of any megalopolis in the US, which makes it an ideal opportunity for many future businesses. Why in particular? - because all predictions indicate we as a nation will slowly move away from widespread international product & raw material sourcing and more towards regional sourcing as much as possible for numerous reasons, ranging from national security to significant environmental concerns to economic stability. Not only is this the ideal megalopolis for this in having the most people/workers/affordable space for operations, but it's also in a near-ideal central location, being able to easily move product to the south, east or west coasts with little effort.

[@epicbluerat9999]

I mean affordability is why I left the sun belt and moved to the rust belt. That and climate change. I love the midwest and want to live here for life.

[@stephanimeyers9570]

Bingo! Mass migrations will occur in our lifetime

[@LIFEwithBAVAN]

Moved from NJ to IL. The Midwest is the future

[@wolfenstien13]

Every fly-over state between coast to coast have been so neglected by the Coastal and City elites. Those States were striped of every, but they still keep on walking and hoping for better days.

[@roywalley8879]

Your arrow at 1:32 misses Indianapolis by a few hundred miles. And did the Upper Peninsula decide to drop out of the Midwest?

[@MrKim-kv2vv]

Yep, as water decreases in west and southwest, more will flock to those areas with water. Unfortunately this will deteriorate those pristine areas. 🙋🏼

[@SkySong6161]

As someone currently living in one of the southwest hotspots (Tampa), you're more right than you know. The University of Central Florida estimates that FL only has enough fresh water in the aquifer to last until 2040... if it were still being used at 2018 rates. There's already water rationing happening in parts of FL even as developers build water parks for the rich. lol I'm planning on moving to the great lakes area precisely because it has water.

[@cmartinm98]

@@SkySong6161Columbus, Ohio is a growing Midwest city and it is a hotspot right now.

[@josephupton3601]

I live just outside Indianapolis. I grew up outside St. Louis. Both are ideal places to live despite being labeled as "boring" by elitists. Don't live in the city. Live outside the city. You can raise your kids in a health environment.

[@yuanruichen2564]

The midwest has incredibly flat and fertile land with temperature climate(southern part) and abundant water resources(eastern part), you can hardly find anywhere else in the world that is comparable. Pamppas steppe is comparable but too remote

[@thedapperdolphin1590]

Absolutely nothing wrong with living in the city

[@SagaciousSilence]

The Midwest on paper SHOULD be a major region, but as someone who grew up on the West Coast, I don’t remember anyone I know ever saying they wanted to move there let alone even visit there. I think culture at large emphasizes the coasts as the only places worth visiting / living. I don’t think natural disasters or limited resources will change that. People will always want to live on the West Coast which has moderate, comfortable weather and beautiful geography or the East Coast which has the classic and famous cities. I think the South will continue to grow for people looking for cheaper housing.

[@aimxdy8680]

There’s no money to be made in the west coast, the west coast has a shit ton of poverty. Also houses in the midwest are cheaper than the south and our Salaries are higher than the south. The midwest is booming in economy right now, my city of the Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson Metropolitan area-has grown over 40% in the metropolitan area since 2000, meanwhile Los Angeles metro area has only grown 1% since that time. In fact 60% of modern Indianapolis would all be a fat giant farm and cornfield 30 years ago. It was named one of the most boring and worst cities to live Decades ago in the 1970s and 80s, it was Modern teledo and detroit, until the 2000s where businesses started migrating and warehouses, logistics companies started popping up out of nowhere, and our sprawl right is now is getting out of control.

[@BiggieSmalls946]

The midwest is the best. Diverse, nice, hard-working people, diverse climate and good food.

[@far-away-so-close4540]

Your maps keep missing the upper peninsula of Michigan. That is part of the Midwest too.

[@SomethingDifferentFilms]

I will look into this and adjust in the future, thank you

[@shirleybalinski4535]

​@@SomethingDifferentFilmsI noticed the Upper Penninsula missing too. Did you think it was part of Canada? Maybe learning geography would be a good start when doing a seminar on the subject of the MID WEST.

[@NickGrevas]

'Look into this?' Buddy if you forget the UP, they take that PERSONALLY. Ask Mountain Dew and Poo Pouri. Mountain Dew had to do an apology campaign and give them their own state soda bottle and Poo Pouri gave away upwards of 1000 free products for leaving it off the map or lumping it in with Wisconsin. @@SomethingDifferentFilms