Are the coasts more similar to each other, or is the West/East coast more similar to the middle? (commute, metro)

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by Tusco

The eastern half of the middle is more similar to the east and the western half of the middle is more similar to the west.

So is OKC the Eastern part of the Middle or the Western part of the Middle? Does it have more in common with Birmingham, Alabama or Fresno?

[Tusco]

Originally Posted by MrJester

So is OKC the Eastern part of the Middle or the Western part of the Middle? Does it have more in common with Birmingham, Alabama or Fresno?

You got me there, I was thinking about the northern half of the country when making my other post. Though Oklahoma and Texas could be both Southern states and Southwestern states.

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by Tusco

You got me there, I was thinking about the northern half of the country when making my other post. Though Oklahoma and Texas could be both Southern states and Southwestern states.

From personal experience, I'd say Dallas definitely resembles Atlanta more than it does LA or anywhere else West of the Rockies. I'd even say Dallas reminds me more of Toronto than it does LA. Dallas is much more an Eastern U.S. city in character than it is a Western city.

OKC, though, has much more of a Western feel than Dallas, although the vegetation and climate is still much greener and more humid than points West. The architecture and layout of the neighboring suburbs remind me of St. Tammany Parish, just on the plains rather than the Bayou. So I reluctantly say it has more in common with the Southeast than the Southwest.

[KemBro71]

Originally Posted by MrJester

From personal experience, I'd say Dallas definitely resembles Atlanta more than it does LA or anywhere else West of the Rockies. I'd even say Dallas reminds me more of Toronto than it does LA. Dallas is much more an Eastern U.S. city in character than it is a Western city.

OKC, though, has much more of a Western feel than Dallas, although the vegetation and climate is still much greener and more humid than points West. The architecture and layout of the neighboring suburbs remind me of St. Tammany Parish, just on the plains rather than the Bayou. So I reluctantly say it has more in common with the Southeast than the Southwest.

Spent a lot of time in all of these places, I imagine?

[jas75]

Originally Posted by MrJester

So is OKC the Eastern part of the Middle or the Western part of the Middle? Does it have more in common with Birmingham, Alabama or Fresno?

Oklahoma City and Birmingham are the largest cities of their respective states, and are far more economically developed than Fresno. Their climate patterns, built environment and political orientation are more similar as well. I think the column of states going north from Texas generally aligns more with the east than the west, with a few exceptions (e.g. El Paso in TX and Rapid City in SD).

[KemBro71]

Originally Posted by jas75

Oklahoma City and Birmingham are the largest cities of their respective states, and are far more economically developed than Fresno. Their climate patterns, built environment and political orientation are more similar as well. I think the column of states going north from Texas generally aligns more with the east than the west, with a few exceptions (e.g. El Paso in TX and Rapid City in SD).

read Civil War and Pacific RR history.

[Gaylord_Focker]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

Is the West Coast (California, Oregon, Washington) closer - in terms of socio-economic profile, culture, general feel - to the East Coast (all the states with an Atlantic coastline), than the 'central states'? By central states I'm referring to the eastern Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, Great Lakes, Midlands (the inland West and Midwest) and parts of the Southern that are not too 'Southern.' And likewise is the East Coast more like the Midwest etc or the West coast?

Ways in which the coasts seem more similar:

Having more of a global influence and being more influenced by the rest of the world
More cosmopolitan population - a more recent immigrant history
Tending towards being socially liberal
More urban than the Midwest
Having economies based more on technology, service industries than the centre where agriculture and manufacturing have traditionally dominated.

Ways in which the middle is more similar to each coast:

West coast:

Having a more suburban lifestyle, more 'open space'
A more neutral accent, with the exception of parts of the South
Newer cities

East coast:

A greater sense of ethnic community and 'roots' than the West, with the exception of the Rocky Mountains
Being more geographically concreted towards the East Coast
More of a European immigrant presence as opposed to Asians/Latinos on the West coast

So to me, Washington is not similar to South Carolina. But, I've always qualified the Bos/Wash corridor and the major cities of the west coast as genearlly the same. Coastal elite types that often think they're better than everyone else. I don't include any area south of DC/NOVA as that.

[Gaylord_Focker]

Originally Posted by MrJester

In California, even in the big cities, you'll meet people who have never been outside of California. That's how isolated the state is.

You'll meet even more people who have only been to neighboring states, or to other Western states, but never East of the Rockies.

In terms of interregional U.S. travel, people East of the Rockies do it more often than people in California.

Also consider that the West is unique in that its summers tend to be much drier than the rest of the country.

Whatever happened to this poster? He was great. anyways, kind of disagree here. Angelinos are among the most well traveled in the world.

[Pincho-toot]

The Midwest is more like the East Coast until about Minneapolis-St. Paul.

As you get into the Dakotas, it doesn't resemble the West Coast but the general west at least. Colorado def leans West Coast.

Texas is transitional. I see Dallas leaning to Atlanta for sure, which as someone mentioned, isn't an East Coast city but is in an East Coast state (much like Pittsburgh, though technically no part of PA is on the ACTUAL coast). Austin, though, def leans more West Coast.

[Gaylord_Focker]

Each other