This is the most conflicted region in my understanding of the US. It appears to be an idyllic landscape that lends its mystique to a broader understanding of the country, but I also see lots of people, locals included, saying it's cornfed capital and the most depressing place on Earth. Would Americans be so kind to shed some light on it for me?
>>218249141There's not alot in the midwest beyond wheat and cornfields All of the industry dried up and got sent overseas so it just a lot of decaying small towns and some truly awful areas depending on the population size and demographicsReally it shares a lot of the same problems as the South with there being fuckall in terms of opportunity and this problem leads the intelligent and driven people to leave causing even more problems
>>218249141>idyllic landscapeIt’s endless cornfields. Completely soulless environment that people cope with via fishing and alcoholism. If you want idyllic landscapes, move to the Rockies.t. lived in Wisconsin for 3 years
The Midwest was the beating heart of America 70 years ago when every town had a factory propping it up but now those are mostly all gone so it's just a bunch of people with no purpose in life milling about in suburban wastelands that were originally built for a population twice it's current size and four times as wealthy.t. Midwesterner
>>218251003What do these remnants do for a living?
>>218251003Also rural areas used to be all family farms on 150ha lots which could support prosperous small towns full of non-farmers but thanks to consolidation it's now all corporate farms on 600+ha worked by migrants and contract laborers and so the small towns and rural areas are completely dead as well
>>218251154>hectaresgo back
>>218251149They're either 1) "lucky" enough to work at one of the remaining factories where they make slightly more than they would at McDonald's, 2) working at McDonald's, or 3) doing some sort of job that's ultimately entirely dependent off of government funding (lot of retirement homes, hospital/doctors offices, casinos that get money from seniors blowing their pensions, universities that get grants to research whether ants are racist, etc.)>>218251161Actually you're right it should just be acres; don't know why I remembered the numbers but thought they were in ha
>>218251309Aged population mostly?
>>218251562For the most part. Kids leave for college and never come back, a good portion of the ones who don't go to college end up dying of drug addiction, immigrants don't come to the area because there's no work for them, so yeah it tilts older than the country on average
