<p>The midwest has diversity. Remember that diversity isn’t just in the people but can be defined in many ways. Iowa and many plains regions are flat and lack the gorgeous geographical features other areas have. Great Lakes glacier topography or the Ozarks. Ethnicities vary from place to place, mainly European but that is quite a range in outlook and variations on how to be religious. Bible belt versus liberal. Big cities versus mid to small ones as are found in Iowa. German beer drinkers versus teatotalers. </p>
<p>Back in my school days I recall a conversation with a classmate from western Iowa- in Wisconsin Iowa was considered a “hick” state but he said, no, it was Nebraska. One state over…</p>
<p>You are stuck in the middle of a middle state without interesting geography or ethnic groups historically. Iowa is not the entire midwest.</p>
<p>People should also realize there is diversity among European ancestry populations. One could say there isn’t much diversity at some California schools because so many are Asian. Or at one of the historically Black colleges. Or in Chinatown in any city. Or…</p>
<p>Eastern Iowa, especially along the river, Cedar Rapids and south is BEAUTIFUL and no where near flat. Western Iowa, is flat but there is beauty in the openness and the fields with the colors and variations. Wisconsin is considered “hick” here :D</p>
<p>Indeed it does! Different crops, different tilling techniques (for flat and hilly fields), different approaches to flood control, different Protestant denominations, etc. </p>
<p>The thing is, it’s a wonderful place to many people. Does Spike Lee or Jack Nicholson sit courtside? Does the Bolshoi come to town annually? Is Mass Transit the primary means to get workers downtown? Uh no, no and no. But can you walk up to any door in town and knock on it with expectation that you’ll be warmly welcomed? Absolutely.</p>
<p>But most* of them are not 80% Asian like Wisconsin is 80% white, and “Asian ancestry” includes a lot of ethnic and national origins like “European ancestry” does. </p>
<p>*Highest percentage Asian in UC and CSU is UC Irvine at 51% Asian.</p>
<p>NewHope33–you aren’t serious are you? You realize the Minneapolis has the highest per capita theater seats outside of NYC, right? You do realize that yes, the Bolshoi and other international touring companies do come to the Midwest, Chicago, Minneapolis, etc. Who cares if Jack Nicholson shows up at a game, do movie stars live down the street from you and people treat them as one of the neighbors? Give me a break…</p>
<p>My son grew up in the NE also and chose to go to college in beautiful IA, to the same small LAC that M’s Mom’s son attended. LOVED IT! Spent a year after graduation in NYC and then moved to Kansas City. LOVES IT! But OP, explore another part of the country. So many beautiful places to experience. I am pleased to say that I’ve never heard my son say that he was bored. If nothing else, he always has a good book to read or a notebook to write in.</p>
<p>You’re making me think I should look around Iowa a bit next time I’m ‘passing through’ there on the interstate. I’ll get busy checking out what’s there that I’d be interested in seeing.</p>
<p>You may be pleasantly surprised. Again, the area along the river on the eastern side of the state is amazing, especially if you drive down 61 along the river. The interstate really isn’t the best way to see Iowa, but if you are just driving through, it’s a lot easier :D.</p>
<p>I did not grow up in the Midwest, but I did grow up in a town that was 87% Caucasian. I wouldn’t consider it diverse by any stretch (in human demographic terms. In terms of landscape, sure, but “diversity” is usually used in reference to the human population). Yeah, some families had originally come from Ireland and some from Germany, etc, but it’s not like the Irish-Americans spoke Gaelic or whatnot. Maybe they had a Celtic cross pendant or something . . . the “diversity” of the population was surface stuff like that. After I moved, I met a black man who had also originally lived in my home town, and he said people there would often tell him he was the first black person they had ever met. He said it always made him feel like a stranger there, which is sad.</p>
<p>I have lived in Iowa most of my life, with a few years in Indiana and Illinois.</p>
<p>Eastern Iowa is NOT flat. It is quite hilly, hilly enough for some easy ski slopes in the NE and east central areas.</p>
<p>There is a lot to see here: the John Wayne birthplace, the Bridges of Madison County, the Amana Colonies, the Bob Feller baseball museum, the Field of Dreams, Snake Alley, Grotto of the Redemption, plus a lot more.</p>
<p>Of course Iowa does not have a NYC, LA or Chicago. That is what makes us unique. We do have things to do, and there is no reason to be bored, especially in the Des Moines metro area, Cedar Rapids, or Council Bluffs/Omaha areas.</p>
<p>Iowa is mostly a Caucasion state, with a growing Hispanic population. I was at an east village optometrist office in Des Moines last week. He came out of his office speaking fluent Spanish with the previous patient, then seamlessly flipped to English take care of my client. I have been in similiar situations at a dentist office in the DM area.</p>
<p>There is diversity here, just not exactly like a more populated area.</p>
<p>OP - Well, I thought my message in post #44 was clear enough. But on the off chance it wasn’t, let me restate it directly.</p>
<p>The Midwest is NOT diverse compared to places like NYC, San Francisco, Miami, Paris and Rio de Janeiro. That doesn’t mean it’s a cold forbidding place … quite the contrary. But since you’re young, please take the opportunity to explore some interesting places away from your current domicile. If in the future you choose to return to the Midwest, at least you’ll know why that’s the right decision for you.</p>
I’ve always wondered what it is that people are unable to “do” in XYZ location. Some places will be a better fit than others for certain people - and it’s worth traveling a bit to figure out what works for you - but in terms of your daily life I’d imagine that most activities will be pretty similar wherever you live.
<p>There’s some good parts and some ho-hum parts. Chicago, Minneapolis, Columbus: great. Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Kansas City, St. Louis, Louisville, OK. The stalwarts of rust belts of times past, Detroit, Cleveland, etc… Livable. The smaller towns, not as much. The college towns… A few are great - Ann Arbor, Madison, Urbana/Champaign, great. Some are OK (you know who you are :)), and a lot, well, let’s just say they list a Walmart as a great attraction…</p>
<p>Overall, the US Midwest has gotten better, but Florida or Santa Barbara we’re not… Coming from Elbonia by way of the New Orleans area in the 80’s I was sort of freaked out diversity wise, but things have turned out OK. In 1985, local supermarkets had “Dog Food, Cat Food, and Ethnic Food” all in the same aisle. That was diversity for you :)</p>
I do not agree with this and I think it mostly driven by an urban/suburban/rural split. A lot of medium sized cities are very suburban focused … the downtown areas are not very big and tend to clean out at night without street life anything comparable to some larger cities. </p>
<p>I’ve spent about a week in Des Moines but it pretty much clears out at night. Could I find excellent Italian food in Des Moines? I’m sure I could … but, for me, that experience in no way compares to spending an evening hanging out in the North End of Boston (the North End is the Italian enclave in Boston). </p>
<p>Granted Des Moines is a lot smaller than Boston (200k versus 600k) however I would also make the same claim about Indianapolis which has a lot going on but not as active a street night life as Boston and is actually bigger than Boston (800k to 600k).</p>
<p>As someone who likes living in cities there is actually a pretty short list of cities that are as downtown centric as I like … probably about 20. Overall, this is a lot like picking colleges … could I be happy in about 100 cities? Sure … but there is a much shorter list of cities than I like a lot more.</p>
<p>Maybe if I get into a good grad school, I can blow out my savings to travel for a couple of months after I graduate this December. I think a friend of mine who likes to travel is on the same boat as me, but his decision depends entirely on whether or not he gets accepted by the Rhodes or Marshall Scholarship (tall order). But if things work out, I’ll probably take the opportunity to get out there.</p>
<p>The reasons I don’t want to stay in Iowa consist of more than just having no downtown. I’m an outdoors guy, and there’s just not a lot of things here for me compared to other places. My friend had to drive 2 hours to a place just so he could hike in the 90 degree heat. Another time, he drove 2 hours to the only grass tennis court in Iowa, just to play for an hour. The nearest body of water around here is the “skunk river”; I’d like to jog by the beach, or maybe try surfing. Most importantly, 80% of the entry level jobs in engineering revolve around corn and soybeans.</p>
<p>I have great affection for Iowa, but there’s a reason that I miss Wisconsin more. There really IS a lot more to do in other parts of the midwest than Iowa. A lot of people leave Iowa, and there’s a reason for that. If I lived there I’d only want to live in Iowa City, truth be told. Especially as a young person.</p>
![http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iowa_topography.jpg]File:Iowa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iowa_topography.jpg%5DFile:Iowa){kind=link}
