askchapo

I could never live in the Upper Midwest states like Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Too cold for too much of the year. Chicago gets crazy cold sometimes but winters are getting milder thanks to climate change. The more Western Midwest states are too boring for me. There are small cultural enclaves like Lincoln Nebraska or Lawrence Kansas, but they are more remote out there than in the eastern part of the region. Instead of a couple hours drive to see a cool concert you'd need to get a hotel.

I like Cincinnati although I've never lived there. Good mix of culture and affordability plus a drive towards more bike and transit infrastructure. If I weren't concerned with having a career I'd live in a blue city in the South, like Asheville North Carolina or Lewisburg West Virginia. Great weather, good culture, and nice people. Just a lot of poverty and few jobs.