[edale]

I definitely hear people in LA call portions of the Midwest and non-coastal East as the 'East Coast'. I haven't heard people call Chicago East Coast, though. I think it's probably because it's the 'king of the Midwest' and everyone knows it as the Midwestern metropolis. When I tell people I'm going to Ohio, it's not uncommon to hear it referred to as 'East Coast' by people here, or at least 'back east'. Maybe it's the time zone thing, maybe it's just that Ohio is the most eastern portion of the Midwest...idk.