most bohemian midwest city??

[montréaliste]

Branson, Missouri. The outskirts.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

Agree on Madison and Minneapolis. Also, Lawrence, Kansas (home of K.U.) and Iowa City (U.I.) are somewhat more "bohemian" than the surrounding farmlands. Galena IL is an interesting river town on the Mississippi that has a lot of arty stuff going on. Cincinnati has a "bohemian" side, as does Milwaukee also with a sizable German heritage and real actual people from "Bohemia". Columbus has gigantic OSU, and small Athens has Ohio University, but Appalachia is close by if you want some hillbilly stuff.

theres a lot of cross-fertilization between lawrence, which is one of the best for its size (william s. burroughs of course lived out the end if his life there), and kansas city. theres different kinds of weird and arty and the old cities of the midwest have their own thing going on but its a different animal. within the spirit of the o.p. i really feel like the larger midwest plains cities fit the bill, they have definite flashes of the northwest brand of this sort of thing (and pre current-era austin). even the city-scapes are similar, i’m pretty sure i’ve been so drunk in minneapolis that i thought i had awoken in seattle (in a neighborhood not downtown). kansas city leans more austin-y (and appears to be getting an arty outfow from there although not like it “needs” it) but still has that same era cityscape/city feel as minneapolis.

[10023]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

First define "midwest" because I always get told what I think of as the midwest is wrong here on SSP.

Basically states with Big Ten universities before conference expansions.

[the urban politician]

The Midwest is everything that is not east coast, west coast, south, mountain, or Appalachia.

I feel that, like the taxonomic term “reptile”, it is defined more by what it’s not than what it is.

The Midwest gets a bad name in part because hip urban areas like Detroit or Milwaukee are lumped into the same region as South Dakota and Nebraska when they clearly have nothing in common with each other. I’ve long felt that the urbanized and progressive part of the region needs to rebrand itself as the “Great Lakes region” for what is obviously its most prominent geographic feature.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

The Midwest is everything that is not east coast, west coast, south, mountain, or Appalachia.

I feel that, like the taxonomic term “reptile”, it is defined more by what it’s not than what it is.

The Midwest gets a bad name in part because hip urban areas like Detroit or Milwaukee are lumped into the same region as South Dakota and Nebraska when they clearly have nothing in common with each other. I’ve long felt that the urbanized and progressive part of the region needs to rebrand itself as the “Great Lakes region” for what is obviously its most prominent geographic feature.

nebraska is largely a suburban/urban state. arguably the politics have moderated in the plains states (kansas excepted) while they have turned right in some of the great lakes states. the plains states DO have a distinct history of progressivism.

now if you had left that out of the conversation i would have 100% agreed. its a different landcape, and a slightly different people.

[Chef]

Originally Posted by Docere

Minneapolis seems to be more Seattle than Portland.

Part of it is that as portions of Minneapolis have gentrified, its bohemian side has been pushed into portions of the city that few out-of-towners visit - Powderhorn Park, Seward, and Northeast. It has also dispersed it more widely. Someone who comes here for business and spends all their time Downtown and in Uptown could completely miss it.

The areas around the U of M are some of the least bohemian parts of the city. The counterculture in the Twin Cities comes more from people who are lifelong participants in it rather than college kids.

Also, Seattle is still more bohemian than 95% of America.

[Docere]

Originally Posted by Chef

Also, Seattle is still more bohemian than 95% of America.

No doubt.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by pdxtex

buffalo and pittsburgh are "border" towns. they share more social capital with their western neighbors than the other big cities of their own state so they are included id say.

No, that just is not in accordance with reality. I'm not sure how you're using the term "social capital" here, but Buffalo and Pittsburgh definitely do not share more of a network or connection with cities/states to their west than they do with cities within New York and Pennsylvania.

To suggest otherwise is simply faulty understanding. Eastern Ohio certainly shares connection with Pittsburgh and western PA, but that's pretty much where that connection ends.

Originally Posted by 10023

Basically states with Big Ten universities before conference expansions.

I'd say that's as good a definition as any... if you add Missouri (at least the northern half?).

The Midwest is corn and soybeans (yellow and green mass).

Originally Posted by the urban politician

The Midwest is everything that is not east coast, west coast, south, mountain, or Appalachia.

Well, what's Pennsylvania and New York then? Appalachia?

[photoLith]

Lawrence Kansas is my pick. Went there about 5 years ago, the downtown is super nice and intact and there were more hipsters there than I had seen anywhere else.

[Chef]

I grew up in Upstate NY and have spent a fair amount of time in both Buffalo and Rochester, including recently. I would suggest that even if they were part of the Midwest they would be nowhere near the most bohemian parts.

Although the plains are the most conservative part of the Midwest they also seem to generate the largest number of freaks and weirdos. Maybe it is the effect that cultural friction has on thinking people in areas dominated by conservative mores. Anyway, my experience of the cities of the eastern Midwest is that they aren't very bohemian at all. You will see more of it in places like Rapid City or Fargo.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by photoLith

Lawrence Kansas is my pick. Went there about 5 years ago, the downtown is super nice and intact and there were more hipsters there than I had seen anywhere else.

Super nice and intact downtowns and hipsters are about as far from bohemian as you can get though.

Though I agree Lawrence is a cool town.

[Docere]

And I'm guessing those "freaks and weirdos" from the Dakotas gravitate toward Minneapolis.

[Chef]

Originally Posted by Docere

And I'm guessing those "freaks and weirdos" from the Dakotas gravitate toward Minneapolis.

Yes, and in my experience a lot of the most "out there" people in Minneapolis are from the Dakotas.

[Docere]

Among the Great Plains states, North Dakota is not becoming more moderate. It's swung rightward due to the oil boom.

[dubu]

Originally Posted by Docere

And I'm guessing those "freaks and weirdos" from the Dakotas gravitate toward Minneapolis.

northern canifornia. opposites attract. that might be true but people move far a lot of times

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by pj3000

Super nice and intact downtowns and hipsters are about as far from bohemian as you can get though.

Though I agree Lawrence is a cool town.

same can be said for hawthorne ave pdx circa 2005...

when i lived in kc, lawrence was an indie powerhouse equal to what you’d expect of a major metro area.

[Xing]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

Agree on Madison and Minneapolis. Also, Lawrence, Kansas (home of K.U.) and Iowa City (U.I.) are somewhat more "bohemian" than the surrounding farmlands. Galena IL is an interesting river town on the Mississippi that has a lot of arty stuff going on. Cincinnati has a "bohemian" side, as does Milwaukee also with a sizable German heritage and real actual people from "Bohemia". Columbus has gigantic OSU, and small Athens has Ohio University, but Appalachia is close by if you want some hillbilly stuff.

Galena is cute, but “cute” isn’t how I would describe a Bohemian town.

I think an under the radar Bohemian town in the Midwest would be impossible, since any Bohemian town in the Midwest would be on the radar for standing out too much as Bohemian. There are some Bohemian suburbs of big cities, as well as Bohemian college towns, but those wouldn’t be under the radar.

[JAYNYC]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

The Midwest is everything that is not east coast, west coast, south, mountain, or Appalachia.

I feel that, like the taxonomic term “reptile”, it is defined more by what it’s not than what it is.

The Midwest gets a bad name in part because hip urban areas like Detroit or Milwaukee are lumped into the same region as South Dakota and Nebraska when they clearly have nothing in common with each other. I’ve long felt that the urbanized and progressive part of the region needs to rebrand itself as the “Great Lakes region” for what is obviously its most prominent geographic feature.

I've visited Milwaukee numerous times (and spent a great deal of time there). Not once have I ever associated the word "hip" with any aspect of the city.

[Chef]

Originally Posted by Xing

I think an under the radar Bohemian town in the Midwest would be impossible, since any Bohemian town in the Midwest would be on the radar for standing out too much as Bohemian. There are some Bohemian suburbs of big cities, as well as Bohemian college towns, but those wouldn’t be under the radar.

The closest thing may be Duluth, which is a fairly odd place. It isn't hipster at all but feels very bohemian to me, in sort of a rustic throwback kind of way. It is so isolated that it tends to stew in its own communist, hunter, fisherman juices rather than be influenced by the outside world. It is like a sophisticated Thunder Bay. And Superior is like somebody gave David Lynch a rust belt town to play with.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by Chef

I grew up in Upstate NY and have spent a fair amount of time in both Buffalo and Rochester, including recently. I would suggest that even if they were part of the Midwest they would be nowhere near the most bohemian parts.

Although the plains are the most conservative part of the Midwest they also seem to generate the largest number of freaks and weirdos. Maybe it is the effect that cultural friction has on thinking people in areas dominated by conservative mores. Anyway, my experience of the cities of the eastern Midwest is that they aren't very bohemian at all. You will see more of it in places like Rapid City or Fargo.

i agree, oklahoma/kansas/nebraska/western iowa has the same effect on kansas city as the dakotas, iowa, and minnesota (and a larger area than that) have on minneapolis. that dynamic changes once you get to st. louis, and east. each cities catchment area necks down and chicago takes its slice. the culture becomes more specific to and built around the individual cities (which is cool too, but a different energy).