1. Eating is soooo much different. After being around people that are such health nuts in the Northwest I had almost forgotten about the comfort foods I grew up around. This photo above I took at a bowling alley we went to. I can almost guarantee you wouldn't find one of these machines in Washington that allows you to put on as much cheese or chili your heart desires!
2. Recycling is looked at in a completely different manner in the midwest. In Washington you learn to recycle just about everything that leaves your house. Our recycling bin is almost as tall as I am. It is a HUGE bin. The recycling truck comes every other week. I actually wish it would come every week as we have so much that needs to go out. While in Missouri (yes I am still cringing about this as I type this) I actually threw an aluminum can in the TRASH can!
3. Weather. Regan just about freaked out when she saw a sign at the airport that pointed you in the direction you needed to in case of a tornado. When it was raining one day I heard many complain about what a horribly dreary day it was. For us....this is the norm ;).
4. Housing. I had almost forgotten what it looked like to see big open fields for miles and miles with nothing but farm land. In our area land is such a commodity houses are built literally in other houses backyards at times. It was quite lovely to enjoy the beauty God has provided us with, dreary rain or not.
5. Cost of living. We went out to eat at a really nice restaurant with our brother and sister in law while visiting them. Both Christian and I were shocked at the price of the items on the menu. You could get a FULL plate of food for only $8 there. We are used to paying a little more like $14.95 a plate. Plus gas was only $1.76 up north it was at $2.36 when we left!
So do you ever notice these small differences when you travel too?
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
5 ways Midwest living differs from that of Northwest living
Posted by Abby at 2:22 AM
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I just dropped off dry cleaning with my new green garmento bag and I asked if I could leave it there so they could use it and they said sure. I asked if they had a marker so I could write my name on it and they laughed and said, "Your the only one around here who uses one of these so we will know who it belongs to" but I still wrote my name on it! Yeah, going green in the midwest takes discipline as it is an individual choice, not the states so one has to decide on their own and stick with it (not always being easy!) and I hope you did not throw that can away at my house as I have a large recycling area in my garage!
Saying that, w/ all the traveling we have done, the people in the mid-west are by far the kindest, most polite, waving at strangers as they pass them on the road, opening doors, not rushing around, def more laid back. The south is close as I saw similar behaviors. Maybe its because the mid-west gets all 4 seasons?! More sun? Don't know, but it is fun seeing the difference in each region of the U.S. and worldwide.
This was a great post! I too find the differences amazing. People are way more "health nut" like on the west coast. I don't know about in WA, but here in our town in OR all the schools are in a pod style making the kids get outside to go to lunch, PE, or any other special. At first I wasn't sure about it, but then I was thinking at least I know they will get a little fresh air everyday and not be stuck inside for eight hours.
Oh yes. We live in NYC so it is cheaper everywhere. I take my recylcing out to the bin on my floor (it is collected 2x per week). Happy Earth Day to you! If you feel motivated you can enter my contest here:
http://momtrends.blogspot.com/2009/04/happy-earth-day-and-green-toy-giveaway.html
it ends tonight!
I love this post as I have seem many of the differences too.
There are pluses about the Northwest and pluses about the Midwest....
One of the best pluses about the Northwest is definitely the healthier way of eating. I think it is interesting all the buffets there are in the Midwest and you can barely find one here in this area. I am also happy about how easy they have made it in the Northwest to recycle. I don't know what is taking some of the Midwest states to get on board?!
I would agree with Mandy that the Midwest definitely has the nicest people out of almost anywhere. Matt and I have said this many of times. It is amazing how people will stop to talk to you...somtimes I feel like here people are in too much of a rush. The other thing I miss about the Midwest is the sun! I love how green it is here all year round, but would give up some of the green to have a little more sunshine.
Interesting observations from each of you! I have lived in 3 states and they were all in the Midwest--but very different from each other! We lived in the Oklahoma City area when we were first married. Our 'accents' were enough different from theirs that we got asked all of the time "Where y'all from?" Indiana was another state we lived in for a few years. When we lived there, there was no tax on food.I could go to the store and keep a running tally on what I was spending. The first time we went to the store back in Missouri I forgot about the tax and had to put a few items back in order to 'cover' the bill!
There is a difference, too, within our state. People from KC move at a different pace from those in St.Louis, and the pace in the OZARKS is slower than anywhere else in the state!
I wish we did better on re-cycling, too. Kristopher said when he came home from living in Germany during his Army career[15 years+/- ago!]"I can't believe you don't recycle more! In Germany it is NOT 'Will you?' It is 'You will!' "
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