Contentious issue I know, but recently I’ve encountered a number of people who believe that Ohio (and sometimes Indiana and Michigan) is not truly part of the Midwest. Which to me is preposterous since I’ve always considered Ohio the most quintessentially Midwestern state. Midwest to me has always been very nearly synonymous with rust belt, but it seems there are a fair number of people who place the Midwest more in what I’d call the Great Plains, or Greater Minnesota. So I’m wondering where do you all place the Midwest.
I live an hour-ish outside of Minneapolis, even for being a more conservative area of Minnesota it is miles better than any of Missouri IMO.
I've visited MI and OH, I can't endorse Ohio given the experience of friends there, but MI has a certain appeal to me anyway. The growing season is definitely better than what I've got now depending on your proximity to the lakes.
They named the state "Misery". There is no reason to want to live there and even travelling through is unsafe. It's a hell of ruthless right wing reaction, racism, and unspeakably brutal social violence.