Wolf,
I don't know about life in the Midwest, or the East as an entity, but life in northern New York is something I could expound upon. By 'rotting', I mean just that; the majority of buildings are in a state of decay or abandoned, due to neglect, rodents, weather, and mold.
This is an example of a rotting building in Watertown, NY - most of the town looks like this.
You'll see a lot of decaying houses, as well. This is a photo of my neighbors house - just the shutters, anyway. People generally live in houses that are run-down, and getting worse year by year. For lack of money, mostly.
There are many abandoned houses and buildings, also. Lots of corn fields; lots of open spaces, and then clumps of trees. Here is a site with photos of many of the abandoned homes and barns of Lewis County, where I lived, and surrounding areas
http://oabonny.freehostia.com/.
This is a photo of an abandoned building, as seen from the cornfields behind my husband's parents house.
Humidity is high. Coupled with summer heat, or indoor heating in the winter/spring/fall/early summer (because it is very cold there most of the time), molds proliferate - especially the ubiquitous black mold that is toxic to humans. I've heard the mold problem is endemic to the East coast and Southeast; it may also be as far spread as the Midwest. (But I don't know.)
Lewis County is one of the most "economically depressed" areas in the nation. This is due to the closure of the paper mills in the 1960's-70's, and slow withdrawal of the logging industry. Dairy farming is now one of the only sustained forms of income in the region; there is a cottage industry in maple syrup-making, and there is a sluggish tourist trade. Many towns, like Copenhagen, rely on snowmobilers in the winter. It is also Amish country; many of my neighbors were Amish or Mennonite, and had little to do with the local economy because they subsistence farmed for themselves.
Life in the country in northern New York is what I can tell you about.
I have driven through the East and Midwest a few times. It is interesting to see the change in scenery, coming from the west. The plains even out into broad farms with clumps of trees; eventually the clumps of trees grow thicker, until you're driving through dense forests. At a certain point, the land becomes green as you've never seen, and
nobody has to water it. One of the great things about living in NY was that we didn't have to have sprinklers. The problem is sort of the opposite, there; more water than we knew what to do with.
There are lots of natural lakes, rivers, and streams. It is more common to go swimming in a river or lake than to swim in a pool, at least in NY. This is a photo of my husband and daughter playing at Whitaker Falls, NY, just north of Lowville:
And of some random people at Lake Ontario (i thought the girls and their round grandpa were cute):
This is a photo of Sacketts Harbor, NY, at sunset:
Because of all the lakes, many people, even the poor people, have boats in northern NY. Hell, we had a boat, and we were/are perpetually broke.
Fishing is big; hunting is big. It is very scenic, very pretty, but again, most everything man-made is in a state of decay. From cars to buildings to city streets. I don't see the equivalent of that here in the west.
My thoughts on the Midwest are a little different. The only information I can give comes from my impressions driving through. One thing to think about is the heat. It gets oppressively hot in the bread basket, and humid. When we drove through Joplin, Missouri last summer, it was 103F, and the humidity was so bad, we were drenched. Our clothes were wet; hair wet; windows and dashboard wet. Just... wet. And hugely, horribly hot. I've heard it gets as cold as New York in the winter, and if that is the case, then it is going to be COLD AS F*@! for you. My advice would be to get a fur-lined coat, good boots, several scarves, a took, a long-handled ice scraper for your car windows, a bag of rock salt or kitty litter for your trunk, and a sturdy shovel.
Be prepared for a lot more precipitation all around, out there, than here. Lots more rain, lots more snow.
That's about all I've got. I'm sorry I can't be more of a help when it comes to life in the Midwest.
Home
Pages: 
