I'd say the Midwest, because the West and Northeast are full of immigrants and the South is almost a country unto itself.

The whole country is purely American, or as American as you can get in a country that allows immigration. 

I'd say the Midwest, because the West and Northeast are full of immigrants and the South is almost a country unto itself.


Yeah, the typical Midwest seems to have that "farming community" type All American feel to it, but more laid back than the typical South. New England is the most "old" part of the country, the 13 Colonies region.

Although California seems pretty American, although maybe I'm biased. ;)

The Midwest, with its combination of factory towns and farming communities, and being so dominated by Anglos. The NE where I am is pretty unique and Balkanized almost like Europe, with its Italian, Jewish, Irish, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, West Indian, and Asian Indian cultural influences that aren't found in quanity elsewhere. And California is what the rest of America aspires to be. To me, a city like Indianapolis or Columbus or Kansas City is just about the most totally American.

Yeah, the typical Midwest seems to have that "farming community" type All American feel to it, but more laid back than the typical South. New England is the most "old" part of the country, the 13 Colonies region.

Although California seems pretty American, although maybe I'm biased. ;)


I think Californian culture derives primarily from around Iowa, that is cities like Des Moines, Omaha, and Peoria.

The Mid-West.

I'm as Un-American American as they come  ;)

I think Californian culture derives primarily from around Iowa, that is cities like Des Moines, Omaha, and Peoria.


Most white SoCalifornians come from there, and I think that's really apparent in middle-American enclaves like the Ventura County and west L.A. county burbs over the Santa Monica Mountains, lots of the O.C. and San Diego County, the beach cities like Torrance and El Segundo, the Inland Empire, and certain areas like Santa Barbara or the San Fernando Valley. Of course, places like the San Gabriel Valley and SE Los Angeles County and W. OC used to be even more like that, but the residents have dispersed to further out 'burbs like the aforementioned ones. Bay Area culture is more of a hodge-podge.

I would say the only areas that my area has had a really concentrated cultural influence on are South Florida and the Hollywood-influenced parts of L.A., because of the mass migrations of retiree Italians and Jews and other ethnic groups to Florida and the mass Jewish and other migration to L.A. New England is actually the original cultural influence on Ohio, with the mix of small factory towns and farms. Most settlers came to it and the rest of the E. Midwest from there, originally, though of course there's a heavy German influence as well.

I think of NY, NJ, and that corner of SW Connecticut as really our own cultural region. We're less old and have alot less pre-revolutionary heritage, or even pre-1840 sort of heritage, really, because of the massive impact of the immigration of Irish and Germans first and then Italians and Jews. We're not at all English, which Philadelphia sort of is and New England sort of is still.

This is a silly premise.  Its all America.  An Italian neighborhood in the Bronx is just as much part of the American experience as a barrio in San Antonio or a farming community in the Midwest.

The Midwest, with its combination of factory towns and farming communities, and being so dominated by Anglos. The NE where I am is pretty unique and Balkanized almost like Europe, with its Italian, Jewish, Irish, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, West Indian, and Asian Indian cultural influences that aren't found in quanity elsewhere. And California is what the rest of America aspires to be. To me, a city like Indianapolis or Columbus or Kansas City is just about the most totally American.


From the Avatar you can tell that I'm actually from the MidWest. Actually the European stock here seems to be predominatly Nordic of both German and Scandinavian ancestory. Originally Illinois was part of the French Empire and nearby cities from what I gather like Peoria, Dubuque, La Cross, St Louis, and abandoned settlements like Kaskaskia were settled by the French before being taken over by the British and later Americans. In fact, Ottawa Illinois according to a local history program, was supposed to be the capital of a Western French Viceroy between Lousiana and Quebec.

I'd say the Midwest, because the West and Northeast are full of immigrants


I say that this quality makes these areas the most purely american...considering the reason the nation was founded...

Now if you mean stereotypically american...hard to say.  Ohio? Indiana?

I'd say Minnesota...

It had the nation's first shopping mall, has Highway 61, and has the Mall of America...

How do you define American  ???

How do you define American  ???


Baseball/American football, warm apple pie, cheerleaders, drive-ins, McDonalds...

Baseball/American football, warm apple pie, cheerleaders, drive-ins, McDonalds...


Then I guess there isn't a place in the USA that is more American than any other. I guess the basic
difference would be what you put on that pie, ice cream, whip cream, or sharp cheddar.

Then I guess there isn't a place in the USA that is more American than any other. I guess the basic
difference would be what you put on that pie, ice cream, whip cream, or sharp cheddar.


lol

What about the Least American part of the United States?

I'd actually say New York City...to me it's more like a mini-version of the World than a city in America. Or maybe San Diego, which is very Mexican.

lol

What about the Least American part of the United States?

I'd actually say New York City...to me it's more like a mini-version of the World than a city in America. Or maybe San Diego, which is very Mexican.


Since the USA is a country of immigrants,  I would say NYC is the idea of America on steroids.  The antithesis of America would be a city that is totally one color, one religion, one cuisine(never underestimate the power of food).

Since the USA is a country of immigrants,  I would say NYC is the idea of America on steroids.  The antithesis of America would be a city that is totally one color, one religion, one cuisine(never underestimate the power of food).


In the world context, America is a fairly culturally diverse country. In places like Japan, 99% of the population are culturally homogenous. Just imagine the state of Kansas or something expanding to totally consume the United States.

Baseball/American football, warm apple pie, cheerleaders, drive-ins, McDonalds...


I'll take a cheerleader with my pie.  ;)

As a few people have already pointed out, this is just a stupid concept. EVERY part of the U.S. is as much "American" as the next. We are a vast nation made up of different ethinic backgrounds and have been influenced by different cultures. One is no less "American" as the next. It is ideas like this that divide the nation. "I am MORE American than you".



Cat

I'll take a cheerleader with my pie.  ;)


Man o man, I have a comeback for that but I would probably get banned  ::)

I'll take a cheerleader with my pie.  ;)



And that would be cherry pie, right? 

lol

What about the Least American part of the United States?

I'd actually say New York City...to me it's more like a mini-version of the World than a city in America. Or maybe San Diego, which is very Mexican.


If you've never been to NYC, then you don't know the extent to which it's just the nucleus of its own country, American in a unique way, that includes downstate NY, SW Connecticut, and North Jersey and the Jersey Shore. No place I've been in the US really isn't American.

Actually, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and some Texan cities are more Mexican than San Diego, where the people are supposedly like Kansans or Iowans.

Man o man, I have a comeback for that but I would probably get banned  ::)


Feel free to send me a message.



And that would be cherry pie, right? 


Who are you, Jani Lane?  ;)

Actually, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and some Texan cities are more Mexican than San Diego, where the people are supposedly like Kansans or Iowans.


Um, so what?  A lot of Northeastern cities have strong Italian and Jewish influence on local culture.  Its all American.

[quote author=

Actually, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and some Texan cities are more Mexican than San Diego, where the people are supposedly like Kansans or Iowans.


Yeah, in some ways parts of Los Angeles are actually more Mexican - not geographically, but population-wise. And yes, I was surprised to find out more than half of New Mexico's population were 'Hispanic'.