History Main / FlyoverCountry

** Cincinnati: Named after {{Cincinnatus}} and by extension UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington, this quaint city doesn't conform to what a typical Ohio city is. Owing to its proximity to Kentucky and the ensuring cultural impact, Cincy is often called "the northernmost southern city". It was America's first major inland city, and in bygone years, it was known as the hub city for the trade of pigs and pork, and was a major stopping point on the Underground Railroad that smuggled slaves out of the South. Consequently it has a very prominent museum dedicated to the Underground Railroad. In modern times, Cincinnati is known for its own special type of chili, the headquarters of GE Aircraft Engines, the supermarket chain Kroger, and Procter & Gamble, and for one of NCAA basketball's few intra-city rivalries, between Xavier University and the University of Cincinnati. Oh, and [[Series/WKRPInCincinnati a TV show about a radio station]].
** Dayton: Like Columbus, it's rarely seen or mentioned in fiction, despite a history of being a hotbed for inventors, most famously being the Wright brothers, who helped pioneer air travel. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is nearby, and the Dayton Agreement, which ended the Bosnian War, was signed at the Base and named after the city.

* Iowa: A sea of corn that people only ever care about every four years, when it plays a pivotal role as the first state in the [[UsefulNotes/AmericanPoliticalSystem Presidential primary cycle]], leading journalists and pollsters to swarm the state and politicians to embarrass themselves trying to pander to its 3.1 million people. (If you're wondering why [[AllNaturalSnakeOil corn ethanol]] was ever taken seriously as an alternative energy source: this is why.) After that, it vanishes back into obscurity even before the actual election; despite being a swing state these days, its small population means that it's rarely a decisive factor in the election like Ohio is. Their biggest exports seem to be agriculture, Creator/AshtonKutcher, Creator/ElijahWood, and the music of Music/{{Slipknot}} and Music/StoneSour.

That all said, the depiction of the geographic landscape outside the cities can be quite accurate. The Midwest produces substantial portions of the global supply of corn, wheat, and soybeans (among other crops), so fields in every direction as far as the eye can see is an absolute truth for much of the area. Furthermore, large parts of it are very flat with no more than some low hills (there's a reason the center of the country is called the Great ''Plains''), but flatness is not universal.

These nuances and many more tend to be lost on Hollywood. Shows set in New York City will lovingly show details of the landmarks and locales, right down to the street corner and the Middle Eastern vendor who's been there selling falafel for the past 20 years. Meanwhile, the entire state of UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}} will just be "Ohio" with no distinction between inner-city Cleveland, suburban Bedford, or rural Sugarcreek. And if you think this doesn't have real-world consequences, people in Milwaukee have speculated that the stodgy and extremely-white portrayal on ''Series/HappyDays'' and its SpinOff ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'' may have hurt its actual economic and cultural growth, as it didn't make the city particularly attractive to people outside Wisconsin who didn't know better. Producer Creator/GarryMarshall had never even stepped foot in the state until long after both shows ended.

These nuances and many more tend to be lost on Hollywood. Shows set in New York City will lovingly show details of the landmarks and locales, right down to the street corner and the Middle Eastern vendor who's been selling falafel out of his truck for the past 20 years. Meanwhile, the entire state of UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}} will just be "Ohio" with no distinction between inner-city Cleveland, suburban Bedford, or rural Sugarcreek. And if you think this doesn't have real-world consequences, people in Milwaukee have speculated that the stodgy and extremely-white portrayal on ''Series/HappyDays'' and its SpinOff ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'' may have hurt its actual economic and cultural growth, as it didn't make the city particularly attractive to people outside Wisconsin who didn't know better. Producer Creator/GarryMarshall had never even stepped foot in the state until long after both shows ended.

These nuances and many more tend to be lost on Hollywood. Shows set in New York City will lovingly show details of the landmarks and locales, right down to the street corner and the vendor who's been selling falafel out of his wagon there for the past 20 years. Meanwhile, the entire state of UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}} will just be "Ohio" with no distinction between inner-city Cleveland, suburban Bedford, or rural Sugarcreek. And if you think this doesn't have real-world consequences, people in Milwaukee have speculated that the stodgy and extremely-white portrayal on ''Series/HappyDays'' and its SpinOff ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'' may have hurt its actual economic and cultural growth, as it didn't make the city particularly attractive to people outside Wisconsin who didn't know better. Producer Creator/GarryMarshall had never even stepped foot in the state until long after both shows ended.

These nuances and many more tend to be lost on Hollywood. Shows set in New York City will lovingly show details of the landmarks and locales, right down to the street corner and the vendor who's been selling falafel out of his wagon there for the past 20 years. Meanwhile, the entire state of UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}} will just be "Ohio" with no distinction between inner-city Cleveland, suburban Bedford, or rural Sugarcreek. And if you think this doesn't have real-world consequences, people in Milwaukee have speculated that the stodgy and extremely-white portrayal in ''Series/HappyDays'' and its SpinOff ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'' may have hurt its actual economic and cultural growth. Producer Creator/GarryMarshall had never even been to Milwaukee until long after both shows ended.

These nuances and many more tend to be lost on Hollywood. Shows set in New York City will lovingly show details of the landmarks and locales, right down to the street corner and the Jamaican vendor who's been selling curry goat out of her wagon there for the past 30 years. Meanwhile, the entire state of UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}} will just be "Ohio" with no distinction in culture or lifestyle between inner-city Cleveland, suburban Bedford, or rural Sugarcreek. And if you think this doesn't have real-world consequences, people in Milwaukee have speculated that the stodgy and extremely-white portrayal in ''Series/HappyDays'' and its SpinOff ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'' may have hurt its actual economic and cultural growth. Producer Creator/GarryMarshall had never even been to Milwaukee until long after both shows ended.

These nuances and many more tend to be lost on Hollywood. Shows set in New York City will lovingly show details of the landmarks and locales, right down to the street corner and the Jamaican man who's been selling curry goat out of his wagon there for the past 30 years. Meanwhile, the entire state of UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}} will just be "Ohio" with no distinction in culture or lifestyle between inner-city Cleveland, suburban Bedford, or rural Sugarcreek. And if you think this doesn't have real-world consequences, people in Milwaukee have speculated that the stodgy and extremely-white portrayal in ''Series/HappyDays'' and its SpinOff ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'' may have hurt its actual economic and cultural growth. Producer Creator/GarryMarshall had never even been to Milwaukee until long after both shows ended.

These nuances and many more tend to be lost on Hollywood. Shows set in New York City will lovingly show details of the landmarks and locales, right down to the street corner and the Jamaican man who's been selling curry goat out of his wagon there for the past 30 years. Meanwhile, the entire state of UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}} will just be "Ohio" with no distinction in culture or lifestyle between inner-city Cleveland, suburban Bedford, or rural Sugarcreek. Creator/GarryMarshall, the producer of ''Series/HappyDays'' and its SpinOff ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'', never set foot in Milwaukee until long after both shows ended, leading to an inaccurate portrayal of the city that may have hurt its actual economic and cultural growth.

These nuances and many more tend to be lost on Hollywood. Shows set in New York City will lovingly show details of the landmarks and locales, right down to the street corner and the Jamaican man who's been selling curry goat out there for the past 30 years. Meanwhile, the entire state of UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}} will just be "Ohio" with no distinction in culture or lifestyle between inner-city Cleveland, suburban Bedford, or rural Sugarcreek. Creator/GarryMarshall, the producer of ''Series/HappyDays'' and its SpinOff ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'', never set foot in Milwaukee until long after both shows ended, leading to an inaccurate portrayal of the city that may have hurt its actual economic and cultural growth.

These nuances and many more tend to be lost on Hollywood. Shows set in New York City will lovingly show details of the landmarks and locales, right down to the street corner and the Jamaican man who's been selling curry goat out of his wagon for the past 30 years. Meanwhile, the entire state of UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}} will just be "Ohio" with no distinction in culture or lifestyle between inner-city Cleveland, suburban Bedford, or rural Sugarcreek. Creator/GarryMarshall, the producer of ''Series/HappyDays'' and its SpinOff ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'', never set foot in Milwaukee until long after both shows ended, leading to an inaccurate portrayal of the city that may have hurt its actual economic and cultural growth.

** Columbus: Rarely seen or mentioned in fiction, despite being both the state's capital and largest city and home of The Ohio State University[[note]](''Series/FamilyTies'' was about the only major media production in recent decades to prominently feature Columbus)[[/note]], but it's another hotbed of sociological study and commercial test runs due to its racial and age demographics closely mirroring the United States as a whole. Furthermore, the city lacks a strong regional identity, even compared to other Ohio cities. Basically, it's Peoria or Muncie [[RecycledInSpace as a major metropolis.]] In the AlternateHistory ''Literature/IfTheSouthHadWonTheCivilWar'', the Union moves its capital to Columbus.

* UsefulNotes/{{Pennsylvania}}: While the eastern part of the state, especially around UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}}, is never considered part of the Midwest, the western half sometimes is depending on who you ask.
** UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}: Its industrial legacy paints it as a blue-collar paradise, which held true until the '80s or so when the steel mills started shutting down and its economy became more service-based like other cities in the region. Nowadays it has a more mixed culture.
** Pennsylvania itself has a mini flyover country. The state is often described as "[[UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} Philly]] in the east, UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}} in the west, and [[UsefulNotes/{{Appalachia}} Kentucky/]][[DeepSouth Alabama/]]''Film/{{Deliverance}}'' in between", referring to the large rural zone in the middle of the state where coal mining, farming, and manufacturing make up the economic backbone. The nickname "Pennsyltucky" (or, more politely, "The T"[[note]]If you remove the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh metropolitan areas from Pennsylvania, what you have left is shaped roughly like the letter T. "The T" is used far more in political circles than "Pennsyltucky", as the latter can be seen as insulting, especially when used by an [[NWordPrivileges urban politician]].[[/note]]) describes this region with either derision or SelfDeprecation.
* UsefulNotes/{{Texas}}, though [[EverythingIsBigInTexas its size]] and resulting diversity mean that there's usually lots of overlap with tropes that apply more specifically to the DeepSouth and American Southwest. Also, thanks to Westerns, Texas has [[EverythingIsBigInTexas its]] [[TheFriendlyTexan own]] [[AmericansAreCowboys stereotypes]]. In addition, untrue to the FlyoverCountry trope, Texas is well known for its striking desert landscapes. Although, much as with California, most people don't understand that there is a vast distance between the well-known large cities and the well-known nice landscapes.
** On occasion you'll find reference to [[UsefulNotes/DFWMetroplex Dallas]], UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}, or Austin, among the few major cities in the state and generally spots of blue in a sea of red. Basically, they are to Texas what Chicago is to Illinois.

** Salt Lake City: The Mormon church's base of operations. Home to the Jazz, Real Salt Lake, the Utes (as in the University of Utah), and Salt Lake Temple. Hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics for some reason.

These nuances and many more tend to be lost on Hollywood. Shows set in New York City will lovingly show details of the landmarks and locales, right down to the street corner and the Jamaican man who's been selling curry goat out of his wagon for the past 30 years. Meanwhile, the entire state of Ohio will just be "Ohio" with no distinction in culture or lifestyle between inner-city Cleveland, suburban Bedford, or rural Sugarcreek. Creator/GarryMarshall, the producer of ''Series/HappyDays'' and its SpinOff ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'', never set foot in Milwaukee until long after both shows ended, leading to an inaccurate portrayal of the city that may have hurt its actual economic and cultural growth.

These nuances and many more tend to be lost on Hollywood. [[HollywoodProvincialism Shows set in New York City will lovingly show details of the landmarks and locales]], right down to the street corner and the Jamaican man who's been selling curry goat out of his wagon for the past 30 years. Meanwhile, the entire state of Ohio will just be "Ohio" with no distinction in culture or lifestyle between inner-city Cleveland, suburban Bedford, or rural Sugarcreek. Creator/GarryMarshall, the producer of ''Series/HappyDays'' and its SpinOff ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'', never set foot in Milwaukee until long after both shows ended, leading to an inaccurate portrayal of the city that may have hurt its actual economic and cultural growth.

Culturally, the flyover region is a lot more diverse in religion and ethnicity than popular folklore tends to credit it. African-Americans and Latinos have long settled in the cities for the economic opportunities, along with immigrants from all over the world. The UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} suburb of Dearborn has had a healthy Arab population for over a century, and it's home to the largest mosque in North America; and the [[UsefulNotes/TwinCities Minneapolis-Saint Paul]] area contains the largest Hmong and Somali communities in the US. Also, several Native American reservations are located in UsefulNotes/{{Minnesota}}, UsefulNotes/{{Wisconsin}}, UsefulNotes/{{Montana}}, and [[UsefulNotes/NorthDakota the]] [[UsefulNotes/SouthDakota Dakotas]], which leads to the major cities in those regions having significant Native populations.

The truth is a little more complicated. While the states of the central U.S. do skew more rural than urban, the major cities therein are as cosmopolitan as any coastal town, with their own brand of culture, style, and nightlife. They also have a much lower cost of living than the coasts--even Chicago, the great metropolis of the Midwest, is cheaper than NYC or LA (although not by much). And even some of the smaller towns, like Boulder, UsefulNotes/{{Colorado}}[[note]]where ''Series/MorkAndMindy'' was set[[/note]] and Ann Arbor, UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}},[[note]]home of the University of Michigan[[/note]] have their own quirks. There are very few states in the US that don't have at least ''one'' significant metropolitan area (likewise, UsefulNotes/NewYorkState and UsefulNotes/{{California}} both have conservative rural areas of their own).

Politically, these cities tend to be much more liberal--socially and economically--than the surrounding region. Many of them are ([[DyingTown or were]]) industrial towns with a strong presence of labor unions and minorities, plus college students who stuck around after graduating. In fact, people in the surrounding, rural areas who don't fit in with the arch-conservative lifestyle will tend to relocate to the nearest decent-sized city. These factors frequently produce Democratic islands within states that are otherwise Republican strongholds. Many don't realize that UsefulNotes/{{Milwaukee}} was one of the hotbeds of the Socialist Party up until the second RedScare, and while UsefulNotes/NorthDakota does lean to the right, it has [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_North_Dakota a publicly-owned banking system]] unique in the nation.

Culturally, the flyover region is a lot more diverse in religion and ethnicity than popular folklore tends to credit it. Most people are aware of the large African-American and Latino populations within the cities, but these cities receive immigrants from all over the world. For example, the UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} suburb of Dearborn has had a healthy Arab population for over a century, and it's home to the largest mosque in North America; the [[UsefulNotes/TwinCities Minneapolis-Saint Paul]] area contains the largest Hmong and Somali communities in the country. In addition to immigrants from around the world, several Native American reservations are located in UsefulNotes/{{Minnesota}}, UsefulNotes/{{Wisconsin}}, UsefulNotes/{{Montana}}, and [[UsefulNotes/NorthDakota the]] [[UsefulNotes/SouthDakota Dakotas]].

These nuances and many more tend to be lost on Hollywood. [[HollywoodProvincialism Shows based in one of the coasts will lovingly show details of the landmarks and locales, while Midwestern locations are either fictionalized or used as a generic backdrop]]. For example, ''Series/SexAndTheCity'' used real-life bars and restaurants in NYC as the girls' hangouts. Meanwhile, Creator/GarryMarshall, the producer of ''Series/HappyDays'' and its SpinOff ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'', never set foot in Milwaukee until long after both shows ended, leading to a horrifically inaccurate portrayal of the city that may have hurt its actual economic and cultural growth.

The truth is a little more complicated. While the states of the central U.S. do skew more rural than urban, the major cities therein are as cosmopolitan as any coastal town, with their own brand of culture, style, and nightlife. They also have a much lower cost of living than the coasts--even Chicago, the great metropolis of the Midwest, is cheaper than NYC or LA (although not by much). And even some of the smaller towns, like Boulder, UsefulNotes/{{Colorado}}[[note]]where ''Series/MorkAndMindy'' was set[[/note]] and Ann Arbor, UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}},[[note]]home of the UsefulNotes/UniversityOfMichigan[[/note]] have their own quirks. There are very few states in the US that don't have at least ''one'' significant metropolitan area (likewise, UsefulNotes/NewYorkState and UsefulNotes/{{California}} both have conservative rural areas of their own).