# For USA Dopers: What town/city is nearest the center of "your region"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 15, 2008, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457 "2008-04-15T16:42:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/1 "2008-04-15T16:42:38Z")
In the Southeast, at least as far as the SEC is concerned, Birmingham is about as close to the center of the FL-GA-SC-TN-KY-AR-MS-LA-AL region as those schools are concerned. In fact the SEC headquarters are in B’ham. Adding NC and VA to the group, to fill out the Southeast, would move it a bit north and east for a center point, maybe Chattanooga. It’s up to you to identify “your region” and to select what you regard as its center point. If you care to say, how far from that center point do you live? I’m 200 miles (more like 180) from Birmingham. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/2 "2008-04-15T17:04:38Z")
I’m rather surprised that anyone would identify with a region (maybe besides New England), especially because some regions are pretty flexible in character. While the OP talks about the SEC, why not the South, and include Virginia and maybe West Virginia in the mix? So far as I’m concerned, I’m right in the center of my “region,” which is the DC metro area. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/3 "2008-04-15T17:13:19Z")
Below the state level, my region is Central Ohio, and its centre is Columbus. Above the state level, my region is the Mid West, and its centre is Chicago. I live in Columbus, about 360 miles by the interstate from Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/4 "2008-04-15T17:38:56Z")
Except for the University of Florida and the Panhandle, most of Florida doesn’t consider itself the South, per se. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/5 "2008-04-15T17:50:27Z")
Maybe I should have made this the lead sentence or put it another color or bolded it or just had a one-sentence OP: > [@](#): > > **It’s up to you to identify “your region” and to select what you regard as its center point.** ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/6 "2008-04-15T18:06:20Z")
Well, I guess I live in it, if my region is the North Valley. Chico is about as comopolitan as it gets around here. Sacramento is the Big City, but it’s two hours south and very much on the edge of our area. We go there for big city stuff, but I wouldn’t call it part of my region really. I’m thinking pretty small here, though. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/7 "2008-04-15T18:31:01Z")
My region is my house and land. The center of it is where my biggest burn pile is. Everything else is foreign to me. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/8 "2008-04-15T18:41:21Z")
My region is the [Upper Valley](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Valley_(Connecticut_River)) and I’m a few miles from the center. Using NH/VT, eyeballing it shows Fairlee at about the center. I’m ten miles from there. ---
**Author:** ![Von\_Erich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@Von\_Erich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Von_Erich)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/9 "2008-04-15T19:08:31Z")
My region would be the eight major Hawaiian Islands. The geographic center being the west coast of Moloka’i, . I live roughly 160 miles from the center point. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/10 "2008-04-15T19:16:07Z")
I guess my region is the Four Corners um I guess the center would be the Four Corners and I’m about 40 miles away. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/11 "2008-04-15T20:42:40Z")
In the large context, I live in the Mountain West, which includes MT, ID, WY, UT, CO, NM, AZ, and NV. Geographically, the center would be somewhere near Salt Lake City. Most people would say Denver is the true center of the Mountain West, and I’m 30 miles from there. Locally, my region is the “Front Range”, the area along the foothills of the Rockies from Laramie/Cheyenne to Pueblo. The midway point of that area is a couple of miles north of the Denver Metro Area, or about 20 miles from where I am. Factoring in traffic, I can get to Laramie in an hour and a half, but it’d take close to three to get to Pueblo unless it was late at night. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/12 "2008-04-15T20:58:57Z")
Here in central Illinois, Springfield is considered the “center” of the region. Whaddyaknow, I live in Springfield. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/13 "2008-04-15T21:13:01Z")
I’d call Seattle the “center” of Puget Sound and also of Western Washington, two frequently cited regions. I’d like to think we’re the “center” of the Pacific Northwest, too, though Vancouver and Portland (and others) may dispute that. I grew up in “southern Ohio” or “south central Ohio,” just outside the gravitational pulls of Columbus and Cincinnati. Not sure there was an identifiable center, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ro\_Carter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7feea3/32.png) [@Ro\_Carter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ro_Carter)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/14 "2008-04-15T23:04:13Z")
From largest region to smallest: Great Lakes = Chicago. Distance: 3-5 hours, depending on where I am. Michigan = Lansing (because nobody goes to Detroit if they can help it). Distance: 1 hour, give or take roughly 15 minutes depending. ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/15 "2008-04-16T00:50:20Z")
[QUOTE=Lamar Mundane] In the large context, I live in the Mountain West, which includes MT, ID, WY, UT, CO, NM, AZ, and NV. Geographically, the center would be somewhere near Salt Lake City. Most people would say Denver is the true center of the Mountain West, and I’m 30 miles from there. Locally, my region is the “Front Range”, the area along the foothills of the Rockies from Laramie/Cheyenne to Pueblo. The midway point of that area is a couple of miles north of the Denver Metro Area, or about 20 miles from where I am. Factoring in traffic, I can get to Laramie in an hour and a half, but it’d take close to three to get to Pueblo unless it was late at night. [/QUOTE] Having lived in Laramie, Denver, and Pueblo, I’d be willing to accept that Denver is the center of the Front Range. But - not of the Mountain West - it’s not even in the mountains! 🙂 I’d pick Salt Lake, except it doesn’t really feel that way culturally. Perhaps Jackson Hole? My own answer - I’d define my current region as the Bluegrass, and Lexington (where I live) as its center. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/16 "2008-04-16T03:51:10Z")
As the OP said, the South’s center would probably be nearish Chattanooga, which I’m only ten miles outside of. Tennessee’s center is in Murfreesboro. I’m about 80 miles from there, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/17 "2008-04-16T08:50:30Z")
I guess I’d say my region is the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill triangle. Whose center is either Apex or the Research Triangle Park. About 10 miles away. Can’t really think of myself being in a ‘region’ larger than that… perhaps just because I don’t like associating myself with the South. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/18 "2008-04-20T16:07:43Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] My region is my house and land. The center of it is where my biggest burn pile is. Everything else is foreign to me. [/QUOTE] I’ve always wondered are you an expat? Your doper name is def Brit. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/19 "2008-04-20T18:09:19Z")
Defining it as the Central Valley then it would be Stockton, and I live just outside the city limits, maybe sort of. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457/20 "2008-04-20T19:10:56Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] In the Southeast, at least as far as the SEC is concerned, Birmingham is about as close to the center of the FL-GA-SC-TN-KY-AR-MS-LA-AL region as those schools are concerned. In fact the SEC headquarters are in B’ham. Adding NC and VA to the group, to fill out the Southeast, would move it a bit north and east for a center point, maybe Chattanooga. [/QUOTE] What is the SEC? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-usa-dopers-what-town-city-is-nearest-the-center-of-your-region/445457.md?page=2)