Yeah, I didn’t like this variation because of the classification of upper/lower Midwest and the Great Lakes classification. Ohio, Pennyslvania and New York, although bordering, are not even associated with Great Lakes culture which is very similar to Cape Cod and even the Maine Coast outside of the lakeside industrial cities. I think the first distinction that breaks down the Midwest by the Great Lakes and Great Rivers is more appropriate.
It is the distinction between this part of the Midwest and it’s culture....
And this part of the Midwest and it’s culture.....
Minnesota -
Upper Peninsula -
Wisconsin -
Illinois -
Indiana -
Michigan -
The accents are even different around the Great Lakes than other parts of the Midwest. Accents start to sound southern only 2 hours south out of Chicago.
If they combine the granularity of the Great Lakes region in the first rendering and the granularity of the South in the second rendering, I would say that it would be accurate.