I think I have a slightly different perspective on the kindness of Ohioans given that I’m trans. On one hand, as you say, there is so much of it. Midwestern kindness still does exist and it’s something I cherish even more than the thriftiness. But on the other hand, over the years aggression has been rising there, especially from drivers, but from a lot of people.

I miss it to some degree, it was beautiful in its own way (ok, on the natural front Cincinnati and Cleveland more than Columbus and Dayton, but I love all 4 for their charms). I still go back to visit family for holidays. Most of my childhood friends have left now, but my family is still there, my mom is buried there, and I integrated myself pretty tightly in a community over the years before I moved away and I still like to visit them while seeing my family. I miss the bar I had my first date with my wife, the little bar I used to host and attend events at, and the little restaurant we started going to a lot after I quit meat. And I miss spaces that stopped existing long before I left even.

And oh how I miss the storms, especially the ones with a cataclysmic looking stormhead with winds that threaten to sweep you off your feet. The storms that make you feel like you’re seeing the wrath of the gods as the air pressure plummets and you’re feeling too light even before the wind comes. Every Midwesterner I talk to out here misses that.

But on the other hand, I fell in love with the PNW at first sight. I love the rain and trees and the fact that mountains and the sea are both accessible. While I have some culture shocks sometimes here it’s really compatible to me.

So yeah I hope you succeed. I left because they began passing anti trans laws and I figured it was best to leave on my own terms before they passed on that directly affected me and I had to rush out. Had 2024 gone differently, I’d probably own a house in Ohio now. And I do really hope nobody else like me, who could have lived happily there for life, has to leave in the future. I hope that I can continue visiting my loved ones and that my family and friends can have the state they deserve. I hope that someday the 3CD high speed line happens and that the 3Cs all have an urban rail and that there’s an intracity light rail connecting Cincinnati, Dayton, and the suburbs between. I hope the state can start scrubbing the rust off its belt and thrive.

And yeah my wife has been playing some game where you design train routes of real places that’s apparently based off the software that professionals use, and has spent the past week designing train systems for Ohio lol.