Geography housekeeping Midwest/Mid-Atlantic
 

Well, now that I see another geography issue has been raised here in Suggestions, perhaps it does make sense here after all.

Fresh from no action from bringing it up in the TalkBoard forum, just trying to get a little love on what seems to be a geographic error between the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic destination forums. (Note: it was suggested by TB member that I repost over here if anyone wants to go all anti-cross-posting.) I was looking at the full list of forums recently, and I noticed that for some odd reason West Virginia is grouped with Midwest. WV has never been considered a Midwest state.

With all of Virginia being Mid-Atlantic in the current grouping, it seems most appropriate there. (If Virginia had been grouped as South, I might have suggested South.) WV also touches other Mid-Atlantic states Pennsylvania and Maryland. Having spent much time all over the four-state area of PA, MD, VA and WV (as well as lived a couple of places within that area), they definitely belong grouped together.

I do think it should be tended to, if nothing else to be clear that FT knows its way around US regional geography. ;) Only requires a quick edit of the forum description.

Yes, it's trivial, but someone needs to stick up for poor WV. ;)

There will always be grey areas. This is one.

That said, to me a "mid-Atlantic" state has to be on the Atlantic coast. West Virginia, whatever its other merits may be, isn't.

The fact that W. Va. touches two mid-Atlantic states is irrelevant. Apply that logic consistently, and after you decide it makes W. Va. "mid-Atlantic," you have to do the same to Ohio (which now touches two mid-A states, Pa. and W. Va.), then to Kentucky (the newly-anointed Ohio and W. Va.), next to Indiana, after that ... Where do you stop? California?

I totally expect someone from Massachusetts to not know anything of geography south of New York. :D

Perhaps I should call it "geography and/or cultural housekeeping". WV is not a Midwest state. Period.