This. I went to a small rural high school in the MidWest, attended an elite college, and thereafter lived in L.A. and Chicago. Typically, whenever someone talks

This. I went to a small rural high school in the MidWest, attended an elite college, and thereafter lived in L.A. and Chicago. Typically, whenever someone talks about 'fly over' country I don't take them seriously. Reality is a lot more banal and unsurprising. People who denigrate fly over country are exactly the same in their inaccurate claims as the people I know from fly over country who denigrate large urban centers. When I first moved to L.A. I had two different people (on separate occasions at Pan Pacific Park) ask me if I was from the MidWest. I said yes, but asked how they knew. Both responded, "because you're friendly." Doesn't have broader significance, but those encounters always stood out to me.