On my road trip back to Columbus, Ohio, from the Boston, New England area, I felt as soon as I got on I-71 to CMH, it appeared to me that Cleveland is where the Midwest ends and the East Coast begins. I know the Connecticut Western Reserve has something to do with this. The only part of Ohio I like is NEO because it is the most excellent part of the state.
Cleveland and NE Ohio feel East Coast compared to the rest of Ohio.
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I lived in NYC for a year for a post bach program before coming to Cleveland. How does Cleveland feel like the East Coast? It is a city but definitely feels Midwestern.
A different take: - Cincinnati > any NE Ohio city in terms of “east coast” vibe
This ideal seems alternative to me.
The combo of rust belt and lake/boating focused culture definitely leads to Cleveland and Buffalo, and in particular the smaller towns feel much closer to east coast than the rest of the Midwest. Colonization efforts and waves also show this effect with cleveland getting a lot of folks from New England vs Cincinnati getting folks from New York, Virginia, and the like.
I love Cincinnati but cleveland is a very different culture despite the people and culture feeling Midwest
A lot of Cincinnati’s settlers came from New Jersey. The OP didn’t say New England, they said East Coast. Cincinnati’s built environment is much more East Coast than any other city in the state. Culturally, Cleveland fits in with the other Great Lakes cities. It’s more like Minneapolis and Milwaukee than Boston or Philly.