I'm working on some of the backstory of my Slaughter series and need the help of people who live, have lived, have spent significant periods of time, or know a lot of regions outside of Texas. I am creating a chain of interconnected cities in the form of a college conference (possibly two). The cities are not particularly large (cap off at 100-250k or so, some smaller). Here's the deal, though, I don't know where to put them. Well, I know where some of them go:

Northwestern Colorado
Southern Louisiana
Texas Gulf Coast
Arizona

By putting one of them in Louisiana, I may have already done myself some damage (and may ultimately move it if I need to). So anyhow, I need 10-20 cities that would be representative of each region. Obviously, it's going to need to be really broad (otherwise Texas could have four or five alone). But in the same way that Texans identify themselves as Texans, I need other regions to be represented so that, for instance, someone who lives in North Carolina could go to college in Georgia or Idaho to Colorado or Mississippi to Alabama. Some states are going to be a bit crossways, such as Missouri, which is part south and part mid-west.

Another thing, I use the word contigious because I can't seem to find a more descriptive one. I don't define the states in a "contigious" region as being interchangable, but think of it this way: You are applying for colleges and don't really want to leave your state. However, you are offered a full-paid scholarship and just about everything you want from a neighboring state. If you live in Wisconsin but get an offer from Minnesota, that's not such a big deal. However, the difference between Nevada and California is somewhat more pronounced. I also know people that will never ever leave Texas, so I had to give it its own region. I don't know what other states have that kind of "state patriotism" if any. Also, for the sake of simplicity, I'm looking at the continental US only. Alaska and Hawaii are special cases that I'm dealing with seperately.

So here's what I have in mind:

I figure if I put a college in Northern California that would cover the Pacific states.
Colorado will cover the rocky mountain and general western region.
Arizona would cover portions of southern california, Arizona, New Mexico, and some of west Texas.
Texas would cover most of Texas except the western-most part of the state as well as Oklahoma, which would probably feel a lot more at home in Phoenix than Corpus Christi.
Kansas would cover most of the Midwest column of states, some of Iowa, Arkansas, and Missouri.
Virginia would cover the Mid-Atlantic region with Maryland. Could West Virginia be considered in this area? Massachusetts?
Wisconsin would cover the Scandanavian-American states, such as Minnesota. It would also cover some of Iowa. Maybe?
South Carolina would cover the southeastern states. Could this include the non-Panhandle parts of Florida (which go to the South) or would Florida need its own region? Considering the high immigration rates (from abroad and other states), how contigious is it?
Ohio would cover the Rust Belt, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, and portions of New Jersey.
I am undecided as to whether or not Southern Louisiana can cover the South. An acquaintance I know described it as such, and I know of the heavy French influence in New Orleans, but outside of it, the only area that I know very well is Lake Charles, which is Alabama with gambling. Anyone else know?
I'm conflicted on the northeast. Is New York contigious enough to get its own? Is there such a thing as New York (state) pride in the same sense that there is Texas pride? I have the same questions here as I do regarding Florida.
Whether NY gets its own, it seems that the other areas of New England would need one, at the least for Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Say I stick it in Vermont. Would putting Massachusetts here be a stretch? Where would Massachusetts go? Or would Vermont, founded by a lot of exiled New Yorkers, just need to go there? I don't know enough about the region.

I believe that I have most areas covered. I'm still missing a few states that I don't know enough about: Kentucky, West Virginia, Massachusetts, and Illinois (which I suspect will be like Missouri, split up between regions). Anyone have some input for me?