Far be it from me to ridicule anyone for their choice of place to live (I actually LIKE cold winters...
), but I've never lived anywhere that did not refer to itself as "God's Country"... and this includes the deep south, the southwest, and 3 states in the upper midwest... Maybe some of them are shortening "God-forsaken Country"...
My DD goes to college in CA, and the drive from MN to CA is long, but by far the longest part of that seems to be crossing Nebraska...