“everything is dingy, dirty, flat, and boring, and the people only seem interested in beer, hiking, and the cold. They don’t want to make friends with anyone they haven’t known since grade school, and whenever you do talk to them, they try and convince you that Minnesota is an amazing place and everything they have is the best in the country.” (In all honesty, when I visited him, I had to agree with the guy; people in Minnesota seem a bit standoffish and the state really is kind of unpleasant place, even to visit.) He hasn’t had a chance to make any friends out there, and according to him, it’s truly baffling why anyone would want to live in a place like that. He described it as an “American Siberia filled with barbarian people living on the edge of a world they know nothing of”. I get that he’s used to the grandeur and history of in his words “the great cities of the East” (I.E. New York City, D.C., Savannah, etc.), and it must have been quite a cultural shock fo him, but why do most outsiders from other parts of the country dislike Minnesota so much, and want to leave as soon as possible? Seems like the #1 complaint was the cold though. I’ve been here since summer of 2017 and I’m from a much warmer and tropical place. The dirty and dingy complaint I assume has to do with the fact that most houses and apartment buildings are old, most small towns look like they haven’t remodeled since the 70’s. To be fair, you get that vibe also in Wisconsin and the Dakotas so it must be a northern Midwest problem, not just MN. And for dirty, the only time that I can say it’s dirty is late in the winter when the snow banks are high and all the road dirty and crap just piles on. Also once it starts warming up and thawing it’s dirty and muddy for about 2 months.
Flat and boring? That’s subjective. I love the outdoors here and I do think they’re beautiful. Cold? Oh yeah but it’s not hard to adapt. People don’t wanna make friends they haven’t known for life? I think that’s a small town thing and even if you’re in Minneapolis, you don’t really get the big city vibes unless you’re living down town.
For me, I like it up here but I don’t love it. It is cold but that doesn’t bother me. I hate the dirty snow and mud late in the winter, I hate daylight savings making my winter days painfully short, and I also hate that it’s hard to meet people (to be fair it’s hard making friends as an adult anyways). I love summer time up here because there’s always something to do. Plenty of bike trails, great food and breweries and no shortage of outdoor activities. Summer here is awesome, but only if you’re into that stuff.
It really depends what people are used to and what they like. If someone loves the offerings of big city life on the coast, then Minneapolis even isn’t going to be enough for them. There is a significant limiting effect compared to the coasts. Minnesotans, generally speaking, do love their outdoors time, people who grow up in metroplexes appreciate other things. Living far up north, I most definitely disagree with the assessment of it being flat, dirty and dingy. it definitely could be boring for a lot of people (but not for me which is why I came back after college). I personally hate being in cities. The crowds, the sounds, the smells, the traffic. No thank you. But some people love that busy energy, especially younger people. It’s all about what you are used to and what you like and appreciate. Our weather is not something just anyone can learn to love.
On the social front, much of MN is pretty insular, it’s true. A lot of people unfortunately don’t travel and learn about their country or their world, and so as far as they are concerned everything there is that matters is in their tiny corner of MN. Which is a shame. Honestly, living in Redneckville, I don’t have a lot in common with locals though my family has been here for eternity and they all know me. I have more in common with the types of people who move here because they want to live here but to be fair, they aren’t very open to meeting with locals, either. Or including them in their activities or groups. They have their own preconceived notions of what a local is and want nothing to do with them. So, that street goes both ways. Both sides need to be open to learning about the other.
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