Twin Cities - What's Your Opinion on Folks From Oklahoma?

[WendyRLee]

I never think it is a good idea to judge a person from where they come from or happen to be living. People are people and are all unique and may have some ideas in their minds about other places and what they are like but they may be totally off from the truth. I just came back from spending some time in New York and it was amazing how some people there thought they lived in the only place that mattered, I over heard people on a few occassions making fun of the midwest and people who live there. I have never been to Oklahoma so I really am not in a position to form an opinion about it or the people who come from there. If you do come to Minnesota I hope people will welcome you for you, not from where you moved from.

[WILWRadio]

Wendy. I agree. People in NYC have a tendency to think the world revolves around them. I even see a lot of that in Kansas City. I have not experienced that attitude in the Twin Cities or most other metro areas where I've lived.

[Klhbrown]

Originally Posted by wendyrlee

i never think it is a good idea to judge a person from where they come from or happen to be living. People are people and are all unique and may have some ideas in their minds about other places and what they are like but they may be totally off from the truth. I just came back from spending some time in new york and it was amazing how some people there thought they lived in the only place that mattered, i over heard people on a few occassions making fun of the midwest and people who live there. I have never been to oklahoma so i really am not in a position to form an opinion about it or the people who come from there. If you do come to minnesota i hope people will welcome you for you, not from where you moved from.

*like*

[Ghengis]

What I've seen, the people in Oklahoma are likely to break out into a song and dance at the drop of a hat. Not really a bad habit, but I could see where it might break up a normal conversation when they do that.

[Chzanne]

Originally Posted by Klhbrown

I was born and raised on Lake Minnetonka and moved to Oklahoma about 10 years ago. We're looking to move back to the Twin Cities in the next couple of months.
What is the local opinion of people from Oklahoma? I ask this because I've been teased a lot by old friends in Minnesota. Also, when dealing with prospective landlords, they seem to change their tune when they realize we're from Oklahoma. What gives?
I once had a distant family member from St. Louis Park come visit us in Oklahoma and she came in her RV because she honestly didn't think we even had indoor plumbing in Oklahoma! When we assured her we did, she went on to say we must not have air conditioning then.
I'll admit, when I first moved to Oklahoma I expected it to be full of backwoods, uneducated people, but I was very wrong. Does the rest of the county really view us as a bunch of hicks wearing over-alls and straw hats?!

I don't think you will have any problems. I think the Twin Cities is very open minded. With that being said, people might joke about stereotypes. I was raised in the Twin Cities and moved to Mississippi, where my husband is from. When we go to the Twin Cities for visits, friends and family will joke about the south, but we just give it right back. So everything is light hearted teasing. There are some serious questions here and there, but there are some serious differences as well.

I think your distant family member is a rare exception. She must not get out much to even think that ther would be any area in the USA that doesn't have indoor plumbing (other than places that people hike in and out of). No one has every asked me any question as backwards as if we have indoor plumbing in rural Mississippi. and I find that Mississippi usually takes the cake when it comes to negative stereotypes...or West Virginia

[west336]

I'm sure some of you have heard this story from me by now, but just in case:

My sister went to USC (U. of S. Cal....Trojans) and met all kinds of people, many of which were very very very rich girls from Beverly Hills and such. One of them apparently asked my sister where she was originally from, and she said "Minneapolis". And the SoCal girl asks her: "did you have like chickens or pigs on a farm there?".....straight-faced! Not "Minnesota", not the "Twin Cities"...."Minneapolis" -- farms in our yards?

Of course, my sister was like: "yep".

[knke0204]

I went to Oklahoma City this summer. It was a good time. Fun city. There were parts that were definitely not as nice as the Twin Cities. Not very much nature/trees. But there were parts of Downtown that were very fun. The locals seemed pretty normal. They had accents. A lof of the food at restaurants had menus filled with deep-fried food. There were a lot more overweight people. People seemed to have less money. For the most part, it was pretty much just like at home. It was weird that I was only a few hours from Dallas, but it felt pretty much like home would.

[gearedtowardssalad]

In my experiences, Oklahoma people are straight up, very friendly, and accommodating.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by knke0204

I went to Oklahoma City this summer. It was a good time. Fun city. There were parts that were definitely not as nice as the Twin Cities. Not very much nature/trees. But there were parts of Downtown that were very fun. The locals seemed pretty normal. They had accents. A lof of the food at restaurants had menus filled with deep-fried food. There were a lot more overweight people. People seemed to have less money. For the most part, it was pretty much just like at home. It was weird that I was only a few hours from Dallas, but it felt pretty much like home would.

I figured you were way-off on this one (I pictured MPLS as a fat city). Men's Fitness rated MPLS as the 3rd fittest city (see 2009 Fittest Cities in America - Men's Fitness ).

They also rated Oklahoma City as the 2nd fattest (see 2009 Fattest Cities in America - Men's Fitness )
In 2007, Forbes rates Oklahoma City as the 8th most obese city in America.

It seems you were right.