Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
When I started the thread off with "not really," I /might/ have been implying that I was joking about the thread title. Just maybe. Read the thread if you still think I think Minnesota is a horrible place to live.
I understand my perspective might be narrow, but I can definitively say that if you do not have wealth, you are ignored by the majority of the children in Minnetonka, and in my hometown of Wayzata.
Hopkins is actually a fantastic place to live. Sure there are some of the rich snobs, however there is also quite a large number of people who are not like that at all, rich or not. I would much rather attend Hopkins High School than Minnetonka, and consequently I drive around Main Street quite often with friends.
This thread is merely a warning to people considering moving here about how elitist families are supreme here.
Also when did Craigslist become an opinion forum? And apparently because you registered in June of 2010, Kid Cann, you must have expansive knowledge accumulated over large periods of time about new users joining here every few months. Yes, your great history on this forum is clearly an acceptable medium to use to speak down to me and act as though you are the voice of the forum. I bow to your wisdom, it is too much for me to resist.
I guess Craigslist has this part on it where you can 'Rant and Rave'.
Anyways, what is it exactly that bothers you about your area of Minnesota?
My top 10 reasons why Minnesota 'is a horrible place to live'.
1. Weather. While many people embrace Minnesota's winters and changing of the seasons, it does become a hinderance too all Minnesotans at some point. Tee-times and baseball games cancelled. Snow, rain, cold and wind are elements that we as Minnesotans must deal with. I don't care who you are, there is nothing fun about tip-toeing to your car only to have to get out a scraper and scrape snow and warm it up, not only to have to drive with white-knuckles.
2. Passive Agressiveness. Many Minnesotans have a hard time tellin' you how it is, or how it should be. Conflicts are cold and akward and it's not uncommon to be blown off or have somebody not lie to you, but just not tell you the truth.
3. Road Construction The 'weather' aspect strikes again. Harsh winters shorten the period where road construction is feasible. So, instead of 12 months of repairs, we're often stuck with 8.
4. Politics Minnesotans are generally politically savvy as well as being active. However, there have been man ers when it comes to elected officials. Bachman? Franken? Kloubachar? Pawlenty? Ventura?
5. Twin Cities' elitists Since the Twin Cities' role is the primary hub of commerce, education and entertainment, as well as being home to the Majority of MN's population, there tends to be a disconnect from other areas in the state. It's not uncommon to hear some snobby elitist comment like "oh, i'm from the 'Cities', so that's different"
6. Taxes Right, no taxes on food or clothing, but there are still high property and state taxes... and they keep rising...
7. Homogenous Very white. Sure the Twin Cities have some diversity, but still well behind other metros of over 3 million people. Outstate MN is worse..
8. Too many families This place has so many families and stresses family life so much that it's a hinderance for those in the demographics of 18-25 yr olds. And then not everybody over 25 wants to praise little Tommy's soccer game and festival for the kids...
9. Too many suburbs My problem with the metro is that there are too many suburbs and there are not enough urban suburbs. Actually, it's pretty hard to think of any really legitimate urban suburbs.. St. Louis Park? Columbia Heights? Saint Anthony? Richfield? Try naming the difference between Maple Grove, Plymouth, Woodbury, Shoreview, Apple Valley, Eden Prairie, Eagan, Burnsville, White Bear Lake, Lakeville, Coon Rapids... I'll wait...
10. Topography I will often say that topography is overrated, but it would be nice if Minnesota had more hills, rolliing hills, bluffs, or even mountains..
I've had two nieces go to Minnetonka HS - one is still there - neither are from money and are open enrolled, but experiences are positive. Maybe it's time to find some new friends.
I've had two nieces go to Minnetonka HS - one is still there - neither are from money and are open enrolled, but experiences are positive. Maybe it's time to find some new friends.
Finding friends is not the issue. I have plenty of friends, wealthy and not. The problem is that so much of the social scene is centered around money. Either that, or doing drugs or drinking alcohol or having sex.
Also, I have many friends from Woodland specifically. But just look at places such as Deephaven and Tonka Bay. All of these small communities add up and contribute many people to the school.
I will say this, if you are taking AP or IB courses, I have not had any issues. The kids in those classes are fine. However freshman year there are no courses of those kind offered to you, and you can get stuck with some of problem people. Even in honors (X) courses.
The school dances are also pretty much tailor made for the rich kids. Every dance you go to will be filled with limos and chauffeurs at the west entrance. Many kids do not even dance but rather smoke or drink in the commons. I'm not even bothering going to either Homecoming or the Valentines dance next year because that's all it is. Expensive suits and dresses and cars.
Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying high school to the fullest I can. I'm not stupid enough to get sucked into "who has the better phone," or "which car is better". Yes people get a lot of crap if they don't drive a new car, I can attest to that for sure. I just feel parents should strongly consider other high schools before settling in Minnetonka or the surrounding area.
Kid Cann, I agree with all of those points. Particularly numbers 3, 5, and 7. Relating back to the original topic of the thread, Minnetonka has a ridiculous amount of white children. Which oh by the way results in a lot of racism towards other schools (such as Hopkins, or any Minneapolis school) because they aren't as good due to so many black students being there. The sad reality is that the people saying that are the people who barely graduate and don't care about school whatsoever.
I guess I may have been a little overzealous when I posted last night. I love Minnetonka. The lake is the greatest thing in the world. There is plenty to do, plenty to see, the school will give you a top notch education, etc. However I feel parents need to make sure at an early age children are not spoiled by the wealth which does play a large part in the "popular" social life of high schoolers. And don't even get me started on the Middle Schools.
Location: Moved to Gladstone, MO in June 2022 and back to Minnesota in September 2022
2,072 posts, read 5,061,152 times
Reputation: 886
I had a friend at my other apartment in St. Cloud who came from Minnetonka and was going to school down there and him and his family are absolutely nothing what you're describing.
Kid Cann: On the "I'm from the Cities" issue -- for what it's worth, I have never heard anyone actually from the Twin Cities use the term "from the Cities"; that seems to be a phrase used only by people from outside of the metro area. My assumption would be that anyone who says "I'm from the Cities" is a recent arrival from a small town from somewhere else in Minnesota. My reading of it (although from the perspective of someone who lives in Minneapolis, for whatever that's worth) is that the person saying it was using it as a geographic description. I'm sure some people may mean for it to be snobby (and those who willingly choose a totally different lifestyle, which in this case could mean moving to a city from a small town) tend to be the loudest and most annoying about it, so I suppose they could mean it to be snobby. I probably wouldn't pick up on the fact that I'm supposed to be impressed due to someone living in any one specific place, though.
I agree that the Twin Cities are fairly disconnected from the rest of the state, although I think that's also true of most other cities and I don't think that translates into snobbery. People just tend to be more focused on where they live.
Last edited by uptown_urbanist; 07-07-2010 at 08:16 AM..
Location: Cleveland bound with MPLS in the rear-view
5,509 posts, read 11,871,642 times
Reputation: 2501
I tend to agree with the OP. I've lived in just about every different kind of environment in a variety of different cities and I thought Edina was a very different culture in the regard he speaks about. There is a night and day difference between Edina and the Minneapolis, St. Louis, Wayzata, etc. schools I attended prior to that, and subsequent experiences in Chicago and Columbus, OH. I will probably go out of my way to NOT raise my children in the Edina school district, simply because it does not offer some real-world qualities of equality and community that I think are vital to a child's development. Since both my wife and I experienced "ghetto" and "elite" school districts growing up, we share a similar perspective. That is not to say Edina, Minnetonka, Wayzata, etc. are not for everyone, but if you were raised to be humble, friendly and fair those places don't really support that mentality as much as many other places in the metro -- and I blame most of that to class segregation (IOW, money).
Finding friends is not the issue. I have plenty of friends, wealthy and not. The problem is that so much of the social scene is centered around money. Either that, or doing drugs or drinking alcohol or having sex.
Also, I have many friends from Woodland specifically. But just look at places such as Deephaven and Tonka Bay. All of these small communities add up and contribute many people to the school.
I will say this, if you are taking AP or IB courses, I have not had any issues. The kids in those classes are fine. However freshman year there are no courses of those kind offered to you, and you can get stuck with some of problem people. Even in honors (X) courses.
The school dances are also pretty much tailor made for the rich kids. Every dance you go to will be filled with limos and chauffeurs at the west entrance. Many kids do not even dance but rather smoke or drink in the commons. I'm not even bothering going to either Homecoming or the Valentines dance next year because that's all it is. Expensive suits and dresses and cars.
Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying high school to the fullest I can. I'm not stupid enough to get sucked into "who has the better phone," or "which car is better". Yes people get a lot of crap if they don't drive a new car, I can attest to that for sure. I just feel parents should strongly consider other high schools before settling in Minnetonka or the surrounding area.
Kid Cann, I agree with all of those points. Particularly numbers 3, 5, and 7. Relating back to the original topic of the thread, Minnetonka has a ridiculous amount of white children. Which oh by the way results in a lot of racism towards other schools (such as Hopkins, or any Minneapolis school) because they aren't as good due to so many black students being there. The sad reality is that the people saying that are the people who barely graduate and don't care about school whatsoever.
I guess I may have been a little overzealous when I posted last night. I love Minnetonka. The lake is the greatest thing in the world. There is plenty to do, plenty to see, the school will give you a top notch education, etc. However I feel parents need to make sure at an early age children are not spoiled by the wealth which does play a large part in the "popular" social life of high schoolers. And don't even get me started on the Middle Schools.
I don't doubt a thing you've said. Concerns about this is one of the reasons I elected not to send my son to Edina schools. I also think it's a shame that some kids will start out with a handicap, they don't see it that way, but knowing how to live with less is an important skill to have in life. Things happen, fortunes rise and fall, and it's important to know how to get by.
I also think that it's easy to see the most conspicuous. The ones who aren't into that scene are the ones you never see for the same reasons you mentioned. They don't go to the dances, they have no interest in that game. They do their own thing and because of that they're not as visible.
Did you have a specific instance you are upset about? I'm sorry you are feeling that way, high school can be a hard time. Let me promise you that if you are planning on going to college, it is totally different, you will find friends you relate to and life gets MUCH better. Soon you will be able to experience different areas and different people.
I grew up in Orono, so I know what it's like to live in a community where there is a fair amount of wealth. I personally never experienced a problem with people with lots of money, people were friends without regards to family income. People I know who still work/live in Orono do say it's gotten a little worse. Over the top birthdays parties, kids with fancy cars, etc. I guess what I would do is look at it as a life lesson, you are learning about what you don't like & like and it will help form your ideas about where you want to live in the future. Try joining some different clubs/sports/groups where you will meet new people. Minnetonka is a huge school, there are plenty of families that are purely middle class.
I'm also not surprised to hear this about Minnetonka (I've also been surprised to hear inferences about Hopkins having some type of rep from other places in the past year/two). I have a friend that's an African-American single mom that purchased a modest home in Minnetonka a couple of years back. Her kids left Brooklyn Park school district to attend Minnetonka (local middle and high school), and as of the last reports I heard her kids were miserable in Minnetonka schools compared to their B.P. experience- besides the cliquiness, they said the kids in their classes were extremely disruptive/misbehaved and constantly interrupting classes w/their attitudes. i'm not sure if she ever pulled them, but the reason her kids transferred, besides proximity, was due to the rep that Minnetonka had much *better* schools than B.P.
To the O.P.- I think both you and others are right, the displays/flaunting of wealth are obscene and represent a societal ill IMO, and it's great that you can recognize this at a younger age. But there are likely many middle class (and upper class) kids who could care less about the cliquiness, and you'll find after you go to college and begin your adult life that those kids who were the most into showing off/cliques will become the likeliest candidates to be holding onto their "glory days" and not making much of their lives as adults (sure, their connections and family money might get them a higher-paying job, but it will be a very boring job that doesn't require a whole lot of skill, and their "political appointment" will likely garner resentment from others around them). They will then repeat the cycle by passing on the same personality traits to their kids, and likely be over-focused on their kids popularity as well. So, let them have their glory days, they'll need to hold onto this down the line.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
ers when it comes to elected officials. Bachman? Franken? Kloubachar? Pawlenty? Ventura? 
.
