The seems to be more "regular old fashioned folks" in Minnesota than any other State (Minneapolis: crime rate, employment)

[santos]

hahahahahaha....hahahahaha....hahahaha. Your description of life in Minnesota is great, and I think the same, but call it "tight-*****ed."

[slamont61]

Ok, the reality of it is this; Old Fassion Values which went the way of the Gas Guzzling car, are in deed live and well in Minnesota. The strenght of Family is never stronger than it is here. I'm still trying to put my finger on it, what it is that sets us apart from the rest.

I spent thirty years in Pittsburgh PA which is the furthest west that the East Coast mentality can reach and there it blends with the Mid West state of mind to create a hybrid Mid West/East Coast blend. It's too bad that Jobs were so hard to come by there, there are Pittsburghers living all across the Nation. They are everywhere.

I spent 11 plus years in Wisconsin, which one would expect to be a lot like Minnesota but really isn't, at least not the South East area. It's too close to Chicago and somehow picks up some Pollution and likely bad character triats too. Who knows exactly but I did expereince some awfully miserable people there.

Minnesota has not lost the family vaules that so many other areas have. That's the biggest reason for the perception of regular old fassion folk. That and the fact that if we are to survive in a more harsh environment, we have to stick together. Live together or Die alone. Folks choose to live around here.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by slamont61

Ok, the reality of it is this; Old Fassion Values which went the way of the Gas Guzzling car, are in deed live and well in Minnesota. The strenght of Family is never stronger than it is here. I'm still trying to put my finger on it, what it is that sets us apart from the rest.

Atlanta (including the suburbs) seems to have a LOT more people who are trying to game the system than I remember in the Twin Cities. I see a lot more butting in line, aggressive driving, and hear a lot more news stories about break-ins and other petty crimes than I remember seeing up there as well.

For those of you who think Minneapolis is somehow unsafe or crime-ridden, I have a little map for ya:

Atlanta Police Department | Crime Map Page

[moving123456]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Atlanta (including the suburbs) seems to have a LOT more people who are trying to game the system than I remember in the Twin Cities. I see a lot more butting in line, aggressive driving, and hear a lot more news stories about break-ins and other petty crimes than I remember seeing up there as well.

For those of you who think Minneapolis is somehow unsafe or crime-ridden, I have a little map for ya:

Atlanta Police Department | Crime Map Page

Charlotte seemed similar to your view of Atlanta when I lived there. Especially with the crime.

[kuan]

The sad thing about being non-native is that there's not a cabin in the family unless you purchase one yourself. Talk about not being able to make friends.

[asitshouldbe]

Originally Posted by questioner2

I asked someone who recently moved to Minnesota why they moved to the State and here was there response: "Minnesota has more old fashioned regular folks than almost anywhere in America."

I think there is some truth to the comment. I travel all over America on a regular basis and spend quite a bit of time in Minnesota. In a era of changing demographics, ethnics, morality, families and politics, I think the people in Minnesota still have some of the old fashioned ways America used to respect. I find families are stronger here, education encouraged, schools better, neighborhoods tighter, social problems more limited. Minnesota has it problems but there are still more regular old fashioned folks than other places. Agree or disagree?

Agree

[raysdr]

I am moving my family to Minnesota for the very reason's pointed out in the original post. My wife was raised in MN, my son was born there in February of 2007. I am a Native NYer who grew up in NY, moved to Florida for thirteen years, went to MN so my wife could be with her family while my son was born, and then moved back to NY for a year.

IMO, Minnesota in my experience is full of mostly good people without attitudes. This MN nice, passive-aggressive thing does exist, but it is nowhere near as bad as some people have made it seem.

I have found that Minnesotans avoid confrontation. Seeing as I am from NY, everybody would appear to avoid confrontation compared to what I grew up with. So take my opinion with that in mind.

These are the reasons why I think MN is the best state for my family:

1) Education is extremely important to most Minnesotans that I have met.
2) Families tend to be more tight knit than what I have seen on the East Coast
3) Minnesotans do work hard, they have a strong work ethic, much more so than anyone I have worked with in NY. Although, the people of Florida certainly have to work hard also.
4) Minnesota is a very healthy state. There are a lot of ourdoorsy things to do year round. Health care is some of the best in the country.
5) I love Walleye.
6) Materialism is less rampant in MN than other places.
7) I have made some very good friends there. It really wasn't that hard for me to make friends in MN. I guess it's because I'm not as arrogant as most people from my home state. I really don't know.
8) Minnesota, as a whole, is more culturally diverse than most places in the Mid-West.
9) Minnesotans seem to care more about their community than anywhere else I have lived. growing up in NY, people used to care more about each other. You knew all of your neighbors. Unfortunately that changed. Now the rich have displaced the working class, and most hard working families are being forced to move. I used to love my home of NY, but it has turned into something that it never was. Greed has destroyed my home city.
10) I look forward to Ice Fishing more, hunting, kayaking, etc. Minnesota is a great state for all of these things.


I lived in Minnesota for six months. I enjoyed my time there. I really enjoyed the people. The people of Minnesota were hesitant to befriend me at first, but once they realized that I wasn't this arrogant East Coast person, they warmed right up. I hope most of the people from back east don't move to Minnesota. I would hate to see it ruined.

[ozzie679]

Originally Posted by Kingsnkali

Minnesota has a lot of pride in itself. A little bit like Texas. There is a self-centered or more correctly, a Minn-o-centric attitude that likes to compare itself to the rest of the country. And you don't get much mixing from the other states because of the cold winters. Tends to weed out many non-natives.

In that regard, it is more old-fashioned and traditional.

You have to be away from "The Brainpower State" or "The State of Hockey" to see Minnesota for what it is. I have lived in Northern California for 15 years after many years in Minnesota. The people here work hard and then go to the mountains, ocean or lakes on the weekends. No different than Minnesota. We are less part of a collective mind-set though. We don't relate our behavior as being "Californian" like many Minnesotans seem to do with being "Minnesotan"... There is a difference.

I'm not even an outsider, and I notice the "Minn-o-centric-ness" I guess we are a little arrogant about what we have here.. Minnesotans, and our cities, are rated as some of the best by national polls and publications. We are one of the wealthiest and most educated states. We get barraged by tons of information about how good our state is, it's hard to imagine any place being as good.

Do I think MN is a better place than most....yes I do. Maybe I am brainwashed. But then again, the numbers don't lie.

I do know what you mean....

[stan in san diego]

Ozzie679,
You have described it perfectly. I've lived in both MN, TX and NoCal and I've always made the same comparison. Minnesotan and Texans brag constantly about their states and do so in a condescending way. Californians and Arizonans, where we also lived and which has an inferiority complex in its relationship with CA, don't talk that way in general. I'm not a winter person and I love sunshine so the Southwest has been a dream come true for me. My wife is a native Minnesotan and I'm originally a Nebraskan but we wouldn't move back to either nor do we have any particular affection for either. Californians are just as friendly as anywhere, just as family oriented as anywhere, etc. Our biggest problem is all the Easterners and Midwesterners, like my wife and I, who have moved here. Would all former Minnesotans in CA please move home (except for my wife, of course).

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by stan in san diego

Ozzie679,
You have described it perfectly. I've lived in both MN, TX and NoCal and I've always made the same comparison. Minnesotan and Texans brag constantly about their states and do so in a condescending way. Californians and Arizonans, where we also lived and which has an inferiority complex in its relationship with CA, don't talk that way in general. I'm not a winter person and I love sunshine so the Southwest has been a dream come true for me. My wife is a native Minnesotan and I'm originally a Nebraskan but we wouldn't move back to either nor do we have any particular affection for either. Californians are just as friendly as anywhere, just as family oriented as anywhere, etc. Our biggest problem is all the Easterners and Midwesterners, like my wife and I, who have moved here. Would all former Minnesotans in CA please move home (except for my wife, of course).

Funny how that last sentiment is shared by a lot of people in southwest Missouri towards Californians who have flocked there in recent years.

Anyways, I would hardly put Texas and Minnesota in the same category in terms of pride and bragging. I've yet to see all the "Minnesota is better than every other state" bumper stickers in some form or another. Maybe they exist, but they must be rare. We've all seen the ones for Texas. I've lived in Texas, and can attest to the condescending attitude towards pretty much every other state. Minnesota is nothing like that at all.

Minnesota is one of the nicest places I've ever visited. It does seem to be like what a lot of other places used to be... or at least how the old-timers remembered it. I hope it never changes, never becomes beaten down and jaded like so many other places have become.