Is It Really That Hard to Make Friends in Minnesota? (Dakota: houses, high school)

[lucie1970]

Good luck with your job interview.

[Sunshinne]

My husband was born and raised in MN, and is a true Scandinavian, but cannot stand the sight of lutefisk. I personally have never seen it or tried it. I wonder how it compares to gefilta fish served at Jewish Passover?

[JenLee]

A a teenager, I worked in a nursing home. I wasn't raised in a Scandinavian family (we are Irish); but at Christmas you could smell that Norwegian-prepared lutefisk for 3-4 blocks away! I dreaded going to work because the smell was so strong in the nursing home!

My hubby is Scandinavian heritage, and he likes the Swedish-style lutefisk, but we've never had it in our house. His remaining family doesn't care for lutefisk, and our kids have never had it.

The Norwegians have the slimey fish covered in butter and the Swedes liked it smothered in a cream sauce (or so my hubby says).

[What!]

I've lived in this state on and off since '94 and this is the first time I've heard of anything called lutefisk. Or maybe I just never bothered to look into it and it left my memory as quickly as it came in.

Anyway, making adult friends in Minneapolis should be a breeze. It is the suburbs I think you should worry about. Most people in the suburbs or small towns in MN are very dull, just like the rest of America. So you won't find interesting conversation. Go to Minneapolis and steer clear of the boring suburbs.

[zerzina]

I think it is really hard to make friends in Minnesota, not being from here. I say this from experience. I moved to MN with my now husband about 2-3 years ago for work, and while we have some couples as friends, I still don't have a group of friends that I could call up to hang out with when my husband is out of town. My co-workers are all at least 10 years older than me and at a different stage in their lives to want to hang out with me. Everyone I have met seems "nice" but already has their group of friends established and they don't really make room for anyone else to join in unless it is just every once in a while. I don't think I am that hard to get along with, and I have never really spoken poorly of Minnesota. Maybe it is because I live in the burbs.

I have heard the joke that it is "Minnesota Ice" and not "Minnesota Nice" --- ironically I do sometimes find it true.

[Slig]

I don't think it's more difficult to make friends here than other places, but I do think in some ways it's more difficult to meet new people, and obviously you have to meet people in order to befriend them. Reasons for this are:

-cold climate. People tend to stay in alot more in winter and it results in less human interaction.
-people here tend to be more reserved and hesitant to meet new people than in other places (not in all cases but generally speaking)
-my experiences in living in the suburbs is nobody really wants to get to know their neighbors. People don't tend to hang out outside that much and everything is so spread apart because of larger lot sizes. My parents have been living in their home in Ramsey since 1997 and they may know a third of the neighbors on their block. Suburb neighborhoods lack neighborhood organizations, block parties and general involvement that would result in alot more people knowing each other.

[jkc1970]

Originally Posted by chilaili

I'd say it took me about 5-6 years before I had a good group of friends that I regularly hung out with and could call on. Then, after 10 years, I relocated to Colorado () and am now faced with the same problem of making new friends. Been here nearly 3 years and I probably have 3 close friends and all of them live at least 20 miles away.

Hi Chilaili,

I know what you mean. I have lived in Colorado for 9 years and some of the friends I made here have already moved (to another state) I do have a couple of friends here though but they live in Denver, not in the Springs. I think Colorado is a nice state, but the population can be transient.

[jkc1970]

Originally Posted by lucie1970

Good luck with your job interview.

Thank you!

[Cammietime]

It is tought to make friends in MN, compared to other parts of the country. In Arizona anyone can be your friend instantly. Not so in Minnesota. But, once someone in MN decides to be your friend, they will take a bullet for you till death do you part.

[caliguy92832]

I used to work with guy in California who was originally from Minnesota. He was saying the same thing, hard to make friends there.