Is there a Pacific Northwest/Upper Midwest connection? (living, cost of living)

[belmont22]

I've lived in Oregon and Montana and I've noticed a lot of people I know have family back in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Do you think there's a connection between these two regions? I know both have a lot of Scandinavian ancestry and lie near the 45th parallel. Both regions also share some social traits in common such as being reserved and polite.

[Inkpoe]

Its the same in Seattle, though I've met more from Minnesota than Wisconsin.

There is a historical link between PNW and the Upper Midwest due to the Great Northern Railway.

[Drewcifer]

It is a pretty common thing for people from the Twin Cities to move to the northwest for a while when they are young. They usually end up moving back though, be careful dating them if you don't want to live in Minneapolis someday.

[belmont22]

Originally Posted by Drewcifer

It is a pretty common thing for people from the Twin Cities to move to the northwest for a while when they are young. They usually end up moving back though, be careful dating them if you don't want to live in Minneapolis someday.

I wonder if it's because there's so little population in between the PNW and Minnesota. There's more people in the Bay Area than there is between the Cascades and Twin Cities!

[Drewcifer]

There is a strong bohemian connection. Minnesota produces a lot of freaks. Portland and Seattle are freak friendly. It is the place to go when you want a change of scenery. The cost of living tends to bring people back to Minneapolis though.

Originally St Paul and Seattle were the terminuses of the Great Northern Railroad so I think in the broader culture that established the northwest as the main destination if you were looking to leave the Twin Cities.

[Drewcifer]

Originally Posted by belmont22

I wonder if it's because there's so little population in between the PNW and Minnesota. There's more people in the Bay Area than there is between the Cascades and Twin Cities!

This may be part of it. Seattle and Portland are pretty far away but they are still the closest cities to our west.

[NowInWI]

Originally Posted by Drewcifer

This may be part of it. Seattle and Portland are pretty far away but they are still the closest cities to our west.

The closest cities to the west are 1,650 and 1,750 miles away??? Yikes

[Drewcifer]

I guess you could count Denver or Salt Lake City if you went southwest, but yeah, citywise there is a lot of open space west of Minneapolis.

[jtur88]

Every place in the west has a lot of people who came from further east. Where else would their population growth have come from?

[GraniteStater]

Yes, a strong Northwest connection, but moreso Minnesota. The local news station WCCO even had a slogan as "The Northwest News Leader" in the early 1980s. I've known a few people here in Wisconsin that have lived in the Northwest or plan on moving there. #1 Advantage is milder climate, particularly winter but lots of extra greenery. Then you have a certain percentage that move to the Southwest and other Sunbelt destinations but I attribute much of that to a Vitamin D deficiency. I've had more than my share of sun from living further south for a long period of time.