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I don't find people in the Twin Cities snobby in the traditional sense but I have found that people seem to take pride in how not snobby they are, which can be almost worse. A sort of snobbish reverse-snobbery, if you will. For example, instead of having a BMW and being snobby about it, Minnesotans love to bash the BMW driver and talk up how superior they are for driving a 12 year old Toyota.
I've also found that people seem to think there are huge cultural differences between people from various parts of the metro area, when really there isn't that much difference. For example, I have a lot of relatives in Shoreview, Lake Owasso, Roseville area, and they won't even go to places like Uptown or Mac Groveland because of all the snobs they imagine they will run into. Don't even get them started on places like Edina or Lake Minnetonka, even though I don't think any of them have ever been over there or even know how to get there.
After leaving the area for about 12 years and returning, I have found that a lot of the Garrisson Keillor skewering of the attitudes in the area is pretty spot on...
I grew up and lived in Minneapolis for 25 years and now have been living in Los Angeles for almost 4 years.
Even though I would say people from the Twin Cities are friendlier, they are much more snobbier, too. Minnesotans can't stop bragging about silly things like the Twins Stadium, 10,000 lakes, "Minnesota Nice", amazing springs, amazing summers, amazing falls, how great the State Fair is, etc… No one cares Prince is from Minnesota, except for Minnesotans.
LA has the exact opposite problem. No one cares about anything about this city including: the ocean, mountains, entertainers or weather.
I like this post.
I think you have hit it on the head. I lived in LA/OC/SLO etc out in CA, and grew up in MN. I live out in CO right now for the past 3 years.
Honestly, I hear the same crap in every single city. I live in colorado springs right now and it's not too bad, but still hear it from people.
The bigger the city the more crap/snobs I encounter. Denver, Chicago, LA, Minneapolis all exhibit the "Where I live is the best place to live" because of X,Y,Z.
I can name something crappy about each city/state and the trade offs. There is no "best" place to live.
SLO, CA has the best weather in the nation, but sucks for taxes and cost of living, jobs, where?
Minneapolis has, well, lots of trees and lakes, sucky taxes, sucky weather, etc.
Denver, better taxes, good jobs, good growth, good sun, better weather, no fricking water.
LA, awesome weather, crappy cost of living, dirty, traffic, high taxes, but has the ocean.
SLO, CA has the best weather in the nation, but sucks for taxes and cost of living, jobs, where?
Yeah, San Luis Obispo is one of the nicest spots in CA, and it's never really sprawled because of geography and its limited economic base - just the university. My dad's plan was to retire there (my parents were older than most and I would have been in high school). Then he'd do some consulting and play golf with my uncle. Unfortunately he didn't live to do it. I probably would have surfed, gone to Cal Poly and ended up an architect or something.
Yeah, San Luis Obispo is one of the nicest spots in CA, and it's never really sprawled because of geography and its limited economic base - just the university. My dad's plan was to retire there (my parents were older than most and I would have been in high school). Then he'd do some consulting and play golf with my uncle. Unfortunately he didn't live to do it. I probably would have surfed, gone to Cal Poly and ended up an architect or something.
Yeah, San Luis Obispo is one of the nicest spots in CA, and it's never really sprawled because of geography and its limited economic base - just the university. My dad's plan was to retire there (my parents were older than most and I would have been in high school). Then he'd do some consulting and play golf with my uncle. Unfortunately he didn't live to do it. I probably would have surfed, gone to Cal Poly and ended up an architect or something.
This is pretty much spot on to what I was going to say.
I have no problems claiming snobbery based on this list. We were marked on this list for, among other things: intelligence and literacy, a thriving indie-music scene, a booming list of craft beers, cleanliness, fitness, and being outdoorsy.
If this is snobbery and snobbery is bad...where are these "down-to-earth" cities and how can I avoid them?
I know this thread is a bit old...but I'm researching [not currently in MSP] and wow...this type of reply actually does NOT show intellectualism. It is *not* the 'lists' [outdoorsy, craft beers, literacy, etc] that are the reason for the 'snobby label'; it's the citizen attitude towards said accolades that earns the reputation! In my research on these threads, I have not found the MSP replies to be particularly critical thinking oriented, or 'intellectual/cultural', but rather, careful midwest polite treading, mixed with a healthy, unfortunate dose of PC liberalism that is one of 'other' major attitudes running rampant in this country [I give you the anti intellectual/anti cultural, but these days, I'd almost rather have it over the obnoxious mindset that assumes 'their way is the way' from the PC crowd]. Your version of culture and intellect may well be as close minded as the 'less cultured'.
Enjoy your city's amenities and lifestyles, by all means. But why be snobby about it?
I was born and raised outside of Boston, lived several years each in Missoula, Boulder and San Francisco, and now San Diego for 10 plus years. From the sounds of it, MSP is going the way of Portland, OR. And THAT is unfortunate, in my view, for the true libertarians and intellectuals among us. One can have high quality of life [based on his/her definition of quality and personal priorities] and be down to earth. Amazing, I know. They are not mutually exclusive. I have always loved MSP when visiting my MN native friends there. Have thought about relocating to the area....Will continue researching threads to get a better feel; thus far, it's been a lot like your response. Basking in self-satisfaction but not particularly critical thinking oriented discussions, as far as the social/cultural climate there.
Cheers!
ps-CA did the craft beer, counterculture and organic thing a looooooooong time ago. Who cares? Noone in CA, that's for sure. Too busy living life to brag about life. geesh.
Last edited by lrmsd; 12-29-2013 at 07:06 PM..
Reason: edit
I know this thread is a bit old...but I'm researching [not currently in MSP] and wow...this type of reply actually does NOT show intellectualism. It is *not* the 'lists' [outdoorsy, craft beers, literacy, etc] that are the reason for the 'snobby label'; it's the citizen attitude towards said accolades that earns the reputation! In my research on these threads, I have not found the MSP replies to be particularly critical thinking oriented, or 'intellectual/cultural', but rather, careful midwest polite treading, mixed with a healthy, unfortunate dose of PC liberalism that is one of 'other' major attitudes running rampant in this country [I give you the anti intellectual/anti cultural, but these days, I'd almost rather have it over the obnoxious mindset that assumes 'their way is the way' from the PC crowd]. Your version of culture and intellect may well be as close minded as the 'less cultured'.
Enjoy your city's amenities and lifestyles, by all means. But why be snobby about it?
I was born and raised outside of Boston, lived several years each in Missoula, Boulder and San Francisco, and now San Diego for 10 plus years. From the sounds of it, MSP is going the way of Portland, OR. And THAT is unfortunate, in my view, for the true libertarians and intellectuals among us. One can have high quality of life [based on his/her definition of quality and personal priorities] and be down to earth. Amazing, I know. They are not mutually exclusive. I have always loved MSP when visiting my MN native friends there. Have thought about relocating to the area....Will continue researching threads to get a better feel; thus far, it's been a lot like your response. Basking in self-satisfaction but not particularly critical thinking oriented discussions, as far as the social/cultural climate there.
Cheers!
ps-CA did the craft beer, counterculture and organic thing a looooooooong time ago. Who cares? Noone in CA, that's for sure. Too busy living life to brag about life. geesh.
I don't think you really read my post correctly.
While I was quoting another poster whose point was nearly what I wanted to say, I clarified in my post. This was a list about snobbiness. But most of the things on the list are things that we'd consider good. What's better: An "intelligent" population or an "unintelligent" one? A literate group of people or an illiterate group? Healthy people or unhealthy people?
My point was that if it's "snobby" to have high quality-of-life indicators as well as a plethora of cultural amenities, then I'll happily accept the snobby title from a magazine's silly compilation of lists. It's not about the title; it's about what they've compiled behind that silly title.
You say you're a libertarian, so I'm guessing you don't like that liberal/progressive cities tend to make these lists. Cool, I get it that Fargo and Omaha are cities that some people want to live in (for the record, I really like Fargo), but don't get the recognition they deserve. I know that you can find quality of life even in cities that have the deck stacked against them. I know this, as I didn't grow up in the metro in a top-ranked school with access to endless amenities. I grew up in the Arrowhead region of Minnesota, most of which is working class, mired with high unemployment, and generally in need of a lot of upkeep. And yet many people happily lived there. With a better job scene, I might have ended back up there too.
If enjoying my city is "basking in self-satisfaction", so be it. You want to have an "intellectual" discussion of cultural and social issues in Minnesota? Start a thread with a genuine argument and I'll happily join in. It's not all fun and games and rainbows here. There are plenty of issues. But based on your post, your arguments don't seem to be any deeper than anyone you're accusing of boosterism.
I know this thread is a bit old...but I'm researching [not currently in MSP] and wow...this type of reply actually does NOT show intellectualism. It is *not* the 'lists' [outdoorsy, craft beers, literacy, etc] that are the reason for the 'snobby label'; it's the citizen attitude towards said accolades that earns the reputation! In my research on these threads, I have not found the MSP replies to be particularly critical thinking oriented, or 'intellectual/cultural', but rather, careful midwest polite treading, mixed with a healthy, unfortunate dose of PC liberalism that is one of 'other' major attitudes running rampant in this country [I give you the anti intellectual/anti cultural, but these days, I'd almost rather have it over the obnoxious mindset that assumes 'their way is the way' from the PC crowd]. Your version of culture and intellect may well be as close minded as the 'less cultured'.
Enjoy your city's amenities and lifestyles, by all means. But why be snobby about it?
I was born and raised outside of Boston, lived several years each in Missoula, Boulder and San Francisco, and now San Diego for 10 plus years. From the sounds of it, MSP is going the way of Portland, OR. And THAT is unfortunate, in my view, for the true libertarians and intellectuals among us. One can have high quality of life [based on his/her definition of quality and personal priorities] and be down to earth. Amazing, I know. They are not mutually exclusive. I have always loved MSP when visiting my MN native friends there. Have thought about relocating to the area....Will continue researching threads to get a better feel; thus far, it's been a lot like your response. Basking in self-satisfaction but not particularly critical thinking oriented discussions, as far as the social/cultural climate there.
Cheers!
ps-CA did the craft beer, counterculture and organic thing a looooooooong time ago. Who cares? Noone in CA, that's for sure. Too busy living life to brag about life. geesh.
Your post really proves nothing. People like some of the amenities and qualities that exist in the Twin Cities. It is not like they are saying some other cities do not also have these qualities. This flawed survey was done by someone from the outside and people are only providing their genuine viewpoints.
As to the point about California doing this a long time ago and not caring any longer, I live in CA. Not caring came back to hurt us (bite us you know where to be more frank!) when we voted for a constitutional ban on gay marriage. We lucked out when the Supreme Court reversed it. Why would you brag about "not caring"? We need to care more. Our (CA) education system used to be near the top. Now we are looking up at Minnesota and some other states. They are not snobby, just working harder and making it a priority. Hope that provides a reality check.
BTW, your viewing the responses as "not critical thinking' strikes me and probably some others as snobby! (How could upper midwesterners possibly think critically, right?...LOL!).
I know this thread is a bit old...but I'm researching [not currently in MSP] and wow...this type of reply actually does NOT show intellectualism. It is *not* the 'lists' [outdoorsy, craft beers, literacy, etc] that are the reason for the 'snobby label'; it's the citizen attitude towards said accolades that earns the reputation! In my research on these threads, I have not found the MSP replies to be particularly critical thinking oriented, or 'intellectual/cultural', but rather, careful midwest polite treading, mixed with a healthy, unfortunate dose of PC liberalism that is one of 'other' major attitudes running rampant in this country [I give you the anti intellectual/anti cultural, but these days, I'd almost rather have it over the obnoxious mindset that assumes 'their way is the way' from the PC crowd]. Your version of culture and intellect may well be as close minded as the 'less cultured'.
Enjoy your city's amenities and lifestyles, by all means. But why be snobby about it?
I was born and raised outside of Boston, lived several years each in Missoula, Boulder and San Francisco, and now San Diego for 10 plus years. From the sounds of it, MSP is going the way of Portland, OR. And THAT is unfortunate, in my view, for the true libertarians and intellectuals among us. One can have high quality of life [based on his/her definition of quality and personal priorities] and be down to earth. Amazing, I know. They are not mutually exclusive. I have always loved MSP when visiting my MN native friends there. Have thought about relocating to the area....Will continue researching threads to get a better feel; thus far, it's been a lot like your response. Basking in self-satisfaction but not particularly critical thinking oriented discussions, as far as the social/cultural climate there.
Cheers!
ps-CA did the craft beer, counterculture and organic thing a looooooooong time ago. Who cares? Noone in CA, that's for sure. Too busy living life to brag about life. geesh.
If the people in the TC area were not happy with their quality of life and said so, then you would be criticizing that as being negative; why don't you move and so forth. So it is basically a "no-win" situation with some people.
I mean first you say "Cheers" and then "geesh". No sincerity as first you appear positive and then annoyed. BTW, if the positive attitudes of TC people bother you so much, no one forced you to reply. I for one think it is nice and perfectly normal to have positive things to say about one's region.
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I don't think you really read my post correctly.
